Financial news

• UK interest rate rise likely as GDP beats forecast to grow by 0.4%

  25-10-2017 20:55 via theguardian.com
  Services sector drives faster-than-expected expansion of economy in the third quarter, but uncertainty over Brexit deal still affecting long-term outlookBritish consumers have been put on notice for an interest rate rise next week, as official figures show the economy expanding faster than expected in the three months to September.GDP grew by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2017 following expansion of 0.3% in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics. City economists
  
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• Phones 4U founder accused of bullying former business partner over expenses

  25-10-2017 20:43 via theguardian.com
  Nathalie Dauriac tells court she became scared of John Caudwell, accusing him of trying to force her out of their company Signia Wealth Private banker Nathalie Dauriac has told the high court she became scared of her former mentor and business partner John Caudwell, accusing the Phones4U billionaire of bullying her during an investigation into her expenses.Speaking in court on Wednesday, Dauriac said Caudwell sought to intimidate her by making claims about wrongdoing as a pretext to force her ou
  
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• EU unprepared for China’s dominance in world economy, expert warns

  25-10-2017 20:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  EUROPE is sleepwalking into catastrophe in its approach to trading with economically ambitious China, a German political scientist claims.
  
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• EU to investigate UK tax loophole for multinationals

  25-10-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Inquiry to centre on George Osborne’s 2013 rule change that allows resident multinationals to shift income offshoreThe EU is to launch an investigation into a British government scheme that may help multinational firms pay less tax, the Guardian has learned.
  Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, will announce on Thursday that she is opening an in-depth investigation into a UK tax scheme that exempts multinationals from anti-tax avoidance measures. Officials think the special
  
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• Embargo factories that rip off workers, says rights tsar

  25-10-2017 19:54 via theguardian.com
  Director of labour market enforcement looking at measures against owners who refuse to follow employment regulationsThe government should consider imposing an embargo on goods made in factories where workers have been underpaid, the workers’ rights tsar has told MPs.Sir David Metcalf, director of labour market enforcement, who reports to both the home and business secretaries, said he was looking at new measures to improve adherence to employment legislation. Continue reading...
  
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• Police warn Halloween revellers not to be tricked by fake fancy dress costumes

  25-10-2017 19:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit is warning the public not to be tricked into buying fake fancy dress costumes this Halloween.
  
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• UK GDP: Britain's economy grew by 0.4% as Brexit slowdown continues - as it happened

  25-10-2017 18:59 via theguardian.com
  Britain’s growth rate picked up in the last three months, but remains ‘subpar’ amid uncertainty over the UK’s future Full story: UK interest rate rise likely as GDP beats forecastNewsflash: UK growth rate rises to 0.4%Experts: Brexit uncertainty is still hurting the economyService and manufacturing grew over the summerConstruction is in recessionPound rises - interest rate rise more likelyRobert Kennedy: What GDP doesn’t measure 5.59pm BSTThe stronger than expected
  
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• Channel 4 move from London could create 7,500 jobs, report says

  25-10-2017 18:39 via theguardian.com
  Government study says relocation could bring almost £600m in economic benefits to the region where broadcaster is movedForcing Channel 4 into a full relocation outside of London and making more programmes for the broadcaster outside the capital could create nearly 7,500 jobs and deliver almost £600m in economic benefits, according to a new government report.A dozen cities and regions across the UK are lobbying to provide a new home to Channel 4, including Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheff
  
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• Croissants in crisis: could French bakers crumble amid butter shortage?

  25-10-2017 18:32 via theguardian.com
  Pastry makers in France fear they can’t go on for much longer, as consumers face empty butter fridges in supermarketsSupermarket stocks are running low, people online are jokingly offering to sell a half-eaten pack for €250, and a film shot in the dairy-loving region of Brittany features deprived addicts roaming the streets like zombies.For months, bakers, biscuit-makers, farmers and food producers have sounded the alarm over a dearth of butter in France. But this week, with French ne
  
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• GlaxoSmithKline set to build drug testing plant in Europe

  25-10-2017 18:26 via theguardian.com
  Drug giant calls for clarity on Brexit and minimum two-year transition period to avoid disruption to medical suppliesBritain’s biggest drugmaker is preparing to build new drug testing facilities in Europe as part of detailed plans in in the event of a failure to agree a Brexit deal.GlaxoSmithKline chief executive, Emma Walmsley, said drug companies needed clarity on future relations with the EU as soon as possible to minimise disruption to medicine supplies. Walmsley also repeated her earl
  
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• Bitcoin price update: Bitcoin DROPS after splitting again to create bitcoin gold

  25-10-2017 17:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE PRICE of Bitcoin has dropped after another split in the blockchain to create a new cryptocurrency called bitcoin gold.
  
