Financial news

• Sainsbury's Asda to SLASH prices! CEO promises 10 percent price DROP for loyal customers

  30-04-2018 22:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  ASDA and Sainsbury’s are planning to merge and CEO Mike Coupe has claimed the agreement will lead to a 10 percent price drop in some products for customers.
  
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• Iran creates own cryptocurrency amid fears Trump will issue CRIPPLING economic sanctions

  30-04-2018 22:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  IRAN has created its own cryptocurrency amid fears the United States will issue crippling economic sanctions.
  
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• 'We're in the Money': Sainsbury's CEO caught singing before Asda merger interview – video

  30-04-2018 20:35 via theguardian.com
  Sainsbury's CEO, Mike Coupe, has been filmed singing and humming 'We're in the Money' while waiting for an ITV News interview about his supermarket's merger with competitor Asda. Coupe made a statement after ITV released the clip, saying: 'This was an unguarded moment trying to compose myself before a TV interview. It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street, which I saw last year, and I apologise if I have offended anyone.' Continue reading...
  
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• Sainsbury's chief sings 'We're in the Money' after Asda merger

  30-04-2018 20:35 via theguardian.com
  Mike Coupe filmed singing song from 42nd Street while waiting for interview with ITV about dealThe chief executive of Sainsbury’s has been filmed singing “We’re in the Money” on the same day he announced a blockbuster merger with Asda.Waiting to be interviewed by ITV, Mike Coupe started warbling one of the best-known songs from the musical 42nd Street. In the clip released by the broadcaster, he is shown singing: “We’re in the money, the sky is sunny. Let&rsqu
  
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• Why Amazon is driving force behind Asda-Sainsbury's merger

  30-04-2018 20:10 via theguardian.com
  Proposed merger seen as an attempt to insulate against Amazon’s move into sectorThe rapid expansion of discounters Aldi and Lidl – whose share of the grocery market has rocketed from less than 4% a decade ago to nearly 13% today – has hit all traditional supermarkets. But the industry’s biggest fear is Amazon.Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe has long made clear that his real concern is the online giant, which is now the world’s second biggest company, valued at $74
  
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• ILLEGAL energy SWITCH left customer with a mail dilemma and at mercy of debt collector

  30-04-2018 19:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  ENERGY customers Dennis and Muriel Willis were assailed from all sides after their supplier was switched without their knowledge or say-so.
  
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• Asda and Sainsbury's merger: 'NO store closures planned' amid fears of job losses

  30-04-2018 19:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  ASDA and Sainsbury's have insisted no store closures are planned amid fears thousands of workers could lose their jobs as details of the shock £12billion merger are released.
  
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• TSB: MPs set to grill TSB bosses over online banking meltdown

  30-04-2018 19:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  TSB bosses are set to be grilled by an influential parliamentary committee this week as the lender's internet banking meltdown enters a second week.
  
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• Sainsbury and Asda agree merger, but MPs warn that jobs are at risk - as it happened

  30-04-2018 18:14 via theguardian.com
  Sainsbury’s promises price cuts of up to 10% after hammering out a deal to buy Asda for over £7bnLatest: MPs have debated the dealSainsbury’s shares rocketed this morningIntroduction: Deal agreed between Sainsbury and Asda
  Companies promise price cuts
  Unions fear job lossesThe key chartsMap: Where might stores close? 5.13pm BST Time for a recap:The merger of the UK’s second and third largest retailers is expected to trigger a major inquiry which analysts predict will resu
  
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• Experts have their say on the Sainsbury's and Asda merger

  30-04-2018 18:06 via theguardian.com
  From fears about job losses to a view of two businesses trying to ‘future-proof themselves’Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s shadow business secretary:A Tesco/Sainsbury’s-Asda duopoly [would have] unrivalled power to dominate, dictating choice and prices for consumers … [It also] poses immense risk to suppliers, with unprecedented bargaining power to drive suppliers’ prices and payment terms down.” Continue reading...
  
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• MPs warn that Sainsbury-Asda deal will threaten jobs - business live

  30-04-2018 17:52 via theguardian.com
  Sainsbury’s promises price cuts of up to 10% after hammering out a deal to buy Asda for over £7bnLatest: MPs are debating the deal nowSainsbury’s shares rocketIntroduction: Deal agreed between Sainsbury and Asda
  Companies promise price cuts
  Unions fear job lossesThe key chartsMap: Where might stores close? 4.52pm BST Back in the City, shares in Sainsbury have closed 15% higher, as traders welcome its proposed takeover of Asda.That adds some £858m to Sainsbury’s mark
  
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• EU says it is ready to wage trade war with US

  30-04-2018 17:48 via theguardian.com
  Diplomatic talks continue, but Europe remains in the dark about Donald Trump’s mindsetThe EU has warned that it will not “shoot from the hip” but is fully prepared for a trade war with the US amid heightened concerns that the bloc’s last minute crisis talks are doomed to fail.With tariffs on steel and aluminium on European exports to the US due to come into force on Tuesday, Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner for trade, made a final diplomatic push in call
  
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• Bursting the bubble: Spanish cava makers form breakaway group

  30-04-2018 17:25 via theguardian.com
  Rebels ditch cava name, which they say has become associated with cheap, inferior fizzA rebellion is bubbling among makers of cava.Six of Spain’s top producers of the sparkling wine have threatened to abandon the cava name, which is protected under Spain’s denominación de origen (DO) system, saying the overproduction of cheap fizz has damaged their product’s image.Continue reading...
  
