Financial news

• The answer to Britain’s productivity crisis? Meghanomics | Larry Elliott

  23-05-2018 18:28 via theguardian.com
  The duchess wants to champion female empowerment. Letting women participate fully in the workforce would be a good startThere’s nothing quite like a royal wedding to get the British to part with their cash, so in one respect the idea that the new Duchess of Sussex could be good news for the economy is a statement of the blindingly obvious. Retailers have had a tough time recently, and a bit of Meghanmania was just what they needed to get the tills ringing.Interest in the newest member of t
  
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• House prices tumble in London against rises across rest of UK

  23-05-2018 17:29 via theguardian.com
  London property experts say buyers are “sensing blood in the water”, with sellers forced to cut prices steeplyHouse prices in London tumbled in March, with the annualised rate of inflation dropping to minus 0.7%, the steepest fall since 2009, according to official Land Registry figures for March.The falls in the capital contrast with continued rises across the rest of the UK, with the overall rate of house price inflation at 4.2%, with the highest rise in Scotland at 6.7%. Continue r
  
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• Seven reasons why Marks & Spencer is in trouble

  23-05-2018 13:23 via theguardian.com
  The internet, along with younger, sharper rivals, threaten the dominance of the grande dame of retailProfits are down sharply at Marks & Spencer again. What are the main problems facing the UK’s biggest clothing retailer?Wired world: M&S faces greater competition as the internet has made it easier than ever to shop around, compare prices and access fashion from around the world. About a quarter of fashion and footwear is now bought online in the UK, says retail expert GlobalData, a
  
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• UK inflation falls to 2.4%, sending pound sliding – business live

  23-05-2018 11:12 via theguardian.com
  Cheaper airfares helped to pull Britain’s inflation rate down last monthBreaking: CPI fell to 2.4% in AprilAirfares dropped last month thanks to early EasterSterling has fallen to $1.335, lowest in 2018
  Introduction: Why today’s UK inflation figures matter10.12am BST Kevin Doran, chief investment officer at stockbroker AJ Bell, warns that the drop in inflation may not last.“UK consumers will be glad to see average wage increases starting to outstrip inflation and for the spendi
  
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• Marks & Spencer reports sharp drop in annual profits

  23-05-2018 08:46 via theguardian.com
  Clothing and food sales fall as closure plan incurs £321m billM&S to close 100-plus stores by 2022 in ‘radical’ planMarks & Spencer has reported a sharp fall in annual profits as it revealed a deterioration in clothing sales and huge store closure costs.Pretax profits at the retail giant slumped 62% to £66.8m after a £514.1m bill for restructuring costs that included £321m to pay for the first phase of its store closure plan. One in three of its core c
  
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• Is this a new ADT record – £4,749 to replace three batteries?

  23-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The alarm company continues to overcharge customers by shocking amounts. Has anyone had an even bigger bill?Regarding your recent article “ADT charged me £2,000 to replace nine batteries” I can, indeed, top this. It billed me £4,749 to replace three batteries. After threats, and my determined refusal to pay, it finally sent a half-hearted apology and a revised bill for £38.50.Continue reading...
  
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• Government was too slow to spot Carillion's trouble brewing – MPs

  23-05-2018 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Collapse also shows too many public contracts in too few hands, says public accounts committeeThe government was too slow to spot mounting financial problems at troubled public sector outsourcing company Carillion, according to a report that reveals the Cabinet Office decided the contractor was not “high risk” even as it neared insolvency.The parliamentary public accounts committee, which produced the report, also warned that Carillion’s collapse indicates that too many public
  
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• You don’t need bankers to invest your pension. There’s a DIY ethical route | Aditya Chakrabortty

  23-05-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  One pioneering service shows that savers can bypass the City, and invest in social and environmental causes insteadRight on the doorstep of the world’s greatest financial centre sits one of Britain’s oldest council estates. Built in the 1890s, the Boundary is a beauty: Grade II-listed red-brick blocks radiating out from a circular garden complete with bandstand. Yet for the City of London, the estate’s tenants are as visible as the crofters of the Outer Hebrides.The Square Mile
  
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