Financial news

• What happens when the super-rich write the tax rules? They fail | David Cay Johnston

  06-11-2017 21:21 via theguardian.com
  The Paradise Papers reveal how dark money rules the world. We can’t let this conduct put our liberties, and our fortunes, in jeopardy
  The Paradise Papers, the internal documents of a Bermuda law firm, reveal a problem far more pernicious than the unethical conduct by tens of thousands of wealthy individuals around the world. Humans will always have to cope with personal dishonesty. What the Paradise Papers show is how dishonesty is being promoted on a mass scale and how corruption is being
  
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• 21st Century Fox held talks with Disney over possible sale, reports say

  06-11-2017 21:14 via theguardian.com
  Deal to sell most of Rupert Murdoch-controlled company would establish new Hollywood powerhouse but would not include Fox News, CNBC report saysThe Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox has held talks to sell most of the company to Walt Disney, CNBC reported on Monday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The news comes as Fox is struggling to secure full control of Sky, the British satellite television giant. That £11.7bn ($15.41bn) deal has run foul of regulator’s&r
  
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• HBOS faced nationalisation if we did not take it over, ex-Lloyds boss tells court

  06-11-2017 21:09 via theguardian.com
  Eric Daniels, former chief executive, tells high court that Lloyds Banking Group’s purchase of HBOS in 2008 was on commercial terms and not a ‘rescue’The former chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group was warned by the Bank of England the only alternative for HBOS was nationalisation if Lloyds did not take it over in 2008, the high court has heard.Eric Daniels rejected claims that the government backed the deal, adding that it was done on commercial terms and was not a “r
  
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• The Guardian view on the Paradise Papers: a light on murky dealings | Editorial

  06-11-2017 20:41 via theguardian.com
  Allowing the very richest to secede from the rest of society and choose the jurisdiction they operate under has led to an astonishing rise in global inequalityThe millions of leaked files in the Paradise Papers once again shine a bright light on where the uber-elite stash their cash. Until very recently the hidden web of investments made by the super-rich operated in the comforting darkness offered by secretive tax shelters. The disinfecting sunlight provided by whistleblowing-led investigations
  
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• Trump adviser Ross says UK-US trade deal will mean scrapping EU rules

  06-11-2017 19:46 via theguardian.com
  Commerce secretary’s comments suggest Britain will have to accept chlorinated chicken in post-Brexit agreementDonald Trump’s most senior business representative has warned any post-Brexit deal with Washington will hinge on the UK scrapping rules set by Brussels, including regulations governing imports of chlorinated chicken. Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, suggested European regulations governing the safety of imports such as chlorine-washed chicken ignored US scientific rese
  
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• UK under pressure to act over tax havens after Paradise Papers leak

  06-11-2017 19:31 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May refuses to commit to public inquiry or open registers, as impact of revelations is felt around the worldBritain has come under mounting pressure to launch a crackdown on tax avoidance and reform its network of offshore havens, amid international outrage at the activities of multinationals and billionaires revealed by the Paradise Papers.
  During urgent questions in the House of Commons on Monday, the disclosures from the leak were described as the “biggest tax scandal of this ge
  
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• UK car sales tumble by 12%; FTSE 100 hits a new closing high – as it happened

  06-11-2017 19:18 via theguardian.com
  Britain’s auto industry has suffered its second double-digit sales fall this year, with diesel sales slumping by nearly a thirdLatest: FTSE 100 inches to new closing highUK car sales fell in October for seventh month running
  Diesel sales slump by 30%, but electric car sales upEconomist: UK car industry faces ‘bleak outlook’Earlier:German factory orders rise again
  Oil hits two-year high - bad news for drivers?6.18pm GMTAnd finally, here’s a neat graphic summing up today&rs
  
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• Serco a high-risk client with history of failures, offshore law firm found

  06-11-2017 19:16 via theguardian.com
  Appleby, at centre of Paradise Papers leak, ran risk assessment before agreeing to help firm set up holding company in MauritiusAn offshore law firm regarded Serco, a company that runs sensitive government services in Australia and the UK, as a “high-risk” client, expressing concern about its “history of problems, failures, fatal errors and overcharging”, the Paradise Papers reveal.Chief among the law firm’s concerns about Serco were allegations of fraud, the cover-
  
