Financial news

• Diamond ring bought for £10 at car boot sale goes for £657,000

  07-06-2017 23:21 via theguardian.com
  
  The ‘Tenner’ ring is thought to date from 19th century and its owner, who bought it in the 1980s, was unaware of its true valueA diamond ring that was purchased at a car boot sale for £10 has been sold for £656,750 at auction.
  The cushion-shaped jewel was expected to fetch up to £350,000 when it went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London, but in the end was snapped up for close to twice that amount. Named the “Tenner” diamond, the ring was purcha
  
  Read more

• We need to talk about recession: why the 'record run of growth' won't pay the bills | Greg Jericho

  07-06-2017 22:10
  
  We have had a record period without a recession and yet we have wages growing at levels you would associate with oneAustralia’s GDP in March continued to grow but also continued to grow weakly. It is a situation that we have become all too accustomed to and reflects the state of the economy where, because of the shift from mining investment to exports, a massive jump in profits no longer translates into a boost for wages or jobs.In March Australia’s GDP increased by 0.3% in seasonall
  
  Read more

• US oil firm Halliburton branded ‘obscene’ over unpaid UK internships

  07-06-2017 20:35
  
  Texas-based firm, which reported revenues of $16bn in 2016, posts ad offering full-time roles on unpaid work experience schemeOil industry company Halliburton has been branded “obscene” for advertising unpaid UK internships, which critics say give an unfair advantage to people from privileged backgrounds.In an advert on its recruitment site, Halliburton said it was seeking “people who want to innovate, achieve, grow and lead” for student internships at its office in Chisw
  
  Read more

• Relieved RBS bosses should spare a thought for the claimaints

  07-06-2017 20:17
  
  Royal Bank of Scotland’s abrasive tone, and its seemingly freewheeling approach to racking up legal fees, have felt wrongNow we know: Royal Bank of Scotland’s rights issue in 2008 wasn’t a £12bn cash call, it was a £13bn affair. The extra £1bn is how much Fred Goodwin’s successors have spent settling and fighting claims from irate retail investors who thought the rights issue document was misleading.The latest settlement with RBS Action Group, worth abo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Santander and RBS haunted by ghost of crisis past

  07-06-2017 20:00
  
  Royal Bank of Scotland spends £1bn battling shareholders and Spanish lender rescues rival as legacy of 2008 woes hangs over the sectorThe shadow of the 2008 financial crisis loomed over the banking sector again on Wednesday when a Spanish lender was rescued from collapse by Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland racked up a £1bn bill to end a legal battle sparked by the bailouts by UK taxpayers nearly a decade ago.
  The European authorities deployed new rules for the first time to allow
  
  Read more

• OECD: outlook for global economy is ‘better, but not good enough’

  07-06-2017 19:16
  
  Thinktank forecasts UK will suffer Brexit-related slowdown and calls for end to austerityRising inflation and weak wage growth will leave Britain rooted to the bottom of the league table for living standards among the west’s richest countries in 2018, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned.In the last piece of economic news before the general election, the Paris-based thinktank said the next government would spend the first 18 months of the next parliamentary
  
  Read more

• Winds of change: gusts across Europe help set renewable power record

  07-06-2017 19:12
  
  Nuclear, wind and solar power in UK generate more electricity than gas and coal combined for first time ever
  The windy weather across Europe in the past 24 hours may have been a curse for summer picnics, but it has set records for renewable power.Related: 'Spectacular' drop in renewable energy costs leads to record global boostContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Santander rescues Spain's failing Banco Popular, oil prices slide - as it happened

  07-06-2017 18:50
  
  All the day’s economic and financial news, including a bank rescue in Spain and the OECD’s latest global economic outlookOil price slides after surprise rise in US crude stocks OECD says recovery isn’t good enoughBreaking: Failing Banco Popular taken over, for €1
  Why Banco Popular failedMarkets calm as risky Popular debt is wiped outPound and FTSE steady ahead of general election 5.50pm BSTIt was a down day for European shares ahead of Thursdays key events, the UK election
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Why Topshop is falling out of fashion with the Instagram generation

