Financial news

• Pay-per-mile road tax plan wins £250,000 Wolfson economics prize

  13-07-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Prizewinner Gergely Raccuja, 27, aims to scrap vehicle tax and fuel duty to help fund all road repairs with more eco-friendly scheme collected by insurersA graduate transport planner has won a £250,000 prize for a plan to improve Britain’s ailing roads with a proposal to scrap fuel and vehicle taxes and replace them with a pay-per-mile charging scheme.The scheme would reward users of lighter, cleaner vehicles and ensure a steady stream of revenue to the exchequer (pdf), with the &pou
  
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• City regulator plans rule change to allow Saudi oil giant's $2tn float in London

  13-07-2017 22:59 via theguardian.com
  
  As Aramco decides where to sell shares, FCA proposes controversial changes to pave way for LSE listing The City regulator is proposing to water down stock market rules in a move regarded as an attempt to attract the world’s biggest ever flotation – of Saudi Aramco, the Gulf kingdom’s state oil company – to London.The proposals by the Financial Conduct Authority come asAramco weighs up which financial centre to pick for the sale of 5% of its shares. The company could be va
  
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• Wimbledon and Strawberries - Sainsbury's fruit and sparkling wine sales peak this week

  13-07-2017 20:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STRAWBERRIES and Wimbledon - the love affair is stronger than ever as both peak this week.
  
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• Dementia and Alzheimer’s main cause of death for women, says Public Health England

  13-07-2017 20:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Female life expectancy is now 83 years but many women will spend a quarter of their lives in ill-health, finds reportAlzheimer’s disease and dementia are the biggest cause of death among women, according to a government report on the state of the nation’s health.Related: Don’t dread old age. I’m 94, and I won’t spend my last years in fear of the Tories | Harry Leslie SmithContinue reading...
  
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• Rupert Murdoch will not offer new Sky deal to culture secretary

  13-07-2017 20:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Karen Bradley’s competition referral decision now likely to come next week before parliament breaks for recessRupert Murdoch will not look to strike a deal with the culture secretary, Karen Bradley, to make Sky News more independent and fast-track his £11.7bn takeover of Sky.Bradley has given 21st Century Fox, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James, until Friday to offer further concessions to attempt to prevent the deal being referred to the Competition
  
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• Lower water bills: Don't miss out and trial a water meter

  13-07-2017 19:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HUNDREDS of thousands of households could be missing out on lower water bills because they don’t realise they can just trial a meter for up to two years, watchdog the Consumer Council for Water has warned.
  
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• One in three Burberry shareholders revolt against executive pay deal

  13-07-2017 19:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Biggest rebellion since 2014 as investors attack multimillion-pound deals and share awards for Christopher Bailey and finance chief Julie BrownA third of Burberry’s shareholders have failed to back the luxury brand’s remuneration report in a protest over high pay.Investors representing just over 32% of voting shares rejected the report with more investors withholding their votes despite recent attempts to appease their anger by reducing overall pay deals. Continue reading...
  
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• Uber stages retreat in Russia as it merges with rival Yandex

  13-07-2017 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Ride-hailing company makes second embarrassing climbdown after selling its Chinese operations last yearUber is scaling back in Russia by spinning off its operations in the country to form a new company majority-owned by local rival Yandex.The deal involves Uber’s ride-hailing and food-delivery services in Russia, as well as Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, folding into the new firm, along with Yandex’s own taxi app, which also operates in Armenia and Georgia. Both brands will cont
  
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• Philip Morris waging global effort to hobble anti-smoking treaty, files show

  13-07-2017 19:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Tobacco giant fighting plans to introduce plain packaging on cigarettesCompany says there is nothing improper about strategic effortsPhilip Morris, the multinational company best known for Marlboro cigarettes, has developed a corporate strategy to undermine a global treaty and fight tobacco regulation around the world, leaked documents reveal.A slide presentation from 2014 entitled “Corporate Affairs Approaches and Issues” details a plan to counter plain packaging – the standar
  
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• UK public finances face twin threat from Brexit and downturn, says OBR

  13-07-2017 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Budget watchdog warns country is in worse shape to withstand recession than on the eve of 2007 financial crashBritain’s public finances are in worse shape to withstand a recession than they were on the eve of the 2007 financial crash a decade ago and face the twin threat of a fresh downturn and Brexit, the Treasury’s independent forecaster has warned.The Office for Budget Responsibility – the UK’s fiscal watchdog – said another recession was inevitable at some point
  
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• Britain steps up battle to win biggest ever stock market listing of Saudi Arabia oil giant

  13-07-2017 16:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BRITAIN is set to tweak stock market rules in a move that's hoped to sway Saudi Arabia into choosing London as the destination for the biggest ever company listing.
  