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• UK economy is resilient, says Lloyds boss. Should we relax? | Nils Pratley

  25-10-2017 17:45 via theguardian.com
  António Horta-Osório may have tried to calm concerns over Brexit, but others will be less confidentLet’s hope António Horta-Osório is right. The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group makes the immediate outlook for the UK seem, if not rosy, then at least steady. The economy is “resilient”. Borrowers can cope with a quarter-point rise in interest rates to 0.5%. And we shouldn’t get too excited about the increase in consumer debt because levels
  
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• SCRAP THE MADNESS: Hammond's plot to CUT tax relief on pensions for older workers SLAMMED

  25-10-2017 17:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  SLASHING government reliefs on pension contributions for older workers to pay for cuts to National Insurance for the young is incoherent and damaging, say industry experts.
  
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• 2 Sisters boss apologises for ‘mistakes’ but dodges questions about breaches

  25-10-2017 16:25 via theguardian.com
  MPs open hearing into food safety failings uncovered at firm’s chicken processing plant in West Bromwich
  Ranjit Singh Boparan, the multimillionaire boss of 2 Sisters Food Group, has apologised for the scandal engulfing his company as he pledged to fund the cost of independent inspectors to police all 12 of his UK chicken sites.The concessions came during a sometimes heated session of the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee hearing, in which Boparan, whose firm produces a
  
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• Brexit BOOST: City could use US model instead of EU passporting if Brexit talks collapse

  25-10-2017 16:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  TOP City executives say UK financial institutions could use an established US model to do business after Brexit if talks with the EU breakdown.
  
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• Apple has Netflix and Amazon in sight as it hires British TV executive

  25-10-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Channel 4’s Jay Hunt who poached Bake Off from BBC and commissioned hit shows like Sherlock appointed creative chief of European video operationsApple has hired the television executive who masterminded Channel 4’s £75m poaching of The Great British Bake Off from the BBC, in an ambitious move to take on traditional broadcasters and digital rivals Netflix and Amazon.The US tech firm has hired Jay Hunt, who has held top roles at Channel 4, the BBC and Channel 5, and whose credits
  
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• EU banking feeling effects of Brexit as German says it will be 'no easy task' to recover

  25-10-2017 15:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  A GERMAN finance boss has revealed European banks are already feeling the negative effects of Brexit and admitted “it will be no easy task” to recover from London’s departure.
  
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• Central banks need to be more media savvy

  25-10-2017 14:47 via theguardian.com
  To manage public expectations over rising interest rates, the banks should take a leaf from Donald Trump’s bookAs global economic growth gathers pace, with the International Monetary Fund reporting that all of the G20 countries are now in an expansion phase, we are at last entering a process of normalisation of interest rates and monetary policy. That shift has been a long time coming, and in 2008 few would have forecast that the impact of the financial crisis that erupted that year would
  
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• The economy is failing. We need to think radically about how to fix it | Liam Byrne

  25-10-2017 12:59 via theguardian.com
  Post-crash, the UK’s economic growth has not recovered. New fiscal freedoms for the regions are among the bold measures that could rescue itThe news that our recovery is now slower than after the Great Depression should sound the death knell of an economic model that simply isn’t working.The figures are salutary. When Wall Street sneezed in 1929, the UK very quickly caught the cold. By 1932, the economy had shrunk by more than 5%. Unemployment spiralled to an extraordinary 17%, setti
  
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• Britain's ready for interest rate rise, says Lloyds boss

  25-10-2017 12:25 via theguardian.com
  UK’s biggest mortgage lender says borrowers can withstand a gradual rate rise as the economy remains resilient Britain’s borrowers can withstand the impact of the first rise in interest rates in a decade, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group said on Wednesday. António Horta-Osório believes any increase from the current record low of 0.25% would be gradual and said the bank – the biggest mortgage lender and savings institution in the UK – did not expec
  
