Financial news

• Volkswagen announces Herbert Diess as new CEO

  12-04-2018 22:02
  Former brand manager will oversee efforts to restructure and slim down carmaker after the diesel emissions scandal
  Volkswagen has said that Herbert Diess will take over from Matthias Müller as its chief executive, adding fresh impetus to its efforts to slim down and reorganise the way its 12 brands are managed.On Thursday, the carmaker said it planned to create six new business areas and a special portfolio for China, its largest market, and split its brands into three new vehicle groups wi
  
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• Hundreds of jobs to go as 2 Sisters plans Scotland factory shutdown

  12-04-2018 20:32
  Chicken supplier hit by scandal over undercover report last year to close Cambuslang plantHundreds of poultry workers in Scotland are to lose their jobs due to the closure of a plant belonging to 2 Sisters Food Group, which has been dogged by a controversy over food standards.On Thursday, the UK’s biggest supplier of supermarket chicken said it will shut the Cambuslang factory in South Lanarkshire in August. The site employs about 450 people. Continue reading...
  
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• Don't tell generation rent the fall in house prices is bad news | Larry Elliott

  12-04-2018 19:20
  Estate agents face a quiet house-buying season with demand and mortgage lending in declineApril traditionally marks the start of Britain’s house-buying season. Once the daffodils come out, estate agents ready themselves for a rush of prospective buyers.Not this year, though. The body that represents estate agents, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, says demand for housing has now fallen for 12 months. New buyer inquiries are down and that is having a knock-on effect in the mortg
  
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• Labour warns Apollo against pursuing interest in FirstGroup

  12-04-2018 19:10
  Bus and rail company FirstGroup rejected offer from US private equity group Labour and the RMT union have warned the US private equity firm Apollo Global Management off pursuing its interest in the transport firm FirstGroup, after the British company rejected a takeover approach.FirstGroup, which operates UK rail franchises including Great Western and TransPennine Express, nearly 20% of local bus routes outside London and the US Greyhound coach service, said it had turned down a proposed cash bi
  
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• Lending falls at fastest rate since credit crunch, Bank says

  12-04-2018 18:42
  Unsecured consumer loans drop by 38.7% in first threes months of 2018, largest fall since 2007, according to new figures from the Bank of England
  Banks and building societies reined in their lending to consumers during the first three months of 2018 at the fastest rate since the the credit crunch, according to fresh figures from the Bank of England.The availability of unsecured loans to consumers between January and March slumped by the largest amount since records began in 2007, accelerating a
  
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• World's first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden

  12-04-2018 17:55
  Stretch of road outside Stockholm transfers energy from two tracks of rail in the road, recharging the batteries of electric cars and trucksThe world’s first electrified road that recharges the batteries of cars and trucks driving on it has been opened in Sweden.About 2km (1.2 miles) of electric rail has been embedded in a public road near Stockholm, but the government’s roads agency has already drafted a national map for future expansion. Continue reading...
  
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• How world's first electrified road charges moving vehicles – video

  12-04-2018 17:54
  Sweden has opened the world's first electrified road. The 1.2-mile route, between Stockholm Arlanda airport and a logistics site, will now actively charge cars and lorries as they travel along it using an innovative energy transfer system World's first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden Continue reading...
  
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• Use inheritance tax to tackle inequality of wealth, says OECD

  12-04-2018 17:44 via theguardian.com
  Wealth inequality is even greater than income inequality and is on the rise, says new reportGovernments should consider deploying the taxation system to reduce wealth inequality, with inheritance tax the favoured route, according to the west’s leading economic thinktank.Wealth inequality is greater than income inequality and evidence suggests disparities have increased in recent decades, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report. Wealth – such as prop
  
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• British Airways owner considering bid for transatlantic rival Norwegian

  12-04-2018 13:20
  IAG says it already holds 4.6% stake and is weighing up ‘the possibility of a full offer’The owner of British Airwayshas said it is considering making a bid for rival airline Norwegian, amid fierce competition between the two for transatlantic passengers.International Airlines Group (IAG), formed via the 2010 merger of BA with Spanish flag-carrier Iberia, said it had built up a stake of 4.6% in Norwegian, and that it sees the rapidly expanding airline as an “attractive investme
  
