Financial news

• Co-op CEO Richard Pennycook to step down

  07-02-2017 22:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Food division chief Steve Murrells to take over from Pennycook, who is credited with rebuilding group after banking scandalThe Co-operative Group chief executive, Richard Pennycook, who rebuilt the company after its banking crisis, is to step down.Steve Murrells, the chief executive of the Co-op’s food division, will replace him.Continue reading...
  
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• UK tax burden will soar to highest level for 30 years, warns IFS

  07-02-2017 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Slower growth after Brexit vote and ageing population will hit budget over next decade, says leading thinktankThe government is on course to impose steep cuts in public spending and increase taxes by the end of the decade to their highest level in 30 years to combat the UK’s persistent budget deficit.But slower economic growth after the Brexit vote and lower than expected tax receipts will still leave the UK with one of the largest shortfalls in public spending in the developed world, acco
  
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• UK judge criticises Facebook, social media as 'tool for evil' - The ... - Financial Express

  07-02-2017 18:55
  
  Financial Express
  UK judge criticises Facebook, social media as 'tool for evil' - The ...
  Financial Express
  A UK judge has criticised Facebook and other social media sites as a "tool for evil" following the death of an innocent mother after she was trolled online over ...en meer »
  
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• UK Financial Firms Plow £723M Into Litigation Funds - Law360 - Law360 (subscription)

  07-02-2017 18:33
  
  UK Financial Firms Plow £723M Into Litigation Funds - Law360
  Law360 (subscription)
  Law360, London (February 7, 2017, 5:19 PM GMT) -- U.K. financial services firms increased their litigation funding firepower by a quarter in the last year as they ...en meer »
  
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• England's housing market is 'broken', government admits in white paper

  07-02-2017 14:32
  
  Sajid Javid admits ownership is ‘distant dream’ for young families as he aims to encourage home building and help rentersEngland’s housing market is broken, the government has admitted, with home ownership a “distant dream” for young families, as it unveiled a white paper promising a fresh wave of home building.The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, told the House of Commons that average house prices had jumped to 7.5 times average incomes and rents in many places
  
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• We have the laws for a fairer gig economy, we just need to enforce them

  07-02-2017 13:11
  
  Delivery businesses should take note of the legal cases involving CitySprint and Uber over employment rights of workersWhat will the recent court cases involving Uber and CitySprint mean for the future of the gig economy in the transport sector? Something that looks and feels like work is being done. People wear uniforms, obey rules, are tied to a business and depend on it for their income. Yet, when it comes to employment rights, the app delivers a “page not found” message.Continue
  
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• Not so happy days: NS&I slashes premium bonds prize pot

  07-02-2017 13:02
  
  Britain’s 21 million bond holders will have same chances but be more likely to win smaller sums in cut to ‘prize fund rate’Having a flutter on the premium bonds is about to get less attractive following a decision to slash the total prize pot. Under the changes, the chances of winning some cash will stay the same, but there will now be a lot more £25 prizes on offer and fewer £100,000, £25,000, £10,000, £5,000 and £1,000 ones.The announcement
  
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• Why do disabled people still have to put up with this indignity? | Frances Ryan

  07-02-2017 13:01
  
  The humiliation of sitting in soaked underwear or laying on a dirty public toilet floor could be avoided if there was the political willWhat price would you pay for your rights? For disabled people, the price is often dignity. That disabled people are routinely shut out of Britain’s transport, shops, sports arenas and toilets is not new, but this year there’s already been a number of high-profile cases. Related: Premier League clubs face legal threat unless disabled access is improve
  
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• UK house prices fell in January for the first time in five months

  07-02-2017 11:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Figures from Halifax show the average price of a home dropped by 0.9% – the first monthly decline since August 2016UK house prices fell at the turn of the year, the first monthly drop since last August, according to Britain’s biggest mortgage lender.Experts said the figures pointed to a market slowdown in 2017, although Halifax said a shortage of houses for sale should prevent a steep slump in prices. Continue reading...
  
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• If we’re going to tackle the evils of renting, at least do it properly | Penny Anderson

  07-02-2017 09:48
  
  The government’s ‘better deal for tenants’ merely tinkers with a system that is in sore need of a complete overhaulLast weekend saw the government announce “a better deal for tenants”. Could it be that someone in Westminster has belatedly realised that buying a home is no longer a viable option? Because of surging house prices, job insecurity, and no access to a deposit, for many it is nigh on impossible. Related: The dream of home ownership for all is over. Even th
  
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• From proposals to pop videos: young animator builds Lego film career

  07-02-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Morgan Spence’s films have caught the eye of everyone from actor Gerard Butler to those looking to propose. Here’s why“It must be difficult for a big company like the BBC to put a project in the hands of a teenage boy,” admits Morgan Spence, a 17-year-old Lego film-maker and entrepreneur from Kilbarchan in Scotland. He is speaking to me from his bedroom, which doubles up as an animation studio for his production company Morgspenny Productions. The films he has created the
  
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• Left out in the cold over housebuilder’s reservation fee

  07-02-2017 08:01
  
  When I was unable to proceed with Icona Homes, I presumed the Consumer Code for Home Builders would ensure the return of my £500 feeI paid a £500 reservation fee for a new-build house using the government help-to-buy scheme. However, my chosen mortgage lender valued the house at £5,000 less than the asking price and my application for a loan was declined.Continue reading...
  
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• 'UK could be fastest-growing G7 economy if it gets trade deals right'

  07-02-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  PwC predicts UK will be hit in short term by Brexit, but will outperform US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan by 2050The UK could shake off the near-term impact of Brexit to become the fastest-growing economy in the G7 group of rich countries between now and 2050, according to a report that paints a bright outlook for the country’s prospects outside the EU.Consultants PwC say the UK economy will not escape entirely unscathed from the decision to leave the bloc and that it will damp
  
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