Financial news

• Accessibility and ownership of the UK’s railways | Letters

  27-01-2017 19:52
  
  Re the letter from Charles Horton of Govia Thameslink Railway (21 January), removing the guarantee of “turn up and go” travel at 33 stations and formalising the need for advance booking all over the network means taking a significant step back for rail accessibility. It even goes against the grain of the rail industry itself, which is heading steadily towards the target of making all vehicles fully accessible by 1 January 2020. He should elaborate on exactly what “clear sy
  
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• Tesco becomes largest UK food group with £3.7bn deal to buy Booker wholesale

  27-01-2017 19:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  TESCO fed its growth ambitions with a “game-changing” £3.7billion deal to buy the UK’s biggest food wholesaler Booker Group.
  
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• Tesco to buy Budgens and Londis owner Booker in £3.7bn deal

  27-01-2017 19:12
  
  Supermarket giant’s takeover of wholesaler could cause competition concerns and led to resignation of independent directorTesco has agreed a £3.7bn deal to buy Booker, the cash and carry giant behind the Londis and Budgens convenience chains, in a move that will tighten its grip on the UK’s £195bn food market.The deal is expected to be scrutinised by the competition authorities as Tesco is already the country’s biggest retailer, with more than 3,500 stores and contr
  
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• British Airways cabin crew to stage six-day walkout in pay dispute

  27-01-2017 18:03
  
  Nearly 3,000 members of Unite’s mixed fleet branch will strike for three days from 5 February and again from 9 FebruaryBritish Airways cabin crew are to step up strike action by holding a six-day walkout in early February, in an escalating dispute about pay.Approximately 2,900 members of Unite in the mixed fleet division, a branch of predominantly younger and lower-paid BA recruits, will strike for three days from Sunday 5 February, and again from Thursday 9 February. Continue reading...
  
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• Strong dollar drags US growth to slowest pace since 2011

  27-01-2017 17:45
  
  Higher consumer spending and rising business investment fails to offset fall in exports and rise in importsThe US economy slowed last year to register its worst performance since 2011 after the strong dollar sent exports tumbling and encouraged American businesses to import cheaper components from abroad.But the worsening trade position was offset by increases in consumer spending and business investment that analysts said would hand President Donald Trump a strong and growing economy. Continue
  
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• Let’s move to Newport, Isle of Wight: ‘Its quaint alleys hide jewels’

  27-01-2017 17:30
  
  There’s plenty to discover, with a vibrant arts centre, an exciting new restaurant and eccentric attractionsWhat’s going for it? There are ups and downs to living on a small island. The ups? You have to really want to live on one, so spots like the Isle of Wight attract the intrepid and the eccentric. Like Queen Victoria, who came here to escape the hordes so she could play “normal life” at Osborne, her suburban house on steroids. The apparently ordinary on Wight is rarel
  
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• Tax return DEADLINE: Millions urged to act in next few days to avoid £100 fine

  27-01-2017 17:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MILLIONS of people have just a few days left to get their tax return in on time and avoid a stinging fine from HMRC.
  
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• UK rental property demand falls to two-year low

  27-01-2017 16:41
  
  Rise in supply sees rent flattening or falling in many parts of the country including London, survey finds Demand for privately-rented flats and houses has fallen to a two-year low, while the supply of properties to rent has risen in fresh evidence of a slowdown in the property market. The Association of Residential Letting Agents said there were just 26 prospective tenants registered per branch in December, down from 32 the month before and the lowest figure recorded since records began in Janu
  
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• Brexit will delay new British nuclear power stations, warn experts

  27-01-2017 16:24
  
  Analysts say exit from EU atomic treaty is ‘lose-lose’ that will raise costs and safety questions at plants such as Hinkley Point CBritain’s first nuclear power station in two decades will be delayed by a government decision to quit Europe’s atomic power treaty, experts have warned.Ministers revealed on Thursday that Brexit would involve the UK leaving Euratom, which promotes research into nuclear power and uniform safety standards. Continue reading...
  
