Financial news

• Six reasons why Britain’s retailers can’t make ends meet

  26-05-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Homebase has been sold for a pound, Marks and Spencer is closing more stores – can the nation of shopkeepers survive?In one fell swoop DIY giant Homebase became the high street’s latest pound shop last week after its Australian owner, Wesfarmers, offloaded the loss-making chain for a token sum to a restructuring firm. The deal is expected to trigger fresh pain on a high street that is already shedding stores and jobs at a faster rate than during the recession in 2009. Major high-stre
  
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• Virgin Media falls foul of watchdog over £240 exit fees

  26-05-2018 16:56 via theguardian.com
  Ofcom says it ‘has reasonable grounds to believe’ the cable company has broken its rulesVirgin Media may have breached consumer protection rules by charging customers up to £240 for ending their contract early, according to an investigation by the telecoms regulator Ofcom. In a preliminary ruling this week, Ofcom says it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Virgin has contravened its general conditions which state companies cannot charge excessive fees that disi
  
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• Life and death on billionaires' superyachts – video

  26-05-2018 16:13 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian is granted exclusive access to some of the latest superyachts in Monaco. But what is life really like for the young people serving billionaires in the sun? We hear from a mother whose son died while he was working onboard a luxury yacht Continue reading...
  
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• Homebase sold for £1 in DIY disaster

  26-05-2018 13:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE Australian owner of Homebase ended its disastrous foray into Britain’s DIY market after selling the chain for £1 to restructuring specialist Hilco.
  
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• US tech giants don’t just have your data – they are in your pension too

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  British pension funds are so globalised, there’s little chance of them avoiding investing in Facebook and GoogleThe population of the US, at 325 million, makes up just over 4% of the world’s total population. But its stock market, fuelled by the rise of Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook, comprises 60% of the value of all shares traded on the planet. The Dow Jones index of Wall Street-traded companies stood at 16,000 in early 2016, but is about 25,000 now. And the Nasdaq index of tec
  
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• ‘Ridiculously complex’: Top financier blasts UK’s biggest fund

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A Standard Life fund that holds nearly £20bn of Britons’ cash should not have been sold to the public, says Alan MillerIt’s the biggest single stock market fund in Britain, holding nearly £20bn of small investors’ cash. Yet while the FTSE 100 has soared, hitting a record high this week, the fund, managed by Standard Life, has made nothing for investors for five years. Now Alan Miller, husband of anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller and a senior figure in the fund mana
  
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• I'm fed up mowing the lawn – should I get artificial grass?

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I’m not sure if fake lawns keep looking good, or if they look awful within a few yearsEvery 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.I’m already heartily fed up with mowing our lawn every Saturday morning. I’m thinking of buying artificial grass. Will my fake lawn look awful within a few years or do they keep their look? Have other readers r
  
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• How to fight private parking ticket: Lawyer reveals trick to beating £550m-a-year industry

  26-05-2018 08:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  PARKING tickets issued by privately run management firms rose by over 20 percent last year leaving a record 5.5million British motorists cursing their luck. With the Government yet to deliver on much-needed legislation, a leading solicitor has spoken exclusively to Express.co.uk about the dubious contract law underpinning these fines, and how best to fight them.
  
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• Debt collectors held to account as traffic fines claim a life

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Courier Jerome Rogers killed himself after his bike was seized. A BBC drama tells his story and examines wider issues about debtIt started with two £65 traffic fines, one for being in a bus lane a few minutes before the restrictions ended, the other for making a prohibited right turn. Within a matter of months, those two penalties had spiralled into a debt of more than £1,000 – and then the bailiffs swooped, clamping the motorbike that was essential to Jerome Rogers’ work
  
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• Debt collectors held to account after traffic fines claim a life

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Courier Jerome Rogers killed himself after his bike was seized. A BBC drama tells his story and examines wider issues about debtIt started with two £65 traffic fines, one for being in a bus lane a few minutes before the restrictions ended, the other for making a prohibited right turn. Within a matter of months, those two penalties had spiralled into a debt of more than £1,000 – and then the bailiffs swooped, clamping the motorbike that was essential to Jerome Rogers’ work
  
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• Burning issue: Are wood-burning stoves going to get the chop?

  26-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  With the government aiming to clean up the UK’s air quality, wood burners and open fires are likely to come under scrutinyMillions of households with open fires and wood-burning stoves could face curbs on their use after the government unveiled plans to clean up the UK’s air quality.Although this week’s announcement was short on detail, the environment secretary, Michael Gove, said he was ready to legislate to ensure only the “cleanest” domestic fuels would be avail
  
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• 'I've been stupid. I should have saved instead of going on holidays'

  26-05-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Former cab driver Perry Wilson, 56, on his move to Prague and plans for building up a nest eggI am 56 years old and I recently took out a £5,000 loan and moved to Prague, to take up a position as a wealth manager for high net worth clients. Before that, I was working as a cab driver in Gateshead in Tyne and Wear. I was working between 65 and 70 hours a week, sometimes more.My salary now is commission-based. I haven’t earned any commission yet, but I am hoping it will enable me to ach
  
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