Financial news

• UK’s resilient economy beats post-Bexit expectations

  23-12-2016 19:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE UK economy was enjoying some Christmas cheer after growth was revised up in the third quarter.
  
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• City news: Lapland UK, American Apparel and Barclays

  23-12-2016 18:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  REVENUES at Lapland UK have soared this year as the company attracts an increasing number of parents looking to rekindle the magic of Christmas for their children.
  
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• BREXIT BONANZA: Confidence in British businesses SOARS after Brussels referendum

  23-12-2016 18:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  CONFIDENCE in British business has hit its highest level since March, indicating any jitters after the Brexit vote were largely unfounded.
  
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• The restaurateur on a mission to save Britain's curry houses

  23-12-2016 18:37
  
  Enam Ali explains why so many people in his industry supported Brexit – and why he is launching a curry TV channelEnam Ali breaks off a small shard of poppadom in the dining room of his 94-seat, oak-panelled restaurant, Le Raj, in Epsom. The story behind this curry staple, and many others, has a uniquely British twist.“The poppadom does come from India, but it did not originate for the purpose used in Britain,” says the Bangladeshi-born restaurateur and champion of the UK curry
  
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• Barclays refuses to settle with US DoJ over 'craptacular loans'

  23-12-2016 18:37
  
  Department of Justice accuses bank of using loans from other mortgage lenders as basis of bonds it was sellingBarclays is refusing to settle with the US Department of Justice over allegations it deliberately sold mortgage bonds to investors that it knew contained “craptacular loans”.The DoJ’s legal filing outlines an array of colourful descriptions of the types of mortgages that it alleges were used by Barclays to package up in bonds – known as residential mortgage bond s
  
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• UK GDP growth better than expected in Brexit vote aftermath

  23-12-2016 18:35
  
  ONS figures strengthen argument that Treasury and others miscalculated economic impact of vote, but still point to lopsided economyBritain’s economy grew faster than previously thought in the three months after the EU referendum, underlining the miscalculations by the Treasury and other forecasters who predicted that the UK would suffer a recession following a vote for Brexit.Official figures showed GDP growth in the third quarter rose by 0.6%, compared with initial estimates of 0.5%. Cont
  
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• Lockheed-Martin stock takes second hit from Trump's Twitter blitz on F-35 costs

  23-12-2016 18:30
  
  Shares in the defense company neared their lowest level since the election as the president-elect continues to air his gripes about price of the F-35 fighter jet Lockheed-Martin led defense stocks lower on Friday, after President-elect Donald Trump’s latest Twitter salvo over the cost of the company’s F-35 fighter jet, in which he said he had asked rival Boeing to “price-out” an older aircraft as an alternative.Experts questioned the wisdom of Trump’s “impract
  
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• BA owner to launch low-cost flights to US from Barcelona

  23-12-2016 18:29
  
  IAG targets transatlantic budget airline market and considers cheaper routes to Latin America, Caribbean and JapanInternational Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, is to launch low-cost transatlantic flights in a bid to grab a slice of the nascent market for no-frills long-haul air travel.The group said it would start flying from Barcelona’s El Prat airport to the US in June, either under the banner of a new airline, as part of “legacy” carriers BA and Iberia, or via
  
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• Cadbury Roses fans get in a Christmas twist over wrapper changes

  23-12-2016 17:29 via theguardian.com
  
  For some, company’s tinkering with wrapping, weight and even shape of festive favourite has just added to misery of 2016For many sweet-toothed Britons, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a tub of Cadbury Roses chocolates to dip into over the festive period. But fans have expressed horror at the discovery that company has changed the wrappers from sweetie-style twist-wraps to uniform “flow wraps” that have to be torn, rather than twisted, open. Some consumers went as f
  
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• Barclays' defiance of US fines has merit

  23-12-2016 17:03
  
  Chief executive Jes Staley is risking an open legal battle with the Department of Justice, but he has a case Barclays disgraced itself in many ways during the pre-financial crisis boom years. So it is tempting to think the bank, when asked by US Department of Justice to pay a large bill for polluting the financial system with mortgage junk between 2005 and 2007, should cough up, apologise and learn some humility.That is not the view of the chief executive, Jes Staley. Barclays thinks the DoJ&rsq
  
