Financial news

• Playing with fire: last-minute deal saves Toys R Us from collapse | Nils Pratley

  21-12-2017 20:54 via theguardian.com
  The ailing company lives to fight another day after successfully negotiating a pensions deal, but its future is uncertainToys R Us is saved for the nation – or, rather, three-quarters of the UK end of the debt-ridden and ailing US company lives to fight another day. This is excellent news for the 2,000 employees in the UK who will keep their jobs, but little consolation for the 800 whose posts will be axed when 26 stores close next year.The pension deal that allowed Toys R Us to escape adm
  
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• Brexit PAY RISE: EU split could lead to HIGHER WAGES for Brits, Bank of England predicts

  21-12-2017 19:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  BREXIT may lead to higher pay packets according to the Bank of England’s survey of business conditions.
  
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• Homelessness is now the public face of this Tory era | Polly Toynbee

  21-12-2017 13:30
  Conservatives give another £10bn to the help-to-buy scheme, benefiting their voters. Imagine what that money could do in the hands of charities the Guardian is supportingGenerous donations are flowing into the Guardian’s appeal for three homeless charities, bursting past £750,000 less than a fortnight after its launch. But what is the government doing? Looking after their own voters, again.The chancellor is pouring another £10bn into the help-to-buy programme next year, d
  
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• Candy brothers win high court battle

  21-12-2017 12:36 via theguardian.com
  Property developers win case brought by ex-associate Mark Holyoake but brand lies in tatters after series of lurid revelations on how they run their empireBillionaire property developers the Candy brothers have won a high court battle after a judge dismissed all claims brought against them by a former friend for extortion, blackmail, intimidation and breach of data protection legislation.
  The three-year case pitted Mark Holyoake, a businessman with a colourful past, against his former university
  
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• Homes that are ideal for sledging – in pictures

  21-12-2017 12:11
  Get on the fast track to the slopes at these properties, located from Snowdonia to the French Alps Continue reading...
  
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• Toys R Us holds last-minute talks with pensions body

  21-12-2017 10:42
  Retailer in last-ditch talks with Pension Protection Fund ahead of creditors’ meeting to prevent going into administration with the loss of 3,200 jobsToys R Us is locked in last-ditch talks with the Pension Protection Fund as it tries to secure support for a company restructure plan that could stave off administration and the loss of 3,200 jobs.The ailing retailer is trying to agree a compromise deal with the industry-funded pensions lifeboat, which has said it will not vote in support of
  
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• Last-minute Christmas shopping guide: there is still time to save the day

  21-12-2017 10:07
  Guide to online deadlines and a word of warning for those hitting the high street to buy their presents on Christmas EveHave you finished your Christmas shopping yet? There is still time to hit the high street but the final deadlines for online purchases are upon us.Here is a roundup of retailers’ last order dates for delivery before Christmas and, for those who really like to leave things to the last minute, a guide to opening hours on Christmas Eve. Bear in mind that firms such as Ocado
  
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• How can Virgin Trains admit its app was faulty but deny me a refund?

  21-12-2017 07:59
  I paid more than I should for an Advance ticket – but it insists I had been charged the cheapest fareI have used Virgin’s West Coast service every week for the last five years, booking tickets 12 weeks in advance to get the cheapest Advance fare which currently stands at £17. Recently, Virgin brought out an app and, from the off, it caused problems. When I first used it to book two first-release Advance tickets the fare was £20 instead of £17. I queried this with Vi
  
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• Sajid Javid promises to liberate leaseholders from 'feudal practices'

  21-12-2017 01:01
  Communities secretary says new rules will make extending or buying a freehold easier, cheaper and fasterLeaseholders are to be freed from “feudal practices” in the property market, according to the government minister responsible for housing, with new rules to make extending a lease or purchasing a freehold “much easier, faster and cheaper”.Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, also said the government would go ahead with a ban on leaseholds on new-build houses first an
  
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• Agency staff collectively underpaid by £400m a year, charity claims

  21-12-2017 01:01
  Resolution Foundation highlights legal loopholes used by many employers that allow agency workers to sign away their right to equal payAgency workers are collectively underpaid by £400m a year compared to their full-time counterparts, with the pay gap costing temporary admin staff £990 a year on average, according to new research.The Resolution Foundation said the loss of pay across all sectors took the average loss for each of the UK’s 800,000 agency workers to £500 a ye
  
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