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• First UK interest rate rise in a decade still likely despite modest growth

  25-10-2017 11:50 via theguardian.com
  The absence of a post-Brexit vote recession, potential wage inflation and the Bank’s hawkish comments all point toward a riseIt wasn’t much, but for the Bank of England the slight pickup in growth will probably be enough to trigger the first increase in official interest rates in more than a decade.The economy’s trend rate of growth is a touch above 2% a year, so by that benchmark the 0.4% rise in gross domestic product in the third quarter was modest. Growth has been weaker in
  
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• Toyota seeks clarity over Brexit ‘fog’ amid fears over Derbyshire plant

  25-10-2017 10:46 via theguardian.com
  Future in UK cannot be planned amid uncertainty over relationship with EU, Japanese carmaker tells governmentToyota has warned the government to “lift the fog” surrounding Brexit negotiations and secure a deal that would safeguard the competitiveness of its Derbyshire factory.The Japanese carmaker said uncertainty over the UK’s post-Brexit trading relationship with the EU was hindering its ability to plan for the future of its business in the UK, where it employs about 3,000 pe
  
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• Even anti-Brexit tycoon admits London's financial centre top spot is SOLID after ... - Express.co.uk

  25-10-2017 10:40
  Express.co.uk
  Even anti-Brexit tycoon admits London's financial centre top spot is SOLID after ...
  Express.co.uk
  BILLIONAIRE businessman Michael Bloomberg claimed that despite fears Brexit will destroy the UK economy, London will maintain its place as the globe's top financial centre post-Brexit. By Charlotte Davis. PUBLISHED: 14:48, Wed, Oct 25, 2017 ...en meer »
  
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• Shower maker Kohler’s attempt to back out of guarantee just won’t wash

  25-10-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  It promised a ‘lifetime of satisfaction’ but I can’t get any
  In November 2007 we installed two Kohler Daryl showers and took out lifetime guarantees for each one. As we have a problem with one of the showers, I asked Kohler to investigate under this guarantee. However, Kohler claims the lifetime guarantee is no longer valid because of a company acquisition that took place two-and-a-half years before our guarantees were issued. CF, IpswichThis is a breathtakingly brazen attempt
  
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• How a critic of economics became the discipline’s Nobel-winning best friend

  25-10-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Enthusiasm for Richard Thaler’s work on behavioural economics means economists have more influence than ever. But their failures contributed to the financial crisis – and we’re being distracted, say Tiago Mata and Jack WrightThe praise is still pouring in for Richard Thaler, winner of the 2017 Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel. The news was described as “wonderful”, “well-deserved … and clarifying,” and BBC Rad
  
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• Buy to leave: profits dwarf 'meaningless' fines for London investors

  25-10-2017 08:00
  Accidentally leaked data in Kensington and Chelsea reveals a total of just £85,000 in penalty fines last year across £500m worth of empty propertyThe gains to London property investors from leaving homes empty has far outstripped the penalties they face doing so, a Guardian investigation has learned. Owners of homes with a combined value of over £500m in the ultra-rich borough of Kensington and Chelsea were fined a total of just £85,000 for leaving them empty last year, a
  
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• Bungalow properties – in pictures

  25-10-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  These homes are strictly on the level … the one level Continue reading...
  
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• A Bristol house with a Banksy – in pictures

  25-10-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Peel away the layers – quite literally – and this £250,000 house could be worth a whole lot moreIt’s no oil painting from the front – but a hidden early mural by elusive street artist Banksy could push up the price of this end-of-terrace, two-bedroom semi in Bristol when it comes up for auction with a guide price of £250,000-£300,000. Back in 1999, Banksy was a friend of the then owner of this property who let the artist hand paint his Slick on Brick art
  
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• Heathrow third runway consultation reopened after new evidence

  25-10-2017 01:04 via theguardian.com
  Transport department publishes new noise analysis and air quality plan, with public consultation now open until 19 DecemberThe public consultation on the planned third runway at Heathrow has been reopened due to new evidence. The Department for Transport published a series of fresh reports into the impact of expanding the west London hub, including updated noise analysis and a new air quality plan.Continue reading...
  
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