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• US TRADE WAR: Merkel and Macron FAIL to change Trump's mind - EU prepares sanctions

  30-04-2018 16:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron look to have failed in a bid to persuade US President Donald Trump to grant EU nations exemptions from tariffs on steel and aluminium which could grind eurozone industry to a halt.
  
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• Job loss fears over Sainsbury-Asda deal; TSB to face MPs over IT crisis - business live

  30-04-2018 16:20 via theguardian.com
  Sainsbury’s promises price cuts of up to 10% after hammering out a merger to buy Asda for over £7bnLatest: Sainsbury’s shares rocketIntroduction: Deal agreed between Sainsbury and Asda
  Companies promise price cuts
  Unions fear job lossesThe key chartsMap: Where might stores close? 3.20pm BST You can usually rely on the Bank of England’s chief economist for an eye-catching speech with a few choice quotes.In time, it is possible these sorts of data could help to create a rea
  
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• Three mobile users face steep rises in cost of calls over allowance

  30-04-2018 15:55 via theguardian.com
  Pay monthly customers charged 55p rather than 35p a minute for out-of-contract UK callsMillions of Three mobile phone customers face steep rises in charges for calls that are over their allowance. From 18 June, pay monthly customers who exceed their allowance will see the cost of calls to UK landlines and other mobiles rise from 35p a minute to 55p a minute – a 57% increase. Continue reading...
  
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• Train operators hope to launch direct London-Bordeaux route

  30-04-2018 15:15 via theguardian.com
  High-speed trains would take just over four hours to complete journey between British capital and south-western French cityDirect trains linking London and the French wine capital of Bordeaux in just over four hours could run within two years, according to high-speed rail operators.The prospect of 200mph trains whisking UK travellers straight to south-west France has come a step closer after rail firms on both sides of the Channel said they were agreeing plans to develop the service, which would
  
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• First robot delivery drivers start work at Silicon Valley campus

  30-04-2018 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Six-wheeled robots will deliver food and coffee across a Silicon Valley office park in first commercial use of the technology – and whole cities could be nextIf you work in an office park, or study at a campus university, robotic delivery drivers could be coming your way, following the first-ever commercial deployment of the technology.Starship Technologies, an autonomous delivery startup created in 2014 by two Skype co-founders, has been in public testing mode in 20 countries around the w
  
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• The FA should not be selling Wembley at all, let alone for £600m | Richard Williams

  30-04-2018 14:43 via theguardian.com
  Price is not right but more relevant than the lack of control over the stadium’s future is can we really trust football’s governing body to oversee the reinvestment into the grassroots game?It takes some doing to sell a piece of London property for less than it cost you 10 years ago, a decade in which house prices in the capital have risen, according to the Office of National Statistics, by an average of 100%. Yet this magic trick is what the Football Association seems to be on the b
  
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• Bitcoin enters period of stability despite attempts to ban cryptocurrency

  30-04-2018 14:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  AFTER bouncing up, falling down and keeping investors on the edges of their seats, bitcoin may be maturing into a period of relatively boring stability, experts say.
  
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• Sainsbury's shares surge 20% after agreeing Asda merger - business live

  30-04-2018 14:07 via theguardian.com
  Sainsbury’s promises price cuts of up to 10% after hammering out a merger to buy Asda for over £7bnLatest: Sainsbury’s shares rocketIntroduction: Deal agreed between Sainsbury and Asda
  Companies promise price cuts
  Unions fear job lossesThe key chartsMap: Where might stores close? 1.07pm BST Just in: The Labour Party are calling for an urgent investigation into the Sainsbury-Asda merger.“There are risks to jobs by potential reorganisation and store closures and risks to th
  
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• WPP could sell stakes worth billions in Vice and other companies

  30-04-2018 13:54 via theguardian.com
  Some of proceeds, as focus changes after Sir Martin Sorrell’s exit, will help pay down debt WPP is to sell stakes worth billions of pounds that it holds in a wide range of companies, as the world’s largest advertising group looks to refocus after the departure of founder Sir Martin Sorrell.The company has what analysts have called a “hidden treasure trove” of assets that are not part of its core business, such as a 9% stake in Vice, which as a business is valued at about
  
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• Carpetright warns losses will be double those previously forecast

  30-04-2018 13:48 via theguardian.com
  UK’s biggest carpet chain expects to make pretax loss of £7m to £9m for year to end of AprilCarpetright has warned its full-year loss will be double those previously expected, as the struggling retailer received backing from creditors and shareholders for a restructuring process designed to stave off administration.Britain’s biggest carpet retailer now expects to make an underlying pretax loss of £7m to £9m for the year to the end of April, up from £4m f
  
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• Unmarried mother to challenge benefits loss in UK supreme court

  30-04-2018 12:18 via theguardian.com
  Siobhan McLaughlin will fight state’s refusal to pay widowed parent’s allowance in BelfastA woman’s fight for access to a widowed parent’s allowance is testing the rights of unmarried couples across the country at the supreme court’s first hearing in Belfast. The state’s refusal to pay Siobhan McLaughlin the benefit amounts to discrimination against children born out of wedlock, the UK’s highest court has been told. Continue reading...
  
