Financial news

• Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will resign from position for second time

  01-12-2016 23:55 via theguardian.com
  
  The billionaire, who stepped down in 2000 before returning during 2008 financial crisis, said he will focus on tech and ‘social impact agenda’ in new roleHoward Schultz will step down as Starbucks chief executive – again. In April, the company said on Thursday, Schultz will become “executive chairman”, and the Kevin Johnson, chief operating officer, will step up to replace him.Continue reading...
  
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• The moral challenge of military robots arises when we delegate fighting wars

  01-12-2016 23:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Using drones or autonomous soldiers in modern warfare may avoid some of the awfulness but does it forfeit any ethical defence for fighting in the first place? Long before undergoing any proper study of war, I remember believing I had the problem sorted. In primary school, I remember remarking to friends that we could spare the lives of so many soldiers and civilians if leaders could simply agree what was being contested and have a chess match to determine the victor. The loser, I proposed, would
  
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• Eager 89-year-old seeks job: cafe snaps him up

  01-12-2016 20:36
  
  Widowed Devon resident Joe Bartley ‘dying of boredom’ now bowled over as local ad brings work offersAn 89-year-old has found a job after placing an advert in his local paper asking for part-time work to stop him “dying of boredom”. Joe Bartley, from Paignton, south Devon, is due to start work at a cafe in the town after the owners of the family-run business spotted his request.“No matter what your age or your background, you deserve a chance,” said Cantina Bar
  
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• ASOS accused of underpaying new warehouse staff

  01-12-2016 20:29
  
  Online fashion retailer allegedly breached employment law by restricting new temporary workers’ pay for three months longer than regulations permitThe online fashion retailer ASOS has been accused of breaching “the spirit if not the letter” of employment law designed to prevent the exploitation of low-paid temporary workers.Contract documents obtained by the Guardian show new starting temporary ASOS warehouse workers have been receiving lower wages than colleagues for three mon
  
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• Southern rail operator launches legal action in attempt to stop strike

  01-12-2016 20:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Govia Thameslink issues proceedings at high court seeking injunction to stop drivers’ strikes this month and in new yearThe operator of Southern rail has launched legal action in an attempt to stop industrial action by the drivers of its trains. Aslef, the drivers union, this week announced three days of strikes later this month as well a week-long walkout in the new year.Action by the drivers could cripple services on Britain’s biggest commuter rail franchise, which has been disrupt
  
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• Ryanair launches package holiday service

  01-12-2016 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Airline starts to bundle flights, car hire and hotel rooms with Atol protection in latest move towards becoming broader leisure businessRyanair has moved into direct competition with tour operators by selling bonded package holidays alongside its flights.The Irish airline claimed it would “transform the market” as it launched Ryanair Holidays online, claiming to undercut competitors by offering rooms at 330,000 hotels across Europe with the cheapest flight seats. However, the move co
  
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• Fallout from Italy's referendum will be both financial and political

  01-12-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  If the Italian PM loses the vote and quits, it would make it harder to fix a banking crisis that should have been tackled decades agoThe eurozone crisis never went away; it was just overlooked in the Brexit upheaval. But you can rely on Italy to trigger thoughts of catastrophe and, sure enough, the arrival of this weekend’s referendum on constitutional reform has spooked markets. The yield on 10-year Italian debt has doubled from 1% to 2% since August, outpacing the rise in yields on most
  
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• Chanel threatens to close perfumery over high-speed rail plans

  01-12-2016 19:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Company claims TGV line will threaten the flowers used to make its classic Chanel No 5 fragrance in Grasse, FranceChanel has threatened to close its perfumery in the French city of Grasse over plans for a high-speed rail line, which it claims threatens the flowers used to make its best-known fragrance, Chanel No 5. Related: A sweeter choice: synthetic perfumes, while unpopular, are better for the planetContinue reading...
  