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• Final US growth figures under Obama are a triumph – for Trump | Larry Elliott

  27-01-2017 16:15
  
  News that pace of growth slowed in last three months of 2016 by more than Wall Street expected is a boon for new presidentThe last set of growth figures for Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House could hardly have been better. For the new president, that is.Judging by the preliminary estimates, the pace of US growth slowed in the final three months of 2016 – and by more than Wall Street had been anticipating. Activity expanded at an annualised rate of 1.9% in the fourth quarte
  
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• Why is Tesco buying Budgens' owner – and will it affect shoppers?

  27-01-2017 15:12
  
  The retail giant has launched a £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler Booker, but could face competition hurdlesBooker is a grocery wholesaler supplying 125,000 independent convenience stores as well as 468,000 restaurants, pubs and leisure facilities such as cinemas.Continue reading...
  
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• Pound edges down amid Donald Trump and Theresa May's meeting after bumper week

  27-01-2017 14:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound slipped against the euro and the dollar during Friday trading, as investors took profits after sterling reached multi-week highs.
  
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• Running a small business on the side? You may still have to declare it

  27-01-2017 14:00
  
  The Treasury aims to recoup £860m over four years by ensuring online businesses pay their share of tax Many small businesses start out as small operations listing handmade or test products on websites such as eBay and Etsy, or launching a holiday let through Airbnb. But when does online selling become a business?For HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), this is a big question and one it is answering by targeting online transactions across retail, holiday lets and auction sites to ensure it does
  
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• Google's parent company Alphabet reports 'exceptional' growth

  27-01-2017 13:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  GOOGLE'S parent company Alphabet has reported what it called “exceptional” growth in its latest quarterly financial results.
  
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• Want to know how society's doing? Forget GDP – try these alternatives | Mark Rice-Oxley

  27-01-2017 12:51
  
  Crude financial instruments dominate the headlines, but it’s metrics like grain price and inequality ratio that really reflect the world we live in
  Here are the week’s leading indicators. The Dow Jones industrial average topped 20,000 points for the first time. British GDP grew 0.6% in the final quarter of 2016. The FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX 30 persisted close to record highs, while US GDP softened slightly.
  Bored yet? I am. As a former financial journalist, I’m well acq
  
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• French bank's top savings rate SHAMES Britain's high street providers

  27-01-2017 12:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A FRENCH bank has upped its savings rates for the third time in 2017, in a bid to take on Britain's biggest high street providers.
  
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• BT insists Italian scandal is under control as profits plunge

  27-01-2017 10:54
  
  Telecoms group’s chief refuses to say if he will hand back any of his bonuses as it is confirmed Europe head has resignedBT’s chief executive has sought to reassure investors that an accounting scandal in Italy which wiped £8bn off the company’s market value is under control, but refused to discuss whether he should pay back some of the bonuses he received during the period of mismanagement. Announcing a 37% slump in third-quarter profits, Gavin Patterson said shareholder
  
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• BT's Europe boss quits as profits PLUNGE by £300 MILLION amid Italian accounting scandal

  27-01-2017 10:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  COMMUNICATIONS giant BT has reported a huge plunge in third-quarter profits amid an accounting scandal within its Italian division.
  
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• Trump: I will have to handle UK trade deal myself – video

  27-01-2017 09:00
  
  Ahead of a meeting with Theresa May, Donald Trump says he will have to handle trade discussions himself as his chosen commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, is yet to be offically confirmed by the Senate. The president was speaking at the Republicans’ retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday‘Opposites attract’: May signals strong relationship with Trump
  Continue reading...
  
