Financial news

• Snapchat's potential $25bn flotation may sink company's appeal

  16-11-2016 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Amid rumours that it is eyeing an IPO, the app’s fast and furious business model may well put off advertisersThere is a lot of fake news around on social media these days, but there is a specific reason why we cannot be 100% certain that the owner of Snapchat has filed for an initial public offering (IPO), or flotation. Regulations in the US allow companies with revenues of less than $1bn (£800m) to keep the process private in its early stages. Snap, as the parent is called, falls in
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on employment law: an overhaul is needed | Editorial

  16-11-2016 20:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Too many employees are no longer protected by a legal system designed for a different ageOur report that a well-qualified academic once earned so little on his casual contract that he had to supplement it with a job as a refuse collector is confirmation that precarious work has metastasised from unskilled or elementary-level jobs to reach parts of the economy once considered the epitome of security. According to analysis of the official figures by the University and College Union, more than half
  
  Read more

• Bank of England given new powers to curb risky buy-to-let lending

  16-11-2016 20:20
  
  Treasury to give Bank ability to restrict size of loans amid concerns that sector may pose a danger to the financial systemThe Bank of England is gaining powers to curb any lax lending in the fast growing buy-to-let mortgage sector, an area it has identified as posing a potential risk to the financial system.The Treasury is to give Threadneedle Street the ability to restrict the size of loan relative to the value of a property and also limit the size of loans relative to the amount of rent landl
  
  Read more

• City news: Shell, Severn Trent, Barratt Development and Morrisons

  16-11-2016 20:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SHELL is moving UK jobs overseas in a cost-cutting to counter weak oil prices.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Redfern housing report 'has downplayed true reasons for homes crisis'

  16-11-2016 19:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Charity Shelter and lender Aldermore argue Redfern review diminishes role of undersupply in reducing home ownershipA landmark review of the housing crisis in Britain backed by Labour and led by the boss of one of the country’s biggest housebuilders has been criticised for downplaying the lack of homes being constructed by property companies. The housing charity Shelter said a “drastic shortage” of affordable homes was the biggest factor behind a slump in home ownership, while A
  
  Read more

• Rolls-Royce step up efficiency as they look to recover from profit warnings

  16-11-2016 19:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  ROLLS-Royce has stepped up its efficiency drive and flagged a brighter longterm future as it looks to bounce back after a string of profit warnings.
  
  Read more

• RBS may be fined more than $12bn to settle US mis-selling scandal

  16-11-2016 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Body that controls taxpayer stake in bank reveals potential scale of penalty in case being pursued by US Department of JusticeRoyal Bank of Scotland could face a penalty of more than $12bn (£9.6bn) to settle a decades-old mis-selling scandal in the US, the body which controls the taxpayer stake in the bank has said.The bailed-out bank has not set aside any money for a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) be
  
  Read more

• Qatar wins approval to turn US embassy in London into hotel

  16-11-2016 18:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Westminster council accepts plan to build 137-room hotel in Grade II-listed building in Grosvenor Square
  The Qatari royal family’s property company has won approval to turn the US embassy in London into a luxury hotel.Westminster council agreed Qatari Diar Real Estate’s plan for the Grade II-listed building in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, on Tuesday. The nine floors, three of which are underground, will include up to 137 hotel rooms, shops, restaurants and bars. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• UK unemployment rate falls to 4.8% but claimant count jumps – as it happened

  16-11-2016 18:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Britain’s jobless rate has dropped to a new 11-year low, but the number of people receiving unemployment benefit has risen by almost 10,000Oil volatile but Opec deal hopes growJobless rate hits 11-year lowBut claimant count suggests storms aheadAverage earnings (ex bonuses) rise by 2.4%The key pointsNo cut in EU workers in Britain 5.39pm GMTWith Wall Street falling back after several days of rises, investors were pausing for breath a week after Donald Trump’s shock victory in the US
  
  Read more

• Will the ‘bored’ teenage runaway be dogged by the story when he grows up?

