Financial news

• Freezing weather costs UK economy £1bn a day

  03-03-2018 20:25 via theguardian.com
  Financial impact of the ‘beast from the east’ and storm Emma worst since Christmas 2010Gridlocked motorways, empty restaurants and idle diggers seen across Britain last week cost the economy at least £1bn a day and could halve GDP growth in the first three months of the year.Analysts said the impact of the “beast from the east” sweeping in from Siberia and the arrival of Storm Emma hitting the south coast was likely to be the most costly weather event since 2010, wh
  
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• Pandering to baby boomers’ mania for saving is economic madness | Phillip Inman

  03-03-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  With the Bank of England controlling inflation, and the Treasury enslaved to pensioner votes, policies that would share wealth with younger generations don’t stand a chanceThe greatest threat to our economy comes from its ageing population. With the baby-boomer generation making up a large proportion of society, we find ourselves in a situation where public policy is mostly geared towards shoring up the gains made by boomers over the past 40 years, and industrial disputes are driven by an
  
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• Why US media giants are eyeing Sky – and what any deal might mean

  03-03-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Comcast’s disruptive £22bn bid for Sky added a further layer to a complex affair. We ask why the UK operator is such a catch, and how new ownership will change our television landscapeThe unwinding of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, via the sale to Bob Iger’s Disney of his stake in Sky and his prime entertainment assets in 21st Century Fox, was never likely to be a trouble-free affair for the media tycoon. And so it proved last week when Comcast, the US cable giant led by
  
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• Is it worth buying a studio flat, or is it better to save for a one-bed?

  03-03-2018 15:01 via theguardian.com
  My daughter has asked for help with a deposit, but I’m not sure if a 15ft by 12ft room is liveableEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• Credit cards: Tidy away your debt problems with a transfer

  03-03-2018 15:01 via theguardian.com
  There are still some enticing interest-free offers around, but to benefit you need self-controlHundreds of thousands of people have been spring-cleaning their finances by shunting their credit card debt to another card, and some are saving a small fortune as a result.This week it emerged that almost £1.62bn of credit card balance transfers took place in January – the highest monthly figure for almost 12 years. Many of these people took advantage of a 0% balance transfer deal. So shou
  
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• Engineering giant GKN gears up for US merger

  03-03-2018 14:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE TAKEOVER battle for engineering giant GKN took another twist after it confirmed it is in talks to sell its automotive business to American car parts maker Dana.
  
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• Homes within stumbling distance of pubs – in pictures

  03-03-2018 14:03 via theguardian.com
  You’re never far from a pint in these properties near watering holes, from Devon to London Continue reading...
  
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• ‘It didn’t feel real’: Fire leaves family £450,000 out of pocket

  03-03-2018 12:48 via theguardian.com
  Insurance comparison websites calculate property rebuild costs – but they are not always rightWhen the early morning phone call came to tell them that their house was burning down, Louise Ebeid, her husband Pedro Neto and their one-year-old son William were fast asleep in a hotel bedroom 1,800 miles away. They had only just flown out on holiday to Tenerife the previous evening.The call came at 6am. “Louise’s mother called us,” says Neto. “She lives close by and a ne
  
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• Workers on Northern and Merseyrail launch strike action

  03-03-2018 11:38 via theguardian.com
  One-day strike action by RMT members leads both companies to reduce services that were already affected by bad weatherWorkers at two rail companies have launched a 24-hour strike in the bitter dispute over the role of guards.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on Merseyrail and Arriva Rail North (Northern) were said to be “united and determined”.Continue reading...
  
