Financial news

• BHS.com sales up by 35 per cent, says managing director

  03-09-2017 23:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE boss of BHS.com has seen sales jump by more than a third as the retailer seizes a start-up mentality to resurrect the business online.
  
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• New M&S chairman faces tough task turning round high-street institution | Shane Hickey

  03-09-2017 23:32 via theguardian.com
  Former Asda chief Archie Norman needs to work his retail magic - not least seeing off online challenger AsosWill Archie Norman be able to perform his retail magic on Marks & Spencer and reinvigorate the mainstay of the high street? This will be the first full week that the former Asda chief executive will be in his new role of chairman at the 113-year-old institution – at a time when the company is battling what Norman describes as “the considerable challenges … in a rapid
  
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• HSBC heads off complaints over small business account closures

  03-09-2017 22:17 via theguardian.com
  Hundreds of small firms claim their accounts were suspended without prior notificationHSBC has rushed to head off complaints from small businesses that found the bank had frozen or closed down their accounts as part of a crackdown on financial crime.Hundreds of small firms are thought to be affected, whose businesses range from an avocado importer to marketing and design companies. Continue reading...
  
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• Len Blavatnik: oligarch stalked by controversy despite philanthropy

  03-09-2017 20:24 via theguardian.com
  Fallout from resignation of Oxford professor at school bearing tycoon’s name latest in which business background has been raisedHis charitable donations have been described as some of the most generous ever made in the UK, but unease about Len Blavatnik’s philanthropy has grown after a leading political academic quit the University of Oxford.
  The Ukraine-born billionaire gave £75m to Oxford to set up the Blavatnik school of government, one of the largest donations in the histor
  
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• Britain's aerospace sector could be priced out after Brexit

  03-09-2017 16:33 via theguardian.com
  For companies such as Airbus, which manufactures its aircraft and parts across Europe, dealing with a country outside the EU could prove simply too expensiveA grey metal box in the North Wales countryside is home to the jewel of Britain’s aerospace industry. Airbus’s factory in Broughton, Flintshire, is where the pan-European aerospace and defence group manufactures all the wings for its commercial aircraft. The well-paid jobs, cutting-edge technology and headline-grabbing products a
  
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• How to avoid a disaster on your home improvements

  03-09-2017 16:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  THEY SAY that an Englishman's home is his castle, so woe betide anybody who does a botched job on it.
  
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• Theresa May urged to force councils to build more homes

  03-09-2017 16:06 via theguardian.com
  Prime minister risks Conservative backlash over measures to tackle housing crisisTheresa May is being urged to face down a potential backlash from backbench Conservatives and sign off proposals aimed at forcing councils to unleash a building boom to tackle Britain’s housing crisis.The Department for Communities and Local Government has confirmed to the Guardian that it will publish details by the end of this month of how local authorities should assess the need for housing. Continue readin
  
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• Brew period: the craft beer labels that are works of art

  03-09-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Independent brewers haven’t just ripped up the rules on flavour – they have transformed beer packaging, too. Labels and cans are mini masterpieces – and the new aesthetic is asexual, inclusive and urbanWith its barrel-aged stouts and gooseberry saisons, craft beer has transformed British beer. But that revolution has not solely been about flavour. It has been aesthetic, too. Beer cans are now a canvas for dazzling, cutting-edge design, and this golden age for beer art is celebr
  
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• As the UK economy sputters, it's all systems go in the eurozone | Richard Partington

  03-09-2017 15:47 via theguardian.com
  Far from David Cameron’s vision of a strident UK distancing itself from a failing union, Brexit may deliver the oppositeWhen David Cameron set out to create a “two-speed Europe” , the former prime minister did so with the words of the Eurosceptic Tory right ringing in his ears.Europe was doomed. Mounting problems for Greece and rising numbers of immigrants showed that Britain must cut itself free from a failing union. Far from prospering from our membership of the world’s
  
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• Rising car insurance – The five minute guide

  03-09-2017 15:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  IF THERE is one thing worse than having a car crash, it is discovering that the other motorist was uninsured.
  
