Financial news

• Small towns seethe at bank closures, but others are plotting a new future

  08-04-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As Lloyds reveals plans to shut 100 banks, it is also trialling a new micro version. Meanwhile others are either championing the branch idea, or plotting its deathTudor cottages lining the waterside, Dutch gables and magnolias in flower – Topsham looks like a typically quaint and prosperous Devon seaside town. But its 4,000 residents and traders are unusually indignant – because they have been abandoned by the last bank in town.Quayside warehouses are now home to numerous thriving an
  
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• Are the wheels about to fall off the credit gravy train?

  08-04-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Consumer spending may be relatively robust, but regulators worry that it’s propped up by worryingly high - think 2008 - levels of personal debtIn Threadneedle Street, the alarm bells are ringing. The Bank of England is concerned that consumer spending is underpinned by rising credit card debt, personal loans and car finance deals. Its financial policy committee (FPC) and Prudential Regulation Authority are checking on banks’ lending to people who may not be able to repay, the impact
  
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• Could you live with just three toiletries?

  08-04-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Startup Akamai is on a mission to get people to wash less – but changing modern hygiene habits will not be easyImagine clearing out that bathroom cupboard bursting with bottles and tubes and replacing them with just three products.
  That’s what US-based personal care startup Akamai is trying to persuade people to do, in an unusual business move – asking customers to buy less. Continue reading...
  
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• Why should I have to buy my four-year-old daughter an Easter egg?

  08-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  My parents never bought me chocolate eggs when I was a child and now I resent having to take part in the annual sugar-festEvery 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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• The experts’ guide to making your garden bloom on a budget

  08-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As many of us return to the garden and wonder how to make it flourish, we asked five of the country’s leading green-fingered experts how to avoid throwing away cash in a garden centreFrances Tophill is a gardening TV presenter and author Continue reading...
  
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• Revealed: the huge profits earned by big banks on overseas money transfers

  08-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An internal Santander memo leaked to Guardian Money says 10% of its global profits come from international cash transfers, and it charges six times more than newer rivalsWhen senior Santander executives gathered in the principality of Andorra in January this year, the bank’s “innovation director” warned that a large chunk of its profits were at risk – because the juicy margins it earns on money transfers could be destroyed by new competitors. The documents supporting thes
  
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• ‘I’m not asking you to put on an act’ – our work expert responds

  08-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our careers expert – and you the readers – help someone stuck in a dead-end job, and a PhD student who fears they will struggle to find work in academiaI’m sure my problem is not unique, but here goes. I am stuck in a job that isn’t providing me with any satisfaction and, yes, it pays my bills, but I’m very frustrated. I have a Master of Science degree and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (post-16 only) but, after having children before enterin
  
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• A hole in home insurance cover that could leave millions out of pocket

  08-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  If your pipe bursts and causes damage to a neighbour’s house, your policy might not pay out if you have bought home rather than contents coverHow would you feel if you received a scary letter from an insurance company accusing you of “negligence” and saying you were legally responsible for paying for repairs to your neighbour’s house?That’s what happened to 82-year-old Sabata Picone after water leaked from her property into the house next door. The letter she receiv
  
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• Homes in property hotspots – in pictures

  08-04-2017 00:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Slough, Aylesbury and Maldon are seeing hefty price rises, and you can buy into the action with these new-build and period properties Continue reading...
  
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