Financial news

• Brighter skies over eurozone as growth and employment pick up

  27-05-2017 18:29
  
  We take the temperature of five of Europe’s key economies now that political threats appear to have diminishedWhat a difference a few months make. As 2017 opened, eurozone politicians still raw from the shock of the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s presidential triumph were nervously awaiting elections in the Netherlands and France.They feared that discontent would propel the populist wave into the heart of Europe and usher in far-right, anti-euro leaders. In the event, the predicted s
  
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• Labour’s hope doesn’t usually play well in an age of anxiety

  27-05-2017 18:00
  
  The great leftwing election victories in British politics have nearly all occurred at times of national optimism. This is not one of those timesIt seems crazy to argue that the election will be determined by the economy when events have focused the electorate’s attention on national security and the judgment of the main political leaders.Last year’s Brexit vote illustrated many things, among them the propensity of voters to disregard short-term effects on their personal finances in f
  
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• City news: Spirax-Sarco, Intertek and Alfa Financial

  27-05-2017 13:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SPIRAX-Sarco steamed ahead 450p to a record 5760p yesterday after it agreed to buy US electrical products group Chromalox for £319million.
  
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• Spotify hopes going public will cement streaming as music's future

  27-05-2017 12:00
  
  As music industry celebrates second straight year of growth, service hopes to buck trend of tech industry disappointments on Wall StreetThe world may love the services they provide, but the new generation of tech companies haven’t found much love on Wall Street recently. Spotify, the leading music streaming service, is hoping to change that with a share sale could lead another round of “unicorns” to try their luck on the US stock markets. Continue reading...
  
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• REVEALED: Trick to boost state pension in loophole that could soon be closed - ex-minister

  27-05-2017 10:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BRITONS over-55 should make use of a generous loophole that can boost state pension payout by hundreds of pounds a year - but could be axed by the Government at any time.
  
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• Letter to my younger self: you never want to become the bully

  27-05-2017 10:00
  
  As a headhunter, Romanie Thomas was so frustrated that men dominated the top roles, she started her own recruitment company Dear Romanie,
  You’re 20 years old and six months into your first job as a recruitment consultant. Mum and dad are worried because the financial crisis has just hit.Continue reading...
  
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• Waste-free living: from gadgets that list themselves on eBay to lidless bottles

  27-05-2017 09:00
  
  Our throwaway habits are wreaking havoc on the planet. Here are six ideas from designers working to reduce waste in our everyday livesModern life is wasteful. From the plastic packaging that fills our kitchens – and ends up in our oceans – to the 40m tons of e-waste we generate per year, our throwaway culture is alive and kicking. And it’s wreaking havoc on the planet.But a host of designers, researchers and startups are on the case, coming up with new ideas to cut waste and ma
  
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• Sandbanks and Salcombe top UK seaside property league

  27-05-2017 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Towns in Dorset and Devon may boast highest prices but it is coastal homes near London and Aberdeen that have seen biggest rises since 2007Sandbanks in Dorset, Britain’s Mayfair-on-Sea, has once again emerged as the most expensive seaside town in the country.Home to former Premier League managers and millionaire businessmen, the average price of a home on the glitzy peninsula is now just more than £664,000. Next in price is the sailing hotspot of Salcombe, further along the south coa
  
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• EE and Vodafone are UK’s worst mobile providers, says Which?

  27-05-2017 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Survey finds the two networks – which together account for more than half the market – have satisfaction score of just 50%EE and Vodafone have been named as the UK’s two worst mobile phone providers by the consumer group Which?In its sixth annual survey of members, EE and Vodafone, which together account for more than half the market, recorded the worst scores for customer satisfaction. Giffgaff was named as the firm with the happiest mobile customers. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Working from home is having an adverse effect on your health' – our work expert responds

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our careers expert – and you the readers – help an employee stressed out with company cuts, and a parent seeking the best path for their sonSix years ago I moved from an office-based job to work for a big IT company. Since the role involved a lot of travel to meet customers, we agreed that I would be home-based. I did a lot of travelling, but the work-life balance of usually being at home on Fridays suited me well. Continue reading...
  
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• We will all pay the price for our financial illiteracy

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An OECD study on young people’s grasp of money issues around the world serves as a wake-up call not just for parents and schools, but also for regulatorsOne in five people are financially illiterate, incapable of grasping basic shopping conundrums – such as, is that nine-pack of loo roll better value than two four-packs? In a world of ever more complex financial products, it’s never been a better time for companies to rip people off because, frankly, very large numbers of us ar
  
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• Travelex to withdraw Supercard due to ‘high costs’

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Customers have until 23 July to use the card, which enables fee-free spending abroadTravelex is to scrap its popular Supercard that offered fee-free spending abroad, after the foreign exchange firm decided it was uneconomic.Launched in May 2015 and temporarily suspended after it proved too popular, it differed from existing providers in that it allowed users to link their existing bank cards to the Supercard. Continue reading...
  
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• Tax on test: do Britons pay more than most?

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We examine how the average burden on British people earning £25,000, £40,000 and £100,000 compares with taxes paid by similar earners in Europe, Australia and the USLabour’s plan to tax incomes over £80,000 more heavily is a “massive tax hike for the middle classes” that will “take Britain back to the misery of the 1970s”, according to rightwing newspapers. But are British households that heavily taxed?A comparison of personal tax rates acros
  
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• Serious Fraud Office warns of £120m pension scam

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Retirees have been persuaded to switch all their cash into schemes involving self-storage facilities and there are fears they may have lost huge sumsFears are growing that large numbers of people may have lost huge sums of money after investing their retirement pots in – of all things – self-storage units. The Serious Fraud Office this week launched an investigation into storage unit investment schemes, and revealed that more than £120m has been poured into them. But could that
  
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• Ofcom to review charges for calls to directory inquiries services

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Telecoms regulator acts after investigation by the Observer found some callers were charged three-figure sums to find numberThe telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has announced a review into the high cost of calls to directory inquiries services two months after I featured the case of a reader who was charged £501 for six calls to a 118 number.Prices have increased by up to 17-fold since BT’s service was opened up to competition in 2003, but in 2013 Ofcom abandoned its own proposals to impos
  
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• More tofu? Supermarkets flesh out their vegan credentials as clean eating grows

  27-05-2017 08:00
  
  Stores are racing to stock more lines of non-dairy, meat-free food as clean-eating trend boosts numbers of UK flexitarians, vegetarians and vegansHow about slapping an avocado and peanut burger on the barbecue this weekend? If you’re sticking with steaks, you are missing a trend in which rising numbers of Brits are joining famous names such as Jeremy Corbyn, former president Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt – and choosing to go meat-free.Continue reading...
  
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• How do I help my father whose eyesight is fading fast?

  27-05-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I hope there are low-vision aids so he can better cope with everyday tasks, but I don’t know whatEvery 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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• Could you cut out plastic from your weekly shop? One family tried

  27-05-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  
  With fruit sold in tubs, chicken in trays – and remote Pacific islands awash in plastic debris – the McCreadies found the plastic challenge toughThe grotesque images of rubbish-strewn Henderson Island, a remote and uninhabited Pacific coral atoll where millions of tonnes of plastic waste have washed up, sent shockwaves around the world. The sheer volume of plastics escaping into the environment mean that by 2050 there could be more plastic in our seas than fish. But how easily could
  
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• Homes near racecourses – in pictures

  27-05-2017 00:45 via theguardian.com
  
  These properties from York to Surrey are well placed for having a flutterContinue reading...
  
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