Financial news

• Bunnings beware: the Homebase revolution is failing to shape up

  17-08-2017 20:45
  After the first full year of ownership by Australia’s Wesfarmers, the chain has lost £54m and the bullishness has goneThe strangest acquisition in the retailing sector in the past couple of years was the £340m purchase of Homebase by Wesfarmers of Australia. It was odd in many ways. First, nobody had been able to make decent money from Homebase in years. Second, hardly anybody in the UK has heard of Bunnings, the Australian format that will gradually replace Homebase. Third, We
  
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• B&Q and Homebase sales hammered by bad weather

  17-08-2017 18:49
  Sales of seasonal goods such as barbecues and garden furniture fall in second quarterSummer has been a DIY disaster for the UK’s two biggest home improvement chains, which have reported falling sales as they struggle with wet weather and disruption from major restructuring plans.Kingfisher, Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, reported a 4.7% fall in sales at its established B&Q stores in the three months to the end of July.Continue reading...
  
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• UK group protests exploitation of Indian women with dependent visas - Financial Express

  17-08-2017 16:37
  Financial Express
  UK group protests exploitation of Indian women with dependent visas
  Financial Express
  Indian Ladies in the UK (ILUK) has called for a change in legal requirements that gives husbands the right to cancel a spousal visa single-handedly by claiming the breakdown of their marriage, leaving their Indian wives with no rights in the UK.en meer »
  
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• Slow house price growth and steep rail fare increases

  17-08-2017 16:37
  Also, a chance to snap up a part of Roald Dahl history and our Consumer Champions take on Virgin Mobile and gift cards
  Hello 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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• From giving orders to making suggestions: one man’s journey from soldier to aid worker

  17-08-2017 15:34
  As a young officer Laurence Knoop enjoyed working with local communities so much he decided on a career change – but the transition would not be simpleAs Britain was emerging from winter in early 2014, I was camped out in the dustbowl that is the Rift Valley in Kenya in 30 degree plus heat, with a daunting array of diggers, bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment before me and 30 of Her Majesty’s finest Royal Engineers at my disposal. As a young army officer, less than a year out
  
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• Euro slides on ECB currency concerns - as it happened

  17-08-2017 14:44
  The European Central Bank fears the euro may be “overshooting”, posing a threat to crucial exports Euro slips amid ECB currency concernsUK retail sales volume rose 0.3% in JulyKingfisher and Rank figures disappointEurozone inflation steady at 1.3% 1.44pm BSTThat’s it for the day and the big news came from the European Central Bank minutes and UK retail sales.ECB minutes revealed that the Bank’s policymakers are fretting about the euro “overshooting” against ot
  
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• Asda returns to sales growth thanks to price cuts and inflation

  17-08-2017 14:17
  Supermarket ends three-year slump but is still seeking to cut costs amid competition from Aldi and LidlAsda has reported its first quarterly rise in sales for three years as the UK’s third largest supermarket chain said customers were responding to price cuts and store improvements.Sales, excluding petrol, rose 1.8% in the three months to the end of June partly thanks to a boost from Easter trading.Continue reading...
  
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• Rising inflation leads to sales falls in all UK retail sectors apart from food

  17-08-2017 13:26
  Clothing and footwear retailers particularly badly hit in July amid ‘volatile’ trends, says Office for National StatisticsBritain’s consumers are taking a more cautious approach to shopping as higher inflation above the level of earnings eats into their spending power.Only higher spending on food in supermarkets kept retail sales growing last month, with declines in all other main sectors, according to figures published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Co
  
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• Learndirect blames government cuts for damning Ofsted report

  17-08-2017 11:45
  UK’s largest adult training provider had sought to suppress regulator’s
  rating of ‘inadequate’Learndirect, the UK’s largest adult training provider, has blamed the government’s austerity programme for its failure to meet the education regulator’s minimum quality standards.The company, which was privatised by David Cameron’s coalition government in 2011, on Thursday complained that being forced to “manage a reduction in central government fund
  