  16-11-2016 18:25
  
  Arthur Heeler-Frood recently ran away from his Devon home - a fact that will always appear on a Google search of his name. But how will future employers view something that he did when he was 15?
  What becomes of a teenage runaway? Fifteen-year-old Arthur Heeler-Frood, from Axminster in Devon, left his home in September, leaving his parents a measured note of apology, explaining: “I have run away because I am bored of my life”, with instructions on where to find his school uniform (&l
  
  Read more

• Morrisons expands Amazon deal offering delivery in an hour

  16-11-2016 18:18
  
  Shares in Ocado plunge nearly 10% after announcement of new service for Prime Now membersMorrisons has extended its relationship with Amazon, enabling customers to order their weekly grocery shop for delivery within an hour in London and Hertfordshire.The announcement of the new service for Amazon’s Prime Now members sent shares in Ocado, the online grocery specialist which supports Morrisons’ website, down by 8.5% at the end of the day. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• MPs call for inquiry into ticket touts and resale websites

  16-11-2016 17:10
  
  Ticketing firms braced for tax inquiry amid claims of fraudulent activities by some online touts and industrial abuse of marketTicket touts are bracing for an inquiry by HM Revenue & Customs into their tax affairs, after MPs announced a full-blown investigation into the controversial industry.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee said it had heard “disturbing” evidence about the close relationship between touts and ticket resale websites during an evidence
  
  Read more

• Barratt cuts price of £1m-plus London homes

  16-11-2016 17:03
  
  Housebuilder says overall market conditions are healthy and Brexit vote has not hit demand for new homesOne of Britain’s biggest housebuilders has started cutting prices on some of its most expensive London homes because of waning demand at the top end of the market.Barratt Developments said that although overall market conditions were healthy, it was proving more difficult to sell homes priced above £1m in the capital because of too much supply. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Unemployment falls to 11-year low

  16-11-2016 16:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Office for National Statistics reports joblessness at 4.8% in September and small rise in wages Unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 11 years in September in a further indication that Britain’s employers have largely shrugged off the Brexit vote.Official figures show the unemployment rate was 4.8%, the lowest since September 2005 and down from 4.9% in August and 5.3% a year earlier.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• In the gig economy, recruitment agencies are the gangmasters | Faiza Shaheen

  16-11-2016 14:08 via theguardian.com
  
  These seemingly bland organisations are actively undermining employment rights, driving precarious workers into the arms of exploitative companies“Recruitment agency: an organisation that matches employers to employees and vice versa; an intermediary in the labour market” – or so the dictionary tells us. But, given recent findings that agencies are using aggressive tax avoidance schemes at a time when new benefit caps are driving single parents into poverty; that some agencies
  
  Read more

• Employment not hit by Brexit vote – but there may be clouds ahead

  16-11-2016 12:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Joblessness has hit a new 11-year low, but a rise of almost 10,000 in the claimant count suggests we could be at a turning pointAll things considered, the government will be happy with how the labour market performed in the first three months after the EU referendum.Unemployment has continued to fall and at 4.8% of the workforce is at its lowest level for 11 years. Employment has continued to rise and there are plenty of jobs to be had. Ministers would not have expected anything better than that
  
  Read more

• The White Company founder: 'We've been through four recessions'

  16-11-2016 11:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Chrissie Rucker talks building a brand, being married to an entrepreneur and dealing with downturnsWe started with a list of friends, friends of friends, my mother’s friends and we sent out our 12 page brochure to about 500 people. I used to work as a journalist and so I put together a press release and tried really hard to get editorial coverage, as we had no money for advertising. We had some brilliant coverage in magazines and that really helped. We were always looking to find more cust
  
  Read more

• Cashing in your pension will get you the low-down on a drawdown

  16-11-2016 11:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  PENSION freedoms may backfire for a growing number of Britons who are putting their savings in greater danger than they realise.
  
  Read more

• Over-50s gran gestures: Grandparents to splash £65 on grandchildren this Christmas

  16-11-2016 11:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  GRANDPARENTS are getting ready to spoil their grandchildren at Christmas, with plans to spend an average of £65 on each of them.
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump victory gives Britons a HUGE boost

  16-11-2016 09:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  DONALD TRUMP'S shock US presidential election victory last week has given an equally surprising boost to the finances of many Britons.
  