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• UK chains withdraw granite range over slavery concerns - Financial Express

  03-09-2017 15:31
  UK chains withdraw granite range over slavery concerns
  Financial Express
  Leading UK retail chains like John Lewis and Habitat have withdrawn granite products from their range over fears of child labour and slavery within its Indian supply chains. By: PTI | London | Published: September 3, 2017 6:59 PM. 0. Shares. Facebook ...en meer »
  
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• Rupert Murdoch's proposed Sky takeover reaches endgame

  03-09-2017 15:29 via theguardian.com
  Most likely outcome is that culture secretary will refer deal to CMA on grounds of media plurality but not broadcasting standardsMPs return from their summer breaks next week and one of the first issues on the agenda will be 21st Century Fox’s proposed takeover of Sky.A quick recap: before recess in June, Karen Bradley, the culture secretary, revealed the findings of Ofcom’s report into the deal and her initial view on whether it should go ahead. Continue reading...
  
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• UK law firm revenues soar in decade since financial crisis - Financial Times

  03-09-2017 15:20
  Financial Times
  UK law firm revenues soar in decade since financial crisis
  Financial Times
  The UK's law firms have successfully weathered the decade since the financial crisis, new figures show, but some have found the going tough in an ever more competitive market. According to an analysis of the sector by The Lawyer magazine, the top 200 ...
  
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• 'Stormy September' is not all bad news, says Harvey Jones

  03-09-2017 15:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  ORIGINALLY I planned to open this week’s section by warning of a “stormy September”, with global stock markets wilting under a range of threats.
  
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• Millions of self-employed risk poverty in retirement

  03-09-2017 15:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  EXPERTS are calling for the auto-enrolment pension scheme to be extended to the self-employed as new figures show millions risk poverty in retirement.
  
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• UK trade figures expected to surge following weak pound and global economic recovery

  03-09-2017 14:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE weak pound and global economic recovery will drive stronger UK trade and industrial performance figures this week.
  
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• Employees who buy lunch could pay 10 different levels of tax

  03-09-2017 14:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  THERE is no such thing as a tax-free lunch as employees who nip out to buy a sandwich could pay an astonishing 10 different levies.
  
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• Breteuil: High-end French estate agency to expand in London

  03-09-2017 14:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  A HIGH-END French estate agency is expanding its London operations as the predicted Brexit exodus of European workers fails to materialise.
  
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• The longer Brexit stays up in the air, the higher the risk flights will be grounded

  03-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Britain’s negotiating position on EU airline rights, as on so many other issues, is wholly inadequate. And a failure in this area will be hugely unpopularBrexiters may not have been turkeys voting for a self-basting Christmas, but they could end up as flightless birds. That is the warning from Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, who sees the clock ticking down towards March 2019 with no further progress on any Brexit deal, let alone a separate discussion of the unique d
  
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• Is buying online from China a good idea?

  03-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  At AliExpress you can get an iPhone case for 86p or a smartwatch for £10. But beware the pitfalls when shopping overseasThe bluetooth smartwatch from Senbono has a remarkable resemblance to an Apple Watch but costs as little as £10. A gaming mouse is £25 but will take between 20 and 40 days to get to you from China. Meanwhile, bluetooth headphones are half price at less than £15, but the buyer will have to pay the shipping fee to return them if anything is wrong.These pro
  
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• I’m a doctor trying to diagnose why I’m still on BT’s waiting list

  03-09-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  I’ve had to take time off and pay for cover to wait in for a landline engineer, but no one ever turns upIn May I placed an order for a new connection with BT for a phone line to a new-build property and was told it would happen on 1 June.I am a GP so took the day off work to be at home in order to allow the engineer access to the property. No one turned up and, after many calls to the company, I was eventually given a new date three weeks later. This was then shifted two weeks further on i
  
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• Hard sell for Archie Norman as he takes the reins at under-pressure M&S

  03-09-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  Turnaround king faces tough task in seeing off online challenger AsosWill Archie Norman be able to perform his retail magic on Marks & Spencer and reinvigorate the mainstay of the high street? This will be the first full week that the former Asda chief executive will be in his new role of chairman at the 113-year-old institution – at a time when the company is battling what Norman describes as “the considerable challenges … in a rapidly changing retail landscape”. Re
  
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• Silicon Valley has been humbled. But its schemes are as dangerous as ever | Evgeny Morozov

  03-09-2017 01:05 via theguardian.com
  Sex scandals, rows over terrorism, fears for its impact on social policy: the backlash against Big Tech has begun. Where will it end?Just a decade ago, Silicon Valley pitched itself as a savvy ambassador of a newer, cooler, more humane kind of capitalism. It quickly became the darling of the elite, of the international media, and of that mythical, omniscient tribe: the “digital natives”. While an occasional critic – always easy to dismiss as a neo-Luddite – did voice conc
  
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