Financial news

• Sadiq Khan takes Transport for London into new business territory

  08-12-2016 23:41
  
  The London mayor insists he can honour his election pledges by making his transport agency operate more efficientlyRows about the finances of Transport for London (TfL) were prominent during this year’s election campaign and also a bit odd. For years, Conservatives had claimed that the large and powerful mayoral agency is a bloated bureaucracy in need of ruthless trimming, yet there was the Tory candidate – a Mr Goldsmith, you might recall - insisting that it could not cope with its
  
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• Andrew Puzder criticized as 'cruel and baffling' choice for labor secretary

  08-12-2016 22:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Labor unions, politicians and restaurant workers said fast food CEO’s ‘anti-worker extremism’ will harm ongoing fight for fair wages and acceptable conditionsLabor unions and law enforcement officials have condemned President-elect Donald Trump’s “cruel and baffling” nomination of fast food executive Andrew Puzder for labor secretary on Thursday. “Trump has once again shown how out-of-touch he is with what working Americans need,” said Service Empl
  
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• Final salary pension schemes pivot to overseas stock markets

  08-12-2016 20:46
  
  Pension Protection Fund finds funds are shifting from UK stocks to foreign shares and government bonds to reduce riskBritain’s final salary pension funds have slashed their ownership of stock-market listed companies to just 7% of their total holdings following a huge shift in recent years to overseas stock markets and government bonds.The move away from owning UK stocks emphasises how dependent Britain’s estimated 13.5 million past and present final salary scheme members have become
  
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• Capita capitalises on robots before new chair Powell powers in | Nils Pratley

  08-12-2016 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Since PwC boss’s appointment was announced, Capita has blown its status as the star turn of the outsourcing sectorThe march of the robots has begun. After it has axed a couple of thousand jobs, including by outsourcing posts to India (groan), Capita wants to ramp up “a proprietary robotic solution to achieve scale automation across some of our operations”. Let’s hope chief executive Andy Parker uses plainer language, rather than management blurb, when he explains to affec
  
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• A challenge to Facebook’s reach and power is long overdue | John Harris

  08-12-2016 20:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Mark Zuckerberg’s company feeds utopian delusions, but in reality it is just a billionaire’s media outlet grinding out a fortune“As I look around and I travel around the world, I’m starting to see people and nations turning inward, against this idea of a connected world and a global community. I hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others.” Related: How Facebook powers money machines for obscure political 'news' sitesCon
  
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• Capita to replace staff with robots to save money

  08-12-2016 20:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Outsourcing giant to axe 2,000 jobs and use ‘proprietary robotic solutions’ after clients cut spending following Brexit voteA British outsourcing company whose contracts include collecting the BBC licence fee is to replace staff with robots as it slashes costs.
  Capita, a FTSE 100-listed firm that also runs the London congestion charge, said it needed to axe 2,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive in response to poor trading. Continue reading...
  
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• UK food prices will rise without EU workers, say trade groups

  08-12-2016 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Food and drink industry flags up labour shortages as EU workers leave after Brexit vote or stay away due to fall in poundFood prices will rise unless the government ensures EU citizens can work in the UK after Brexit, according to industry groups representing the major supermarkets and food manufacturers, including the owner of Marmite. Related: EU workers in food and drink industry need assurance over Brexit | LettersContinue reading...
  
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• National Grid sells majority stake in gas division in £13.8bn deal

  08-12-2016 19:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Union hits out at sale to overseas consortium involving Australian bank Macquarie plus Chinese and Qatari state investorsNational Grid has agreed to sell a majority stake in its gas pipe network to a group of investors including Chinese and Qatari sovereign wealth funds in a deal valuing the business at about £13.8bn.
  The UK’s power network operator said it would sell a 61% shareholding in the gas division to a consortium led by Macquarie, an Australian investment bank. The deal is a
  
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• EU workers in food and drink industry need assurance over Brexit | Letters

  08-12-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Nearly 4 million people are employed in growing, harvesting, producing, packaging, selling and serving our food and drink.In light of the vote for Brexit, the importance of food and drink to our nation’s economic and physical wellbeing should be recognised and its future secured. In recent years, Britain has enjoyed access to a wider range of safe, high-quality food and drink, at every price point, than ever before. At a time when household incomes are under increasing pressure, shop price
  
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• Live chat: how to be a good boss – as it happened

