Financial news

• Wall Street and FTSE 100 hit new highs as bull market shakes off US jobs report - as it happened

  05-01-2018 23:02 via theguardian.com
  Shares keep rallying even though the latest American Non-Farm Payroll is mediocre, with fewer new jobs created than expectedSummary: Market melt-up continuesWall Street up again!Breaking: US created 148,000 jobs in December, fewer than expectedRetailers cut 20,000 jobsWages rose by 2.5% per year, as forecastUnemployment rate sticks at 4.1%, a 17-year low...but underemployment has risen 10.02pm GMT And finally.... the Dow Jones has continued to ‘melt-up’ with aplomb. 8.40pm GMT Hello
  
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• House of Fraser seeks to cut store size and rent bill after tough Christmas

  05-01-2018 20:51 via theguardian.com
  Department store is trying to cut its high street footprint by 30% but is hoping to avoid further store closuresHouse of Fraser is seeking to cut the size of stores in an effort to slash its rent bill after a tough Christmas.The department store group, which was bought by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower in 2014, wants to cut its high street footprint by 30% over 10 years. It is understood the group does not want to close individual stores, other than the two closed last year in Leicester and Ayles
  
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• House of Fraser seeks cutbacks after a difficult Christmas

  05-01-2018 20:51 via theguardian.com
  Department store is trying to cut its high street footprint by 30% while hoping to avoid further store closuresHouse of Fraser is seeking to cut the size of stores in an effort to slash its rent bill after a tough Christmas.The department store group, which was bought by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower in 2014, wants to cut its high street footprint by 30% over 10 years. It is understood the group does not want to close individual stores, other than the two closed last year in Leicester and Aylesb
  
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• Coca-Cola to sell smaller bottles at higher prices in response to sugar tax

  05-01-2018 19:41 via theguardian.com
  Soft drink manufacturer refuses to alter recipe, as rivals face backlash over reduced sugar Irn-Bru in ScotlandCoca-Cola is to use smaller bottles and sell at higher prices rather than alter its famous sugar-laden secret recipe, while Irn-Bru faces a growing consumer backlash over fears a new lower sugar version will ruin Scotland’s national soft drink.The changes are part of the preparations underway in the fizzy drinks business for the sugar tax. The cost of some “price marked pack
  
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• Stock market extends surge despite slowing US job growth

  05-01-2018 18:18 via theguardian.com
  Economy adds 148,000 jobs in December with jobless rate steady at 4.1%Pace of hiring has slowed and wages continue to lag behind growthWall Street has shrugged off slowing growth in US jobs, extending a surge in the stock market as the world’s largest economy comes closer to reaching full employment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 0.2% in New York on Thursday morning, adding more than 50 points to reach 25,123, despite the weaker readings for job creation last month. Figures
  
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• Wall Street and FTSE 100 hit new highs as bull market shakes off US jobs report - business live

  05-01-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  The latest American Non-Farm Payroll is mediocre, with fewer new jobs created than expectedWall Street up again!Breaking: US created 148,000 jobs in December, fewer than expectedRetailers cut 20,000 jobsWages rose by 2.5% per year, as forecastUnemployment rate sticks at 4.1%, a 17-year low...but underemployment has risen 5.00pm GMT OK, time for a recap.The global stock market rally has driven Britain and America’s stock markets to fresh highs today, despite an underwhelming employment repo
  
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• Let’s move to Lichfield, Staffordshire: as middle England as you can get

  05-01-2018 17:30 via theguardian.com
  A fabulous cathedral, Morris dancers, red-brick Georgian houses: this place is so English that even Samuel Johnson, the man who defined the nation, lived hereWhat’s going for it? I doubt you’ll find a more English place in the country. This is quite literally Middle England. I remember a wall plaque here when I was a kid that said the city was the farthest place from the sea. That’s how middley it is, the very heart of our body politic. You’re a long way from Bognor, let
  
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• Five UK online casinos may lose licence over money-laundering fears

  05-01-2018 17:08 via theguardian.com
  Regulator warns betting firms’ licences could be revoked if they fail to stop criminal activity and problem gamblingFive online casino companies could lose their licence to operate, after industry regulator the Gambling Commission warned they were not doing enough to stop criminals using their websites to launder money.The commission has written to 17 online casino companies, flagging up the “serious nature” of its findings on their controls against money laundering, terrorist
  
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• UK government spells out plan to shut down coal plants

  05-01-2018 15:34 via theguardian.com
  Government unveils phase-out plan, with one of eight remaining power stations to stop generating electricity this yearOne of the UK’s eight remaining coal power stations is expected to cease generating electricity this year, the government has said as it laid out new rules that will force all the plants to close by 2025.The coal phase-out is one of the Conservative party’s flagship green policies, and the long-awaited implementation plan comes ahead of a speech by Theresa May on the
  
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• Tweet and tell: turning Twitter into complaints megaphone

  05-01-2018 15:25 via theguardian.com
  Companies from rail operators to superstores are being caught up in Twitter storms but there is a good way - and a bad way – to deal with angry customersThere was plenty for rail passengers to be #angry about on Tuesday, with social media channels buzzing with complaints as the biggest rise in rail fares since 2013 kicked in.But come the end of the day Virgin Trains was apologising not for cancelled trains, overcrowded carriages or rocketing fares - but for being sexist on Twitter after a
  
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• Global stock market to PLUMMET in 2019: Devastating 10% collapse says shock survey

  05-01-2018 14:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  GLOBAL stock markets are predicted to plunge by at least 10 percent in 2019 according to a shock new survey.
  
