Financial news

• Housing affordability off the agenda again as Turnbull shirks the tax challenge | Greg Jericho

  18-02-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite growing evidence of the difficulties facing first-time buyers, the Coalition looks unlikely to shift the tax system in their favour Housing affordability remains an absolutely red hot political issue as well as a complex policy one. It requires a government willing to embrace, as Malcolm Turnbull suggested back in September 2015, “a style of leadership that respects the people’s intelligence, that explains these complex issues”. And for a brief shining moment this week
  
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• Why the Bank of England won’t raise interest rates any time soon

  18-02-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rate-setter Kristin Forbes, who wanted borrowing costs higher, never felt she could vote for an increase. That’s because the economy can’t really take itSavers lost one of their last hopes for an interest rate rise when Bank of England rate-setter Kristin Forbes announced she would be heading back to her home in Massachusetts in June.Forbes, a US academic who craves a return to the “economic normality” of 4%-5% base rates, has consistently called for an increase, though n
  
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• Small shops recoil in the face of business rates that will more than double

  18-02-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Traders are to be hit by a sharp rise in their bills, as much as 177% in five years in some cases, prompting fresh calls for reform of the systemShopkeepers in Southwold are braced for a tough year. The picturesque seaside town in Suffolk is the area of Britain worst affected by the revaluation of business rates. On average, companies will see their tax bill increase by a staggering 177% from April – but for some the impact will be far worse.Clare Hart, who runs Chapmans newsagents on the
  
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• Co-op Bank faces struggle to find owner with ethics – and deep pockets

  18-02-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A sale is on the cards but securing someone with the right credentials for its customers won’t be easyBarely seven weeks have passed since Liam Coleman took charge of the Co-operative Bank – but last week he hoisted a for-sale sign.The career banker will be hoping prospective buyers focus on what he insists is a strong, growing high street operation – rather than one that is on track to report its fifth consecutive annual loss. The Co-op Bank has racked up losses of £2.1b
  
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• Theresa May to meet boss of French carmaker hoping to buy Vauxhall

  18-02-2017 16:20 via theguardian.com
  
  PM to meet PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares to discuss proposal that could affect thousands of British workersTheresa May is set to meet the chief executive of the PSA Group to discuss Peugeot’s proposals to buy General Motors’ European operation, including Vauxhall.
  The prime minister has received a request for a meeting with Carlos Tavares to discuss the proposal, which could affect thousands of British workers. Continue reading...
  
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• Only 1% of refugees are resettled – why are we so threatened by them?

  18-02-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  With Trump’s travel ban going through the courts, one aid worker reflects on how badly resettlement places are needed
  I was 22 years old the first time I set foot in a refugee camp. I had managed to get an internship of sorts with an international NGO. They would pay for my accommodation and flight in and out of Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp and let me do my PhD fieldwork on the side. In exchange, I would work with their team on the ground. Related: Verifying refugees' stories: why is
  
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• Letter to my younger self: the battle to survive will be worth it

  18-02-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Struggling to pay the bills and becoming a single parent, entrepreneur Sacha Atherton tells her younger self that life will get betterListen to Sacha read her letter hereDear Sacha,Firstly, you’re pretty amazing. You won’t believe that for a long time but trust me, you really are.Continue reading...
  
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• How did Iceland become the top online supermarket?

  18-02-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Store enjoys a surprise revival after taking Aldi and Lidl’s lead in offering cut-price luxury to lure in the middle classesZuppa di Pesce, 28-day matured steaks, asparagus spears, and a £35 bottle of champagne to wash it down. This may not sound like your typical shopping basket from Iceland, but the UK’s homegrown cut-price chain is experiencing a revival in sales after taking a tip from Germany’s Aldi and Lidl by offering luxury foods that broaden its appeal.After abou
  
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• A London penthouse for £60,000. No, not to buy – that's the weekly rent

  18-02-2017 10:00
  
  Capital’s most expensive apartment is one of new breed of ultra-luxurious properties aimed at cash-splashing global super-richIt may cost £60,000 a week to rent, but London’s most expensive flat does come with a butler, a choice of daily newspaper – and the use of an Aston Martin. The 448 sq metre art deco Park Lane penthouse is the costliest of a new breed of ultra-luxurious properties designed to cater for the global super-rich, who are choosing to rent rather than buy
  