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• Why the cost of necessities is forcing Australians to shut the door on shopping | Greg Jericho

  06-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Weak retail figures suggest households are not confident enough to spend any increase in income at the shopsThe latest retail trade figures show consumers are shutting their wallets. Retail spending has remained flat for two months in a row – the worst result since 2012. Weak wages growth clearly is having an ongoing effect. But the latest re-weighting of our spending habits by the Bureau of Statistics also shows us moving our spending away from retail towards a mixture of more expensive n
  
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• Fox News shows broke UK TV impartiality rules, Ofcom finds

  06-11-2017 15:09 via theguardian.com
  Decision against US channel that is no longer broadcast in UK is seen as setback for Murdoch family’s Sky bidThe media regulator Ofcom has ruled that the Fox News programmes Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight breached impartiality rules covering British broadcasting.The rulings relate to coverage of the Manchester Arena bombing in May and Donald Trump’s executive order in January that restricted travel to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries. Continue reading...
  
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• Fracking firm to give first households £2,000 payouts

  06-11-2017 14:56 via theguardian.com
  Shale gas firm Cuadrilla says 29 Lancashire households will get payments – but one says they will refuse ‘blood money’A group of residents in Lancashire will soon receive £2,070 each for living near a fracking site, in the first payments made direct to British householders by a shale gas company. Cuadrilla said that 29 households within a 1km radius of the site would get the payment as part of a £100,000 community benefit fund for the second well it is drilling at a
  
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• Oxford Street could become 'traffic-free boulevard' next year

  06-11-2017 13:48 via theguardian.com
  Radical proposal to pedestrianise area west of Oxford Circus is aimed at improving air quality and tackling congestionA large section of London’s Oxford Street could be traffic-free by next December under a proposal unveiled by the mayor on Monday to improve the area for shoppers. A public consultation has opened into banning all forms of transport between Oxford Circus and Orchard Street to coincide with the launch of the new Elizabeth line at the end of 2018. Continue reading...
  
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• UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance brokers - TODAYonline

  06-11-2017 13:35
  UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance brokers
  TODAYonline
  LONDON - Britain's financial services industry regulator is to launch later this week a long-promised investigation into competition in the wholesale insurance broking market, where one top executive has complained of "abusive behavior". The Financial ...en meer »
  
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• UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance brokers - Reuters

  06-11-2017 13:23
  Reuters
  UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance brokers
  Reuters
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial services industry regulator is to launch later this week a long-promised investigation into competition in the wholesale insurance broking market, where one top executive has complained of “abusive behavior”. The ...en meer »
  
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• UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance ... - Reuters

  06-11-2017 13:22
  UK financial services watchdog to investigate wholesale insurance ...
  Reuters
  Britain's financial servicesindustry regulator is to launch later this week a long-promisedinvestigation into competition in the wholesale insurancebroking market, ...
  
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• Oil price rises to two-year high after Saudi Arabia purge

  06-11-2017 13:22 via theguardian.com
  Markets push price up to $62 a barrel after anti-corruption purge by billionaire crown prince who backs prolonging oil production curbsThe oil price has hit its highest level since July 2015 after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince increased his power in the kingdom by launching an anti-corruption purge.Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was among the princes, ministers and officials detained by Mohammed bin Salman, who said recently that he backed an extension to production curbs by the world
  
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• Should we pay a penalty and remortgage while rates are low?