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• UK growth following Brexit vote revised up; Deutche and Credit Suisse fined billions – as it happened

  23-12-2016 15:07
  
  Britain’s economy was stronger than initially thought in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum
  Latest: UK Q3 GDP revised up
  But current account deficit has widenedTreasury: Still challenges aheadEarlier:Deutsche and Credit Suisse to pay billions to US
  Italian government approved bank bailout
  Experts say Rome should have acted years ago 2.07pm GMTWith the markets closed, City traders are now scarpering to their homes (or the shops!) to begin the Christmas break. So in that spirit, I&
  
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• Top Gear Live event firm pushed to loss after Clarkson rebrand

  23-12-2016 14:51
  
  Global tour, which rebranded as Clarkson, Hammond and May Live after Clarkson left the BBC, reports £1.7m lossThe company behind Top Gear Live saw losses widen to almost £2m last year, as the popularity of the global motoring show fell after a forced rebrand following the fallout from Jeremy Clarkson’s fracas with a producer on the BBC2 programme.The international tour, which was forced to rebrand as Clarkson, Hammond and May Live and strip all BBC branding following Clarkson&r
  
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• UK's biggest wrapping paper maker: 'It can be Christmas every day'

  23-12-2016 14:13
  
  The Welsh factory that produces crackers for the Queen is thriving thanks to diversifying, exports – and some old jokesWith deft accuracy, a design worker is sticking sparkles on a gift bag in an office festooned with crackers, wrapping paper swatches and shelves loaded with multicoloured glitter. Based near a former colliery in south Wales, a team of 45 designers work on new creations for IG Design Group – the world’s biggest producer of wrapping paper and crackers. The team s
  
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• 'I am happy that you have come to eat my food' – festival celebrates refugee cultures

  23-12-2016 13:46
  
  Restaurateurs in Strasbourg are opening up their kitchens to refugee chefs – and the customers are flooding in too
  Syrian spinach pie, Afghan savoury rice, Tibetan dumplings - just a few of the dishes that customers at six restaurants in Strasbourg tried during this week’s Refugee Food Festival.Across Strasbourg, restaurant owners have thrown open their kitchens and invited chefs who have fled Syria, Afghanistan and Tibet to use their ovens and pots and serve their favourite dishes f
  
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• Co-op recalls chocolate Santas after batteries found in two of them

  23-12-2016 12:51
  
  Supermarket is investigating alleged tampering in two separate locations and urges shoppers not eat the SantasThe Co-op is recalling chocolate Santas after batteries were found inside two of them.
  The retailer said there were two “alleged tampering incidents” involving the hollow milk chocolate figures, which sell for £1. Continue reading...
  
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• American Apparel shuts 12 of its 13 UK stores with loss of 150 jobs

  23-12-2016 12:31
  
  Fashion brand, which has put UK business into administration, says store in Camden, London, will stay open in short termAmerican Apparel has closed all but one of its 13 UK stores with the loss of 150 jobs.The Los Angeles-based fashion brand, known for hotpants and slinky leggings, put its UK business into administration last month just before the troubled parent company agreed a deal to be taken over by Canadian T-shirt maker Gildan Activewear. Continue reading...
  
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• Business as usual for UK economy – but where will it go in 2017?

  23-12-2016 12:30
  
  Revised GDP growth figures show Britain putting in a solid performance – but inflation could lead to a slowdown So far, so good. That sums up the performance of the UK economy in the first three months after the Brexit referendum in June.In normal times, a quarterly growth rate of 0.6% would be wholly unexceptional for Britain and hardly worthy of comment. The economy has tended to expand by about 2.0% to 2.5% a year, so 0.6% over three months is about par for the course. Continue reading.
  
