Financial news

• Second-home ownership up 30% since 2000, research finds

  19-08-2017 17:54 via theguardian.com
  According to thinktank the Resolution Foundation, the proportion of adults owning no property has also risen, leading to wealth inequalityOne in 10 UK adults, or 5.2 million people, own a second home, while four in 10 adults own no property at all, according to new research that highlights the stark divide in wealth that Britain now faces.The number of people who do not own property has also risen over the past 12 years, according to the Resolution Foundation. Continue reading...
  
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• Better subsidies would make rail fares more affordable … just in time for Brexit

  19-08-2017 17:00
  British trains are not bad, but they are savagely expensive at peak time. Travel costs are one of many factors future employers will be weighing upA sliding pound has left euro rail fares looking less of a comparative bargain, but commuter season tickets and peak fares remain more expensive on Britain’s railways than continental Europe’s, according to most studies.The landmark inquiry into UK rail costs, Sir Roy McNulty’s 2011 report, identified costs running 30-40% higher in t
  
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• Seven ways to cut the cost of Britain’s rail tickets

  19-08-2017 16:59
  Last week’s fare rise saw new calls for action on rail pricing. We look at how this could be achieved: higher subsidies, lower pay, or something much more radicalEven for commuters long used to rising fares, last week’s news of another hefty increase was particularly painful: the cost of season tickets and most off-peak standard fares will rise by 3.6% in January. The increase – the biggest for five years, was announced in the midst of Brexit gloom, while holidaymakers are adap
  
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• Scientist Stephen Hawking blames UK government for health service crisis - Financial Express

  19-08-2017 12:53
  Financial Express
  Scientist Stephen Hawking blames UK government for health service crisis
  Financial Express
  Physicist Stephen Hawking has criticized the British government for causing a crisis in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), saying it had to be protected from becoming a profit-making U.S.-style system. By: Reuters | London | Updated: August ...en meer »
  
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• Letter to my younger self: don't rush into anything in your 20s

  19-08-2017 10:00
  Ten years after finishing a PhD on Ecuadorian politics, Rachel Carrell started a nanny sharing service called Koru Kids Dear Rachel,You’re 25 years old and stuck in an underground reading room in Oxford, finishing your doctoral thesis on Ecuadorian politics. You can’t quite remember why you chose that topic, and you have no desire to keep working on it after you graduate. Meanwhile it’s sunny outside and the world seems to be passing you by. Continue reading...
  
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• What’s the best site for buying wine online?

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Majestic, Waitrose, Naked ... I don’t know where to startEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• TalkTalk scam victims move closer to class-action lawsuit

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Information commissioner’s ruling on data breach strengthens case against broadband providerLawyers acting for around 50 people defrauded by scammers after a major data breach at TalkTalk in 2014 are discussing their next move, which victims hope could herald the start of legal action against the broadband firm.Last week the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced it was fining TalkTalk £100,000 for failing to look after its customers’ data. The ICO said Ta
  
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• Lloyds and Halifax customers face up to 52% APR overdraft fee

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Account holders slate ‘astonishing’ rate of borrowing which is more than credit cards and payday loansThere is growing anger among some Lloyds and Halifax customers – those who regularly use their overdraft – after they received letters from the banks this week warning them that the cost of going overdrawn could shoot up after November.In July, Lloyds banking group announced that it was radically overhauling its overdrafts fees, including those at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank
  
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• How to reform student finance? Let’s start with interest rates

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  If it was a bank, we’d brand the 6.1% interest rate shameless profiteeringStudent loans are overpriced, badly administered and probably mis-sold. If they were a financial product that we unpick in the Money pages each week, they would more than likely fall into the “worst-buy” rather than the “best-buy” category. Yet well over 200,000 undergraduates will be herded into them in September.Let’s start with the overpriced interest rate. Supermarket group Asda laun
  
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• Here’s help to decide which of two Isas is the best to buy into

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A million people have taken out the help-to-buy Isa, but there’s another option for saversThe government is hailing the success of the help-to-buy Isa, with figures released today which show that a million accounts have been opened by first-time buyers since December 2015, with £1.8bn saved towards buying a home.It’s not difficult to see why they have been popular – the government gives a 25% bonus on savings of up to £12,000, worth £3,000 for an individual or
  
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• Energy customers overpaying to the tune of £102m

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Bill blunders meant more than a quarter of households paid an amount that didn’t reflect their meter readingsAlmost 1.3 million energy customers were collectively overcharged £102m – the equivalent of more than £79 each – last year as a result of billing errors by their energy supplier.A study by comparison site uSwitch found that more than a quarter of gas and electricity customers had been charged an amount that didn’t reflect their meter readings. Other blu
  
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• A free railcard or a £2,000 overdraft? How to pick the best student account

  19-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Two things are vital to help you make the correct choice – the giveaways on offer and the amount of interest-free overdraft you’ll receive and whenSchool leavers found out this week which university they will be going to, and over the next month they and their parents will be wondering how on earth they are going to afford it. For many it will be the first time they run a proper bank account and look after their own money. So which account should a fresher choose?Proximity of the ban
  
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• From airline cancellations to that ropey hotel, what to do about botched holidays

  19-08-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian and Observer consumer champions have joined forces to bring you a guide to your rights … from lost luggage to flight delays and bad hotelsIt’s that season again. The sleepless nights, the stressful confrontations and the hours spent on phone and email seeking resolutions. In other words the summer holidays, when many of us jet off for a break from the demands of work and discover the sunny retreat is more stressful than the office. Abta, the travel agents’ associa
  
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• US economy doubts rattle stock market investors

  19-08-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  DOUBTS over pro-business policies and tax reforms to boost the US economy rattled stock market investors yesterday.
  
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• German banks warn of DANGEROUS Brexit deals with UK fearing BRITAIN will punish nation

  19-08-2017 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRITAIN could secure trade deals that would hurt Germany and lead to lost opportunities for the economy, Frankfurt's finance industry has warned.
  
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