Financial news

• Stock markets drop after Trump signals dissatisfaction with China negotiations

  22-05-2018 23:19
  The Dow Jones fell after Trump said he isn’t satisfied with US-China trade talks and cast doubt on the North Korea summitThe Dow Jones stock index dropped 200 points on Tuesday after Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with US-China trade talks and cast doubt on whether a summit with North Korea, scheduled for 12 Jun in Singapore, will in fact take place.The losses, which came after a 300-point gain a day earlier on optimism that a trade war had been at least temporarily averted, came a
  
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• M&S's latest 'radical' restructure may not be bold enough | Nils Pratley

  22-05-2018 20:45
  Closure of 100 stores is unlikely to mark the end of retailer’s efforts at reinvention Marks & Spencer has been restructuring itself for about two decades, so no one can be surprised that the latest rejig is being rewritten already. It was as recently as November 2016 that the chief executive, Steve Rowe, declared that a “forensic” review of the store estate would mean 30 shop closures within five years. That figure became 60 a year later. Now it is 100, suggesting the orig
  
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• UK needs big digital upgrade to thrive after Brexit, says Hammond

  22-05-2018 19:50
  Chancellor sets target for most homes and businesses to have full-fibre connections by 2025Philip Hammond will promise a massive upgrade of Britain’s digital infrastructure to prepare the economy for the competitive pressures it will face after Brexit.The chancellor will tell the CBI’s annual dinner on Tuesday night that more widespread use of full-fibre networks will be vital if the UK is to stay in the vanguard of the technological revolution after it leaves the EU.Continue reading
  
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• Galliford Try warns of extra costs for Aberdeen bypass

  22-05-2018 19:48
  Construction firm says bad weather will add tens of millions to scheme already hit by collapse of CarillionThe construction firm Galliford Try blamed freezing weather earlier this year for delays to the Aberdeen bypass that will add tens of millions to costs incurred from the collapse of Carillion, its former partner on the project.Galliford Try raised £150m from shareholders this year, blaming overrun costs on its contract to build the £750m Aberdeen western peripheral route, exacer
  
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• EU braced for trade war as US tariffs exemption to expire within weeks

  22-05-2018 19:40
  Steel and aluminium tariffs could be imposed on 1 JuneTrade commissioner: ‘We must prepare for different scenarios’The EU is bracing itself for a trade war with the US, after Donald Trump’s administration signalled to Brussels that it would not prolong the exemption granted to European steel and aluminium importers from its punitive tariffs.
  Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner for trade, said that she expected the US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to make a reco
  
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• Bitcoin pizza day: What is bitcoin pizza day and why is it celebrated?

  22-05-2018 19:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN Pizza Day is a special day in the cryptocurrency world, marking the first full transaction for services using the digital currency. The market has been steadily increasing in the last few days, but where did it all begin? What is Bitcoin Pizza Day?
  
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• Turning Queen Mary’s House into luxury flats would leave NHS staff homeless | Letters

  22-05-2018 19:01
  Neil Macehiter says it will make recruiting staff harder, and Stewart Pimbley on the betrayal of the London building’s pastThe response of Stephen Clark, spokesman for planning on London’s Camden council, to the marketing of Queen Mary’s House as potential luxury flats (NHS privately planning to turn London hospital building into block of luxury £10m flats, 19 May) is mealy-mouthed to say the least. His concerns should extend beyond the fact that the hospital has not
  
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• Robbie Williams to 'party like a Russian' with Uzbek-born billionaire

  22-05-2018 18:56
  Singer will entertain global elite at glitzy event to celebrate success of Alisher UsmanovRobbie Williams has been hired to perform at a party to celebrate the business success of the Uzbek-born Russian billionaire and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov.Williams, who released a 2016 track titled Party Like a Russian, is headlining an event this week to celebrate 25 years of MegaFon, a Russian mobile phone company largely owned and controlled by Usmanov, according to Bloomberg.Continue reading..
  