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• Post-Brexit UK economy demands a new type of Robin Hood tax

  18-02-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  There is a progressive alternative to the Brexiters’ mythical Victorian free-trade golden age. All it needs is a simple regulatory changeThe truth is stranger than fiction. Rising out of the chaos of the Brexit vote stand two opposing visions of Britain’s future. There is Britain as the 19th-century free-trade, low-tax warrior, the world’s banker, insurer, and lawyer. Facts get in the way of visions. In the 19th-century free trade was about strong countries undermining the sove
  
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• What’s the best 18th birthday present for our grandson?

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  We’d prefer not to give money, but don’t really know what kids today would likeEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• It’s all talk at Santander as voice recognition banking begins

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  Customers with iPhones can ditch passwords and instead log in to their accounts and send money by speakingSantander customers can make payments to friends by simply asking their iPhone to do it for them after the Spanish bank became the first provider to launch voice activated payments in the UK. The bank’s smartphone app also allows customers to see their recent transactions and report a lost card, just by talking to their phone.Unlike HSBC and Barclays, which use voice biometrics to esta
  
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• Even with price rises, there’s no place like home for bargain-hungry Brits

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  For high-end electricals such as Apple products, the truth is it’s cheaper to buy in the UK rather than the US or EuropeApple shoved its prices up in the UK by as much as a quarter, sound system maker Sonos followed, and now Microsoft is raising the price of some its laptops by up to £400, all blaming the Brexit-inspired fall in sterling. So is it time for bargain-hungry Brits to head abroad to snap up cheaper prices?Fortunately, the internet allows us to go browsing for prices befor
  
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• E.ON solves mystery of who supplies my energy – with a shock bill for £4,871

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  I discovered it was my supplier though I was signed up with a different companyTwo years ago, I moved into a rented flat in Glasgow. I was told by the letting agent that Scottish Power supplied my energy. A few months later, I moved my supply to Flow Energy, paying a monthly direct debit and supplying meter readings. In November 2015, Flow contacted me to say there was a problem, and it emerged that Flow and Scottish Power were supplying different addresses in the block, and that in fact E.ON wa
  
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• Co-op Bank is up for sale – is it time to leave?

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  Its ethical values and cooperative approach are under threat. We look at what it means for its 1.4 million current account customers, and at the alternativesYou opened an account with The Co-operative Bank because of its ethical values. You shuddered when the first news of its £1.5bn financial black hole emerged. You cringed over lurid stories of its “crystal Methodist” chairman. You came close to leaving when the hedge funds took control. Now, as the bank puts itself up for sa
  
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• A new Isa is offering tax-free returns of 12% – so what’s the catch?

  18-02-2017 08:00
  
  The ‘innovative finance’ Isa is being hailed by some as the answer to years of miserable interest rates. We look at who’s offering them and how they workIt’s the new type of Isa offering returns of up to 12% – or perhaps even 20% in future. But are rates like this simply too good to be true? Things have been pretty grim for Britain’s savers for a long time now, with many people desperate to find ways to give their finances a boost. However, some experts are pr
  
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• TalkTalk scam victims say it’s time for answers

  18-02-2017 07:59
  
  As another customer explains how he was conned out of £6,300 after the firm’s security breach, the ICO is seemingly stalling while a class action moves closerWhen pensioner Barry Tucker was called at home by his telecoms provider, TalkTalk, quoting his account number and personal details he dutifully carried out their instructions. He was told there was a problem on his computer and that a staff member would resolve it. He gave remote access to his computer, and after the work was co
  
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• ‘Noise-cancelling headphones may bring back the peace’ – our work expert responds

  18-02-2017 07:59
  
  Our careers expert – and you the readers – help a worker deal with music in the office and come up with ideas on how to survive Brexit with a home study courseI work in the small software development arm of a large retailer (the head office is based elsewhere). The new HR executive has decided that the office is too quiet and has suggested that having music could liven it up and create a more collaborative environment.Continue reading...
  
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• Homes that generate income – in pictures

  18-02-2017 00:45
  
  You’ll be in business in no time if you choose one of these properties, from the Scottish Borders to CornwallContinue reading...
  
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