Financial news

• ILO warns of rise in social unrest and migration as inequality widens

  12-01-2017 22:00
  
  UN agency records rising discontent in all regions and calls on policymakers to tackle unemployment and inequality urgentlyRising unemployment, inequality and a lack of decent jobs have helped fuel a rise in social unrest that threatens to intensify unless policymakers take swift action, the UN’s labour agency has warned.The International Labour Organization said its measure of protest activities around the world had ticked higher in the last year against a backdrop of economic and politic
  
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• A new stock market bubble? Neil Woodford may have a point

  12-01-2017 20:31
  
  The top fund manager’s likening of the recent run of record FTSE closes to the dotcom bubble should be notedIf you’re a fund manager who returned 3.2% in 2016, a year in which the UK stock market improved almost 17%, you need to offer your investors an explanation. Here’s Neil Woodford’s: it was a momentum-driven market and he’s a manager who looks for fundamental value.He hunted for that value in some rotten places, such as Capita and Next, but he makes a fair stat
  
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• Fans battle to save the Lions’ Den and Kempton Park | Letters

  12-01-2017 20:23
  
  Can it really be true that a Labour council is in cahoots with an offshore property speculator to undermine and conceivably force the relocation of the London borough’s only professional sporting organisation, one moreover that was founded more than a century ago and is supported by the very working-class voters who have long sustained Labour in power in Lewisham (Millwall having to move would be ‘heartbreaking’ says Lib Dem leader, Sport, 9 January)? Related: Vote on compulsor
  
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• Saints and sinners in the pay cap debate | Letters

  12-01-2017 20:21
  
  Your editorial (The Guardian view on Corbyn and pay: close that gap, 11 January) was entirely right to say that “pay for those running FTSE companies is too high” and you were right to welcome the policy floated by Jeremy Corbyn to set a ratio of top to lowest pay. But there’s nothing novel about this proposal.This has been Green party policy for many years – although we’re calling for a ratio of 10:1, not 20:1. There has also been a growing civil society movement c
  
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• Transport trouble ahead as air, rail and tube strikes loom

  12-01-2017 20:08
  
  British Airways and Southern rail staff to walk out in coming weeks, while RMT issues ultimatum to London UndergroundMore strikes are looming across a range of British transport services, with fresh action announced on British Airways and Southern rail, and an ultimatum issued for another tube strike next month. Up to 2,900 cabin crew from BA’s “mixed fleet” branch at Heathrow will strike again for three days next week in a row over pay, while conductors on Southern will walk o
  
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• Amazon announces plans to create more than 100,000 US jobs

  12-01-2017 19:55
  
  Online retailer prepares to expand full-time US workforce by more than 50% over next 18 months, with hires from Florida to CaliforniaAmazon plans to create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States, from software development to warehouse work, becoming the latest company to boast a hiring spree since Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November. The world’s largest online retailer announced on Thursday that it would grow its full-time US workforce by more than 50% to more th
  
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• 'Brexit tourists' exploit weak pound to boost UK high street sales

  12-01-2017 19:27
  
  Foreign shoppers spent more than £725m on the British high street during December, 22% more than the previous yearLegions of “Brexit tourists” flocked to the UK to take advantage of the weak pound over Christmas, triggering a huge rise in spending on foreign credit cards.Foreign shoppers spent more than £725m on the British high street during December, up 22% or an extra £130m compared to the previous year, according to payments processing firm Worldpay. Continue re
  
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• Top fund manager likens Trump market rally to dotcom bubble

  12-01-2017 19:20
  
  Neil Woodford likens FTSE’s 11th consecutive record close to 1999 tech bubble with ‘momentum driving share prices not fundamentals’Britain’s best known fund manager has likened the current stock market euphoria to the dotcom bubble, even as the FTSE 100 closed at yet another record high.After a volatile day’s trading, the leading index finished 1.88 points higher at 7292.37, marking the 11th consecutive day of record closes and the market’s 13th successive dai
  
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• Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Primark and JD Sports lead flurry of Christmas trading news – as it happened

  12-01-2017 18:48
  
  M&S has posted its best Christmas in years, but John Lewis staff are bracing for a bonus cutLatest: John Lewis sounds bonus warningM&S beats forecasts as clothing sales grow
  Tesco upbeatDebenhams does well, JD shines, AO World cautiousThe agenda: Retail Super Thursday 5.48pm GMTAs the dollar weakened and US markets fell on disappointment at the lack of details of Donald Trump’s economic plans at Wednesday’s press conference, markets suffered a tricky day.The FTSE 100 fell bac
  
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• BA cabin crew to hold further three-day strike over 'poverty pay'

  12-01-2017 18:24
  
  Unite union says British Airways ‘should be under no illusion about determination’ of staff, whose pay starts at £12,192Almost 3,000 cabin crew from British Airways’ mixed fleet branch at Heathrow will strike again next week in a row over what the union describes as poverty pay.The crew will walk out for three days from next Thursday, following a 48-hour strike this week that led to about 100 flights being cancelled or merged by BA.Continue reading...
  