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• Disney must bid for Sky even if Murdoch offer fails, watchdog rules

  12-04-2018 12:46
  UK takeover panel rules that US conglomerate must make offer if it completes its $66bn bid for FoxDisney will have to make a full takeover bid for Sky even if the competition regulator quashes Rupert Murdoch’s £11.7bn attempt to buy 100% of Britain’s biggest pay-TV broadcaster, the UK takeover panel has ruled.The owner of Walt Disney Studios has made a $66bn (£49bn) bid to take over 21st Century Fox, which owns a 39% stake in Sky. Meanwhile, it is awaiting the outcome of
  
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• London house prices falling at fastest rate in nine years, says Halifax

  12-04-2018 10:55 via theguardian.com
  Lender reports prices down 3.2% between January and March compared with previous quarterHouse prices in London are falling at the fastest rate in nine years, according to Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender.Prices in the capital were down 3.2% between January and March compared with the previous quarter, the sharpest decline since the depths of the financial crisis, according to regional data collated by IHS Markit and published by Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group. Continue rea
  
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• Carpetright to close 92 outlets, shedding hundreds of jobs

  12-04-2018 10:03
  Shares take 16% hit as UK’s biggest carpet retailer struggles to stave off administrationCarpetright has confirmed plans to close 92 stores, with the potential loss of 300 jobs, in a restructuring process designed to stave off administration.Shares in the UK’s biggest carpet retailer fell sharply 16% to 35p as the company said it wanted to move out of almost a quarter of its 409 stores in September.Continue reading...
  
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• Please can I have a receipt for a parcel I left? Well ‘yes’ and ‘no’, says UPS

  12-04-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Staff at drop-off points say it doesn’t issue them … while a customer service email says it doesReaders should be warned that UPS no longer provides receipts at its drop-off locations when a parcel is left. I paid online for a next-day delivery, printed the barcode label and attached it to the box. When I handed it over at a UPS drop-off point it was scanned and taken over the counter. I was told UPS no longer gives receipts but I could track it online later. However, they couldn&rs
  
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• That Friday feeling: should the weekend start a day earlier?

  12-04-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Radio 1’s weekend shows will now be broadcast three days a week, rather than two. Perhaps it is time we followed suit in the workplaceIn the Routledge guide British Civilization, the weekend is defined as “Saturday and Sunday” – but try telling that to anyone who has ordered a takeaway as they are leaving the office on a Friday so that it arrives as they get home, or has gone three Woo Woos deep into the Friday happy-hour deal at a Be At One. We all know the weekend
  
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• People want homes, jobs, a future: no wonder they distrust capitalism now | Larry Elliott

  12-04-2018 07:00
  Post-cold war politics shifted to the right, and ordinary people suffered. Mainstream parties need to know what went wrongIt’s just like old times. Donald Trump has picked a fight with China over trade and he is at odds with Russia over Syria. Relations between Beijing and Moscow are getting closer as the former communist superpowers confront the old American enemy. A regional conflict in the Middle East is a means by which the United States and Russia can engage without actually
  
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• Stamp duty and Brexit 'have killed London market', says Rics report

  12-04-2018 02:25 via theguardian.com
  Demand across Britain falls for the 12th month in a row, says Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, in gloomiest outlook for five yearsBritain’s property surveyors have issued the most downbeat assessment of the housing market for five years.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that in March demand from buyers fell for the 12th month in a row, new instructions from sellers declined for the seventh consecutive month, and prices were flat nationally.Continue reading..
  
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• New safeguards for British holidaymakers who book online

  12-04-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  EU travel rules will give internet deals the same levels of financial cover as traditional packagesBritish holidaymakers will benefit from greater protection when booking online under new EU rules that come into force this summer. Updated UK package travel regulations, part of an EU directive due to take effect for holidays booked from 1 July, aim to create a level playing field by making online retailers as responsible for consumer protection as traditional travel agents.Continue reading...
  
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