  06-11-2017 12:47 via theguardian.com
  We can’t work out if it would be cost-effective or notQ There has been a lot in money advice columns recently about remortgaging now to secure a low interest rate, and my husband and I are really confused.Our outstanding fixed-rate mortgage is £165,000 on a property valued at £280,000. This deal ends in two years, so we would have to pay an early redemption charge of about £6,000 if we remortgaged. Our current rate is 3.89% and we have 21 years remaining on the full term
  
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• Ladbrokes Coral hit by £2.3m penalty over rogue bets

  06-11-2017 12:44 via theguardian.com
  Gambling watchdog says bookmaker failed to stop two problem gamblers losing £1.3m in stolen money despite warnings to toughen up controlsLadbrokes Coral has been ordered to pay £2.3m by the gambling regulator for failing to intervene after two problem gamblers lost £1.3m of stolen money on its casino website.Days after a government review warned online gambling firms to tighten up controls or face tougher legislation, the Gambling Commission said it found “significant fla
  
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• New Fed chair Jerome Powell was the best choice … for Trump

  06-11-2017 12:41 via theguardian.com
  The lawyer’s main qualification for leading the world’s most powerful central bank seems to be his lack of strong viewsJerome Powell was Wall Street’s choice to run the Federal Reserve. Given Donald Trump’s record on doing the unexpected, there was always the chance the president would pick another candidate, but for once he did not make waves.Powell was the business-as-usual candidate. Nothing he has said or done since he first joined the Fed’s board five years ago
  
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• Britain can tackle tax avoidance. But we’ve been here before | Prem Sikka

  06-11-2017 12:29 via theguardian.com
  The Paradise Papers have revealed the true extent of tax havens’ shady practices: only a radical reform of the law and HMRC will make wealthy elites accountableThe Paradise Papers once again show that secrecy, trusts, shell companies and a thriving tax-avoidance industry are undermining much-needed tax revenues in the UK and elsewhere. The revelations provide a glimpse of the moral bankruptcy of British governments which have done little to tackle tax avoidance at home or through crown dep
  
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• Slump in UK car sales deepens as industry records 12% fall

  06-11-2017 10:53 via theguardian.com
  Drop for seventh month in a row driven by 30% plunge in diesel vehicle sales amid growing confusion over government’s road fuel policyNew car sales have declined for the seventh month in a row, falling more than 12% in October as worsening confidence among consumers and businesses continues to dampen the market. The figures show that the car market is on course for its first annual decline since 2011 and will continue to fall next year before stabilising in 2019, according to the Society o
  
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• Meet the 20-somethings priced out of London, leaving for a new life elsewhere

  06-11-2017 08:00
  Starting over in a different part of the UK is the choice of an ever-growing number of younger people. Suzanne Bearne looks at why they movedAnyone standing in a lengthy queue waiting for a sandwich at lunchtime in London would be forgiven for daydreaming about the prospect of a quieter life, running their own coffee shop by the sea, or opening an antique shop selling vintage classics. It is of little surprise, then, that Londoners are increasingly moving out of the city as they buy up cheaper h
  
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• Gucci trainers destroyed because of Royal Mail’s shoe polish ban

  06-11-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The two tins were on a ‘prohibited’ list, but my entire package was destroyedOur daughter got an unconditional place at a top university. She has been hinting about a pair of Gucci trainers, so after saving up we bought her the dream pair as a reward. As she was going to university by train, I sent two boxes of her stuff to her by Royal Mail through my business account. One box arrived but the other didn’t. We were told it had been held because it contained two tins of sho
  
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• UK living wage rises to £8.75 per hour

  06-11-2017 07:01
  Above-inflation rise pushes pay pledge over the £10 barrier in London for first time with more than 150,000 workers set to benefit across UKMore than 150,000 workers will get an inflation-beating pay rise on Monday as the UK living wage, which is paid voluntarily by more than 3,600 employers, is increased against a backdrop of rising transport, food and housing costs. The pay rate will rise 3.6% to £8.75 per hour around the UK and 4.6% to £10.20 in London, giving a wages boost
  
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• Government urged to plug insurance black hole over self-driving cars

  06-11-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Law needs updating to clarify who is blame for accidents, say insurers, as autonomous cars set to be allowed on British roads by 2021 Insurance laws will be overhauled to ensure all parties are covered in any accident involving autonomous vehicles, the government has said, in a move that paves the way for self-driving cars to be on UK roads by 2021.Questions over liability have been seen as a stumbling block in the development of autonomous vehicles. The issue is seen as being particularly acute
  
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