  08-12-2016 15:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Join us on this page from 1.30-2.30pm on Thursday 8 December to talk to our expert panel about what makes a good leader and manager in a small business 3.00pm GMTInvesting in management training, regular communication with your team and being clear about what you expect from staff were among the panel’s closing tips. Thanks to everyone who joined us for our live chat on how to be a good boss. Scroll down to read some of the highlights (in the blog) or the full chat (in the comments section
  
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• Heard the latest Christmas story? It’s about how UK banks pay all their taxes | Prem Sikka

  08-12-2016 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Major financial institutions are involved in routine tax avoidance. But a report by the City of London Corporation and PwC raises more questions than it answersA new report ostensibly lauding the tax contribution of UK banks and insurance companies should provide no festive reassurance. Issued by the City of London Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) it claims that, against all the odds, the financial sector is making a heroic contribution to the UK public purse. Gosh, only if that were
  
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• 'Uncertainty prevails everywhere' ECB chief pulls trigger on cash bazooka to save Europe

  08-12-2016 13:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE European Central Bank is to inject billions of extra euros into the bloc's struggling economy in another desperate attempt to boost growth amid political chaos in Italy, it was announced today.
  
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• Is it worth divorcing to reduce our stamp duty bill?

  08-12-2016 12:53
  
  Also, the stress of being a freelancer worker, and our Consumer Champions tackle your vexing problems
  Hello 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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• Loneliness, affordability and green spaces: the challenge of building liveable cities

  08-12-2016 12:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Cities fail their people when it comes to air quality, green spaces, crime ... the list goes on. But could they be re-engineered to make our lives better? With over half the world’s population now living in cities, and two billion more people due to join them by 2035, urban “liveability” has become a pressing concern.What can be done to make city living safer, healthier and less alienating? How can design tackle rising urban inequality and promote social integration? And what,
  
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• No Bregrets: Sunderland after the vote to leave the European Union – video

  08-12-2016 12:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Sunderland’s surprise vote for Brexit was seen by remain supporters as turkeys voting for Christmas. But now that Nissan, the car maker that employs 7,000 people directly and a further 40,000 in the supply chain, has announced that it is staying in its Sunderland plant, Helen Pidd speaks to north-east voters and asks how they feel now about leaving the European Union
  MPs visit Sunderland to ask what city wants from Brexit negotiations Continue reading...
  
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• Financial Sector Makes Record Contribution To UK Exchequer - DailyForex.com

  08-12-2016 11:53
  Financial Sector Makes Record Contribution To UK Exchequer
  DailyForex.com
  The death of UK heavy industry was presided over by Mrs Thatcher in the late 1970s and early 80s. Mining, shipbuilding, mass manufacture of cars and steelmaking were all blue-collar preserves and therefore workers in these industries were largely ...
  
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• Brexit raid: Gloating French financial chief admits attempting to lure banks to Paris - Express.co.uk

  08-12-2016 10:30
  
  Express.co.uk
  Brexit raid: Gloating French financial chief admits attempting to lure banks to Paris
  Express.co.uk
  LONDON'S "dangerous challenge" to overcome financial uncertainties following Brexit could soon to get harder with many of Europe's financial centres plotting to tempt Britain's banks to the Continent. By Joe Barnes. PUBLISHED: 08:45, Thu, Dec 8, 2016 ...
  French financial regulator in advanced talks to lure UK banksMoney Marketingalle 20 nieuwsartikelen »
  
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• India-UK experts discuss reforms for ease of doing business - The ... - Financial Express

  08-12-2016 10:10
  
  Financial Express
  India-UK experts discuss reforms for ease of doing business - The ...
  Financial Express
  Experts from India and the UK are discussing issues related to ease of doing business including regulatory and inspection reforms, tax administration, trade ...en meer »
  
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• Sports Direct chairman criticises 'extreme campaign' as profits fall 57%

  08-12-2016 09:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Founder Mike Ashley says past six months have been ‘tough’ – but retailer spends £40m on corporate jetThe chairman of Sports Direct has criticised MPs, trades unions and the media for waging a campaign against the business as the retailer reported a 57% drop in first-half profits.The sports retailer, reeling from a year-long scandal over working practices, said underlying profit before tax slumped to £71.6m from £166.4m in the six months to 23 October.Continue
  
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• Work should be a route to a better life, but people need to be paid properly | Stefan Stern

  08-12-2016 09:00
  
  Millions of UK workers are living in poverty due to high housing costs, cuts to working-age benefits and persistently low wages. As a society, we could, and should, do betterLabour isn’t working. That is to say: working for a living is not providing a living, at least not for the 7.4 million people, which includes 2.6 million children, who are living in poverty despite being in working households.And yet how can this be? Hasn’t there been a “jobs miracle” in this country?
  
