Financial news

• Let’s move to Northumberland: for soft sand and craggy castles

  29-04-2016 17:30
  
  Not even dark skies can dim the delights of Amble, Alnmouth and WarkworthWhat’s going for it? If a place still looks magical under glowering skies, a force nine gale and driving rain, it’s a keeper. Alnmouth Bay is a keeper. If a beach this stunning were 400 miles south, it’d be smeared in luxury apartment complexes, hooray Henrys and yachts and, thereby, ruined. Those 400 miles and glowering skies keep the beasties away, leaving the delights of Alnmouth, Amble a
  
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• Millions of BT customers hit with price hikes for broadband, sport and landline bills

  29-04-2016 16:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MILLIONS of BT broadband and landline customers will be hit with higher bills, as the communications giant hikes prices for a number of its services.
  
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• How the car industry trumped banking for sociopathic corporate behaviour | Karel Williams

  29-04-2016 16:32
  
  The emissions scandal has revealed the motor industry’s stunning disregard for public health. Who knows how else they’ve been putting our lives on the line?Since the financial crisis of 2008, we have had multiple scandals about banks and bankers behaving badly – from the misselling of payment protection insurance and interest-rate hedges, to the rigging of Libor and foreign exchange rates, and corporate collusion in money laundering. The banking industry has been singled out fo
  
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• Eurozone smashes forecasts with 0.6% growth and falling unemployment – business live

  29-04-2016 14:27
  
  Europe’s economy has posted its fastest growth in a year, as France and Spain beat expectationsLatest: Eurozone growth rate doublesJobless rate down tooFrench government hails growth figuresSpain expands by 0.8% despite political deadlock 1.27pm BSTSwiss bank UBS has upgraded its forecast for eurozone growth this year.It now expects the region to expand by 1.6% in 2016, up from 1.4%, following the news that growth has doubled to 0.6%.While temporary factors, including weather, may partly e
  
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• Credit card borrowing surges to 11-year high in March

  29-04-2016 13:50
  
  Debt charities to express concern as the amount of new unsecured lending to UK consumers reaches highest level 2005 The amount UK consumers owe on loans and credit cards grew by £1.9bn in March, the highest figure in 11 years driven by a sharp rise in spending on plastic.Bank of England figures show outstanding borrowing on credit cards increased by £635m over the month, compared with an average increase of £400m over the previous six months. The figure is the highest since Mar
  
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• Who invented the cash machine? I did – and all I earned was £10

  29-04-2016 13:09
  
  James Goodfellow patented the first ATM and created the first pin code but, unlike those in the financial industry who command vast salaries, he effectively earned nothing for his all-conquering contributionSometimes life just isn’t fair. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook and is now worth an estimated $48bn (£33bn). James Goodfellow also invented something used by millions of people around the world every day – the cash machine – but it didn’t make him rich. In fact,
  
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• Restaurant Group warns of profit decline after fall in customer numbers

  29-04-2016 13:02
  
  Frankie & Benny’s owner expects annual sales to be down by 2.5-5%, after being hit by fewer people visiting retail parksThe company behind the restaurant chains Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito and Garfunkel’s has warned of a decline in annual profits after it was hit by falling customer numbers in retail parks – the first profit drop in more than a decade.The Restaurant Group’s woes have worsened since the turn of the year, with like-for-like sales down 2.7% in
  
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• Eurozone economy grows faster than expected in first quarter

  29-04-2016 12:58
  
  Currency bloc beats forecasts but inflation slips back into negative and experts urge against reading too much into dataThe eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of 2016, but inflation in the single currency bloc has fallen back into negative territory, putting more pressure on the European Central Bank to keep deflation at bay.Official statistics showed GDP in the 19-nation eurozone rose 0.6% in the first quarter despite a backdrop of turmoil on global markets at
  
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• IAG revises growth plan after Brussels attacks affect demand for flights

  29-04-2016 12:28
  
  British Airways owner planned to increase aircraft capacity but boss Willie Walsh says markets have softened after the atrocityIAG, the owner of British Airways, has said it will offer fewer seats than planned on its aircraft because demand has weakened following the Brussels attacks.The airline group was the biggest FTSE 100 faller in Friday morning trading after it said the bombings in March at Brussels airport and on the city’s metro system had hit ticket sales. Shares fell almost 5% to
  
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• Ophir Energy loses a fifth of its value as Schlumberger deal collapses