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• Intel facing class-action lawsuits over Meltdown and Spectre bugs

  05-01-2018 14:52 via theguardian.com
  Plaintiffs claim compensation for security flaws and alleged slowdown that fixing computers will cause, while corporations count cost of correctionsIntel has been hit with at least three class-action lawsuits over the major processor vulnerabilities revealed this week.The flaws, called Meltdown and Spectre, exist within virtually all modern processors and could allow hackers to steal sensitive data although no data breaches have been reported yet. While Spectre affects processors made by a varie
  
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• Diesel tax: Electric car sales SOAR as fumes crackdown forces road revolution

  05-01-2018 14:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  ELECTRIC car manufacturers saw sales skyrocketed in 2017 to almost 120,000, a rise of 34.8 percent at the same time diesel cars sales are reported to have fallen by 17.1 percent a drop in demand by a fifth.
  
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• Richard Branson defends government bailout of Virgin's East Coast rail

  05-01-2018 14:23 via theguardian.com
  Intervention necessary with losses overwhelming track and train upgrade and investment commitments, says entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has defended the government bailout of Virgin Trains East Coast, saying he and partner firm Stagecoach have lost more than £100m running the route.In the Virgin Group owner’s first public comments on the controversy, he said that the “promise of a huge upgrade” of the line that is set to be delayed meant “a discussion with governm
  
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• North Korea is ‘going after ANYTHING:’ Hacking warning desperate Kim is eyeing cryptocurre

  05-01-2018 14:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  NORTH Korea is resorting to ever more devious ways of raising capital as UN sanction start to put insurmountable pressure on the rogue state.
  
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• 'Ripple is first in line' - CEO reveals next cryptocurrency to catch up with bitcoin

  05-01-2018 14:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN will soon be caught up by Ripple, the next cryptocurrency surging in price and taking on the markets.
  
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• Made In China: World debt levels hit $233 trillion sparking fears of global crisis

  05-01-2018 13:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  GLOBAL debt levels have soared to a record high of $233 trillion in the third quarter of 2017 with China sparking global concern.
  
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• Trump's stock market booms but this analyst warns Dow Jones will lead to TERRIFYING crash

  05-01-2018 13:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE DOW Jones stock index hit the 25,000 level for the first time after strong global economic data but one analyst has warned of its collapse.
  
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• Will a 25p charge change Britain's throwaway coffee cup culture?

  05-01-2018 12:31 via theguardian.com
  On a busy Guildford high street reaction to the proposed ‘latte levy’ is mixed. While many welcome the move to change peoples’ habits, for some, already feeling the squeeze of a weak pound, the 25p hit is too highTurn any corner in the busy town centre of Guildford on a weekday morning, and someone is carrying a disposable cup bearing the logo of one of the major chains.
  Each minute in the UK about 500 of these used coffee cups are thrown away. Every year consumers use and disp
  
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• Saudi Aramco takes key step towards $2tn flotation

  05-01-2018 12:29 via theguardian.com
  Royal decree turning state-owned oil giant into joint stock company dispels doubts about IPOSaudi Arabia has taken a key step towards allowing future investors to buy shares in its national oil company, as it prepares for the world’s biggest stock market flotation later this year.Saudi Aramco was recently forced to deny it was planning to shelve plans for its $2tn flotation of 5% of the company, and the new change suggests the planned IPO is still on track. Continue reading...
  
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• UK productivity jumps at fastest rate for six years

  05-01-2018 12:18 via theguardian.com
  Fewer people working fewer hours but creating same output explains surprise gain, but productivity remains well below pre-financial crisis trendThe productivity of British workers has increased at the fastest rate in more than six years, handing the government a rare boost in correcting one of the biggest problems facing the UK economy.Labour productivity, or economic output per hour worked, grew by 0.9% in the three months to September 2017, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists s
  
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• Debenhams shares plunge after dismal festive trading

  05-01-2018 12:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  PLANS for a radical makeover and cost savings at Debenhams will be accelerated after a dismal festive trading period when it struggled to attract shoppers despite cutting prices.
  
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• Germany's DEBT WARNING: Alarm bells as EU giant loses £70 A SECOND as 'debt clock' ticks

  05-01-2018 11:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  GERMANY’S “debt clock” shows the country is loosing €78 each second resulting in the flagship European Union country breaking one of the bloc's mandates.
  