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• 'On my deathbed, I won't wish I'd spent more time on my tax returns'

  27-01-2017 08:30
  
  From accruing hefty fines for late payment to filing early, freelancers vary in their approach to the self-assessment deadlineDo you find yourself in a mad rush every January, collecting a year’s worth of receipts together and totting up costs? Or perhaps you systematically log every receipt into a spreadsheet and complete your tax return in April? Either way, managing accounts is often deemed the least favourite part of running a business.According to the Association of Independent Profes
  
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• Meet the crowdfunding consultants: 'We live or die by success'

  27-01-2017 08:15
  
  A growing number of small businesses are turning to independent experts to help create crowdfunding campaignsLast year, Iris Anson was looking at ways to get funding to grow her shoe manufacturer Solely Original. “To me it was all very new,” she says. “I was looking at lots of different ways – angel investors, venture capital, crowdfunding. Obviously a bank loan was out of the question because we’re just too young.”
  After attending a workshop on alternative fu
  
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• Frankfurt prepares for Brexit bankers: 'Maybe our city will change them'

  27-01-2017 08:15
  
  ‘Boring’ Frankfurt is set to attract financial businesses from London with its accessibility, low property costs and family-friendly facilities. ‘Maybe these play hard, work hard people will start to enjoy the slower pace,’ hopes one residentIn the heart of the Frankfurt banking district of Westend, Luise Hoepfner serves a steady stream of office workers her lunchtime menu of organic salads, soups and spelt-flour savoury tarts. The 28-year-old worked in event management f
  
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• I make a living as a DJ, but the late nights and travel are getting to me

  27-01-2017 08:00
  
  How can I fast-forward to a more secure future? I have qualifications in music production and technologyTwice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights.I’ve spent the past 12 years working in electronic music, and have been successful enough to have been able to make a fairly decent l
  
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• A house at Pooh Corner – in pictures

  27-01-2017 08:00
  
  AA Milne created his bear of little brain at this East Sussex farm – but you might be tempted to Paint it Black when you discover its other celebrity owner Continue reading...
  
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• Link ATMs: 8,000 in UK could start charging for withdrawals

  27-01-2017 07:01
  
  Currently 97% of cash machines do not charge for withdrawals, but row over fees between Link members may result in chargesMore than one in seven free-to-use cash machines across the UK could start charging or be shut down if the simmering row about the Link network cannot be resolved, an industry lobby group has warned.After a crucial meeting of the more than 30 members of the Link cash machine network failed to reach an agreement over a new charging system, the ATM Industry Association said 8,0
  
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• Jobs for all? In the US that idea is about to be tested to destruction | John Harris

  27-01-2017 07:00
  
  Donald Trump says he’ll bring back full employment. But maybe no politician has the power to deliver thisThe story has rather got lost in the midst of Donald Trump’s statements this week about his fabled wall, the merits of torture, and all the other stuff that has underlined the frightening nature of his arrival in power – but on Monday, the new president hosted a remarkable meeting.In the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Trump held talks with the leaders of US trade unions:
  
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• TRUMP'S FIRST EU VICTIM: German car giant loses €100million contract

  27-01-2017 05:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A MYSTERY firm has pulled out of a €100million deal with a German car supplier, after new President Donald Trump warned he would punish companies that outsourced jobs from America.
  
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• Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin jailed for eight years over fraud

  27-01-2017 02:57
  
  Failed businessman forged his ex-wife’s signature to secure a $13.5m loan on their Gold Coast home, which was in her nameThe former Billabong chief executive Matthew Perrin has been jailed for eight years for forging his ex-wife’s signature to obtain a $13.5m loan.Perrin, 44, was found guilty by a jury last month of three counts of fraud and six of forgery after a week-long trial in the Brisbane district court. Continue reading...
  
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• UK's super rich appear to get special deal from HMRC, says watchdog

  27-01-2017 01:01
  
  Commons public accounts committee says failure to crack down on wealthy tax dodgers undermines confidence in systemBritain’s wealthiest people appear to get preferential treatment from HM Revenue & Customs and are not being properly pursued for outstanding tax bills, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded.HMRC’s failure to clamp down on rich tax dodgers is undermining confidence in the whole system, the public accounts committee said.Continue reading...
  
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• Tesco in £3.7billion merger with Booker to create 'UK's leading food business'

  27-01-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is set to buy Wellingborough-based food wholesaler Booker in a £3.7billion "merger" deal
  
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