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• Caviar care home: retirement complex for 'oligarchs' to open in Chelsea

  03-03-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Critics attack sale of council nursing home site to make way for world’s most-expensive care home complex
  The menu at Culford’s on Dovehouse Green will be extraordinarily expensive, even for the restaurant’s location on the King’s Road in Chelsea, west London. Alongside grilled seabass and steak au poivre are a selection of caviars, including 50g of beluga for £250.The restaurant will also offer a good selection of the menu in pureed form – because Culford&rsq
  
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• Council tax should be fair and progressive. Ours is neither

  03-03-2018 10:08 via theguardian.com
  It is outrageous that a person in a £17m Westminster mansion pays less than a pensioner in a Nottingham bungalowThere is a Grade II-listed seven-bedroom home of “ambassadorial proportions” for sale in Westminster, just along from the old Conservative party headquarters, if you’ve got the odd £17m to spare. But there is one financial worry the buyer won’t have: council tax. The new owner will be presented with a council tax bill for 2017-18 of just £1,376
  
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• Teacher: ‘At my salary I’ll never pay off my loan or to buy a home where I live’

  03-03-2018 10:07 via theguardian.com
  A 23-year-old graduate on how she organises her finances – and why she is putting off travellingI’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and after Durham university I decided to do a one-year masters at the University of Oxford, for which I got a scholarship. While here I got my first teaching job, and am now in my second year.In April 2016 I owed the Student Loans Company £41,981.77. In my first year working I paid off £104, but gained £564 of interest. So, from April 2
  
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• Eurozone dependent on ‘MONETARY METHADONE’: EU crisis warning a day before Italian vote

  03-03-2018 09:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE ITALIAN election has once again thrust the economic resilience of the eurozone back into the limelight. While Italy - the euro bloc’s third largest economy - struggles under a €2 trillion mountain of debt, focus is turning on how the so-called “Monetary Methadone” of Quantitative Easing can be withdrawn.
  
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• Sarah Teichmann: ‘I wake as early as 4am and think about work’

  03-03-2018 09:00
  The 42-year-old scientist is head of cellular genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, CambridgeSleep I need seven or eight hours. My daughters, aged 10 and five, are in bed by 8.30pm. My husband and I have different methods of getting them to bed: he likes nature television programmes; I like reading in German. Both my father and husband are German, so we try to maintain the language. Before I go to sleep, I read books such as Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, or essays from Harvard Business R
  
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• NHS prescription charges are rising – here’s how to keep them down

  03-03-2018 08:00
  Here’s what you need to know about the increase – and how to get cheaper everyday medicinesIn April the cost of a single-item prescription will rise by 20p to £8.80, which the government says will help support frontline NHS services. But here are our five ways to keep costs down, such as the NHS “season ticket” for regular prescriptions. We also examine the cheap generic everyday medicines that are usually half the price of expensive branded drugs.1. This is a rise
  
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• Fantasy miniatures bring roaring success to UK's Games Workshop

  03-03-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From The Hobbit to Warhammer, world of elves, orcs and ogres have made model-maker a stock market hitIt is usually forbidden for quoted companies to cash in on bloodthirsty conflicts fought by armed mercenaries in distant lands.But for Kevin Rountree it’s just another day at the office. The low-profile accountant, who never gives interviews, runs fantasy figure seller Games Workshop which this week emerged as the sleeper success story of the UK’s bombed-out retail industry, thanks to
  
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• Cold at home? Here’s how to beat the winter chill

  03-03-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Britons’ homes are among the draughtiest in Europe. You can change that this weekendIf you’ve been struggling to keep your home warm this week, you are far from alone. UK homes are some of the least well insulated in Europe. But experts say a few simple DIY changes can dramatically improve the internal temperature. The concept is simple: stop cold air coming in and prevent warm air from escaping. This will save you money on your utility bills as the existing heating system will need
  
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• Trump trade tariffs: Europe threatens US bikes, bourbon and bluejeans

  03-03-2018 03:36 via theguardian.com
  IMF joins China in warning of potential harm from 25% tariff imposed on metal imports but Trump insists ‘trade wars are good’Trump trade tariffs – business liveEurope has warned Donald Trump to expect retaliatory strikes against American icons like Harley-Davidson, Levi’s jeans and Kentucky bourbon, if he sparks a trade war by going ahead with punitive US tariffs on foreign steel.The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, warned there would be consequences fo
  
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