Financial news

• Is this the beginning of the end for neoliberalism? | Letters

  13-04-2017 19:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Your editorial on the French elections (11 April), with its encouraging mention of the rise of the higher tax and spend candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, failed to mention possibly his biggest electoral draw: the fact that he is a leftwing protectionist. Prior to the 2012 election, polls showed that over 80% of French across the political spectrum thought that free trade had a negative impact on employment. So it’s not just immigration that is fuelling ever-broadening support for Marine
  
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• Young midwestern farmers want to grow sustainable food – but they need help

  13-04-2017 17:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Midwestern states are the second leading producers of crops and livestock behind California. But young farmers are leaving, put off by high land prices and startup costsOn a recent chilly afternoon, Natasha Hegmann, 28, and her husband, Pete Kerns, 27, tended the fire of a giant copper boiler holding some 250 gallons of maple sap. The sap had flowed into the boiler overnight through a series of pipes from nearby trees. Turning the gooey sap into syrup will take days.A native Iowan, Hegmann worke
  
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• Rachel Whetstone: from Tory power broker to Silicon Valley PR guru

  13-04-2017 17:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Before joining – and quitting – scandal-hit Uber, Whetstone advised senior Conservatives and led communications at GoogleFor the best part of two decades, Rachel Whetstone has served as public relations guru to some of Britain’s most powerful Conservative politicians and the world’s best-known corporations.Born in East Sussex to a wealthy family, the 49-year-old has a Conservative pedigree. Her grandfather, Antony Fisher, made his fortune importing intensive chicken farmi
  
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• BA pilot who feared toxic cockpit air died of overdose, inquest told

  13-04-2017 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Family of pilot Richard Westgate, who had nervous system damage, says industry ignoring risk of cabin organophosphatesThe family of a British Airways co-pilot, who believe he was poisoned by contaminated cockpit air, have accused the airline industry of having its “head in the sand” over the issue.Richard Westgate, 43, died in December 2012 after moving to the Netherlands to seek help from a specialist clinic for his symptoms, He thought the symptoms were caused by “aerotoxic s
  
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• Ask the experts: how to be more creative – live chat

  13-04-2017 16:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Join us on this page from 1–2pm on Wednesday 19 April to talk to our expert panel about how to come up with great ideas or pivot your business 3.08pm BSTSubmit a question
  You can post questions in the comments section below during the chat. Or you can send questions in advance, or during the discussion, by emailing [email protected] or by tweeting us at @GdnSmallBiz with your question. 3.08pm BSTHow to join in the discussion
  Make sure you are a registered user of the Gua
  
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• Pound rises as Trump warns dollar is too strong - as it happened

  13-04-2017 15:50 via theguardian.com
  
  The pound rose above $1.25 on Thursday after President Trump said the dollar was ‘getting too strong’IMF’s Lagarde: Trump’s trade barriers would be ‘self-inflicted wound’‘Great chemistry’: Trump abandons China criticism 2.50pm BSTUS markets are down in early trading as Trump’s comments continue to reverberate around Wall Street.Here’s how it looked at the opening bell: 2.28pm BSTEuropean markets are still in the red this afternoon: Cont
  
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• Strikes announced on Virgin Trains East Coast and Arriva Rail North

  13-04-2017 15:25 via theguardian.com
  
  RMT members to walk out on 28 and 29 April while Arriva Rail North staff stage 24-hour strike on 28 AprilWorkers on Virgin Trains East Coast are to stage a 48-hour strike in a row over the role of guards and jobs, while Arriva Rail North staff stage a 24-hour walkout.
  Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 April. The RMT said it had been seeking “explicit clarification” from Virgin on the retention of guards’ roles. It
  
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• UK Financial Conduct Authority Publishes Discussion Paper on ... - The National Law Review

  13-04-2017 15:21
  
  The National Law Review
  UK Financial Conduct Authority Publishes Discussion Paper on ...
  The National Law Review
  UK FCA published discussion paper on potential uses of distributed ledger technology in financial services.en meer »
  
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• How can Peru prepare to withstand more devastating floods and landslides?