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• Commercial disputes cost small firms £11.6bn a year, survey finds

  08-12-2016 08:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Nearly three quarters of disputes are down to late or non-payment, says research from the Federation of Small BusinessesCommercial disputes cost small businesses in England and Wales £11.6bn a year, according to a new report.In a survey of its members, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 70% had faced at least one dispute between 2010 and 2015. Almost three quarters of these were a result of late or non-payment, says the report, which was released on Thursday.Continue readi
  
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• City News: Joules, HSBC, Stagecoach, Carilllion

  08-12-2016 08:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  PREMIUM clothing and accessories retailer Joules stepped up sales after American demand for its colourful wellies and outerwear.
  
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• No office politics: the rise of the co-working Christmas party

  08-12-2016 08:15 via theguardian.com
  
  For firms sharing workspace a joint festive do can be more fun than a traditional work bash, with its awkward chats and tensionTo many, the office Christmas party is something to survive – an evening of uncomfortable social interactions, followed by a hangover and an overwhelming sense of bitter regret. But it seems that small business owners and freelancers with no obligation to a larger company are actively seeking them out, with festive dos planned in co-working spaces across the countr
  
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• Number’s up with Nationwide as it blocks all my accounts

  08-12-2016 08:00
  
  The Post Office keeps on returning my bank statements because my house doesn’t have a numberI have several accounts with the Nationwide, and for the second time in six months it has blocked access to all of them because my bank statement was returned by the Post Office.I live in a village where all the houses have names, and it’s quite common for delivery drivers or new postmen to fail to find houses. It would appear this postman merely returned the letter to sender, even though the
  
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• 'I felt vulnerable': freelancers on the stress of self-employment

  08-12-2016 08:00
  
  Managing your hours sounds good but achieving work-life balance amid insecurity takes time and effort, say casual workersThere have never before been so many self-employed workers in the UK. There are now almost 4.8 million people working for themselves across the country, in a spectrum of jobs ranging from cycle couriers to architects, according to the Office for National Statistics.It might seem that, as your own boss, you can manage your own hours, take time out for exercise, meet friends for
  
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• Can we divorce to avoid the higher stamp duty on second homes?

  08-12-2016 08:00
  
  I own a property but my husband does not, so if we got a divorce and he bought the property we think we could save thousandsQ I was wondering if, under the new stamp duty laws for second properties, it would be worthwhile considering a divorce before purchasing? My husband does not own any property and we are considered purchasing a home together. I do, however, own property and intend to rent out our current home (which is solely in my name) when we move. Under the new laws, we would have to pa
  
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• Unilever, P&G and Kraft Heinz criticised for recycling label failures

  08-12-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies say the task has been made difficult by differences in recycling rules in different parts of the UK and EuropeThree of the world’s biggest consumer goods brands, Unilever, P&G and Kraft Heinz, have been criticised by recycling campaigners after failing to use a recycling label on all their products.An estimated 2.26m tonnes of plastic packaging is produced every year in the UK, of which three-fifths (61%) ends up being dumped. Plastic bottles are one of the worst culprits, wi
  
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• Killorglin-based financial services group Fexco expands in UK despite Brexit - Irish Examiner

  08-12-2016 02:16
  
  Irish Examiner
  Killorglin-based financial services group Fexco expands in UK despite Brexit
  Irish Examiner
  Killorglin-based financial services group Fexco has expressed confidence in weathering the Brexit storm as it continues to grow its UK operations. Speaking yesterday, on the back of the Kerry-headquartered group's second British acquisition this year, ...en meer »
  
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• Warning over workers having an ‘ostrich mentality’ when it comes to saving for retirement

  08-12-2016 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MILLIONS of workers have an ‘ostrich mentality’ when it comes to saving for their old age, one of the UK’s oldest building societies has warned.
  
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• Stressed Christmas shoppers tell stores to 'treat them right'

  08-12-2016 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STORES could do more to make Christmas shopping a joy not a sweat and their efforts will be repaid, say new findings from Barclaycard.
  
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