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• Brexit is a chance for farming reform – but we must get the policy right | Ngaire Woods

  17-08-2017 09:21
  Brexiteers argue UK agriculture will be more competitive once freed from the CAP, but the sector needs political supportThe United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union no doubt carries many risks. But, if British politicians and business leaders are right, it also creates an important opportunity: the possibility of building a safer, greener, more efficient, and more innovative farming sector. If the UK manages to seize this opportunity, the EU, the United States and other economie
  
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• Lack of diversity in UK's top firms could hamper post-Brexit trade deals

  17-08-2017 08:12
  Warning of issues with striking deals with non-EU countries comes as study shows low ethnic minority boardroom presenceBritain’s biggest companies have been told that a lack of diversity in their boardrooms could hinder government plans to increase trade with non-EU countries after Brexit.The warning comes as a report shows the number of FTSE 100 businesses with no ethnic minority representation at senior level has fallen from 62 to 58. However, none of the companies have CEOs or chief fin
  
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• Wenger and Arsenal willing to make financial sacrifice on Sanchez - AOL UK

  17-08-2017 08:03
  AOL UK
  Wenger and Arsenal willing to make financial sacrifice on Sanchez
  AOL UK
  Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he is willing to make a "financial sacrifice" and lose Alexis Sanchez on a free transfer. Sanchez is out of contract at the end of the Premier League season and the Chile international is no closer to signing a new ...en meer »
  
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• Out of office: a guide to taking a holiday from your smartphone

  17-08-2017 08:00
  The belief that you needed to be connected to the office 24/7 can lead to burnout. An expert explains how business owners can log off on holidayMy “aha” moment came on holiday about five years ago. Despite telling my team that I didn’t want to be disturbed and I wouldn’t be replying to emails, I found myself firing off replies to everything in my inbox. Then came the email marked “urgent”, which said: “Shall we print the phone number in blue or black on
  
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• Metric meter and imperial bills leave Scottish Power confused

  17-08-2017 08:00
  I have emailed and sent photos to explain what the problem is, but to no availScottish Power seems to think I live in a blast furnace and use £400 worth of gas every month. We moved into a three-bedroom house in 2015 and registered for an online dual-fuel account. From the start, the bills, based on meter readings, have been three times what they should be. The reason is clear – while the meter is metric, the bills use an imperial correction factor.Continue reading...
  
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• Toblerone shape not distinctive enough for trademark, Poundland claims

  17-08-2017 07:00
  Defending its right to launch Twin Peaks bar, budget chain cites Toblerone version with fewer chunks brought out last yearPoundland has claimed Toblerone’s shape is no longer distinctive enough to be a valid trademark, in legal documents defending its right to launch a copycat bar.Last month, the budget chain was forced to delay the launch of its Twin Peaks bar, which has two humps rather than the single peaks of Toblerone, after a legal warning from the brand’s owner, a Swiss divisi
  
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• Brooklyn's social housing microgrid rewrites relationships with utility companies

  17-08-2017 07:00
  Microgrids, promising energy self-reliance for communities, are growing in popularity as they become more affordableResidents of a social housing complex in Brooklyn, New York, can’t stop another tempest like Superstorm Sandy from crashing through their city, but they can feel secure that it won’t cause a power cut.In June, the 625-unit Marcus Garvey Village cut the ribbon on its very own microgrid, a localised network of electricity production and control. Rooftop solar panels produ
  
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• UK Financial Services Authority selects Cognizant as key supplier - Consultancy.uk

  17-08-2017 06:09
  Consultancy.uk
  UK Financial Services Authority selects Cognizant as key supplier
  Consultancy.uk
  Consulting firm Cognizant will support and develop operational and regulatory systems under a Strategic Outsourcing Framework Agreement with the Financial Services Authority. The FSA hopes Cognizant's Financial Services practice can help the watchdog ...
  
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