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• Pension changes: Anger as workers hit with 'OUTRAGEOUS' tax hikes

  13-07-2017 16:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SAVERS who have already started drawing pension income are set to be hit with retrospective tax hikes, the Treasury has confirmed today, in a move that critics have dubbed "outrageous".
  
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• Britain warned to expect 'nasty fiscal surprises' after failing stress test – as it happened

  13-07-2017 16:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Office for Budget Responsibility says government should be wary of ‘unfunded giveaways’, as another recession or financial crisis will come along eventuallyLatest: UK fails ‘fiscal stress test’OBR releases fiscal risks report
  Economy ‘more sensitive’ to stresses todayWatchdog warns that austerity fatigue is growing
  Brexit damage could send national debt soaringEarlier:UK credit defaults are rising 3.31pm BSTOur economics editor, Larry Elliott, says today&rsquo
  
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• Coalition of punishment: Germany and France join forces to swipe euro-clearing from UK

  13-07-2017 16:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  GERMAN and French lobbyists have joined forces in a fresh assault on London's post-Brexit rights to process hundreds of billions of investment trades.
  
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• Cut-price school uniforms, plus do you know who owns your leasehold?

  13-07-2017 16:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Also, British teens appear to be going off driving, and cool properties with swimming poolsSign up to receive Money Talks each weekHello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed. Continue reading...
  
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• JCB shrugs off shrinking construction equipment markets to lift annual profits

  13-07-2017 16:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  JCB shrugged off shrinking construction equipment markets to lift annual profits by more than a third.
  
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• The Tories have failed to fix the roof – and now rainclouds are looming | Larry Elliott

  13-07-2017 15:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The budget watchdog has warned over the threats debt, recession and Brexit pose to the UK’s financesIt was one of George Osborne’s most effective soundbites. Before, during and after the 2010 general election, the man who served as David Cameron’s chancellor for six years blamed his austerity measures on Labour’s failure to “fix the roof while the sun was shining”.What goes around comes around. The Office for Budget Responsibility was set up by Osborne in 2010
  
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• Berlin’s not perfect, but Samsung is right: it’s more fun than London | Musa Okwonga

  13-07-2017 15:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Samsung Europe is the latest company to set up shop where I live. As a relative newcomer, I can see the attractions of this lively city – yet it is changing fast• Musa Okwonga is a poet who lives in BerlinFelix Petersen, managing director of Samsung Next Europe, reportedly says that his company will not set up its headquarters in London. It’s just “not a fun place to live unless you are really rich”, is the rationale. Instead, Petersen and colleagues will set up shop
  
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• Pound v US dollar: BoE policymaker Ian McCafferty boosts GBP against USD

  13-07-2017 15:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  COMMENTS from Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty suggesting the bank’s quantitative easing plans could end early have boosted the pound against the US dollar.
  
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• Burberry sales boosted by Chinese spending spree and advantage taken of weaker pound

  13-07-2017 15:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A CHINESE spending spree and tourists taking advantage of a weaker pound in the UK boosted sales at Burberry.
  
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• Rise in credit card default rate adds to concerns over household finances

  13-07-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Default rates ‘increased significantly’ between April and June, Bank of England says, adding it expects availability of credit to fall in coming monthsThe number of people defaulting on their credit card bills and personal loans jumped in the three months to the end of June, according the Bank of England, underlining the pressure on household budgets as prices rise faster than wages.Default rates “increased significantly” between April and June, and lenders expect rates t
  
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• Havaianas flip-flop brand sold for £850m as scandal-hit owners sell stake

  13-07-2017 14:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Disgraced billionaire brothers at centre of Brazil corruption scandal offload 86% stake in footwear maker to pay £2.5bn fineBrazilian flip-flop brand Havaianas is being sold for nearly £850m as its billionaire owners flog the family silver to pay a £2.5bn fine relating to a corruption scandal that is threatening to topple the country’s president.The owner J&F, part of the business empire of Brazil’s disgraced Batista family, said it had sold an 86% stake in the
  
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• Heathrow night flights to continue until third runway is built

  13-07-2017 14:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Transport secretary says new rules on noise show government is tackling issue, but campaigners lament ‘business as usual’Night flights from Heathrow will continue until the airport is expanded, the government has confirmed, as it published new rules to encourage quieter aircraft across London’s three biggest airports. The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said efforts to reduce the total noise permitted from flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted showed the government was
  
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• Pension raiders warning: 72 per cent of savings being plundered BEFORE retirement

  13-07-2017 14:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SO many pension savers are raiding their pots before retirement that it has become a ‘new norm’, the financial regulator has warned.
  