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• Opec deal pushes oil price up to $54 a barrel

  01-12-2016 19:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Markets welcome cartel deal to cut production but motorists told price rise will filter through quickly to the petrol pumps Oil prices have reached their highest level in a year amid hopes in financial markets that the Opec cartel will make a deal to curb crude production stick.The cost of a barrel of Brent crude rose by more than $2 to just over $54 a barrel as the rally that greeted news of an agreement reached by producing nations in Vienna extended into a second day. Continue reading...
  
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• Hull's Siemens factory produces first batch of wind turbine blades

  01-12-2016 19:27 via theguardian.com
  
  New £310m plant hailed as positive ‘perfect storm’ for port area with one of Britain’s highest unemployment ratesA new £310m factory in Hull that makes wind turbine blades has been hailed by ministers as proof that manufacturing has a “glittering” future in the UK.
  The first batch of 75-metre blades have emerged from the plant, part of a vast “green port” built by Siemens and partners at docks that used to export Yorkshire coal.Continue readi
  
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• Toxic Trumpism may have one formidable foe: corporate America | Bakari T Sellers

  01-12-2016 19:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies that don’t want to be aligned with the hatred that fueled Donald Trump’s campaign are spurning associations with himDonald Trump may have been democratically elected president, but there are plenty of people who find this appalling. That nearly 73 million American voters rejected the xenophobia, racism, sexism and hatred that fueled Trump’s campaign could be an opportunity – for corporate America.Related: Kellogg pulls ads from Breitbart News: site isn't 'aligne
  
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• Dollar Financial UK Ltd v HMRC: When Must Financial Intermediary Charge VAT? - The National Law Review

  01-12-2016 19:04
  
  Dollar Financial UK Ltd v HMRC: When Must Financial Intermediary Charge VAT?
  The National Law Review
  The decision in Dollar Financial UK Ltd v. HMRC [2016] UKFTT 598 will likely be of interest to a range of participants in the lending market, and the financial services sector more generally, because it confirmed a number of helpful principles in terms ...
  
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• Oil price hits one-year high, as 'soft Brexit' hopes boost sterling – as it happened

  01-12-2016 18:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Opec’s production cap deal sends Brent crude surging over $53 per barrel, while the pound has hit a two-month high ‘Gamechanger’ Opec cut drives prices higherPetrol prices to rise, warn expertsSterling at two-month high against the euroPound jumps on single market access hopesAnalysts: Will deal really stick? 5.46pm GMTRight, that’s all for today. A quick recap.December has got off to a lively start in the financial markets, with big moves in the commodity and foreign exc
  
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• MP asks spending watchdog to investigate Nissan Brexit deal

  01-12-2016 17:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Andrew Tyrie, who chairs Treasury select committee, asks NAO to inquire into any government assurances made to carmakerWhitehall’s spending watchdog could investigate the deal to keep Nissan making cars in north-east England, following a demand from the chair of an influential parliamentary committee. Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury select committee, has written to the National Audit Office (NAO) asking for an inquiry into any assurances offered by the government to the Japanese car gi
  
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• Daily Mail group refuses to rule out sale of newspaper titles

  01-12-2016 17:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Admission by DMGT chief Paul Zwillenberg follows news of a 23% fall in profits and a double-digit slide in print ad revenueThe new chief executive of the Daily Mail & General Trust, the parent of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, has refused to rule out a potential sale of the newspaper, saying there are “no sacred cows” in his strategic review of the business.Paul Zwillenberg, the Boston Consulting Group senior executive who took over at DMGT in June, said that if the right price
  
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• Stiff penalties to be imposed over financial sanctions breaches ... - Belfast Telegraph

  01-12-2016 16:31
  
  Belfast Telegraph
  Stiff penalties to be imposed over financial sanctions breaches ...
  Belfast Telegraph
  Multimillion pound fines are set to be imposed on those who commit serious breaches of financial sanctions under tough new Government powers.en meer »
  
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• ENERGY SUPPLIER WARNING: Fears dozens of firms could go BUST amid perfect winter storm

  01-12-2016 16:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A PERFECT storm of plunging temperatures and soaring wholesale prices has left up to 30 small energy firms in a vulnerable position, experts have warned.
  
