Financial news

• Greece approves $8bn Chinese-backed resort project outside Athens

  02-06-2017 20:57
  
  Thomas Cook owner and Abu Dhabi investors to build homes, hotels, malls and a park on former Olympics and airport siteConstruction work on a $7.9bn project to develop a sprawling coastal Olympics complex and Athens’s former airport will begin in six months, the Greek government has said.State minister Alekos Flabouraris said on Friday that the leftist administration’s privatisation agency had given the go-ahead to a consortium of Abu Dhabi and Chinese investors backed by the Chinese
  
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• Jeff Bezos: the 'obsessive' Amazon founder and world's next richest man

  02-06-2017 20:49
  
  Bezos, whose wealth has risen by $20bn in five months, could take Bill Gates’s crown within days if Amazon shares keep soaringJust a few dollars more on the Amazon share price and the world will have a new richest man. Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder, is on the brink of overtaking Bill Gates to become the wealthiest person on the planet.Bezos, 53, has been having a very good year. His net worth has risen by almost $20bn (£16bn) in the lpast five months to $85.2bn, putting him
  
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• Walmart asking staff to deliver online orders on their way home

  02-06-2017 20:36
  
  US supermarket trialling scheme that sees workers drop off packages on their commute in attempt to close gap with rival AmazonUS supermarket giant Walmart is asking employees to deliver online orders to customers on their way home from work in an attempt to close the gap with rival Amazon. Walmart, which employes about 1.5 million workers in its 4,700 US stores, said it “just makes sense” for them to deliver packages on the way home as 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of
  
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• British Airways cabin crew to hold four-day strike over pay dispute

  02-06-2017 19:59
  
  Industrial action planned for mid-June adds to airline’s troubles in wake of IT failure that left 75,000 passengers strandedCabin crew at British Airways have announced they will hold a four-day strike later this month, compounding the problems for the beleaguered airline which stranded 75,000 passengers at the weekend after an IT meltdown.Unite members of the mixed fleet, set up in 2011 on inferior pay and conditions, will walk out from 16 June in a dispute over “poverty pay”
  
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• Disappointing US jobs figures knock markets off peak

  02-06-2017 19:47
  
  Only 138,000 jobs were created across the US in May, well below the expected figure of 180,000Global stock markets reached new peaks on Friday, but came off their best levels following disappointing US jobs data.Only 138,000 jobs were created across the US in May, well below the expected level of 180,000. March and April’s figures were revised down by 66,000.Continue reading...
  
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• What am I bid? Prices go through the roof at Christie's handbag auction

  02-06-2017 19:29
  
  A Hermès or a Birkin is now a high-performing investment as well as a fashion statement after years of record pricesIt was standing room only in Christie’s Hong Kong auction house this week as buyers from around the world clamoured to bid for a white crocodile skin Hermès Birkin handbag encrusted with 10.23 carats of diamonds. After a tense few minutes of bidding, the bag sold to a telephone bidder for a record-breaking HK$2.9m (£293,000).Rare and expensive handbags &nd
  
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• Picturehouse cinema staff suspended in lead-up to strikes

  02-06-2017 18:50
  
  Six union officials at Brixton Ritzy and Hackney Picturehouse suspended following months of industrial action Leaders of staff involved in a long-running dispute over pay at the Picturehouse cinema chain have been suspended ahead of a fresh round of strikes. Six union officials at the Ritzy in Brixton and one at Hackney Picturehouse have been suspended, a move that the union Bectu has called “appalling”. Related: Cineworld bosses to meet union over living wage disputeContinue reading
  
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• Let’s move to… Dorchester-on-Thames: ‘A little utopia’

  02-06-2017 17:29
  
  This Oxfordshire village, with wisteria-stewn cottages and water on three sides, is cute as a dormouseWhat’s going for it? Dorchester-on-Thames is one of those English villages that get me all misty-eyed with patriotism, if only patriotism hadn’t been hijacked by the Kippers. Thanks to an illustrious history some time in the seventh century when it was, briefly, capital of Mercia, it carries itself with a certain grandeur. Its parish church is an abbey, it has the confidence to hold
  
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• REVEALED: How one in four over 55s could DOUBLE pension savings

  02-06-2017 16:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  ALMOST a quarter of older people are missing out on the chance to turbo-boost their retirement savings by hundreds of pounds a year, research has showed.
  