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• Uber’s practices are morally unacceptable – but a boycott won’t help | Hannah Lownsbrough

  13-07-2017 14:33 via theguardian.com
  
  With the company’s licence to operate in London expiring in September, now is the time for consumers to demand that it mends its ways• Hannah Lownsbrough is executive director of consumer group SumOfUsLabour’s business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, finds Uber’s business practices morally unacceptable and refuses to use the company. I agree with her, but boycotting the app isn’t the best way to take on Uber. Related: Uber is not morally acceptable, says shadow busin
  
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• If you care so much, Coke, why aren't your bottles 100% recycled?

  13-07-2017 14:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Coca-Cola sells more than 100bn single-use plastic bottles a year. Its plans to increase recycled plastic in its bottles to 50% are startlingly unambitiousCoca-Cola’s grand announcement on plastic packaging is a lot of PR fizz. But when you look at the detail, it’s all a bit flat.The news that the company is to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50% shows a startling lack of ambition from the soft-drinks giant to tackle one of the greatest environmental challen
  
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• Watchdog warns Brexit risks heightening financial shocks - Belfast Telegraph

  13-07-2017 14:21
  
  Belfast Telegraph
  Watchdog warns Brexit risks heightening financial shocks
  Belfast Telegraph
  Britain's fiscal watchdog said the public finances are "much more sensitive" to higher inflation and interest rates as it warned that Brexit risks heightening financial shocks. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said it was almost inevitable ...en meer »
  
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• Electric cars to account for all new vehicle sales in Europe by 2035

  13-07-2017 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Falling battery costs to drive sales but European carmakers will lose out to rivals in the US and Asia, forecasts Dutch bankAll new cars sold in Europe will be electric within less than two decades, driven by government support, falling battery costs and economies of scale, a Dutch bank has predicted. However, ING warned that with battery-powered vehicles accounting for 100% of registrations in 2035 across the continent, European carmakers would lose out to their rivals in the US and Asia who al
  
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• RBS to pay $5.5bn penalty over US loan misselling scandal

  13-07-2017 13:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Settlement with Federal Housing Finance Agency is part of multibillion-pound penalty it faces from US authoritiesRoyal Bank of Scotland has been ordered to pay $5.5bn (£4.2bn) to US regulators for misselling toxic mortgage bonds in a “stark reminder” of its behaviour in the run-up to the financial crisis.The penalty from the Federal Housing Finance Agency is one element of a multibillion-pound bill that the 71% taxpayer-owned bank faces to resolve long-running disputes with aut
  
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• Manchester bomb victims 'have had no financial help from government' - The Guardian

  13-07-2017 12:48
  
  The Guardian
  Manchester bomb victims 'have had no financial help from government'
  The Guardian
  The government has yet to provide any financial help to the victims of the Manchester bombing, despite the city requesting money at the highest level in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. 10,000 get bee tattoo to raise money for victims of ...en meer »
  
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• France eyes greater presence at Esma as UK exits - Financial News - Financial News (subscription)

  13-07-2017 12:18
  
  Financial News (subscription)
  France eyes greater presence at Esma as UK exits - Financial News
  Financial News (subscription)
  France will seek to boost its influence at the EU's top securities watchdog as the UK exits the bloc, according to a senior executive at the French markets ...en meer »
  
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• Southern rail: unions say £13.4m fine is ‘less than a slap on the wrist’

  13-07-2017 12:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Owner of rail franchise is fined over its failure to run services but government says industrial action was a major factorSouthern rail’s owner has been fined £13.4m by the government, prompting a Commons clash with Labour over whether the company or unions were primarily to blame for two years of disruption to services between London and Brighton.The long-awaited ruling over whether Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) breached its contract by failing to run services was described as a fa
  
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• Carry on glamping: Brexit boosts staycations

  13-07-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A rise in domestic tourism is reviving British campsites – and now campers can enjoy hobbit holes, pizza delivery and beauty treatmentsStanding among the fells, overlooking the idyllic Ullswater, The Quiet Site is located in what is arguably one of the Lake District’s most prime positions. Here, in the early evening after a scorching June day, families have returned from exploring the majestic surroundings. Parents with beers in hand are setting up barbecues, while children play outs
  