  13-04-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After record rains caused $3bn worth of damage, Peru must build infrastructure to prepare for any more extreme climate events in the futureLeer este artículo en españolFor most Peruvians, this year’s floods have been the worst in living memory. Ten times the usual amount of rain has fallen on Peru’s coast, swelling rivers which caused widespread flooding, and triggering huge landslides which tore through shanty towns.More than 100 people have died, nearly 158,000 are di
  
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• Banks cracking down on lending after borrowing binge, survey finds

  13-04-2017 14:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Bank of England has voiced concern over rising consumer debt, including credit cards, car loans and second mortgagesWorried lenders are starting to put the brakes on Britain’s consumer borrowing binge and plan to get tougher on credit card users, according to a Bank of England survey.Its poll of all the main high street lenders showed they had cut access to credit in the opening months of this year and plan to limit it further. The proportion of lenders expecting to restrict access to cred
  
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• New Era of UK Financial Sanctions Regime – Policing and Crime ... - The National Law Review

  13-04-2017 14:51
  
  The National Law Review
  New Era of UK Financial Sanctions Regime – Policing and Crime ...
  The National Law Review
  HM Treasury implemented new US type financial sanctions enforcement framework, Policing and Crime Act, that can fine UK and nonUK companies for ...en meer »
  
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• Is business starting to get spooked about Donald Trump? | Larry Elliott

  13-04-2017 14:36 via theguardian.com
  
  After his U-turns at home and Dr Strangelove-style antics abroad, markets and investors are supposing that the president is making it up as he goes alongFinancial markets are starting to have doubts about Donald Trump. The euphoria that sent share prices on Wall Street to record levels has quickly dissipated amid fears that the new president is dangerously unpredictable.Evidence that Trump does not really have a clue about what he is doing is mounting by the day. The failure to get Congress to a
  
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• Starbucks blames UK profits plunge on Brexit and slowing growth

  13-04-2017 14:32 via theguardian.com
  
  US coffee chain pays less corporation tax as its British profits slump by 60% from £34m to £13mStarbucks has blamed a collapse in UK profits on a list of ills including fewer shoppers visiting the high street and the impact of the Brexit vote. Pre-tax profits at the US coffee chain slumped to £13.4m in the year to 2 October 2016, down 60% on the £34.2m it made in 2015. Its turnover declined from £405.6m to £379.9m. Continue reading...
  
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• Royal Mail union warns of industrial action over pension scheme closure

  13-04-2017 12:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Union says staff face losing up to a third of their future pensions, but company insists defined-benefit plan is unaffordableUnions have threatened to disrupt Royal Mail deliveries with possible strike action, after the company said it would close its defined-benefit pension plan next year.The plan, which has 90,000 members – two-thirds of Royal Mail’s workforce – and assets of £7.4bn, is in surplus, but Royal Mail said this would run out next year and the scheme would be
  
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• Pound surges to seven-week high against euro: How to get the best exchange rate

  13-04-2017 12:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound has jumped to its highest level against the euro since February, in a spending boost for British holidaymakers heading to the continent over the Easter holidays.
  
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• United Airlines to refund tickets for all customers on infamous flight

  13-04-2017 10:55 via theguardian.com
  
  When airline asked for volunteers to deplane, they offered $800 to relinquish a seat before dragging a man off. Now they’ll pay the full price of every ticketSeeking to quell the uproar over a man being dragged off a plane, United Airlines announced on Tuesday that it would refund the tickets for all customers who were on the flight when the man was removed and that it would no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights.The airline said that passengers on United Express Fligh
  
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• City news: WH Smith, Panmure Gordon, Sports Direct and Dulux

  13-04-2017 10:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  GROWING numbers of air and rail passengers helped half-year profits take off at WH Smith’s travel business.
  
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• Tesco boss defends £3.7bn Booker takeover

  13-04-2017 10:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  TESCO boss Dave Lewis yesterday defended its “compelling” £3.7billion takeover of wholesaler Booker after the supermarket’s turnaround gathered pace with its first growth in UK sales for seven years.
  