  29-04-2016 12:05
  
  US company was expected to take stake in Ophir’s Equatorial Guinea projectOphir Energy has lost nearly a fifth of its value after the oil and gas exploration group announced a planned partnership with America’s Schlumberger was not going ahead.The two agreed terms of a deal in January to bring in Sclumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services business, as a partner on its Fortuna project in Equatorial Guinea. The US group was expected to receive a 40% stake in the liquefied
  
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• Nationwide tightens lending criteria for buy-to-let landlords

  29-04-2016 11:56
  
  Building society’s changes come as the Bank of England attempts to rein in buy-to-let lendingNationwide building society is tightening up its criteria for lending to buy-to-let landlords ahead of changes to how much tax relief they will be allowed to claim against their repayments.Landlords who take new loans from the society’s specialist arm The Mortgage Works (TMW) will only be able to borrow up to 75% of a property’s value, instead of the current 80%, and will have to prove
  
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• AstraZeneca focuses on cancer treatments as profits slide

  29-04-2016 11:00
  
  Drugmaker looks to replace lost revenues as patents expire for blockbuster drugs AstraZeneca is ramping up its focus on cancer treatments and cutting costs to stem a slide in profits caused by expiring patents. Britain’s second largest drugmaker reported a 5% rise in revenues at constant exchange rates to £6.1bn in the first three months of the year, ahead of its annual meeting. However, revenues were only up 1% at actual exchange rates and core operating profit fell 12% to £1.
  
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• Sir Martin Sorrell handed £70.4m in 2015 pay deal

  29-04-2016 10:59
  
  WPP confirms one of the biggest pay packages in corporate history but says award is a result of ‘outstanding set of returns to share owners’Sir Martin Sorrell, the longstanding chief executive of advertising company WPP, received £70.4m in cash and shares last year in one of the biggest pay deals in UK corporate history.Estimates of his 2015 pay deal have been made since the disclosure last month that Sorrell received nearly £63m in share awards. The advertising company&r
  
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• Big questions for Sir Philip Green over BHS pension deficit, says Lord Myners

  29-04-2016 10:44
  
  Former City minister and M&S chairman criticises ex-boss of BHS, its pensions trustees and the pensions regulator over retail chain’s £571m black holeCity grandee Lord Myners has said there are big questions to be answered about Sir Philip Green’s stewardship of BHS and the collapsed retailer’s£571m pension black hole. Myners, who fought off Green’s bid for Marks & Spencer more than a decade ago, voiced strong criticism of the billionaire former boss o
  
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• FTSE falls, with IAG warning hitting travel shares but gold miners rising

  29-04-2016 10:24
  
  Precious metals companies in demand as investors seek havens With leading shares heading lower, investors are seeking the usual havens, giving a boost to precious metals.Gold and silver have both moved higher, with the dollar weakening, and helping Mexican miner Fresnillo to the top of the FTSE 100, up 13p at £11.08, while Randgold Resources has risen 60p to £65.85. Continue reading...
  
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• RBS reveals £1bn loss and Swiss inquiry into Coutts subsidiary

  29-04-2016 10:11
  
  Bailed-out bank says regulator has started ‘enforcement proceedings’ against Swiss arm over certain client accountsRoyal Bank of Scotland has revealed that Swiss authorities are scrutinising its Coutts subsidiary as the bailed-out bank reported a near £1bn loss for the first three months of 2016.The loss, and problems selling off its Williams & Glyn network to comply with a demand from the European Union, have raised questions about the government’s ability to sell of
  
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• Kipper Williams on the shareholder revolts against executive pay

  29-04-2016 09:12
  
  Companies are experiencing the wrath of shareholders at AGMs, angry at what they increasingly view as excessive boardroom pay deals Continue reading...
  
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• In 'Forced Exile', No Plans To Leave UK: Vijay Mallya To Financial Times - NDTV

  29-04-2016 08:18
  
  NDTV
  In 'Forced Exile', No Plans To Leave UK: Vijay Mallya To Financial Times
  NDTV
  Embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya wants a "reasonable" settlement with creditor banks to his defunct airline, he said in an interview in London published by the Financial Times on Friday. Mallya, 60, flew first class from Delhi to London on March 2 at a ...
  India seeks Vijay Mallya's deportation from the UKFinancial Expressalle 300 nieuwsartikelen »
  
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• Thrilling and daunting: my work has an impact on the New York skyline

  29-04-2016 08:14
  
  The issue isn’t getting women into architecture, but getting them to stay, says New York architect Marianne Kwok Continue reading...
  