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• Fiat Chrysler used software to cheat diesel emissions testing, EPA alleges

  12-01-2017 18:16
  
  The car company installed software in multiple models that ‘increases air pollution’ for three years, in violation of the Clean Air Act, EPA claimsThe US Environmental Protection Agency has accused a second major car company, Fiat Chrysler, of cheating on its diesel emissions testing by using secret software applications in multiple models.Related: Six Volkswagen executives charged with fraud over emissions cheatingContinue reading...
  
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• Southern rail conductors' strike to compound drivers' walkout

  12-01-2017 18:12
  
  RMT calls 24-hour strike to immediately precede three days of action by Aslef’s drivers in sign that dispute is likely to drag onThe RMT has called a fresh 24-hour strike by conductors on Southern trains to come immediately before three days of drivers’ strikes, a move that underlines that the dispute, and commuter misery, is unlikely to end soon. Related: Rail strike: search goes on for job Failing Grayling can't do badly | John CraceContinue reading...
  
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• Toblerone maker to hike price of Cadbury's Freddo bars

  12-01-2017 18:00
  
  Food conglomerate Mondelēz to raise cost of tiny chocolate frog by 20% with more Cadbury bars also likely to rise in priceThe company which cut the weight of Toblerone bars by widening the gaps between the chocolate peaks is now slapping a 20% price rise on Cadbury’s Freddo bars. The recommended retail price of the chocolate frogs, which weigh 18g (0.6oz), is scheduled to jump from 25p to 30p in the spring. The US food manufacturing giant Mondelēz, which owns Cadbury, said it was
  
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• Rail strike: search goes on for job Failing Grayling can't do badly | John Crace

  12-01-2017 17:06
  
  Commuter pain leaves transport secretary up the junction in the CommonsBefore his appearance at transport questions in the Commons, Chris Grayling was last seen being pushed to the back of the queue at Clapham Junction railway station as he fought with other commuters to get into work during Monday’s tube strike.Related: Is Britain’s rail network getting worse?Continue reading...
  
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• For a better parallel with Donald Trump, try Enoch Powell

  12-01-2017 16:54
  
  Both are anti-immigration and pro-Russia. Without media support the British firebrand became an outcast. With Twitter and Fox, Trump became presidentUnderstanding the political success of the US president-elect, Donald Trump, is not easy. There have been many glib comparisons to populist politicians of the past, from Huey Long to George Wallace. But the most revealing comparison may be with a historical figure from another country: the British nativist firebrand Enoch Powell in the late 1960s an
  
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• Britain is back in love with credit cards, plus fighting sexist retail surcharges

  12-01-2017 15:41
  
  Also, how married couples are missing out on tax breaks, and our Consumer Champions tackle eBay and Amazon
  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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• Swansea Bay tidal lagoon backed by government review

  12-01-2017 15:28
  
  Ex-energy minister Charles Hendry urges ministers to approve plans, which could provide UK with reliable and clean electricity Ministers have been urged to stop dithering and strike a subsidy deal for a pioneering tidal lagoon in Wales, after a government-commissioned report enthusiastically backed the technology as a reliable source of indigenous, affordable and clean energy.Charles Hendry, a former energy minister, said his independent review of tidal power had concluded a small trial lagoon a
  
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• Britain's economy kept BOOMING at end of 2016 as more experts U-turn on Brexit impact

  12-01-2017 15:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BRITAIN kept booming in the final months of last year key indicators have shown, dealing another blow to doom-mongering and discredited Remainers.
  
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• SUPERMARKET SWEEP: M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury's bumper Christmas sales in shopping boom

  12-01-2017 12:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  TESCO and Marks and Spencer have revealed bumper Christmas sales, hot on the heels of buoyant updates from Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Lidl earlier this week, in further proof the Brexit vote failed to dent consumer spending.
  
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• John Lewis to cut staff bonus after pound’s Brexit slide

  12-01-2017 12:18
  
  Retail group, which also includes Waitrose, reports strong Christmas but says retailers will face rising costs from importing goods John Lewis has warned that its annual bonus for staff will be significantly lower than last year as it prepares to take a hit from the post-Brexit slump in sterling.Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the staff-owned group, which includes Waitrose, said he anticipated a “challenging” year ahead as retailers would have to absorb a big chunk of the rising cost o
  
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• POUND COMEBACK: Sterling rallies against dollar after hitting post-Brexit low

  12-01-2017 11:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound clawed back gains against the dollar on Thursday, after falling to its lowest level against the currency since the vote to leave the European Union .
  