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• Ripple price 2018: Why is it rising? Should you buy Ripple instead of Bitcoin?

  05-01-2018 11:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  RIPPLE prices have soared in the past month, helping it usurp ethereum as the second biggest cryptocurrency on the market after bitcoin. But why is Ripple rising and should you invest in XRP over bitcoin?
  
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• Pound v US dollar: GBP flat as UK car industry demands clarity over Brexit

  05-01-2018 10:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE UK automotive industry is demanding clarity regarding the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU following a poor year for car sales, crippling the pound against the US dollar.
  
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• Dow Jones hits high but Donald Trump could create ‘rough seas’ for world economy

  05-01-2018 10:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE DOW Jones stock index passed the 25,000 level for the first time after strong global economic data and better-than-expected jobs figures extended the New Year’s rally for the US stock market.
  
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• Takeover frenzy: banks rake in record $104bn in fees

  05-01-2018 10:18 via theguardian.com
  Fees hail from $3.5tn worth of takeovers including 21st Century Fox-Disney deal and Amazon takeover of Whole Foods with 2018 billed as even bigger yearInvestment banks earned a record of nearly $104bn (£76.7bn) in fees globally last year from work advising companies on more than $3.5tn worth of takeovers and mergers.Globally, banks billed their clients for $103.9bn worth of fees for their work, a 16% increase on 2016 and the highest yearly total since Thomson Reuters began collating data i
  
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• First fall in car sales since 2011 blamed on fears over diesel ban

  05-01-2018 08:51 via theguardian.com
  Industry says government has created uncertainty over an eventual ban on diesel cars, with sales dropping 17% in 2017UK car sales declined in 2017 after five years of rapid growth, with the industry blaming government for a collapse in consumer confidence in diesel vehicles.Total sales for last year were 2.54m new vehicles, a decline of 5.6% on 2016, with diesel sales dropping 17%. Despite the decline, 2017 sales remained near the highest on record. Continue reading...
  
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• Bitcoin price LIVE: Cryptocurrency flat as Mark Zuckerberg says Bitcoin can fix Facebook

  05-01-2018 08:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN'S price is flat at the start of the day as Ethereum continues life in the $1000 club and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg makes plans for cryptocurrency technology.
  
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• Pound LIVE: Sterling up on Euro but it's a 'year to forget' for the UK car industry

  05-01-2018 08:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  STERLING is rising against the Euro but new data shows that car sales have fallen for the first time in six years.
  
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• Bitcoin price: CEO says cryptocurrency WILL surge in next 2 years as coin supply PLUMMETS

  05-01-2018 08:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN price is expected to rise for the next two and half years as the supply of the cryptocurrency will decrease substantially, according to CEO of BTCC Bobby Lee.
  
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• French hilltop home on the site of a Roman fortress – in pictures

  05-01-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Rule your own empire at this sprawling property featuring a large house, barns, turreted towers, medieval ruins and more Continue reading...
  
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• We can stop Brexit. But we’ll need some help from across the Channel | Timothy Garton Ash

  05-01-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Nothing is impossible in modern politics. But if so many Europeans really want Britain to stay in the EU, they need to find their voices nowThis is the year to stop Brexit. There will not be another chance. If by the end of this year the British parliament has approved a transition agreement with the 27 other members of the EU, including the framework for a future trading relationship, Britain will exit.This will constitute the most gratuitous and consequential act of national self-harm in Brita
  
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• WARNING: 'Sneaky' companies are fooling Bitcoin investors in branding SCAM

  05-01-2018 02:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  SNEAKY companies are attempting to piggyback the Bitcoin boom by putting blockchain in their name simply to attract investment, it was revealed on BBC Newsnight.
  
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• Irn-Bru drinkers won't notice halved sugar content, claims AG Barr

  05-01-2018 01:02 via theguardian.com
  Popular Scottish soft drink to have much lower sugar content from this month, with fans petitioning to stop the changeWe’d like to hear how you are trying to limit the amount of snacks and sugary foods your children eat.The maker of Irn-Bru has claimed most people will not taste a difference when the fizzy drink’s reduced sugar recipe is introduced, despite fans launching a campaign against the move.Continue reading...
  
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• UK new car sales drop for first time in six years - diesel crackdown being blamed

  05-01-2018 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  SALES of new cars reversed for the first time for six years in 2017.
  
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• Debenhams job cuts and store closures likely after disappointing sales

  05-01-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  UK retailers struggle on high street and in shopping malls with falling revenue as shoppers move online
  Debenhams is to cut jobs and consider more store closures after a poor festive trading period led to a major profits warning.Shares in the department store dropped by 15% to 30p, the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, after it warned that sales of seasonal gifts and clothing had fallen despite heavy discounting.Continue reading...
  
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• Aldi to raise minimum pay rate for THOUSANDS of workers as sales break £10 billion barrier

  05-01-2018 01:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  ALDI will raise minimum pay rates for thousands of store workers after its annual UK and Ireland sales broke the £10 billion barrier for the first time.
  
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