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• EU makes last-minute attempt to avert US trade war

  30-04-2018 11:42 via theguardian.com
  Trade commissioner to speak to commerce secretary before Donald Trump’s tariffs beginThe EU is making a last-ditch effort to avoid a trade war with just hours to go before tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports to the US are due to come into force.Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner for trade, is due to speak to the US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, later on Monday, but EU sources said they fear the White House is set to continue to make impossible demands. Continu
  
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• Sainsbury's vows to slash prices after Asda merger

  30-04-2018 11:17 via theguardian.com
  Retailers say they plan no store closures as they unveil deal to create UK’s biggest supermarket chainSainsbury’s has claimed it would cut prices by 10% under a merger with Asda, as it confirmed terms of a deal which would hand the Leeds-based supermarket’s US owner Walmart nearly £3bn in cash and a near-42% stake in the combined business.The companies said there were no planned store closures as a result of the deal which would value Asda at £7.3bn, maintaining bot
  
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• My partner wants me to pay him rent – can I get equity in his house?

  30-04-2018 10:00 via theguardian.com
  I’ve spent more than a decade renting and I’d like some security that I’m not wasting my moneyQ After being in our relationship for three years, my partner and I decided to live together. He had bought a house, so I moved in with him. He has spent a lot on renovating the house, and we are very comfortable and happy there – albeit that I don’t own any of it. I am in my 30s, and have the means to buy a place myself and ideally that is what I would have liked to do bef
  
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• TSB online banking meltdown drags into second week

  30-04-2018 09:38 via theguardian.com
  Customers still facing problems with internet and business services after bungled IT upgradeTSB’s IT meltdown has entered its second week, with some customers still unable to access their accounts or make payments.
  One of the worst crises in British banking was caused by a botched migration of data from one IT system to another and has affected up to 1.9 million mobile and online banking customers at the Spanish-owned bank. On Thursday, TSB called in experts from IBM and asked them to fix
  
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• Disappearing jobs around the world – in pictures

  30-04-2018 08:30 via theguardian.com
  Before May Day, AFP’s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare as technology transforms societies Continue reading...
  
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• Uncovered: cruel scam so slick even the vigilant can be duped

  30-04-2018 08:01 via theguardian.com
  A widow diagnosed with breast cancer was conned into losing her mother’s care-home feesVirginia Calder was returning from hospital following breast surgery when the call came. The voice said it was the Royal Bank of Scotland fraud team flagging up some unusual transactions on her bank account. Within hours, Calder’s elderly mother, for whom she exercises power of attorney, had been defrauded of her life savings.Calder, a single mother who considers herself painstaking with her securi
  
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• What are our rights if our trains are cancelled due to French strikes?

  30-04-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  We’ve booked to travel on Eurostar and SNCF, and we’re wondering if we’ll get a refund if services are cancelledMy partner and I will be travelling from London to Montpellier, by both Eurostar and SNCF, on 16 June and returning on 25 June. We’re aware of the French rail strikes threatening to disrupt services over the summer and are wondering what our rights are should either of our journeys be cancelled. All were bought via the Eurostar website, using a Mastercard.CG, Lo
  
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• Ten million British jobs could be gone in 15 years. No one knows what happens next | John Harris

  30-04-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The reality of automation is becoming clear – and it’s terrifying. So why is there so little thinking among politicians about those who will be affected?Plenty of people may not have heard of the retail firm Shop Direct. Its roots go back to the distant heyday of catalogue shopping, and two giants of that era, Littlewoods and Great Universal Stores. Now it is the parent company behind the online fashion brand Very and the reinvented Littlewoods.com. All this may sound innocuous enoug
  
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• How do I find an honest financial adviser? | Xavier O'Halloran

  30-04-2018 03:17 via theguardian.com
  The banking royal commission has revealed that not all advice is to be trusted. Here’s a checklist to help guard against the shonksSign up to receive the latest Australian opinion pieces every weekdayAs revelations of dodgy financial advice continue to come to light under the royal commission, entrusting your money to someone else can be risky business. A recent report from the corporate regulator, Asic, found 75% of financial advice in its sample breached the law. With appalling numbers l
  
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• Hermes faces legal fight with some drivers over worker rights

  30-04-2018 01:00 via theguardian.com
  In latest gig economy case, eight couriers act after being forced to declare as self-employed The delivery company Hermes faces a legal battle with a group of its own drivers today, in the latest case promising to have major ramifications on labour rights in the growing gig economy.The move follows similar recent hearings on how companies, including the ride-hailing firm Uber, engage gig economy workers, so-called because employees are paid in return for the “gigs” they perform. Cont
  
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