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• Brexit vote has cost each UK household £900, says Mark Carney

  22-05-2018 18:46
  Bank of England governor’s comments risk renewed confrontation with BrexitersBritish households are more than £900 worse off after the vote to leave the EU, according to the governor of the Bank of England, in comments that risk a renewed confrontation with senior Brexit supporters in the government.
  Comparing the current state of household finances with forecasts made by the Bank before the referendum, prepared on the basis of a remain vote, Mark Carney told MPs that household incom
  
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• UK households £900 worse off since Brexit vote says Bank, but FTSE hits new high - as it happened

  22-05-2018 18:28
  All the day’s economic and financial news, as four Bank of England policymakers are questioned by the UK’s Treasury committeeCarney: Household income £900 lower than you’d expect
  Carney: Snow hurt UK economy (whatever the ONS says)MPC policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe predicts up to 2 rate rises per year.Public forecasts were better than expected
  Introduction: Bank of England faces the Treasury Committee 5.28pm BST Further optimism that a trade war between the US and China coul
  
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• Harry Potter and Tom Kerridge fuel Bloomsbury's record revenue

  22-05-2018 17:15
  Publisher hits £161.5m takings, driven by Potter sales and Lose Weight for GoodThe evergreen Harry Potter franchise and the popularity of TV chef Tom Kerridge’s Lose Weight for Good has driven book publisher Bloomsbury’s revenue to the highest level in its 32-year history.Bloomsbury Publishing reported a 13% surge in revenues to £161.5m in the year to the end of February, its best performance since it was founded in 1986.Continue reading...
  
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• Ethereum NEWS: China defends Bitcoin SUNB as 'objective and fair'

  22-05-2018 16:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  CHINA surprised the cryptocurrency community last week by releasing a list, rating from top to flop on the various public blockchains, controversially ranking Ethereum at number one and Bitcoin’s underlying technology at 13th.
  
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• Tesco shuts its online non-food website, Tesco Direct

  22-05-2018 16:30
  500 jobs at risk as company concludes it cannot make the loss-making arm profitableTesco is shutting down its clothing and homewares website Tesco Direct in a surprise move that puts 500 jobs at risk.Staff were briefed on Tuesday afternoon about the decision to close the loss-making website which was the supermarket giant’s attempt to take on Argos and Amazon by selling everything from sofas to TVs and toys. Continue reading...
  
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• Tesco shuts its non-food website, Tesco Direct

  22-05-2018 16:30
  500 jobs at risk as company concludes it cannot make the loss-making arm profitableTesco is shutting down its clothing and homewares website Tesco Direct in a surprise move that puts 500 jobs at risk.Staff were briefed on Tuesday afternoon about the decision to close the loss-making website which was the supermarket giant’s attempt to take on Argos and Amazon by selling everything from sofas to TVs and toys. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘We’d lose the rebate and JOIN THE EURO!’ Labour business leader sounds BREXIT warning

  22-05-2018 16:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRITISH business leader and Labour Leave Chairman John Mills has warned Theresa May unless she is prepared to walk away from a bad deal Britain could ultimately be forced back to the European Union under nightmare terms.
  
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• Shell investors revolt over pay and maintain pressure over climate change

  22-05-2018 16:21
  Oil firm grilled over carbon emissions, but defeats motion calling for tougher targetsShell investors have rebelled over the company’s executive pay, as the Anglo-Dutch oil company came under pressure to take stronger action on climate change.While chief executive Ben van Beurden’s €8.9m (£7.79m) pay package for 2017 was approved, more than a quarter of shareholders voted against the firm’s remuneration report at its annual general meeting on Tuesday. Continue readin
  
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• Carney backlash as BoE chief says every UK household £900-a-year WORSE OFF in Brexit blast

  22-05-2018 15:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  MARK Carney has been accused of playing politics after insisting every UK household is now on average £900-a-year worse off because of Brexit.
  
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• EU talks with Australia and New Zealand deal blow to UK free trade plans

  22-05-2018 14:54
  Bloc could end up on better terms with the Commonwealth nations after Brexit than UKThe EU has leapt ahead of the UK in the pursuit of free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand after member states gave the green light for talks to start within weeks.
  With Theresa May insistent that leaving the EU will involve exiting the customs union and the bloc’s external commercial policy, the announcement from Brussels opens up the possibility that the EU could enjoy better terms with the two Co
  
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• M&S store closures: full list of shops to shut announced so far