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• Foreign aid is failing fast – but it's not too late to fix

  01-12-2016 15:41 via theguardian.com
  
  At a time when we need it more than ever, aid is being cut and NGOs’ ability to operate freely is under threatThis is a time of seismic global shifts. I am as anxious as any parent about her child’s future. I’m worried about the sudden shakiness of the systems that we trust to resolve disputes peaceably and to uphold universal human rights.But I believe fiercely that nothing good is ever beyond us if we work together as citizens. I think we’re now at a point on the road w
  
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• Irish central bank receiving applications from range of UK financial firms - Reuters UK

  01-12-2016 15:32
  
  Reuters UK
  Irish central bank receiving applications from range of UK financial firms
  Reuters UK
  A sign is displayed outside the Central Bank of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland, July 25, 2016. Picture taken July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne. DUBLIN Ireland's central bank is receiving applications for licences from a wide range of UK-authorised ...
  UK NewsUK financial groups 'already applying for Irish passporting rights'Financial Times
  UK financial firms intensify search for property in D
  
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• Big food faces annihilation unless it moves with millennials on health

  01-12-2016 15:29 via theguardian.com
  
  The food industry in the US and around the world is scrambling to adapt to a younger generation’s appetite for fresher, healthier foodsA college student in the 1980s may have been content living off instant noodles for dinner. Nowadays, a twentysomething is as likely to pick up a piece of wild salmon with quinoa and a fresh rocket salad from their local grocery store on any given night.
  It’s a shift that’s having ripple effects throughout the food industry as manufacturers and
  
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• Ofcom to investigate rising landline prices amid concern for elderly

  01-12-2016 15:28
  
  Providers have raised line-rental charges even as costs come down, with customers who rely on landlines hit hardest The media regulator is to investigate why telephone landline prices have risen so fast amid concerns that the elderly and vulnerable are being adversely affected by price hikes.All major landline providers had increased line-rental charges by between 28% and 41% in recent years, in spite of the wholesale cost of providing those landlines falling by 25%, said Ofcom. Continue reading
  
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• UK financial groups 'already applying for Irish passporting rights' - Financial Times

  01-12-2016 15:25
  Sunday World
  UK financial groups 'already applying for Irish passporting rights'
  Financial Times
  Several UK-based financial services groups have begun application processes with Irish regulatory authorities in expectation of losing EU passporting rights ...
  UK financial firms intensify search for property in DublinSunday World
  Irish central bank receiving applications from range of UK financial firmsReuters
  Ireland's c-bank ready to accept UK-regulated financial companies ...SMN Weekly (bl
  
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• Nestlé says it can slash sugar in chocolate without changing taste

  01-12-2016 14:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Swiss company, whose products include Aeros and Yorkies, says its scientists have discovered how to ‘structure sugar differently’Nestlé says it has found a way of slashing the amount of sugar in some of its chocolate bars by 40%, without compromising the taste.The Swiss food company, whose products include Kit Kats, Aeros and Yorkies, said it has achieved the reduction by discovering a way “to structure sugar differently”. The new process is said to make sugar diss
  
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• Pound jumps to 12-week high against euro amid hopes Britain will STAY in single market

  01-12-2016 14:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound has jumped to the highest level since September against the euro and a three-week high against the dollar, amid rising expectations Britain could remain in the single market after Brexit.
  
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• RBS’s past sins are still shaping the bank’s future | Jill Treanor

  01-12-2016 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Calls to turn the bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland into a network of local lenders are bound to intensify now that it has failed its annual health checkEight years after the banking crisis, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has failed its annual health check. If this were a medical before getting life insurance, it would be like a doctor telling the patient to get fit; it is not notice of sudden death. Related: RBS fails Bank of England stress testContinue reading...
  