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• Live among ancient oak trees in Dorset – in pictures

  23-12-2016 12:09
  
  Luxury timber pods connect to create a house that brings the outside in Continue reading...
  
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• UK growth following Brexit vote revised up to +0.6% – business live

  23-12-2016 11:37
  
  Britain’s economy was stronger than initially thought in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum
  Latest: UK Q3 GDP revised up
  Earlier:Deutsche and Credit Suisse to pay billions to US
  Italian government approved bank bailout
  Experts say Rome should have acted years ago 10.10am GMTWorryingly, Britain’s current-account deficit has widened in the last quarter, as the country continues to import much more than it exports.The difference between money flowing into the UK, and out, jump
  
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• UK GDP growth better than expected in Brexit aftermath

  23-12-2016 10:52
  
  Industrial sector, services and construction perform better than expected but wages at highest growth rate since 2013Britain’s economy grew faster than previously thought in the three months after the Brexit referendum, rising by 0.6% compared with initial estimates of 0.5%. The unexpected upgrade to GDP came as the Office for National Statistics made surprise revisions across all sectors of the economy. The services sector – which covers around 80% of economic activity – indus
  
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• FTSE falters but Royal Bank of Scotland rises after Deutsche Bank deal

  23-12-2016 10:51
  
  RBS shares boosted by hopes any US fine could be less than fearedOn the last trading day before Christmas - and a curtailed one at that - markets are struggling to find direction.But one sector is in the spotlight and that is of course the banks, following news that Deutsche Bank had agreed a much lower than threatened $7.2bn (£5.9bn) fine to the US Department of Justice over mis-selling toxic bonds. Credit Suisse has also settled but Barclays, down 2.9p at 224.1p, has refused and faces le
  
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• City News: House of Fraser in China, L&G and Inchcape expansion

  23-12-2016 10:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HOUSE of Fraser has finally opened its first store in China, more than two years since the department store group was bought by Sanpower.
  
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• How businesses are using barter to save cash

  23-12-2016 10:26
  
  The UK’s barter sector is one of the fastest growing in the world, and is used by entrepreneurs to trade unsold stock Barter has been going on for thousands of years, but as Mark Williams, managing director of trading platform Bartercard UK puts it, “gone are the days when you swapped a sheep for a goat”.New technology, Williams explains, means the potential of barter is expanding fast: it’s no longer about one business swapping its products on an ad hoc basis: instead a
  
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• £440m boost for superfast broadband in the countryside

  23-12-2016 10:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  UP TO 600,000 homes and businesses in rural areas are in line for superfast broadband services in a £440million government funding drive.
  
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• Prayer around the world – in pictures

  23-12-2016 09:00
  
  There are an estimated 4,200 religions worldwide, each with its unique customs and traditions. These images offer a glimpse of how different faiths connect with each other and the world around them Continue reading...
  
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• Fed's rate hike signals a déjà vu for 2017

  23-12-2016 09:00
  
  Major central banks react inversely to US and will persist with ultra-low or negative interest rates in the hope banks will lend to people – they won’tAs Charles Dickens wrote of revolutionary France and Britain: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Economic conditions for the masses far lagged those of the aristocracy. Today’s elites include bankers and politicians. The masses are disillusioned citizens voting their frustration. That dichotomy is
  
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• Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse agree multibillion-dollar settlements with US

  23-12-2016 08:43
  
  Banks to pay out for mis-selling mortgage securities, as Department of Justice launches legal action against Barclays The US Department of Justice has extracted multibillion-pound settlements from Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse for a decade-old toxic bond mis-selling scandal.At the same time, it has issued legal action against Barclays, which, in an unprecedented move, has refused to settle with the authorities. Continue reading...
  
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• Fears for ANOTHER financial crisis as Italy banking giant Monte dei Paschi gets bailout

  23-12-2016 08:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MONTE dei Paschi’s desperate bid to raise £4.1billion in the private sector to save it from collapse has failed - leaving Italy’s cabinet forced to approve a state bailout.
  
