Financial news

Bank of England steps up scrutiny of lenders

04-07-2017 19:53 via theguardian.com

Threadneedle Street tells credit card and personal loan providers to stick to their terms and conditions The Bank of England is stepping up its scrutiny of banks and other lenders on credit cards, personal loans and car purchases amid fears that growing consumer debt could rebound on the banking system. Threadneedle Street is writing to the firms it regulates after reviewing the consumer credit sector, where lending is growing at 10.3% a year – outpacing the 2.3% rise in household income.

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UK minimum wage law 'should cover more self-employed workers'

04-07-2017 14:01 via theguardian.com

Rules should apply to those whose prices are set by a firm, such as Uber and minicab drivers, says Resolution Foundation The government should step in to help those suffering from extreme low pay by extending minimum wage legislation so that it covers minicab drivers and other parts of the 4.8 million-strong self-employed workforce, a thinktank has urged.The Resolution Foundation, which concentrates on developing policies to help those on low and modest incomes, said ministers should embrace the

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Ask the experts: how to be an industry disruptor

04-07-2017 13:09 via theguardian.com

Join us on this page from 1-2pm on Tuesday 11 July to quiz our expert panel on how to disrupt an established market 11.20am 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. You can also post questions in the comments section at anytime before the chat and the panel will take a look when it

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How the wheels came off my complaint to Very

04-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com

It refuses to accept my faulty Ted Baker suitcase has a five-year warrantyIn January 2015 I bought a Ted Baker suitcase for £294 from online retailer Very. It was advertised with a five-year warranty. Earlier this year one of the wheels came off, so I raised a query through its helpdesk to arrange a replacement under warranty. As requested I sent a couple of pictures and assumed it would be resolved quickly. Back and forth we went – the helpdesk kept telling me the case only had a 12

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Cath Kidston: ‘I'm not someone who wants to be famous'

04-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com

The founder of the eponymous company, famed for its floral designs, says she wishes she’d been braver when she was young and hints at a new ventureTotally, I was one of those kids who played shop from as young as I can remember. I was always making a stall in the garden, or trying to sell my mum’s grocery cupboard back to her. I started my first business, a design company, with a friend when I was 28. But I didn’t open the first Cath Kidston store until I was 34. Before that, I

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