Financial news

• Skoda driver decapitated after claiming car's cruise control was stuck

  24-11-2016 22:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Kaushal Gandhi, 32, died when his Skoda Octavia slammed into the back of a stationary lorry at 94mph, inquest hearsAn inquest has heard an eight-and-a-half minute 999 call made by a driver who claimed his cruise control was stuck, leaving him unable to stop his car reaching speeds of more than 100 miles an hour before it slammed into a stationary lorry on the M40.Kaushal Gandhi, 32, was decapitated when his Skoda Octavia collided with the 18-tonne truck, which was parked in a layby close to wher
  
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• Hammond's £400m for venture capital funds is no joke – unfortunately

  24-11-2016 21:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor’s cash to help startups grow to scale is welcome, but it’s a mere drop in the ocean – especially after Skyscanner saleThe best joke in Philip Hammond’s autumn statement was the line about how he is injecting £400m of venture capital funding into the British Business Bank “to tackle the longstanding problem of our fastest-growing technology firms being snapped up by bigger companies, rather than growing to scale”. A day later, one such UK pione
  
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• Why is UK's productivity still behind that of other major economies?

  24-11-2016 20:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Dismal trade, growth of low-level service jobs with low-level pay, and a chronic lack of investment only partly explain the gap Extra funds for new roads, research and development and skills training will drive up UK productivity and put the economy in a better position to withstand the looming Brexit shock.That was the central message in Philip Hammond’s autumn statement and went to the heart of a debate about the UK’s low productivity growth, which according to official figures, ha
  
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• Lidl to give lowest-paid staff pay rise to £8.45 an hour

  24-11-2016 20:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Quarter of supermarket’s workforce will benefit from new voluntary amount well above government-set minimumLidl is handing out a 2.4% pay rise to its lowest-paid staff to put them on the new independently verified living wage.The discounter said 5,500 employees – a quarter of its UK workforce – would benefit from the pay rise which puts them on a minimum of £8.45 an hour, or £9.75 an hour in London. The workers in England, Scotland and Wales will get the pay rise fr
  
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• Iceland government challenges retail chain Iceland over name use

  24-11-2016 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Legal action against Iceland Foods over trademark claims it limits country’s companies abroadThe government of Iceland has launched legal action against its namesake British grocery chain over the use of its name.The island of Iceland is challenging Iceland Foods’ exclusive ownership of the European-wide trademark registration for the word Iceland which it said was preventing the country’s companies from promoting goods and services abroad. Continue reading...
  
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• What economists can learn from engineers | Letters

  24-11-2016 19:56 via theguardian.com
  
  This week there is much unenlightening squabbling about economic forecasts. In 1971 I arrived at university intending to read engineering and economics. After two weeks I swapped to pure engineering because I had realised that there was no “right answer” in economics. I have spent my life developing mathematical models of physical systems and making “engineering forecasts” or predictions, as engineers call them. Now, older and wiser, I realise that there is no right answe
  
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• Skyscanner sold to China's Ctrip in £1.4bn deal

  24-11-2016 19:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Travel price checking website will continue to be managed separately from biggest Chinese online travel company, say buyersThree Manchester University graduates who founded travel search website Skyscanner are set for a windfall of up to £400m after the firm was bought by Chinese tourism group Ctrip.com for £1.4bn.Dozens of staff who own much smaller stakes in the Edinburgh-based firm are also in line to make thousands of pounds each if they decide to sell their shares. Continue read
  
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• Britons expected to spend £1.3bn on Black Friday bargains

  24-11-2016 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  US import has intensified battle on virtual high street, though analysts say sales boost may not benefit retailers in long runBritons are expected to embark on a record-breaking £1.3bn online spree as Black Friday kicks off the biggest shopping weekend of the year. The US import has taken the UK by storm, with retailers launching discounts even earlier than usual this year as the battle for Christmas shoppers intensifies. Some of the high street’s biggest names, including Tesco, Argo
  
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• Travel industry joins Black Friday bandwagon in face of falling pound