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• UK Financial Services Sector Drops Demand for Post-Brexit Passporting - Insurance Journal

  12-01-2017 11:02
  
  Focus News
  UK Financial Services Sector Drops Demand for Post-Brexit Passporting
  Insurance Journal
  Britain's finance industry has reluctantly given up on efforts to keep full access to the European Union after Brexit and is pushing instead for a more limited trade deal that would potentially exclude some financial products. Banks, insurers and asset ...
  Financial Times: Hammond calls on Germany not to punish UK over BrexitFocus Newsalle 271 nieuwsartikelen »
  
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• Battle lines drawn in the wifi wars – but is a truce possible?

  12-01-2017 09:35
  
  Forget Brexit and Trump – last year’s real hostilities were between cafe owners and freeloaders hogging the wifi. We are brokering peace talksIt was the year in which the wifi war broke out: cafe owners finally called time on freeloading freelancers exploiting their internet connections while nursing a single coffee for hours on end. In the age of flexible and remote working, the sight of a lone worker at a laptop in a coffee shop has become a symbol of our times. Yet independent cof
  
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• Take the long view with a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage

  12-01-2017 08:00
  
  Older more settled borrowers could benefit from a longer term, but watch those exit penaltiesExisting homeowners can lock into low interest rates – and sail through the Trump and Brexit years safe in the knowledge their mortgage will not rise – following the launch of a raft of attractive 10-year fixed-rate home loans.According to data provider Moneyfacts, the number of 10-year fixed-rate deals has soared from just eight three years ago to more than 120 now. In the meantime, the aver
  
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• Netflix targets BBC family audience with Lemony Snicket remake

  12-01-2017 08:00
  
  A Series of Unfortunate Events forms part of plan to woo audiences and add to its 90 million global subscribersNetflix is poised to launch its take on Lemony Snicket’s dark children’s tale A Series of Unfortunate Events, targeting the family drama audience traditionally catered for by ITV and the BBC. Related: A Series of Unfortunate Events: Netflix lets its freak flag flyContinue reading...
  
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• How did Amazon know my new Visa card information before me?

  12-01-2017 08:00
  
  When my new card arrived from NatWest it had the same details as one already listed on AmazonI was Christmas shopping on Amazon and realised there was a payment card on my account that I had never seen or used before. I only have one card registered and, although it was due to expire at the end of the month, it was still valid.Amazon told me the new card had been added to my account on 12 December, but couldn’t explain to me how.Continue reading...
  
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• Do we have to take out life cover through our mortgage adviser?

  12-01-2017 08:00
  
  They have recommended an insurance policy that costs more than we can afford
  Q My husband and I are in the process of buying a property. We have agreed to get life cover for the money we feel we can afford, but have just received a recommendation from our mortgage adviser that is more than £120 higher than previously agreed.Do we have to take the life insurance out with them? I know we have to buy their buildings insurance, but what about the life insurance? Please could you give me some a
  
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• Euro must SPLIT IN TWO: Weak France and Italy 'MUST be kicked out' to save currency

  12-01-2017 07:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  FRANCE should be kicked out of the eurozone along with fellow struggling countries Italy, Spain and Portugal, according to Germany's populist party chief.
  
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• Gender pay gap: 'being a guy got me a promotion' – your experiences

  12-01-2017 06:00
  
  We asked readers for stories and views on unequal pay. Here’s the lowdownI worked at the head office of a building society for several years. I started off on the usual starting wage and by the time I finished I had progressed to just under £17,000. However a male colleague of mine was on £21,000. When I asked why I wasn’t paid the same I was given so many different excuses. I promised my line manager that if I wasn’t offered a pay increase at my end of year review
  
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• Brexit U-turn: Bank of England boss says EUROPE needs to fear exit as UK risk subsides

  12-01-2017 05:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE Bank of England is not having a Michael Fish moment, despite policymakers wrongly warning about the impact of a Brexit vote, Mark Carney claimed today.
  
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• Tesco sales rise 0.7 per cent over Christmas period

  12-01-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Tesco has emerged as a festive winner after reporting a rise in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period.
  
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• City News: Cineworld, National Express, Cobham, Taylor Whimpey

  12-01-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BLOCKBUSTERS Star Wars: Rogue One and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them saw Cineworld attract a record number of movie-goers last year.
  
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• Marks & Spencer clothing arm sales up 2.3 per cent - first rise since 2015

  12-01-2017 01:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MARKS & Spencer has revealed a return to sales growth in its embattled clothing arm for the first time in nearly two years thanks to an overhaul of its ranges and the timing of Christmas.
  
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• UK to Convince Trump Climate Change Is Real - Financial Tribune

  12-01-2017 00:19
  
  Financial Tribune
  UK to Convince Trump Climate Change Is Real
  Financial Tribune
  The UK will try to convince the incoming US administration of Donald Trump that it should take climate change seriously, climate minister Nick Hurd said on Tuesday. “The Trump election is a challenge but there has been a clear gear change in global ...en meer »
  
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