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• Labour 'finds £2.6bn black hole in Treasury's tax avoidance measures'

  23-12-2016 08:00
  
  Shadow chancellor John McDonnell identifies three schemes that he claims will raise significantly less than had been announced by the governmentLabour have accused the Treasury of failing to fully tackle tax avoidance as it claimed to have identified a £2.6bn black hole created by downgraded revenue forecasts.John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said that information buried in the small print of last month’s Office for Budget Responsibility report showed that three tax avoidance me
  
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• Npower goes down in my estimation over bill readings

  23-12-2016 07:59
  
  I sent final readings when I moved, but it ignored one of them for it’s own higher estimated figureWhen I moved in July I gave gas and electricity readings to npower. The electricity reading was significantly less than npower’s previous estimate, while the gas reading was higher. However, the final electricity bill used the estimate, which was higher than the supplied reading, while the gas bill went with the meter reading, which was higher than the estimate.Continue reading...
  
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• Deutsche Bank reaches $7.2bn settlement with US in mortgages case

  23-12-2016 06:16
  
  The agreement is not yet final, the bank says, but is less than the $14bn the justice department first demanded Deutsche Bank has said it will pay $7.2bn to the US justice department related to mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities and other activities during 2005 to 2007.The agreement is less than the $14bn the US asked Deutsche Bank to pay in September to settle the claims. That negotiating figure caused Deutsche Bank’s stock to plummet and raised questions about the bank
  
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• Italian cabinet gives green light to Monte dei Paschi di Siena bailout

  23-12-2016 02:21
  
  Prime minister says government will draw on €20bn fund following bank’s failure to raise €5bn from private investorsThe Italian government has agreed to a bailout of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) after the world’s oldest bank admitted that it had failed to raise €5bn (£4.25bn) from private investors as part of a last-ditch plan to rescue the bank.Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s new prime minister, announced in the early hours of Friday that his cabinet had agree
  
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• Theresa May urged to get transitional Brexit deal for City

  23-12-2016 01:01
  
  Businesses delaying key decisions with investments being deferred over looming uncertainty, says City of London CorporationThe government is being urged to clinch a transition arrangement for the City of London during Brexit negotiations to assuage concerns of employers who are delaying business decisions because of the uncertainty created in the run up to the UK’s departure from the EU.The City of London Corporation, the local authority that covers much of the financial district, urged Th
  
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• See some of Britain's most expensive streets up close

  23-12-2016 01:01
  
  A report from Lloyds reveals the UK’s 20 most expensive residential streets, where average prices from 2011 to 2016 ranged from £3.5m to £16.9m. Find out where they are, and what you get for the money Continue reading...
  
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• Former home of PMs and 007s named UK's most expensive street

  23-12-2016 01:01
  
  Lloyds research reveals every region has at least one street where average house price is more than £1mA London square whose wealthy residents have included Margaret Thatcher and Sean Connery has been crowned the most expensive in England and Wales with an average house price of nearly £17m.
  Eaton Square, in the upmarket Belgravia district of west London, topped a list dominated by addresses in the capital, according to an annual survey by Lloyds Bank. Continue reading...
  
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• Consumer group challenges Peterborough over potentially dangerous tumble dryers

  23-12-2016 01:01
  
  Which? seeks judicial review of Peterborough council’s handling of alert involving faulty machinesA consumer group is seeking a judicial review of Peterborough Trading Standards’ handling of the “fiasco” of potentially dangerous tumble dryers, claiming that it has failed millions of consumers across the UK by not enforcing product safety laws. The trading standards arm of Peterborough city council has been dealing with the alert – which involves an estimated 5.3m fa
  
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• Business and parliament must work together to avoid a 'cliff edge' Brexit

  23-12-2016 01:01
  
  Will Brexit take two years, or 10? The government needs to lay out a clear timeline, to help firms get back to businessTop of the City’s wishlist for 2017 would be a firm commitment from Theresa May to pursue a transitional deal for the financial industry to ease Brexit-related disruptions. Here, for example, is the Christmas message from Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation: “Firms’ nervousness can only be allayed if they know how they can continue ru
  
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