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• Christmas card maker Schoolcardshop stops trading

  01-12-2016 13:38
  
  Firm that helped schools sell gifts featuring pupils’ artwork says Edinburgh parent company Dynamic Colour is in liquidationA firm that sells Christmas cards based on pupils’ artwork to raise funds for schools has gone out of business in the busiest period of the year. Schoolcardshop sold personalised cards and gifts through schools to pupils’ families and others. A message on its website said its Edinburgh-based parent company, Dynamic Colour, was no longer trading.Continue re
  
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• Petrol prices to rise, plus government to act on ground rent abuse

  01-12-2016 13:06
  
  Also, ‘simpler’ train fares planned; an innocent man handcuffed in Waitrose; and what next for GB energy customersHello 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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• British house prices forecast to grow everywhere in 2017 - except THIS one area

  01-12-2016 12:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HOUSE prices are set to rise across Britain next year, with the exception of one major city where values are on course for a fall, according to forecasts by estate agent Knight Frank.
  
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• Airbnb introduces 90-day annual limit for London hosts

  01-12-2016 12:12
  
  Accommodation website bans hosts in UK capital from renting out entire home beyond time limit without consent from councilA quarter of London homes listed on Airbnb were rented for more than 90 days last year, many illegally and in breach of an act intended to stop landlords turning badly needed housing into unofficial hotels. The booming homesharing website admitted on Thursday that 4,938 of its “entire home” London listings – 23% of the total – were let out for for thre
  
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• Revealed: Coutts managed tax haven firms for controversial clients

  01-12-2016 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Queen’s bank’ provided offshore services to Brunei prince accused of stealing from his own country, Panama Papers showCoutts, the taxpayer-owned bank, provided offshore services to controversial clients including a member of the Brunei royal family accused of stealing billions from his own country, and a banker charged with assisting the sons of Egypt’s deposed president, Hosni Mubarak, in financial crime.Known as the Queen’s bank after its most famous customer, Co
  
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• British Gas to freeze standard prices this winter

  01-12-2016 11:58
  
  UK’s biggest energy firm follows SSE in keeping prices on hold – but only for its most expensive tariffsBritish Gas has become the second leading energy supplier to freeze its standard prices this winter. The company, the UK’s biggest energy firm, said the move would bring some peace of mind to more than 6 million customers. But consumer organisations said energy companies needed to do more than just freeze prices and warned that price rises of up to 10% were likely after the e
  
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• Italy referendum Q&A: the big economic questions answered

  01-12-2016 11:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Italians vote on Sunday in a referendum that could seal Matteo Renzi’s fate as PM. We look at why the markets are worriedItalians are voting in a referendum on 4 December that is causing concern across Europe after the UK’s vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory. The vote could lead to the resignation of Matteo Renzi, the prime minister. However, the fallout from a no vote on Sunday could be economic and financial as well as political. Continue
  
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• PETROL WARNING: Prices to soar at pumps this winter to TWO-YEAR HIGH, drivers told

  01-12-2016 11:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  DRIVERS have been warned petrol is set to soar to two-year highs this winter after a surge in oil prices.
  
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• UK petrol prices set to rise after Opec deal

  01-12-2016 09:35
  
  Surge in oil price could add up to £5 to cost of filling up a family car and push up household energy billsPetrol prices in Britain are set to rise after the Saudi-led Opec cartel agreed its first production cut in eight years, sending the price of oil surging. This could push up petrol prices by as much as 9p a litre, adding almost £5 to the cost of filling up an average family car, according to motoring organisations. Higher oil prices could also push up household energy bills as w
  
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• House price growth lowest for 10 months, says Nationwide

  01-12-2016 08:55
  
  Building society predicts low interest rates and lack of homes on market will keep values rising in short termAnnual house price growth has slowed to the lowest rate in 10 months, according to an index.
  Property values increased by 4.4% year on year in November, the weakest annual growth since January when there was also a 4.4% increase, figures from Nationwide Building Society showed. Continue reading...
  
