Financial news

• John Lewis revamp to form part of £1.4bn Brent Cross expansion

  29-05-2018 19:47 via theguardian.com
  Retailer signs new lease as north London shopping centre plans to double in sizeJohn Lewis will rejuvenate its 40-year-old department store in London’s Brent Cross as part of a £1.4bn redevelopment of the shopping centre.Brent Cross, which opened in north London in 1976, will double in size to include 150 new shops, 50 new restaurants and other leisure businesses including a luxury cinema. Continue reading...
  
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• Soros-backed campaign to push for new Brexit vote within a year

  29-05-2018 18:37 via theguardian.com
  Billionaire says holding fresh referendum soon could save UK from ‘immense damage’A campaign to secure a second Brexit referendum within a year and save the UK from “immense damage” is to be launched in days, the philanthropist and financier George Soros has announced.The billionaire founder of the Open Society Foundation said the prospect of the UK’s prolonged divorce from Brussels could help persuade the British public by a “convincing margin” that EU
  
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• Sterling’s dip leaves Londoners worse off – UBS survey

  29-05-2018 18:35 via theguardian.com
  While LA residents have world’s best spending power, London ranks 23rd – just ahead of Riyadh and NicosiaThe price of renting property and shopping in London is among the highest in the world but earnings are now lower than most other major capitals, including Paris, Berlin and Madrid, according to a study by investment bank UBS.London ranked eighth most expensive city in the world in 2018, with Zurich and Geneva the priciest. But when judged by gross earnings, Londoners are 24th in
  
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• Complaints about high-cost credit climb to record level

  29-05-2018 18:08 via theguardian.com
  Complaints to ombudsman rise by 40%, with more than half relating to payday loansComplaints about high-cost credit have soared to a record level, raising concerns about how lenders treat vulnerable consumers. In 2017-18, the number of complaints about consumer credit rose by 40% to just over 36,300, according to the financial ombudsman service (FOS). More than half related to payday loans, with customers informing the ombudsman about irresponsible lending and unaffordable loans. Continue reading
  
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• Fury as train delays and cancellations in UK enter second week

  29-05-2018 17:42 via theguardian.com
  Watchdog calls for commuters to be compensated as new timetable chaos continuesA second week of disruption has affected rail commuters in the UK with problems caused by new rail timetables worsening over the bank holiday weekend.Barely half of Thameslink trains on the upgraded central London route ran to schedule on Tuesday morning, leaving passengers stranded and confused by fresh amendments and late cancellations.Continue reading...
  
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• Carphone Warehouse to shut 92 stores amid profits warning

  29-05-2018 15:11 via theguardian.com
  Retailer vows to take action to tackle changing consumer habits in mobile phone marketNearly 100 Carphone Warehouse stores are to close this year as the retailer’s new boss, Alex Baldock, issued a profits warning and pledged to take action to adapt to a changing mobile phone market.Dixons Carphone said it will shut 92 Carphone Warehouse standalone stores this year as it grapples with a shift in consumer habits and rising costs. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Brexit is a disaster' – experts debate the latest economic data

  29-05-2018 13:57 via theguardian.com
  Two former members of Bank of England’s interest rate-setting committee examine why UK growth lags its EU rivals• UK economy feels chill from spectre of disorderly Brexit
  • How has the Brexit vote affected the UK economy? May verdictProfessor of economics at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, US, and member of the MPC from June 2006 to May 2009 Continue reading...
  
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• ‘My Travelodge room for the marathon was a non-starter’

  29-05-2018 11:39 via theguardian.com
  I was due to run the next day … and the Greenwich branch I reserved ran out of roomsI booked a room at Travelodge in Greenwich last August or September as I was due to compete in this year’s London Marathon in April and paid upfront. I arrived around 9pm and was told there had been a problem with the booking system and it was full. The receptionist said a room was being held for me at Travelodge Greenwich High Road – a little under a mile away. It was further from the start an
  
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• I'm buying a second home – how much stamp duty will I pay?

  29-05-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The HMRC website and my solicitor said it would be £11,000, but I’m being charged £23,600 Q I am currently in the process of buying a second home and am totally confused by the amount of stamp duty I have to pay. I am remortgaging my current home to a buy-to-let mortgage, and will rent out the property upon completion. The house that I am buying will become my main residence. As I am using some equity from my current house to buy the new house, the change of my main residence w
  
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• Fears of bad Brexit deal raise tension between Bank and Treasury, report says

  29-05-2018 02:53 via theguardian.com
  No 11 and Threadneedle Street at loggerheads over fears Brussels will reject plans to keep close EU-financial services ties The growing risk of a bad Brexit deal for the City of London is causing severe tensions between the Bank of England and the Treasury, according to reports.
  Amid mounting fears that Brussels will reject plans put forward by the chancellor, Philip Hammond, for maintaining close ties with the EU for financial services, the Financial Times reported that Bank officials are at lo
  
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• May's £2bn housing pledge not enough, say Tory council leaders

  29-05-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Poll finds overwhelming majority want low-cost rented homes to form part of solutionTheresa May is facing pressure from Conservative council leaders to invest more in low-cost rented homes, amid growing concern at local authority level that not enough is being done to fix Britain’s housing crisis.The prime minister promised £2bn last year for a new generation of council houses and affordable homes for rent, but 71% of senior councillors from her party told a poll by Survation they we
  
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• Drones predicted to give British economy a £42bn lift by 2030

  29-05-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Wider use of unmanned aerial vehicles will create jobs and boost GDP by 2%, says reportUsing drones to transform working practices could boost Britain’s economy by £42bn by 2030, research claims.Increased use of drones, in sectors from construction or defence to energy or logistics, will employ hundreds of thousands of people and lift GDP by almost 2%, according to a report by accountants PwC. Continue reading...
  
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