  22-05-2018 14:46
  The retailer has revealed that it is to close more than 100 outlets over the next four years•Marks & Spencer to close 100-plus stores by 2022 in ‘radical’ planBayswater (Simply Food), London
  Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
  Darlington, County Durham
  East Kilbride, Scotland
  Falkirk, Scotland
  Fleetwood (outlet), LancashireHolloway Road, north LondonKettering, NorthamptonshireNewton Abbot (outlet), Devon
  Newmarket, Suffolk
  New Mersey Speke, MerseysideNorthampton, east MidlandsStockton, Co
  
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• Northern rail disruption continues amid driver shortage

  22-05-2018 14:15
  Dozens of trains cancelled on key routes as strike threatens to cause more problemsDelays and cancellations have continued to affect passengers using Northern trains after the introduction of a new timetable this week.The train company said a shortage of drivers was disrupting services on Tuesday. Dozens of trains were cancelled, some at short notice. A greater number were curtailed or running significantly late, with routes between Blackpool, Southport, Wigan and Manchester airport again heavil
  
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• Nationwide's mortgage lending slumps by a third

  22-05-2018 13:23
  Building society’s profits fall amid tough competition and tightening of buy-to-let loansNationwide has reported declining profits for the second year in a row, as net mortgage lending slumped by a third amid intense competition.The UK’s largest building society reported a 7.3% drop in statutory profits to £977m for the year to 4 April, down from £1.05bn the previous year. Profits include the £116m cost of buying back debt. Continue reading...
  
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• Marks & Spencer to close 100-plus stores by 2022 in ‘radical’ plan

  22-05-2018 13:15
  Retailer, which has already axed 22 outlets, reveals 14 more that will shut in the next year
  Marks & Spencer is closing one in three of its core clothing and home branches in a dramatic retreat from the UK high street that will trigger thousands of job losses.M&S on Tuesday revealed plans to close a total of 100 shops by 2022, as it expanded an existing store closure programme. It said the closures were vital for the future of the struggling retail business but Usdaw, the shopworkers&rsq
  
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• US sanctions strangle Venezuela after Trump hits out at ‘SHAM’ re-election of Maduro

  22-05-2018 12:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  VENEZUELA'S socialist President Nicolas Maduro is under yet more pressure to deliver an unlikely victory in the country's "economic war" after the US government declared the election a "sham" and imposed new sanctions on the crisis-stricken country.
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP lifted by BoE rate hike optimism

  22-05-2018 12:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate looks to be ticking higher today as the pairing is strengthened by interest rate speculation.
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP rises 0.3 per cent on hawkish BoE forecast

  22-05-2018 12:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound has firmed against the US dollar today, with the exchange rate rising to around $1.346.
  
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• Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades

  22-05-2018 12:00
  In June, a California groundskeeper will make history by taking company to trial on claims it suppressed harm of RoundupAt the age of 46, DeWayne Johnson is not ready to die. But with cancer spread through most of his body, doctors say he probably has just months to live. Now Johnson, a husband and father of three in California, hopes to survive long enough to make Monsanto take the blame for his fate.On 18 June, Johnson will become the first person to take the global seed and chemical company t
  
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• Italian markets falter but US-China trade WAR truce sends FTSE to new HIGH

  22-05-2018 11:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE FTSE index of the UK’s top 100 firms hit another record high on Monday as markets responded well to news that the much-feared US-Chinese trade war was now, according to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, “on hold”.
  
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• Ryanair boss rides out turbulence of bad publicity | Nils Pratley

  22-05-2018 09:17
  Michael O’Leary unscathed despite insulted pilots, cancelled flights and rising oil pricesRyanair cancelled thousands of flights last year, insulted its pilots but then was forced to recognise their unions, and generally generated an above-average level of bad publicity, even by its own elevated standards. The financial effect of the disharmony? Roughly zero. At the after-tax level, profits rose 10% to €1.45bn (£1.27bn).Indeed, the most eye-catching development in Monday’s
  
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• Leggings firm drained my 16-year-old daughter’s bank account

  22-05-2018 08:26
  Fabletics signed her up to VIP membership even though you have to be 18 to buy anythingMy 16-year-old daughter bought a pair of leggings from the Fabletics website. She was totally unaware that, in clicking to receive a first-time discount, she had signed up to become a VIP member, costing £44 a month if you do not buy anything. She rarely has £44 in her bank account but, following some babysitting, she did, which Fabletics has taken from her account.I immediately phoned the company,
  
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