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• Gift guide: what to buy the entrepreneur in your life for Christmas

  01-12-2016 08:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Whether it is your significant other, friend or boss, we’ve got a present appropriate for your budget Continue reading...
  
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• Dry bars offer redemption in the Christmas party season

  01-12-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A Victorian tradition is making a comeback with students and teetotalers boosting social enterprises across the UK“We have a strange relationship with alcohol in the UK. We feel guilty about how much we drink, but we hate anyone telling us we should drink less,” says Catherine Salway, co-founder of Redemption. Her business is a bar-restaurant with a difference: it doesn’t serve booze. As we embark on the festive season, dry bars could offer respite at a time when large amounts
  
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• Christmas ads deliver few real gifts for retailers, poll suggests

  01-12-2016 08:00
  
  Consumers say multimillion-pound campaigns by stores such as John Lewis do little to influence their shoppingChristmas TV advertising campaigns have little if any impact on where the vast majority of consumers do their shopping, according to a new poll.A survey of 11,500 consumers by shopping comparison website MoneySavingExpert.com revealed that just 1% said the adverts had a “big impact” on where they did their Christmas shopping, while 2% said it had “an impact”. One i
  
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• At 20, am I too young to invest in buy-to-let property?

  01-12-2016 08:00
  
  I’m not sure whether lenders will allow me a buy-to-let mortgage as a first-time buyer and a student Q I’ve recently turned 20 years old and I’ve taken a year out from my degree course to get some industry experience, and I’ve also been saving up. I haven’t got enough to invest in an amazing property, but I do think my savings will go some way in helping me get my foot on the ladder.I’ve always wanted to get into property development as something which I would
  
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• Co-op's Christmas ad shows charity benefits of membership

  01-12-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  TV advertising campaign featuring real people highlights community groups supported by retailer’s loyalty schemeThe Co-operative Group’s Christmas TV advertisement is featuring people involved with the local community groups that have benefited from its revamped membership scheme.The Manchester-based mutual, which now focuses on groceries and funeral homes with some remaining financial services operations, said it wanted to show how shoppers buying its award-winning champagne, smoked
  
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• CBI warns May that immigration shakeup could harm economy

  01-12-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A draconian regime could deprive British firms of vital workers, says CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn as report on regions is unveiledTheresa May must avoid making any new immigration system too bureaucratic or risk harming Britain’s businesses, the CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn has warned.Sources suggest ministers hope to negotiate a Brexit deal that would allow the government to control high- and low-skilled immigration. Continue reading...
  
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• Bank of England in talks with £5 note supplier over use of animal fat

  01-12-2016 01:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Innovia says it is looking into potential solutions after receiving complaints about use of tallow in production of polymer noteThe supplier of the new plastic £5 notes has been forced into a rethink after vegan and vegetarian campaigners complained that animal fat was used during the note’s production process.After coming in for criticism earlier this week over the use of the derivative, known as tallow, in the polymer note, the Bank of England said on Wednesday that it was “a
  
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• Siemens' £310m Hull plant will take windfarm technology to new level

  01-12-2016 01:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Greg Clark welcomes 700-job factory, which will produce hundreds of 75m-long blades a year for a new generation of offshore windfarmsThe first batch of 75-metre-long wind turbine blades will roll out of a new factory in Hull on Thursday, destined for huge windfarms off the UK’s coast.
  The inauguration of the Siemens plant at the city’s Alexandra Dock employs 700 people and was hailed by campaigners as an example of how curbing carbon emissions could create jobs. Continue reading...
  
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• Creator of the Big Mac dies aged 98

  01-12-2016 00:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Jim Delligatti was a McDonald’s franchisee who came up with the idea in 1967 but never received any royaltiesThe creator of the Big Mac, one of the most popular fast foods in the world, has died aged 98. Jim Delligatti was a McDonald’s franchisee who came up with the idea in 1967 because he said customers wanted a bigger sandwich.His invention was almost rejected by McDonald’s, which was happy that its traditional meals – a hamburger, fries and a milkshake – were se
  
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