  24-11-2016 19:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Deals include £199 flights to Los Angeles as airlines and tour operators join sales day in effort to boost bookingsAirlines, holiday companies and tour operators have joined the Black Friday sales day in an attempt to encourage bookings from holidaymakers worried about the falling pound.Following what it claims were record-breaking bookings last year, the all-inclusive operator Club Med is offering up to 30% off its packages, which include all meals, lift passes, resort transfers and lesso
  
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• The IFS was not wrong to describe shrinking UK pay packets as dreadful

  24-11-2016 19:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Given that real wages will still be below their 2008 level in 2021, the outlook for people on low and middle incomes is bleakDirectors of the Institute for Fiscal Studies normally avoid hyperbole. They do not tend to use words such as “dreadful” when analysing the state of the economy or the public finances.But that was the term Paul Johnson, the head of the IFS, chose to describe the era of shrinking pay packets triggered by the financial crash of 2007-08.Continue reading...
  
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• Torrents of pain and therapy at the institute

  24-11-2016 19:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Hammond’s nemeses at the Institute for Fiscal Studies put the budget on the couch and find relief only in the demise of the autumn statementThe geeks fight back. Experts may have had a bit of a kicking over the last six months but it’s looking like they are going to have the last laugh. Or at least chuckle. Laughing may be a social skill too far for an economist. Having had a night to go through the chancellor’s autumn statement, the Institute for Fiscal studies, the UK’s
  
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• MPs urge government to take swift action to stop ticket touts using 'bots'

  24-11-2016 18:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Culture committee chair writes to Karen Bradley calling for the use of software to harvest tickets for resale to be outlawedAn influential group of MPs has urged the government to take immediate action to stop touts using specialist software to buy large numbers of tickets to resell for a profit.The call from the cross-party culture, media and sport committee follows an evidence session last week when it heard about the activities of touts who offer tickets to events on resale websites. Continue
  
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• Companies House abandons plan to delete 2.5m public records

  24-11-2016 17:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Agency came under attack for plans to reduce the time it keeps records of dissolved firms from 20 years to sixControversial plans to delete more than 2.5m public records have been abandoned by the government’s company registration agency.Companies House, which maintains a database on every firm incorporated in the UK, listing their accounts and all directors and shareholders, was considering proposals to reduce the amount of time the records of dissolved companies were retained from 20 yea
  
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• Black Friday 2016: UK's best deals and discounts

  24-11-2016 17:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Preparation is key to bagging the best Black Friday deals, so try this handy guide to what’s on offer in the UKThe UK is preparing for what could be its biggest Black Friday yet on 25 November, as the US import becomes a fixture on this side of the Atlantic. So what deals have retailers got in store for shoppers? Here’s an A-Z round-up. Continue reading...
  
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• Hermes drivers told of 'mandatory' Sundays over Black Friday rush

  24-11-2016 16:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Delivery firm says some couriers received ‘rogue’ note as safety fears grow about tired drivers during online sales boostHermes, the courier group that delivers parcels for John Lewis and Next, has told some drivers it is “mandatory” to work the next two Sundays during the Black Friday rush.The move contradicts the company’s previous insistence that the work was “completely optional” and increases safety fears about couriers potentially working 20 days w
  
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• Eight ways to make innovation work for water and sanitation

  24-11-2016 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  What are the inventive solutions that will bring access to taps and toilets to millions? Our expert panel share their thoughts Related: Open defecation in India: forcing people to stop is not the solutionContinue reading...
  
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• How to make sure you really are saving on Black Friday bargains

  24-11-2016 15:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Our secret shopper has a few tips and tricks to help you find the real deals this year
  In all the hype around Black Friday, figuring out whether the discount is a good buy or not can be tricky. Which? recently published research showing that out of 178 deals publicised on Black Friday in 2015, only 90 were actually cheaper than they had been before the sale day.Retailers from Currys to Amazon all mark their Black Friday deals with magnificent-sounding price cuts, but they are only really useful
  
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• Income inequality still at record levels, says OECD

  24-11-2016 15:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Thinktank says the poorest 10% have been unable to recover from financial crisis because of falling real wagesThe gap between the rich and poor remains at record levels, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as the poorest 10% have been unable to recover from the blow dealt by the financial crisis.The Paris-based thinktank said while the richest 10% had rapidly bounced back, long-term unemployment, low-quality jobs, and greater job insecurity had disproportionate
  