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• Electric cars will fuel huge demand for power, says National Grid

  13-07-2017 11:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Increase in peak electricity demand could be more than capacity of planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power station by 2030A dramatic growth in electric vehicles on Britain’s roads could see peak electricity demand jump by more than the capacity of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station by 2030, according to National Grid.The number of plug-in cars and vans could reach 9m by 2030, up from around 90,000 today, said the company, which runs the UK’s national transmission networks for el
  
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• UK regulator looking to use AI, machine-learning to enforce financial compliance - CNBC

  13-07-2017 11:18
  
  CNBC
  UK regulator looking to use AI, machine-learning to enforce financial compliance
  CNBC
  The Financial Conduct Authority, an independent U.K. financial regulatory body, is looking into the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools to enforce regulatory compliance. Nick Cook, the FCA's head of data and ...en meer »
  
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• UK regulator looking to use A.I., machine-learning to enforce ... - CNBC

  13-07-2017 11:18
  
  CNBC
  UK regulator looking to use A.I., machine-learning to enforce ...
  CNBC
  The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools to enforce regulatory compliance.en meer »
  
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• Sports Direct buys 26% stake in Game Digital

  13-07-2017 10:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Mike Ashley swoops on video games retailer after profit warning forced by shortage of Nintendo Switch consolesThe founder of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has added a near 26% stake in the struggling video games retailer Game Digital to his string of high street investments.Game Digital said Sports Direct, controlled by the billionaire, had acquired 44m shares, amounting to a 25.75% stake. Game released a profit warning last month due to a supply shortage of Nintendo’s Switch console and a w
  
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• POUND LIVE: Pound bounces back Bank of England policymaker calls for END of money-printing

  13-07-2017 09:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE pound has jumped against the euro after the Bank of England's Ian McCafferty called for Britain's money-printing programme to be ended sooner rather than later.
  
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• US 'will become one of the world's top gas exporters by 2020'

  13-07-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  IEA says growth in production as fracking opens up shale oil and gas deposits will mean US rivals Russia and Norway
  The American shale gas revolution will enjoy a second wind as rapid growth in domestic production sees the US join the world’s club of top gas exporters, a leading energy authority has predicted.Fracking has already opened up US shale oil and gas deposits, leading to a fall in gas prices and a drop in greenhouse gas emissions as power generation switches from coal to gas, as
  
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• Carillion has 'no future without rights issue of at least £500m'

  13-07-2017 08:20 via theguardian.com
  
  With shares down from 200p to 57p in a month, City doubts future of builder whose projects include Anfield and BatterseaFor many, the morning of 8 July promised a feast of sport: the British Lions Test in New Zealand, a Lord’s Test and Wimbledon. But a small group of bankers were about to have their weekend ruined by a summons to an emergency meeting in London’s Maddox Street.Board papers had been delivered to the homes of the directors of Carillion, a FTSE 250 business best known as
  
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• Losing business as Vodafone cuts off a company phone line

  13-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 30 calls to it, along with emails, tweets and visits to its shops, have got us nowhereVodafone erroneously disconnected the phone line of our company finance director when we upgraded the account four weeks ago. Since then we have called it more than 30 times, tweeted, emailed, visited Vodafone shops, all to no avail – despite us having been customers for more than 20 years.Continue reading...
  
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• Is paying off the mortgage a better bet than saving?

  13-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We’re worried about the impact of Brexit on our moneyQ We are a family with some savings – around £70,000 – but are worried they might be worth less once Brexit is decided: ie, the pound will go downhill.So if we want to put the savings into something, is it best to pay off a big lump sum on a mortgage of £135,000 with 12 years to run, or use the money to buy another property to let out? Or do both?The mortgage on our home is a two-year interest-only deal that expir
  
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• Amec Foster Wheeler and Wood Group shares slide amid corruption probe

  13-07-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SHARES in FTSE 250 oil services rivals Amec Foster Wheeler and Wood Group slid by over five per cent and three per cent respectively yesterday as a corruption probe cast a shadow over their proposed merger.
  
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• Lidl and Aldi go head-to-head offering cheap school uniforms

  13-07-2017 01:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Aldi cuts the price of its Back to School uniform set to £3.75 in response to a similar offer from LidlThe German discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi have started a school uniform price war, with each chain offering an entire outfit for £3.75 – the cheapest on the market.Lidl said the package of four primary school essentials – two polo shirts, a sweatshirt or jumper and trousers or pleated skirt – would go on sale for £3.75 next Thursday. Continue reading...
  
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