Financial news

• £500 bill for one inquiry leads to call for cap on 118 charges

  25-03-2017 23:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Critics have slammed Ofcom for their ‘disgraceful’ decision to not put a cap on unregulated directory numbersCampaigners and telecoms industry insiders have renewed calls for the government to cap the fees charged by directory service numbers in the wake of three-figure bills racked up by customers for a single call.A report in the Observer’s Cash pages today reveals how a 90-year-old woman was billed £501 after a directory inquiries number-finding service, operated by Te
  
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• Why Scott Morrison needs to ignore armchair treasurers before the budget | Greg Jericho

  25-03-2017 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Just like a footy coach, Scott Morrison is being offered advice from all quarters this budget pre-season. He should remember that only good policy will win
  Who is under greater pressure – the coach of a footy team at the beginning of a season, or the treasurer putting together a budget?This weekend many across the nation will be filled with a sense of promise of things to come. The AFL men’s season has begun, and those like me who spend rather inordinate amounts of time thinking abou
  
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• The British jobs Brexit makes hard to fill

  25-03-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Catering, construction and care sectors all report difficulty hiring EU staff, mainly thanks to the weak pound. Is Britain ready for what may be unleashed this week?The human and economic cost of Brexit is registered in nationalities and jobs, a list of accents and tasks that we have taken for granted: the Italian chef; the Romanian fruit-picker and the Polish builder.According to industry groups and business owners, it is becoming increasingly hard to attract this kind of employee to Britain be
  
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• Foreign companies flock to build nuclear plants in the UK

  25-03-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A South Korean firm is just the latest to be lured by Britain’s atomic amibitions as safety concerns and cost stalk the industryNuclear energy faces an uncertain future globally as concerns over safety and cost dog the industry. But in the UK, foreign investors are queueing up to back projects. The latest is South Korea. Its biggest power company is in talks to join the consortium backing a nuclear power station in Cumbria, in a sign of the continuing allure of Britain’s atomic ambit
  
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• Ofcom' plans could cost telecoms providers £185m in compensation for poor service

  25-03-2017 13:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  LANDLINE and broadband providers could be forced to pay out £185million a year in compensation for slow repairs and missed appointments as the telecoms regulator rings the changes.
  
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• Pret a Manger to pay work experience recruits after criticism of unpaid scheme

  25-03-2017 13:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Sandwich chain had offered teenagers a week with the company without pay as part of recruitment drive linked to BrexitPret a Manger has said it will now pay hundreds of teenagers it plans to hire this summer, after campaigners criticised the company for offering work experience roles for free food but no pay.The Guardian reported that the sandwich chain hoped to solve its looming recruitment crisis by offering 500 16- to 18-year-olds a week of unpaid work experience. Continue reading...
  
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• Letter to my younger self: believe in your own quirky vision

  25-03-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Coming from France, Laure Moyle hated the fondant cakes that were popular in the UK – now customers seek her out because they like her styleBonjour Laure,You’re 25, chatting with friends, when one will predict you’ll start your own business one day. You’ll scoff at the idea. That can’t be right. Your own business? You wouldn’t know where to start. You don’t even know where you fit in, a lot of the time. Continue reading...
  
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• Up in smoke: the VW emissions ‘fix’ has left our car undriveable

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  About 1.2m VWs, Audis, Skodas and Seats are affected by the most significant vehicle recall in history, but some motorists are complaining their cars are not performing after their returnMysterious rattles, poor fuel consumption, difficulties in starting, low power, weak acceleration. It has emerged that many drivers who have been through the dealer “upgrade” following the Volkswagen scandal are complaining that their once-trusty vehicles are a shadow of their former selves.So f
  
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• The death of the mortgage salesman is unfortunately premature

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Lenders now pay mortgage brokers ‘retention’ fees for simply rolling you over from one of their deals to anotherWe thought the “commission hungry salesman” had been consigned to the museum of financial horrors, next to the exhibits on Equitable Life and endowment mortgages. But are these relics in fact still alive and crawling back into the mainstream?On the quiet the major mortgage lenders have begun making “retention” payouts to brokers, alongside the &ldquo
  
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• Pret a Manger looks to UK's teenagers to tackle looming staff crisis

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sandwich chain to offer unpaid work experience to 500 young people to head off recruitment challenge posed by BrexitPret a Manger is hoping to solve its looming recruitment crisis by offering 500 British teenagers a week of unpaid work experience.The sandwich chain wants to hire 16- to 18-year-olds over the summer. They would not be paid, but would be offered free food. One in 50 of Pret’s job applicants were born in the UK, so the company is particularly exposed to the threat of non-UK wo
  
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• Lords call for the banks to get back to basics

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A ‘basic account’ is just that …but they aren’t well promoted probably because they don’t make moneyThere are almost 8m basic bank accounts open in the UK, and most of the big banks offer them, but they are arguably the Cinderella of the financial services world. You won’t find sports stars appearing in multimillion-pound TV adverts to plug them, or billboard posters extolling the virtues of these no-frills accounts. But perhaps that could be set to chan
  
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• Is there an email I can use that has fewer targeted ads than Gmail?

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  If I get one more lingerie ad I will screamEvery 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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• Is an Isa the best home for your nest egg?

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  There are many Isa options open to savers these days, but the original tax-free vehicle is still worth a lookYou only have until 5 April to take advantage of your £15,240 Isa allowance. So should you be investing your cash in an Isa? And if so, what type should go for – cash, investment or the more risky “innovative” option? Read on for the what, how, where and why of Isas…Isas are accounts on which you will never have to pay tax. During the current tax year you ca
  
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• How one council is beating Britain's housing crisis

  25-03-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Fancy a three-bed semi with a garden for £152,000? Or rent at less than £500 per month? Sheffield is showing other local authorities how to build again In 2015, England’s local authorities built fewer than 3,000 new homes, just a tiny fraction of the estimated 250,000 new homes needed every year to meet demand. But one council has begun building again in volume, in what some see as a model for tackling the housing crisis.On the outskirts of Sheffield, hundreds of new homes are
  
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• ‘A truly terrible story, and not uncommon’ – our work expert responds

  25-03-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Our careers expert – and you the readers – help a traumatised whistleblower, and an ad exec seeking greater meaningSix years ago I was a whistleblower at my workplace. I worked there for three years, but from my first day I noticed daily cover-ups, misuse of position and daily cash fraud.  Continue reading...
  
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• UPDATE 1-French financial markets watchdog wants special access rules for UK - Business Insider

  25-03-2017 05:17
  Telegraph.co.uk
  UPDATE 1-French financial markets watchdog wants special access rules for UK
  Business Insider
  LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Union's system for granting market access to banks from outside the bloc will not work for a financial centre as big as Britain's, a top European regulator said on Thursday. Gerard Rameix, chairman of France's ...
  Europe's financial lifeline from London in doubtLondon South East (registration) (blog)alle 347 nieuwsartikelen »
  
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• House of Lords calls for action on UK financial exclusion - Banking Technology

  25-03-2017 01:29
  Belfast Telegraph
  House of Lords calls for action on UK financial exclusion
  Banking Technology
  The House of Lords Financial Exclusion Committee is calling for the UK Government, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and banks to give greater priority to tackling financial exclusion. In its new report, “Tackling financial exclusion: A country ...
  Lords Committee calls for UK Government action on financial exclusionFinextraalle 11 nieuwsartikelen »
  
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• Homes in beauty spots – in pictures

  25-03-2017 00:45 via theguardian.com
  
  From Constable country to Laurie Lee’s Cotswold valley, these properties are as easy on the eye as their surroundings Continue reading...
  
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