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• Hammond and May rally around UK financial watchdog - POLITICO.eu

  24-11-2016 15:09
  
  POLITICO.eu
  Hammond and May rally around UK financial watchdog
  POLITICO.eu
  Euroskeptics said the Office for Budget Responsibility had presented 'an utter doom and gloom scenario.' By Charlie Cooper. 11/24/16, 2:09 PM CET. Updated 11/24/16, 2:16 PM CET. LONDON – Theresa May and Philip Hammond hit back Monday at ...
  UK's Hammond may need to use up all his fiscal "headroom"Business World (press release) (blog)
  Brexit fallout to cost UK extra £122bn over five yearsFinancial Express
  
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• Here’s how to achieve growth that lasts

  24-11-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Listen to your customers, build an effective team and only take investment if you need it, advised our panel of expertsDuring our recent live Q&A, the panel agreed that being obsessed by delivering the best customer experience was a sure-fire way to ensure the survival and growth of your business. To do this, Virginie Charles-Dear, founder of toucanBox said it was necessary to truly understand your audience. “What do they want?” she said. “Where do they shop? Why are they u
  
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• IFS warns of biggest squeeze on pay for 70 years over Brexit

  24-11-2016 14:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Respected thinktank says UK’s withdrawal from EU will stoke inflation and peg back wages to below their 2008 level in 2021Workers in Britain face the longest squeeze on their pay for 70 years as Brexit knocks wage growth and stokes inflation, a leading thinktank has said.Picking over Philip Hammond’s first autumn statement, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that by 2021, real wages in the UK – pay adjusted for inflation – will still not have recovered to their 2008 le
  
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• The obesity epidemic is an economic issue

  24-11-2016 14:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Free-market forces have helped create a health crisis – and governments must take action to stop subsidising junk foodIt is estimated that today’s obesity epidemic costs the global economy about $2tn (£1.6tn) or some 3% of GDP. For individuals, deciding what to eat is a jealously guarded privilege, but for economists obesity is not really about people exercising free-market choice. Instead it is a market failure.The causes of the epidemic are complex, spanning the social scienc
  
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• What the autumn statement means for you, plus Black Friday bargains

  24-11-2016 13:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Also, savings protection to go up to £85,000, and a chance to live the high life in a tower homeHello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed. Continue reading...
  
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• UK employers failing to keep pace and support workforce through financial ... - Onrec

  24-11-2016 13:04
  UK employers failing to keep pace and support workforce through financial ...
  Onrec
  Despite 65% of employees citing financial wellness in the workplace as important to them, only 7% of employers are providing any sort of retirement planning support. Thomsons Online Benefits in its Future of Financial Wellness report found that UK ...
  
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• A guide to the Guardian's full autumn statement coverage

  24-11-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Full details, analysis and comment on Philip Hammond’s first major fiscal speech since the UK vote to leave the EUThe autumn statement a glance: 26 key points
  Our full guide, with political analysis Continue reading...
  
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• Consumer credit sees fastest growth in 10 years

  24-11-2016 12:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Personal loans and overdrafts fuelled increase in consumer borrowing in October, data from lenders revealsBorrowing on credit cards and loans grew at its fastest rate in almost a decade in October, according to figures from Britain’s high street banks, as lenders competed to offer the best deals.The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said consumer credit was up by 7% year on year, the fast annual rate of growth since November 2006. In total, net unsecured borrowing increased by &poun
  
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• The UK rise in Neets: those not in education, employment or training

  24-11-2016 12:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Increase to 11.9% of people aged 16-24 follows years of decline and fans fears that Brexit uncertainty will weaken jobs marketThere has been a rise in the number of young people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training, known as Neets.Official figures show an increase in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds classed as economically inactive over July to September, lifting the number of Neets to 857,000. That was an increase of 14,000 from the previous three months and up 3,000 from
  
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• Countrywide warns over profits amid housing slowdown