  Read more

• Drones and the transport revolution

  16-11-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A rise in the use of drones could help with deliveries, traffic patrols, policing and passenger flightsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Buy-to-let business slowing down because of Government tax crackdown

  16-11-2016 08:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BUY-TO-LET investors are reeling from the Government’s tax grab on amateur landlords with one in four selling properties as a result.
  
  Read more

• Black Friday warning as report finds only half of offers are the real deal

  16-11-2016 08:01
  
  Many products promoted as ‘on sale’ last year were actually cheaper before or after event, according to Which? investigationShoppers are being warned that Black Friday deals might not live up to the hype, after an investigation found that many products promoted as being “on sale” last year were actually cheaper before or after the event.Currys and AO are singled out by Which?, the consumer group, which claims they may have broken government guidelines by inflating the &ld
  
  Read more

• Labour and unions demand action on temp agencies’ tax avoidance

  16-11-2016 08:00
  
  Opposition vows to shut down scheme that uses ‘contrived’ financial arrangements to slash national insurance billsLabour and trade unions have called on the government to take action after a Guardian investigation found that an aggressive tax avoidance scheme used by temporary recruitment agencies is depriving the taxpayer of “hundreds of millions” of pounds a year.Agencies have made large sums by using “contrived” financial arrangements to slash their employe
  
  Read more

• Homes for winter sun – in pictures

  16-11-2016 08:00
  
  Catch some rays in these properties from South Africa to Florida and ... KentContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘Confused’ Axa use every excuse in the book to avoid my travel insurance claim

  16-11-2016 08:00
  
  We flew home when an aunt was taken seriously ill, but Axa said she wasn’t a ‘close relative’My wife and I flew to Austria for a week’s winter walking in February. We had to fly back to the UK on the advice of hospital staff, as my wife’s aunt had been taken seriously ill. My wife was her aunt’s official next of kin and unofficial carer. She died before we arrived home.We contacted our travel insurance company, Axa, from Austria and were assured that we could
  
  Read more

• UK investment in tech and transport among world's worst, says TUC

  16-11-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Study will put pressure on Philip Hammond to boost spending across public and private sectors in autumn statementBritain ranks among the worst performers in the developed world for spending on new technology, industrial machinery and transport equipment, according to a study by the TUC of investment spending in the public and private sectors.The UK came 34th out of the 34 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) for spending on transport equipment. Continue r
  
  Read more

• Amazon TV ad features imam and vicar exchanging gifts

  16-11-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Online retailer says campaign in US, UK and Germany is about ‘selflessness and thinking of other people’Amazon is launching a TV ad in which an imam and a vicar exchange gifts, before the Black Friday shopping bonanza during which consumers will spend billions with the internet retailer.The company, which is launching the campaign in the US, UK and Germany, said it was aware of the sensitivities of portraying an inter-faith friendship between religious community leaders. Continue rea
  
  Read more

• Ulster Bank HQ expected to attract UK financial institutions - Irish Times

  16-11-2016 06:00
  
  Irish Times
  Ulster Bank HQ expected to attract UK financial institutions
  Irish Times
  A substantial waterfront office building about to be redeveloped on George's Quay in Dublin 2 will be of interest to financial institutions considering relocating from London to Dublin following the Brexit vote. The newly renamed 1GQ, which served as ...
  
  Read more

• A hygge Christmas apart, M&S fashion showcase is all about key pieces

  16-11-2016 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Its festive ad may elicit tears, but squeeze on clothing business has resulted in tighter collection that adopts catwalk and street style for M&S customerTechnically, the Marks & Spencer fashion showcase is a reveal of hemlines and heel heights, but within two minutes of arriving at the new season preview I am talking feelings with the retailer’s CEO, Steve Rowe.The store’s latest advert stars a Hillary Clinton-esque Mrs Claus saving the (Christmas) day in on-trend hygge knit
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!