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• UK technology firms turn to Silicon Valley to ward off Brexit blues

  13-04-2017 08:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Industry leaders from the north of England have embarked on mission San Francisco to woo top dealmakers in the USTheresa May’s article 50 letter might have dominated the front pages in Britain but it was met with a shrug in San Francisco, where 30 tech leaders from the north of England recently embarked on a four-day mission to woo, impress and tempt cash from Silicon Valley’s top dealmakers.Anxiety over the future of Britain outside Europe has not, it seems, spread to the home of Fa
  
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• 3 Habits For A Brighter Financial Future - Shout Out UK

  13-04-2017 08:15
  
  Shout Out UK
  3 Habits For A Brighter Financial Future
  Shout Out UK
  Throughout your teens and early twenties you can blow most of the money you make on pleasurable, frivolous luxuries and still manage to get by without worrying about the state of your personal finances. However, as adulthood catches up with you, every ...
  
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• Grief takes a backseat for widowed entrepreneurs

  13-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Taking over a business following the death of a spouse is a tough ask, but people in this position can look to support networks for helpWhen Sandra Chandler lost her husband Glyn to heart failure in 2015, she didn’t just have a personal tragedy to cope with – also at stake was his sports education business RuggerEds, which she suddenly found herself running with little experience.Shock, grief and a sense of duty to Glyn’s legacy ensued. Meanwhile, Chandler had to deal with the
  
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• EE sent me to Coventry when I told them I was moving to Russia

  13-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It continues to bill for service I cancelled and ignores all my emails and expensive international phone calls to customer services I’ve run out of ideas to prevent EE debiting money from my bank account. I cancelled my home broadband and phone package six months ago when I moved abroad, and gave my parents’ details as a forwarding address for any correspondence. It turns out that EE logged this as a home move request and tried to transfer my account to my parents’ address. The
  
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• Can I use my help-to-buy Isa to buy a property with my brother?

  13-04-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I’m not going to live in it, but both our names will be on the mortgage
  Q I’m wondering if you could give me some help-to-buy advice. I have a help-to-buy Isa and so does my brother. We both want to get a mortgage together as we cannot afford to buy otherwise. I wanted to ask whether I would be able to use my help-to-buy Isa if I don’t live in the property with my brother? My brother would live in the property with his family. However, the mortgage would be in both our names. A
  
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• Driverless cars will make our roads safer, says Oxbotica co-founder

  13-04-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Co-founder of UK startup Oxbotica says use of autonomous vehicles for shopping, short trips, airports and warehouses is imminentPaul Newman is a self-confessed “positivist” when it comes to autonomous driving.A professor of information engineering at Oxford University, he co-founded Oxbotica in 2014, a specialist provider of autonomous control system technologies, and believes driverless cars will make our roads safer and help an ageing population remain independent. Continue reading
  
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• Ticket resale companies subject of global investigation by consumer groups

  13-04-2017 05:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Organisations in Australia, UK and New Zealand start survey over concerns about excessive fees and fake ticketsA global coalition of Australian, British and New Zealand consumer groups is launching an international investigation to gather information about the burgeoning ticket resale market. Related: Adele's Australian tour: tickets offered by resale sites for $5,000 as they go on official saleContinue reading...
  
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• What is an ordinary working person? PM's grammar schools report has the answer | Larry Elliot

  13-04-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Government consultation document on Theresa May’s education plan seems to exclude the very poorAll politicians like to think they are in touch with ordinary working people. Harold Wilson teased the blue-blooded Alec Douglas-Home about his inability to connect with ordinary working people ahead of the 1964 election. Margaret Thatcher cited her policy of allowing council tenants to buy their homes as evidence that the Conservatives, not Labour, represented ordinary working people.Theresa May
  
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• Estate agents struggling to find homes to sell, says report

  13-04-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Surveyors say homes prices flat across UK, partly due to buy-to-let landlords deserting the sector after tax changesThe average number of homes for sale by each estate agent has fallen to a record low, with agents in parts of the country gloomier than at any time since the financial crash, according to a report by the surveyors’ professional body.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said the number of properties sitting on estate agents’ books fell to just 43 per branc
  
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• BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: Smaller firms 'feeling increasingly assured despite spiralling costs'

  13-04-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SMALLER firms are feeling increasingly confident despite "spiralling" business costs, spurred by more international trade, a new study reveals.
  
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