  24-11-2016 09:56
  
  Estate agency says stamp duty changes and uncertainty after Brexit vote are leading to fewer sales, particularly in LondonUK estate agent Countrywide said changes to stamp duty and uncertainty following the Brexit vote meant transactions were significantly lower than last year and were likely to fall further in 2017.Shares plunged another 14% after the company warned in a trading update for the third quarter that profits in the full year would be at the lower end of market expectations. Continue
  
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• Chancellor's looser finance targets highlight weaker UK economy

  24-11-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  City analysts say Philip Hammond’s measures are sensible as Britain faces challenging years of Brexit negotiationsThere was a veneer of discipline in the chancellor’s handling of the UK’s public finances, after he ditched his predecessor’s strict target of balancing the budget in 2020 with three looser targets to be met in the next parliament.Philip Hammond opted to set a cap on welfare spending, but only applied the new rule from the 2021/22 financial year. He also said
  
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• Toy inventor: my family suffered fuel poverty but my persistence paid off

  24-11-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Assim Ishaque was inspired by his children to create a new craft toy – but 400 prototypes later, he was running out of money
  It was the autumn half-term holidays and my children were playing with their favourite craft bead toys. They made lovely designs out of pixel art beads, but the constructions were fragile and fiddly and would often fall apart before they could be ironed together.It was frustrating, and got me thinking. I came up with an idea I was excited about, and made a few protot
  
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• The 10 lies ​about Black Friday's consumerist circle of hell

  24-11-2016 08:00
  
  As we approach the Christmas shopping season finale, what can neo-Marxist analysis teach us?Ladies and gentlemen, we have started our descent. From now until closing time on Christmas Eve, we are destined to fall towards an existential abyss. Some of us are fated to experience an unpleasant altercation with another shopper on Black Friday over the last discounted PS4 in a warehouse on the North Circular. Others will be on our knees in Hamleys begging the assistant to check again in the storeroom
  
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• Mortgage costs and tax are complicating our move

  24-11-2016 08:00
  
  My partner’s CGT liabilities from selling his rented property plus divorce-related debt may leave us little for a new place – have I got the numbers right?
  Q I am writing in utter despair and I am hoping you can help. My partner owns a house that he has always rented out. He now needs to sell this property so we can buy our first house together as we are currently renting. He also needs to clear a debt of £50,000 from a messy divorce. My partner bought his rental property in 19
  
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• Housing gets £4bn boost to increase number of new homes

  24-11-2016 08:00
  
  Government aims to build 40,000 additional affordable homes by 2021 – but OBR says it expects 13,000 fewer homes to be built over next five yearsThe chancellor committed almost £4bn to housing in Wednesday’s autumn statement, in a move he said represented a step-change in the government’s ambition to increase the supply of homes for sale and rent.The money, which the Treasury said was new cash, will be spent through two funds: one providing money for infrastructure projec
  
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• Newlyweds discover that flying easyJet is no honeymoon

  24-11-2016 07:59
  
  Our trip of a lifetime was marred by airline’s ‘overbooking policy’ nightmareMy husband and I are a young newlywed couple from Australia. Our honeymoon was a tour of Europe. It was the adventure of a lifetime, marred by one nightmare – our first experience of flying easyJet. We arrived early for our flight from London to Annecy, but at the boarding gate three of us were told easyJet had overbooked the plane and two would have to stay behind.Continue reading...
  
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• Last of big spenders: UK Black Friday to be final hurrah before prices rise

  24-11-2016 07:00
  
  This year’s shopping sales extravaganza is likely to have a feel of going, going, gone, with many items set to get more expensiveAs the clock ticks down to Black Friday, aggressive promotions on everything from 4K TVs to tablet computers and winter coats could be the last hurrah for shoppers before price hikes in 2017.After bargain-hunting consumers went on the rampage on Black Friday in 2014, fighting in the aisles for cut-price widescreen televisions, last year it was a much tamer affair
  
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• Child labour is part of most of what we buy today: what can we do?

  24-11-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  More than one in five children in Africa are employed against their will in quarries, farms and mines. But others work under fairer termsChild labour is not something any business wants in its supply chain. Yet with an estimated 168 million children in some form of labour globally, 98 million of them working in agriculture and 12 million in manufacturing and industry, it is an uncomfortable reality of globalised commodities that businesses cannot afford to avoid.The US Department of Labor’
  
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