Financial news

• It’s time to join the renewables revolution | Letters

  26-12-2017 19:13
  MPs’ pension fund must dump fossil fuel investment, says Caroline Lucas; and the government should look to getting out of nuclear power, writes Paul DonovanThe government’s decision to allow pension funds to dump investments in fossil fuels (Boost for fossil fuel divestment as UK eases pension rules, 18 December) is a major step forward but, with such progress on the issues around “fiduciary duty”, it is increasingly puzzling that MPs are still denied a say over where our
  
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• Boxing Day sales: shoppers spend big but footfall down on last year

  26-12-2017 18:15 via theguardian.com
  Online discounts and rising prices fail to deter enthusiastic shoppers – but crowd numbers are down on Christmas 2016, analysts sayMillions of Britons have enjoyed a last hurrah in the Boxing Day sales with determined shoppers camping out in the early hours to secure the best bargains although crowds were smaller than in previous years.Shoppers started queuing outside branches of high street chain Next at 12.30am while on Oxford Street, in London a crowd started forming outside Selfridges
  
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• Tesco apologises after customers complain of 'rancid, rotten' turkeys

  26-12-2017 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Retailer promises to investigate as people on social media complain about ruined Christmas dinners after turkeys were ‘off’Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, has apologised after being hit with a series of complaints about the condition of its Christmas turkeys.The supermarket group has pledged to investigate after customers claimed on social media that they had bought “rancid, rotten” turkeys and had had to order takeaways after discovering that the meat had gone of
  
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• UK energy cap could have been avoided, lobby group says

  26-12-2017 15:58 via theguardian.com
  Body representing big six suppliers says price cap is not inevitable and could have been avoided if industry had acted more quickly on ‘rip-off’ tariffs Energy suppliers could have avoided the government imposing a price cap if they had acted faster to shift customers off the tariffs branded a “rip-off” by Theresa May, according to an industry lobby group. Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, also said he believed it was still possible the cap might not happen &n
  
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• The Guardian view on capitalism without capital | Editorial

  26-12-2017 14:46 via theguardian.com
  An idea whose time has come: Over the holiday season the Guardian is examining themes that have emerged to give shape to 2018. Today we look at intangible economiesNo country is governed by a Capitalist party, although there is no shortage of capitalism on the planet. There have been Socialist parties for socialism, Liberal parties for liberalism and Communist parties for communism. Yet acolytes of the most powerful model of all are reluctant to brand themselves with its name. One reason is that
  
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• Six factors influencing the UK property market in 2018

  26-12-2017 14:34 via theguardian.com
  It could be a better year in Britain’s dysfunctional housing market for first-time buyers and tenants 1. Interest rates will stay low
  Another 0.25% hike is expected in late spring, taking the Bank of England base rate to 0.75%. That will add £22 to the typical £175,000 tracker mortgage, but with more than half of all borrowers on fixed rates, it will probably go unnoticed by most homeowners. With the economy weak, the market does not expect any further hikes across the year. Mo
  
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• UK house price growth to slow dramatically in 2018, say experts

  26-12-2017 14:29 via theguardian.com
  Fear of interest rate rise and Brexit expected to either halt house price growth or result in a small below-inflation riseHouse price growth looks set to judder to a halt in 2018 or at best manage a small below-inflation rise, as the twin spectres of Brexit and rising interest rates put the brakes on the property market.Following what some have called a lacklustre year, homeowners and those looking to sell in the coming months have been told to expect an underwhelming and subdued 2018, with a nu
  
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• The pots of gold at the east edge of London

  26-12-2017 12:23 via theguardian.com
  Where the rich come to caress their gold - inside the UK’s sole refiner of gold and its biggest private vaultOn occasion, chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and high-end Mercedes can be seen navigating the roundabouts of an east London industrial estate squeezed between Europe’s largest sewage treatment plant and the remains of what were once the world’s largest gasworks.While the fancy cars are an incongruous sight in this Beckton industrial estate, the drivers have not l
  
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• Record numbers of tourists visit UK despite terror attacks

  26-12-2017 11:26 via theguardian.com
  Tourism experts say fewer British people, especially young families, came to London but overseas visitors were undeterredRecent terror attacks in the UK have affected domestic family tourism but failed to deter international visitors, as 2017 saw record tourist levels, industry bosses said.
  Central London attractions saw a fall in numbers of around 17% on average between May and the second week of September compared with 2016, according to Bernard Donoghue, director of the Association of Leading
  
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• Warnings of post-Brexit price rises unless UK can copy EU trade deals

  26-12-2017 10:29 via theguardian.com
  British Retail Consortium says everyday products such as food and clothing could rise when UK leaves the blocConsumers face rising prices after Brexit unless Britain can replicate trade deals negotiated by the EU with dozens of other countries, the British Retail Consortium has warned.The BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said the cost of everyday products from food to clothing would go up if the UK lost the preferential arrangements it enjoys as a member of the EU. Continue reading.
  
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• Consumer complaints: what you can do to fix the most common ones

  26-12-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From flight delays to mis-sold PPI, it has been a troublesome year. Here’s how to tackle the most frequent problemsThis has been a frustrating year for consumers. From trying to claw back money after being stuck in an airport for hours on end while waiting for a flight to take off to navigating the pitfalls of shopping online, the public have had more than a few common gripes over the last 12 months.Consumer help website Resolver has reported that amongst the many things that have irked pe
  
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