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• US jobs figures come in well below expectations, knocking markets off highs - as it happened

  02-06-2017 15:48
  
  US creates just 138,000 jobs in May, not 180,000Greece growing faster than UK, Italy and USOil slides after US pulls out of Paris climate dealUK construction figures show surprise increase in MayMarkets boosted by hopes of positive US employment figures2.48pm BSTThe big event of the day, the US jobs data, turned into a disappointment.After expectations that at least 180,000 jobs would be added in May the actual figure came out at 138,000. March and April’s figures were also revised downwar
  
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• How to respond to Trump's America | Joseph Stiglitz

  02-06-2017 15:29
  
  Action is needed to safeguard economic progress against a prejudiced White House that rejects science and enlightened valuesDonald Trump has thrown a hand grenade into the global economic architecture that was so painstakingly constructed in the years after the end of the second world war. The attempted destruction of this rules-based system of global governance – now manifested in Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement – is just the lates
  
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• General Election 2017: Should YOU buy holiday money before the vote?

  02-06-2017 15:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HOLIDAYMAKERS have been urged to consider buying foreign money ahead of next week's General Election.
  
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• In China, the water you drink is as dangerous as the air you breathe | Deng Tingting

  02-06-2017 14:47
  
  Nearly half the country has missed its five-year water quality targets, Greenpeace research shows – so what can be done about water pollution?
  Shanghai, with its chic cafes, glitzy shopping malls and organic health food shops, is emblematic of improving quality of life for China’s urban middle class. Yet while the city’s veil of smog has lifted slightly in recent years, its water pollution crisis continues unabated – 85% of the water in the city’s major rivers was u
  
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• Jobs report: US unemployment hits 16-year low despite slower hiring

  02-06-2017 14:34
  
  US adds 138,000 jobs, fewer than expected, as unemployment falls to 4.3%
  Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates this monthThe unemployment rate hit a 16-year low in May but the pace of hiring slowed as the economy added 138,000 jobs – well below expectations.The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the unemployment rate had fallen to 4.3%, the lowest level since 2001, all but guaranteeing that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its next meeting this mon
  
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• Arora brothers cash in £227m of shares from B&M retail chain

  02-06-2017 14:13
  
  Fast-growing national discounter’s bosses have now taken out almost £1bn since floating business in 2014Two brothers who built B&M into a national discount chain selling everything from curtain to biscuits, have cashed in nearly £230m of shares in the fast-growing business – taking their total proceeds from the business since it floated to nearly £1bn.The latest share sale, which cut the Arora brothers’ stake to 15% from about 21%, was part of a placing al
  
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• FINANCIAL CRASH WARNING: Signs major stock markets could be about to IMPLODE

  02-06-2017 13:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STOCK markets in Britain and the US have once again hit record highs this week, but experts have warned this could be the calm before a crushing storm.
  
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• BA chaos: why I’m flying the flag for the new arbitration scheme

  02-06-2017 13:14
  
  It could help those passengers whose plans were wrecked by the airline’s recent meltdown, as one barrister has found outThe chaos BA descended into last weekend will come as little surprise to some people who regularly use the airline. My battles with it were described in these pages last July. Within a few weeks of that another failure by BA led me to make a compensation claim which the airline attempted to avoid. Judged by my experience, BA’s position seems to be that it will make
  
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• Sterling trades lower before UK construction data - Financial Express

  02-06-2017 12:50
  
  Financial Express
  Sterling trades lower before UK construction data
  Financial Express
  Sterling traded below seven-month highs against the dollar on Friday as investors awaited data on the construction sector in Britain while keeping an eye out for polls on the country's general election due in less than a week. By: Reuters | Published ...en meer »
  
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• Jay Hunt quits Channel 4 post just days before decision on top job

  02-06-2017 12:47
  
  Chief creative officer who led poaching of Bake Off from BBC was seen as frontrunner to succeed outgoing CEO David Abraham Jay Hunt, the favourite to take over as chief executive of Channel 4, has quit the broadcaster days before an announcement to name the successful candidate for the £900,000-a-year job.The broadcaster’s chief creative officer, responsible for poaching the Great British Bake Off from the BBC, had been considered by many to be the frontrunner of five or six candidat
  
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• China sees an opportunity to lead as Trump withdraws from Paris. But will it?

