Financial news

• SFO delays decision again on charging Barclays over 2008 fundraising

  26-05-2017 20:56
  
  Decision of five-year investigation into deal with Qatar sovereign wealth fund now expected in June after officers fail to meet end of May deadlineThe Serious Fraud Office has further delayed its decision on whether to bring any criminal charges against Barclays and former executives at the bank over a 2008 fundraising. A decision is now expected in mid-June, despite the SFO setting an end-of-May deadline earlier in the year – itself a delay from an end of March deadline. Continue reading.
  
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• FTSE reaches record high as UK opinion poll spooks sterling

  26-05-2017 20:37
  
  Stock market booms as poll putting Labour just 5 points behind Conservatives boosts value of big UK firms with major overseas earningsShares in Britain’s biggest companies reached record levels on Friday as a slump in the pound boosted the value of firms with overseas earnings.The FTSE 100 jumped 63 points to close the day at 7,547, closely followed by the FTSE 250, seen as a better barometer of the health of UK business, which also reached an all-time closing high, rising 57 points to 20,
  
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• The financial crisis lives on in UK courtrooms - Financial Times

  26-05-2017 19:35
  Financial Times
  The financial crisis lives on in UK courtrooms
  Financial Times
  The law tries cases and metes out punishment for a number of different reasons. Securing restitution for damage done and deterring future misdeeds are the most respectable and most often cited. There is a subtler reason, though, one that is easily ...en meer »
  
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• Uber's London licence renewed for only four months

  26-05-2017 19:21
  
  Transport for London continues to consider five-year licence as unions express concerns over working practicesUber’s licence to operate in London has been renewed but only for a period of four months, as transport authorities continue to deliberate whether to grant it a five-year licence. The decision over renewal has become the latest focus of controversy around the app-based taxi firm, with black-cab drivers and unions demanding that Transport for London reject the application without as
  
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• Student housing tempts wealthy investors

  26-05-2017 19:08
  
  Demand for investment grows despite worries that Brexit might cut number of high-spending foreign students coming to UKSome of the world’s richest people and sovereign wealth funds are turning their attention to student housing, with the increasingly luxurious and expensive purpose-built accommodation becoming regarded as a must-have part of their investment portfolio.Investor demand for student accommodation blocks is so strong that some potential buyers were forced to stand during presen
  
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• FTSE 100 hits record high as election jitters drive pound down – as it happened

  26-05-2017 17:52
  
  Sterling hits one-month low after YouGov reports that the Conservatives only have a five-point lead over Labour Latest: Footsie hits new time closing highFTSE 250 surges over 20,000 for first time everPound has tumbled below $1.28 as Tory lead shrinksSterling at two-month low against the euro
  Experts: Election uncertainty worries markets 9.56pm BSTA late PS: Here’s Phillip Inman on today’s market action:Related: FTSE reaches record high as UK opinion poll spooks sterling4.51pm BSTBre
  
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• Let’s move to Ilford, east London: ‘One of today’s boomtowns’

  26-05-2017 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  As inner London becomes supergentrified, it’s suburbs such as this that are left for the likes of you and meWhat’s going for it? Ilford’s attraction is not immediate. I rise past it most weeks on the North Circular; you might be in any outer London suburb, Kingston or Kingsbury, Bromley or Barnet. If you squint hard (health and safety warning: not when you’re driving), you could even be in Los Angeles. Maybe. Look, Ilford has its moments. Indeed, as central London becomes
  
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• Solar power breaks UK records thanks to sunny weather

  26-05-2017 17:09
  
  Thousands of photovoltaic panels across the UK generate 8.7GW, smashing previous high of 8.48GW earlier this monthSolar power has broken new records in the UK by providing nearly a quarter of the country’s electricity needs, thanks to sunny skies and relatively low summer demand.National Grid said the thousands of photovoltaic panels on rooftops and in fields across the UK were generating 8.7GW, or 24.3% of demand at 1pm on Friday, smashing the previous high of 8.48GW earlier this month. C
  
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• Barclays and HSBC defy slump in UK fees - Financial News (subscription)

  26-05-2017 16:20
  
  Financial News (subscription)
  Barclays and HSBC defy slump in UK fees
  Financial News (subscription)
  Investment banks are earning less money from traditional advisory work in the UK than at any point since 2013 - but Barclays and HSBC have escaped the pain and increased their revenues. Banks have earned $1.9bn from capital markets work, M&A advice ...
  