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• BT customers face summer price rises

  29-04-2016 08:01
  
  The cost of a one-minute phone call from a BT landline will be a minimum of 30p, while broadband customers will pay at least £2 a month moreMillions of households with BT landline and broadband services will see their prices rise in the summer.
  The telecoms company has announced increases of more than 5% for line rental and almost 7.5% for the price of calls. Continue reading...
  
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• Surreal estate: an angler's retreat on Chesil beach – in pictures

  29-04-2016 08:00
  
  This cabin on the Dorset coast cannot be used as a permanent or holiday home but could be a real catch for a fishing enthusiastContinue reading...
  
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• Etihad Airways refuses to amend our booking – despite its surname error

  29-04-2016 08:00
  
  I asked what to enter on the booking form as my Indonesian wife has no surname – we were given the wrong information My Indonesian wife has no -surname, which is common in Indonesia, and although she has now taken my name, it does not appear on her passport. Before booking a flight to Bali for four people I asked Etihad Airways what to do about this when making my booking online, and was told to put UNL – which is short for “unknown last name” – in the surname box a
  
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• Bored stiff with stuffy advertising? Then get board silly

  29-04-2016 08:00
  
  Sandwich boards may be as old as the hills, but can be a surefire way to boost footfall in the social media era
  Two weeks ago the Artillery Arms pub in east London was broken into. But instead of being disheartened, quick-thinking manager Tony Bennett decided to turn the situation to his advantage. Opening the pub as normal on Sunday morning, he wrote a sign on the pub’s outdoor sandwich board which read, “This pub is so good that someone tried to get in eight hours before we open!&r
  
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• Australian treasurer overrules sale of 1.3% of country to Chinese firm

  29-04-2016 06:24
  
  Scott Morrison says sale of 2.5% of Australia’s agricultural land ‘may be contrary to national interest’Australia’s treasurer, Scott Morrison, has blocked the sale of Australia’s largest landholder S Kidman & Co to a majority Chinese-owned consortium because it “may be contrary to the national interest”.Related: Beef, big bucks and buy-ups: are Chinese investors changing the face of Australia?Continue reading...
  
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• Fairphone: one smartphone company's search for conflict-free gold

  29-04-2016 06:00
  
  A Dutch social enterprise has created the first Fairtrade gold supply chain for consumer electronics – will other mobile phone companies follow suit?Gold is an essential material in many of today’s gadgets, with the electronics industry being the third largest consumer of gold globally, after jewellery and the financial sector.Related: Fairphone review: ethics trumps everything elseContinue reading...
  
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• Nurofen manufacturer fined $1.7m for misleading customers

  29-04-2016 03:03
  
  Reckitt Benckiser says it did not intentionally mislead about tablets targeting different types of pain Related: Nurofen maker deserves $6m fine for false claims, court told Nurofen manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser has been fined $1.7m for misleading customers about its range of specific pain products, which were marketed as targeting different types of pain despite containing the same active ingredient. Continue reading...
  
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• Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sells entire stake in Apple

  29-04-2016 02:13
  
  Icahn has sold his shares in the company because of concerns over China’s influence on its stock priceCarl Icahn, the billionaire activist investor who has long been one of the most prominent voices declaring the company to be undervalued, says he has sold his entire stake in the technology firm, citing the risk of China’s influence on the stock.After years of high growth, reaching triple-digit percentage points in 2015, Apple now sells more in China than it does in the whole of Euro
  
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• Consumer confidence in UK at lowest level in 15 months, survey suggests

  29-04-2016 02:05
  
  Uncertainty over EU referendum and ongoing political and financial turmoil in eurozone ‘casting a cloud over economy’Worries about the EU referendum in June and over a resurgence of the eurozone crisis have knocked consumer confidence in the UK to its lowest level in more than a year, according to a report.Market research firm GfK said its consumer sentiment indicator for April was the weakest for 15 months as households became gloomier about the UK’s economic outlook. The inde
  
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• Buy-to-let landlords blamed for decline in DIY among under-30s

  29-04-2016 01:01
  
  Figures suggesting spending on DIY among ‘generation rent’ has fallen by third since 1996 coincide with report showing age of first-time buyers still risingBritain’s young adults are no longer putting up shelves, hanging wallpaper or retiling bathrooms, according to figures that reveal DIY is in steep decline among the so-called “generation rent” who cannot afford to buy and fix-up their own home. Credit card provider MBNA said spending by the under-30s on DIY had f
  
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• My boss wants me to take an earlier train as they never run on time

  29-04-2016 01:00
  
  I cannot catch an earlier service as I have to take my children to school: how do I ask for leniency when the rail company is at fault?Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?I work in central London but live in Bedfordshire
  
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