Financial news

• Manufacturing slows despite spark in May

  02-06-2018 23:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  GLOBAL trade tensions and weaker growth look set to keep manufacturing in the slow lane this year despite factory output picking up last month. Activity across a sector representing 10 per cent of UK output has cooled after an export-driven boom throughout 2017 on the back of a weaker pound.
  
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• Super funds treat customers with contempt? That's putting it lightly | Greg Jericho

  02-06-2018 22:00 via theguardian.com
  The underperformance of retail super funds and their vague responses raise serious questionsThe release this week of the productivity commission’s draft report on superannuation is a nice reminder that while the royal commission has thus far revealed the dodgy behaviour of banks, the appearance of the superannuation funds will probably expose even worse deeds.The lesson of all financial scandals, whether small such as the rogue-trader type or large such as the sub-prime woes in the US, whi
  
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• Retirement doesn’t suit Sir Martin Sorrell, but making a point does

  02-06-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The former WPP millionaire has a new media startup and is the latest mogul who won’t go gently into the nightSir Martin Sorrell spent more than three decades building his first empire. He has given himself five years to create his second. Within weeks of being ousted from WPP, which he built from a small Kent-based maker of wire baskets into the world’s biggest ad group, Sorrell began plotting his return.Last week, he announced the reverse takeover of another small lis
  
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• Ragbag of tax and spending policies risks meltdown for Italy’s economy

  02-06-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  As the Five Star Movement and the League step in, economists fear that a false step could send the deficit spirallingItaly’s new government has a loose collection of contradictory policies that, if implemented, will quickly unravel.That is the view of the senior economist who, until Friday, was on track to become Italy’s finance minister in the government of experts commissioned by the country’s president. Continue reading...
  
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• Visa card payments system returns to full capacity after crash

  02-06-2018 11:09 via theguardian.com
  Firm apologises to millions left unable to pay for goods and services across UK and rest of Europe
  Visa’s payment system is operating at “full capacity” after a hardware failure affected customers in the UK and the rest of Europe on Friday. A statement posted on the Visa Europe website in the early hours of Saturday said: “Visa Europe’s payment system is now operating at full capacity, and Visa account holders can now use Visa for any of their purchases and at ATMs,
  
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• Bitcoin price news: What is the price of bitcoin today? Is BTC rising?

  02-06-2018 11:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN prices rose slightly this morning to give the cryptocurrency market a small boost. Prices have been steadily rising in 2018 after the market suffered a dismal Q3. What is the price of bitcoin?
  
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• Traveller is scammed – but mobile network hands him £2,763 bill

  02-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Britons abroad are being stung by phone firms such as O2 after their phones are stolenA Northern Irish teacher has become the latest victim of criminal gangs in Barcelona who pickpocketed his mobile phone, and then used it to run up a £2,763 bill calling premium-rate numbers through the night.Sean Burrows* was told by his mobile company, 02, that he will have to pay what he describes as a “life-changing” bill. He is just the latest holidaymaker in the city to fall foul of organ
  
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• Small firms face 'extermination' due to Network Rail asset sale

  02-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Thousands of businesses based in railway arches are facing rent hikes of up to 500% Thousands of small businesses based in railway arches across the UK are facing “extermination” as Network Rail seeks to push through a billion-pound asset sale.
  From bakers to bike shops, mechanics to restaurants, many of the 5,500 arches across the UK’s major cities are home to traders and shop owners. Continue reading...
  
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• Should e-bike owners be forced to buy insurance?

  02-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Some cover is sensible but requiring third-party insurance will lower the use of electric bicycles when we need to encourage itThe bike hire shop owner in Cap Ferret, near Bordeaux in France, was rueful as he lent me his new e-bike last summer. “You are going to love it,” he said. “They are so much fun but it won’t last. They will limit the speed, make you wear helmets, show your insurance. Enjoy it for now.”He was right. It was fun (and the only way an out-of-shape
  
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• Microsoft Office: what are the best cheap alternatives?

  02-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I’m only a casual Word and Excel user and I don’t want a hefty monthly chargeEvery 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.Ever since the Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) licence expired on my home computer, I get annoying pop-ups asking me to subscribe at £7.99 a month. I’m only a casual user. What are the best cheap alternatives? I
  
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• Get lucky: meet the competition addicts raking in thousands

  02-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Serial ‘compers’ reveal how they have won holidays, laptops, festival tickets and more
  On the face of it, Di Coke has a lifestyle some can only dream of: a butler at her beck and call at Glastonbury festival, a private chef whipping up dinner for her at home, dining at Copenhagen’s Michelin-starred restaurant Noma and a guitar signed by Noel Gallagher, not forgetting the luxury holidays to destinations including New Zealand, Japan and Switzerland.But Coke’s glamorous life
  
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• ‘I earn £16,000, but I’d still live modestly even if I was paid big sums’

  02-06-2018 07:30 via theguardian.com
  Trainee council worker Mairi-Frances McKay on how she manages to have a good life despite debt and a low incomeWhen I graduated from university last year I got an 18-month trainee post with Leicester council children’s services. It pays £16,000 a year which is a fraction of the average salary, but compared to my time as a student I feel flush.Until last summer I lived on a food budget of £20 a week and it was a struggle. I’d go to the supermarket late at night when stuff
  
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• 'We fell SHORT!' – Visa issues apology after CHAOS from card system failure

  02-06-2018 03:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  VISA has apologised for a service failure which caused chaos for card users after transactions were prevented across the UK and Europe, with the company admitting it “fell short” of its goals.
  
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• Credit card holders warned spending could be ‘frozen’ under new rules

  02-06-2018 01:00 via theguardian.com
  Clampdown will hit persistent overspenders – and those on 0% balance transfer dealsGet your credit card finances in order or we’ll pull the plug on your plastic!That is the warning to millions of credit card holders from the Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest group, who are being sent new terms and conditions giving the company the right to “freeze spending” or withdraw it altogether. Continue reading...
  
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