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• IFS makes damning assessment of Tory and Labour manifestos

  26-05-2017 10:37
  
  Neither party’s general election manifesto sets out an honest set of choices, says leading thinktankNeither of the two main parties “has set out an honest set of choices” to the public over their tax and spending plans, the Institute of Fiscal Studies has said.In a critical assessment of the Conservative and Labour party manifestos, the thinktank said both parties presented a misleading picture of the impact their polices would have over the course of the next parliament. It wa
  
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• Oil price latest: US shale won't stand in way of OPEC, says Saudi Minister

  26-05-2017 09:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE US won't be able to stop Saudi Arabia's plans to curb oil supply and raise prices, according to the kingdom's energy minister at a significant OPEC meeting in Vienna.
  
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• POUND LIVE: Sterling PLUMMETS over jitters at Corbyn’s debt plan as Tories drop in polls

  26-05-2017 09:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound has tumbled after a poll showed Theresa May's lead over the Labour party has fallen to just five points only two weeks before the election.
  
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• Halfords counting on 'staycation' Britons for rise in sales

  26-05-2017 09:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HALFORDS is looking to “staycation” britons pedal power a recovery after profits were punctured by a weak pound.
  
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• Alfa Financial Group valued at £975m in largest UK tech IPO since '15 - Financial Times

  26-05-2017 08:43
  Bloomberg
  Alfa Financial Group valued at £975m in largest UK tech IPO since '15
  Financial Times
  Alfa Financial Software has completed the UK's largest technology listing in almost two years, pricing its initial public offering at the top of its range with a ...
  U.K. Financial Software Firm Alfa Jumps 30% on London DebutBloomberg
  Alfa Financial completes 'largest UK tech listing in almost two years'Tech City News
  Alfa Financial scores the 'largest UK tech listing' seen in almost two y
  
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• Don't want to work until you are 70? You will have to, says WEF

  26-05-2017 08:07 via theguardian.com
  
  World Economic Forum says looming fourfold rise in over-65s by 2050 is financial equivalent of climate changeThe retirement age in Britain and other leading developed countries will need to rise to 70 by the middle of the century to head off the biggest pension crisis in history, according to the World Economic Forum.The body that runs the annual gathering of the global elite in Davos said deficits in the world’s six largest pension systems would more than quadruple to $224tn by 2050 unles
  
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• Zara and H&M back in-store recycling to tackle throwaway culture

  26-05-2017 08:00
  
  Schemes aim to tackle fashion’s huge waste problem but critics say they are a token gesture and could encourage ‘guilt free’ consumption When you walk into a high-street shop, you’re probably looking to snap up a bargain, not get rid of an old jumper. But clothing retailers and brands are increasingly asking shoppers to dump their cast-offs in store.Britain alone is expected to send 235m items of clothing to landfill this spring, the majority of which could have been re-w
  
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• Work stress is making my daughter ill

  26-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  She has seen derogatory messages about her and other staff, and feels undervalued – what do you advise?
  Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights.My daughter works for a private company in the care industry. She is a compliance manager for vulnerable people who live in their own
  
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• 'I lived in fear of brown envelopes': being chased by the taxman

  26-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Many freelancers fear a tax investigation. We hear from those who’ve faced HMRC, and from accountants experienced in the processFor Nick Walton, 2005 marked the start of a tumultuous five-year tax battle when he received a letter from HMRC that questioned his tax return. They didn’t tell him what the issue was. The investigation was thorough. In the first interview, an enquiry officer asked about Walton’s job as a freelance journalist and honed in on a David Beckham book he had
  
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• A former signal station in Cornwall – in pictures

  26-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Built as a communications hub for passing ships, this clifftop home is set on England’s most southerly pointContinue reading...
  
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