  07-06-2017 18:47
  
  While the Oxford Circus flagship store is a ‘destination’ shop, many branches outside London feel like relics from a pre-digital ageThere was a time, for many British teenagers, when no Saturday was complete without a trip to Topshop. It was a name that had cache – and fashion editors didn’t think twice about dressing in Topshop threads. But now young consumers are more likely to pick their party outfits and festival fashion on their phones than traipse to bricks and mort
  
  Read more

• Sir Philip Green's retail empire reels from BHS closure and Topshop fall

  07-06-2017 18:20
  
  Accounts show pre-tax profits tumbled to £36.8m in the year to end of August 2016, with total turnover down 17%Sir Philip Green’s retail empire suffered a worse than expected 79% fall in profits last year as it reeled from the closure of BHS and a tough fashion market, during which Topshop’s UK sales fell for the first time in more than a decade.The company said it faced competition from new fashion retailers at a time when clothing had become a less important part of the house
  
  Read more

• More than a fifth of WPP investors reject Sorrell’s £48m pay package

  07-06-2017 17:16
  
  Board of world’s largest advertising group faces questions at AGM over who will take over if founder steps downMore than a fifth of WPP investors have voted against Sir Martin Sorrell’s £48m pay package, as the chief executive and his board faced a barrage of questions at the annual meeting over who will take over as head of the world’s largest advertising group.A total of 21.3% of shareholders either voted against his pay or abstained, the lowest level of unrest over Sor
  
  Read more

• Keep women in academia by providing childcare, historian urges universities

  07-06-2017 17:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Childcare is the single biggest problem for female academics, but too little is done to help, suggests Cambridge University historian Patricia FaraA leading British historian has called on universities to provide more support for childcare to reduce the number of women who leave academia before they reach the peak of their careers.Starting a family remains one of the greatest obstacles for women who are building their careers as university researchers, but too little is done to help them, said P
  
  Read more

• Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally

  07-06-2017 15:06
  
  China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demandThe number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models. Related: Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial newsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Austerity has strangled the British economy. Only Labour gets this | Joseph Stiglitz

  07-06-2017 14:20
  
  Neoliberalism was a creature of the Reagan and Thatcher era. Austerity is its death rattle. Before it does any more damage, Britain needs a plan for growthThe choice facing the voters in this election is clear – between more failed austerity or a Labour party advancing an economic agenda that is right for the UK. To understand why Labour is right, we first need to look back to the 1980s.Under Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in the UK, there was a rewriting of the b
  
  Read more

• ​Too busy to vote? We're asking companies to give time off on election day

  07-06-2017 14:20
  
  A third of registered voters didn’t vote in 2015. Our #TimeToVote campaign wants to make it easier for staff to vote on election dayAs the nation goes to the polls tomorrow, dozens of companies will be making it easier for their employees to vote by giving them time off.A few weeks ago a group of us who work in the creative industries came together over pizza because, as the election wore on, we were concerned people were going to stay away from the polls. At the last general election, one
  
  Read more

• Rapid UK house price growth threatens financial stability as hard Brexit looms ... - Telegraph.co.uk

  07-06-2017 11:45
  
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Rapid UK house price growth threatens financial stability as hard Brexit looms ...
  Telegraph.co.uk
  house price The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said "buoyant" house prices in countries such as the UK, Norway, Canada and Sweden "raised concerns about financial stability". Credit: Alamy. Szu Ping Chan.en meer »
  
  Read more

• Walking away: when is it time to call it quits on your business?

  07-06-2017 08:00
  
  Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs but when do you decide to walk away for good? We ask three small business owners who’ve made that decisionLaunching her line of “gourmet sweets for grownups” in Selfridges in August 2015 was a dream come true for Laura Brown. “[The buyer] was the first person outside of my family who’d actually tasted my sweets, which was quite scary,” she says. “But she was very positive … I couldn’t quite believe
  
  Read more

• Spot check in public by Aldi security guard was dehumanising

  07-06-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  He said he had to look through my shopping because ‘people like you have been caught with stolen meat and alcohol’I had a dehumanising experience at an Aldi in Hounslow, west London, where I shop several times a week. I had finished my shopping and was leaving the store when a security guard shouted in front of a crowd of shoppers that he needed to check my bags. When I asked why, he said: “People like you have been caught with stolen meat and alcohol.”Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Homes with designer gardens – in pictures

  07-06-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  These horticultural gems would suit green-fingered buyers from Lincolnshire to Málaga Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!