Financial news

• Tesco cyber-raid raises serious questions over UK banks’ security

  12-11-2016 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The nature of the attack that siphoned £2.5m from the supermarket’s current accounts in just a few hours should cause alarm at the highest levelsThe texts began arriving on customers’ phones over the weekend: Tesco Bank had spotted unusual activity on a significant number of current accounts, and was getting in touch with customers to alert them. But that wasn’t enough to prevent £2.5m being siphoned out of about 9,000 accounts, and transferred to criminals whose id
  
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• Trump's influence on the future of clean energy is less clear than you think

  12-11-2016 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The president-elect is a political novice whose energy plan doesn’t account for the economic reality of coal and renewable energyAs the world struggles to absorb the implications of Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the US general election, no one is facing the future with more trepidation than those working on clean energy, clean transportation, climate and the environment. Hillary Clinton had promised to build on Obama’s substantial progress in this area; now they worry th
  
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• 'The Pantanal is national heritage': protecting the world's largest wetlands

  12-11-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Spanning Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia and home to 4,700 species, the Pantanal wetlands are under threat from deforestation and agriculture. But local people are taking on the challenge to protect this unique regionLeer este artículo en españolLeia este artigo em portuguêsInside a small aircraft, decorated with a polka-dot jaguar design, Ângelo Rabelo checks data on a small laptop computer. “We’re approaching a river spring!” he shouts over the plane&rs
  
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• Should we split the cost of a two-family holiday by the number of children?

  12-11-2016 08:00
  
  We’ve previously just halved any costs, but the kids are growing and they’ve got one more than usEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• Refusing child benefit payments could see new mums take a state pension hit

  12-11-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A failure to make an initial claim may see them lose £5,000Tens of thousands of new mothers could each end up losing almost £5,000 of state pension when they are older due to an unintended quirk in the rules surrounding child benefit, according to a former government minister.Steve Webb, ex-pensions minister, said the women, currently totalling around 50,000 but with the number rising every year, may have lost out on more than half a billion pounds in state pension rights over the pa
  
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• Living in a broadband ‘not-spot’? Try using the church spire to get a signal

  12-11-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Communities across the country with superslow rather than superfast internet are coming up with their own ideas to try and speed things upIt’s virtually a year to the day since David Cameron declared that “access to the internet shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a right... we’re going to bring fast broadband to every home and business that wants it”.But for many trying to work in broadband “not-spots,” such pledges are increasingly hollow. Now,
  
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• After Tesco fraud, are other banks vulnerable to cyber-attacks?

  12-11-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts have called for card readers and tighter security after £2.5m was stolen from the accounts of Tesco Bank customersConsumers worried about falling victim to online banking fraud should consider banks that give customers card readers and avoid those which rely on text messages, according to leading security expert Graham Cluley. He was speaking as Tesco Bank continued to deal with the fallout from the “systematic, sophisticated attack” that resulted in £2.5m being t
  
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• 25 texts and emails a day: how payday loan firms hound vulnerable borrowers

  12-11-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite tougher regulation, the industry continues to act irresponsibly by lending to people in financial difficulty. We spoke to one targetAlex Jones* has to switch his phone off at work so the constant text messages do not distract him. He gets around 20-25 a day from payday lenders and brokers offering high-cost loans of up to £1,000 a time.“Need cash? We have reviewed your application …” a typical text reads. “A loan of up to £900 is ready to complete,&rd
  
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• Small print puts the ouch in gift vouchers

  12-11-2016 07:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Gift cards offer recipients flexibility, but can come with expiry dates and hidden charges. We look at the pros and cons of these once simple presentsAs Christmas gets nearer shoppers stuck for ideas will be thinking of turning to that old standby, the gift card. Such cards and vouchers – in either plastic, paper or digital form – have long been a go-to option for shoppers with tricky-to-buy-for loved ones – the industry is now worth £5bn a year.But gift cards have their
  
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• Pound has best fortnight in eight years after Trump win

  12-11-2016 07:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Market concerns shift to euro after concerns over Brexit vote, but sterling remains well below pre-referendum levelsThe battered pound has notched up its best two-week performance in eight years after the surprise US election result took investor focus off the UK’s Brexit challenges. Market concerns shifted to the euro amid fears that Donald Trump’s victory will trigger a wave of populism and political uncertainty throughout Europe. Continue reading...
  
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• Autonomy's former finance chief charged with fraud over Hewlett-Packard deal

  12-11-2016 02:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Sushovan Hussain is accused of trying to deceive investors and HP about the software company’s performance in the runup to the $11bn takeover in 2011The former chief financial officer of British software company Autonomy has been indicted in the US for allegedly defrauding investors and Hewlett-Packard about his firm’s performance before its sale in 2011. Sushovan Hussain, a British resident who was Autonomy’s finance chief at the time of its $11bn acquisition by HP, was charge
  
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• Mother refused free parking at Tesco due to baby formula purchase

  12-11-2016 02:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Laura Leeks says she was ‘guilt-tripped’ for buying formula and was unable to qualify for free parking because UK law prohibits promotion of productA mother who cannot breastfeed her baby for medical reasons has said she was “guilt-tripped” by Tesco for buying baby formula. Laura Leeks said staff refused to let her park for free because she bought only the formula during a visit to a store in Essex.She said she was told at a Tesco in Braintree that in order to qualify for
  
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• Weak sterling puts Irish mushroom farmers in the shade

  12-11-2016 01:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Producers dependent on UK supermarkets fear for the future with one in 10 farmers in the Republic out of business since Brexit voteAs Gerry Reilly moves from one of his 50-foot mushroom farm units to another, he constantly checks the currency tracker xe.com to see if the pound is still falling.Since the Brexit vote in June and sterling’s plunge against the euro, the Irish mushroom industry has taken a hammering.Continue reading...
  
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• Homes in former toll houses – in pictures

  12-11-2016 00:45 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Who’s that trip-trapping over my bridge?’ It might be a thankless task guarding roads in Gloucestershire, Devon and East Sussex, but the houses are cute enough Continue reading...
  
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