  02-06-2017 09:45
  
  Chinese leaders are eager for more influence on the international stage and the US has created a void it could fillAs Donald Trump walked off the stage in the Rose Garden after announcing the US would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, one could practically hear the champagne corks popping in Beijing.
  Chinese leaders are eager for more influence on the international stage, and Trump’s move opened up another opportunity for China to fill a void left by the US.Continue reading...
  
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• All the tea in China – in pictures

  02-06-2017 09:08
  
  According to a legend, tea was first discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Today China is the world’s biggest tea producer, producing 2.43m tonnes last year. The tea industry in China employs around 80 million people as both farmers and pickers, and in sales Continue reading...
  
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• Black and Asian workers more likely to have insecure jobs, says TUC

  02-06-2017 08:01
  
  Employers and policymakers urged to tackle bias and racism in the workplaceBlack, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers are much more likely than white workers to be in insecure jobs such as zero-hours contracts, according to the Trades Union Congress.The TUC is urging policymakers and employers to tackle bias and racism in the workplace after its research found one in every 13 BAME workers is in temporary or zero-hours work, compared with one in 20 white workers. Continue reading...
  
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• Snapchat brings its hip round Spectacles to Europe

  02-06-2017 08:00
  
  Snap Inc’s glasses that film circular videos of users’ everyday lives have been placed in vending machines in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and VeniceSnapchat is bringing its Spectacles to Europe, placing five “snapbot” vending machines in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice to begin selling the £129.99 wearable cameras.It is the first time the glasses have been available outside the US, where they led to hundreds of people queueing throughout the winter
  
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• Service with a smile: how to keep customers coming back

  02-06-2017 08:00
  
  Sell your brand story, adopt a can-do attitude and respond to feedback was some of the advice in our live chatLoyal customers are hard won, and easily lost. But there are simple and effective ways to encourage repeat custom. Staff training, loyalty schemes and customer reviews were some points for discussion in our live Q&A on the secrets to customer loyalty.First up were loyalty schemes, with a few questions from reader Oliver King. He asked if loyalty schemes are effective, whether custome
  
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• My colleague moans about being too busy, but refuses any help

  02-06-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  They have also complained to my manager that I don’t support them. What should I do?
  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.I work in a small team for a large professional services company and have a colleague who, while constantly bemoaning how busy they are, refuses any hel
  
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• A former tram shed in London – in pictures

  02-06-2017 08:00
  
  Staggered floors and a glass roof lantern are just two of the unique features in this warehouse conversion Continue reading...
  
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• Schroders managers join Bennelong UK business - Financial Standard

  02-06-2017 04:34
  Schroders managers join Bennelong UK business
  Financial Standard
  Two veteran Schroders fund managers will join a boutique launched by the UK business of Bennelong Funds Management. Paul Marriage and John Warren will transfer over to Bennelong subsidiary BennBridge and its first UK boutique Tellworth Investments ...en meer »
  
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• Schroders managers join Bennelong UK business | Financial ... - Financial Standard

  02-06-2017 04:34
  Schroders managers join Bennelong UK business | Financial ...
  Financial Standard
  Two veteran Schroders fund managers will join a boutique launched by the UK business of Bennelong Funds Management.en meer »
  
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• Droughts, flood, feed: farmer satellites see all but what about climate change?

  02-06-2017 02:43
  
  New Digital Earth Australia technology will help farmers monitor the landscape – but is the government ignoring its ability to analyse climate change? From checking water levels in far-flung dams to making sure the sheep aren’t wrecking the paddock, Australian farmers sometimes find themselves needing to be everywhere at once – and, thanks to the latest satellite analysis capabilities, soon they could be.In May, the Turnbull government allocated $15.3m over two years to deliver
  
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