Financial news

• Northern trains operator asked for timetable changes to be delayed

  18-06-2018 20:02 via theguardian.com
  Request was refused by Network Rail and other operators and changes led to chaos for rail usersThe operator of Northern trains requested in January to defer the introduction of the rail timetable that has caused chaos across its network, but was refused by Network Rail and other train operators, it has emerged.However, executives from Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) told MPs that the scale of problems only became clear in the final three days before the timetable change, when drivers
  
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• KPMG singled out in critical report on audit industry

  18-06-2018 19:26 via theguardian.com
  Watchdog says Big Four accountants have failed to show appropriate scepticismKPMG, the accounting firm that signed off the books in the years leading up to Carillion’s collapse, has been singled out by the industry regulator in a report that says the overall quality of the audit profession is in decline.The Financial Reporting Council, the watchdog for the UK’s accountants, said the profession had demonstrated a “failure to challenge management and show appropriate scepticism a
  
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• Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank brands to go in takeover of Virgin Money

  18-06-2018 19:08 via theguardian.com
  More than 1,500 job losses in £1.7bn deal by CYBG that will create UK’s sixth-largest bankThe Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank brands are set to disappear from high streets after Virgin Money agreed to a £1.7bn takeover by the owner of the two institutions that will lead to the loss of more than 1,500 jobs. Continue reading...
  
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• Aviation industry: EU blocks talks to avert 'no-deal' Brexit crisis

  18-06-2018 18:20 via theguardian.com
  After Brexit UK-made parts for planes could be no longer valid and pilot licences could be defunctThe European commission is refusing to agree to any back-channel discussions between UK and EU aviation agencies to avert a crisis in the event of a “no-deal” outcome to Brexit.Attempts by the aerospace industry to persuade Brussels to start contingency talks to ensure Europe’s planes keep flying and the aerospace industry can function effectively have apparently been rebuffed by t
  
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• NHS Brexit dividend: questions posed by Theresa May's pledge

  18-06-2018 17:53 via theguardian.com
  How will the proposal affect the government’s deficit targets, taxes and more?Theresa May’s pledge to spend an extra £20bn a year on the NHS by 2023-24 has left the government struggling to explain how the health service’s 70th “birthday present” will be funded. A number of questions arise from the announcement. Continue reading...
  
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• Audi chief arrested in Germany over diesel scandal

  18-06-2018 16:15 via theguardian.com
  Judge orders that Rupert Stadler be held to prevent him obstructing investigationThe chief executive of Audi has been arrested, the most senior Volkswagen official to be taken into custody over the emissions cheating scandal. Prosecutors in Munich said Rupert Stadler was being detained amid fears he might hinder its investigation into the scandal, plunging Volkswagen, which owns Audi, into a leadership crisis. Continue reading...
  
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• Shell hits back at criticism of tax structure

  18-06-2018 15:26 via theguardian.com
  Reports allege oil group’s plan has cost Dutch treasury as much as £6.1bn in lost incomeShell has hit back at criticism of a tax structure it set up as part of a relocation of its headquarters from London to The Hague following reports that it has cost the Dutch treasury as much as €7bn (£6.1bn) in lost income.Calls have been made for the European commission to investigate the oil group’s tax affairs after reports claimed that a multibillion-euro bill has been avoide
  
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• Theresa May tells taxpayers to expect to pay more to fund NHS

  18-06-2018 15:10
  PM used speech to defend belief that ‘Brexit dividend’ will benefit health serviceTheresa May has reiterated her much-questioned belief that a new funding deal for the NHS can be financed in part using money saved as a result of Brexit, but said taxpayers should also expect to contribute more. Related: NHS Brexit dividend: questions posed by Theresa May's pledgeContinue reading...
  
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• How does this florist earn a bunch more by working less?

  18-06-2018 15:06
  Flower Girl London, a pop-up stall, has switched to a digital payments system and seen its profits blossom When you’re running a small business, juggling several roles and handling multiple tasks, finding time to stay on top of the admin and paperwork can be a challenge. Given the importance of this back-office work to business growth and long-term success, business owners are turning to new digital tools and technologies to help lighten the admin load.Related: From online to on the high s
  
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• 'Growth on way' for cities across UK

  18-06-2018 15:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRISTOL, Exeter and Edinburgh are set to see the fastest growth in spending and job creation in industries such as retail, leisure and tourism, a report has predicted.
  
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• New Look backtracks on China expansion

  18-06-2018 14:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  NEW LOOK is reviewing its operations in China as the retailer's new executive chairman rows back on ambitious plans set in train under former boss Anders Kristiansen.
  
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• Port Talbot workers on Trump steel tariffs: 'This could be serious'

  18-06-2018 14:35 via theguardian.com
  Staff at UK’s biggest plant fear US move will lead to China dumping cheap steelThe escalating trade war started by Donald Trump could mean fresh financial woes for Britain’s biggest steel plant, less than 18 months after workers agreed to pension benefit cuts to save the Port Talbot works.From 1 June, the US president imposed a 25% tax on steel and a 10% tax on aluminium from the EU, Mexico and Canada. On Friday Trump upped the ante, announcing a 25% tariff on $50bn (£38bn) of
  
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• London Tube contract worth £1.5billion goes to German company Siemens

  18-06-2018 14:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  GERMAN manufacturing giant Siemens has won the £1.5billion contract to design and build 94 new trains for the Piccadilly Line on London’s iconic Tube network.
  
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• Bitcoin price: Crypto boss says bitcoin will go WAY beyond record highs for THIS reason

  18-06-2018 13:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN price will go “way beyond” $20,000 in 2018 due to the global adoption of blockchain technology, a mainstream attitude towards the cryptocurrency and increased amounts of Initial Coin Offerings , crypto expert Cassius Kiani said.
  
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• German markets slump as Merkel’s migration crisis hits country’s biggest firms

  18-06-2018 13:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  GERMAN shares have slumped for a second day as the crisis over migration threatening to collapse the Angela Merkel government wipes millions from top firms including Adidas and Siemens.
  
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• Global debt has hit a high – can financial regulators cope? | Howard Davies

  18-06-2018 12:51 via theguardian.com
  IMF figures show the world is more indebted than during the financial crisis and needs more borrowing to create growthAt the end of May, the International Monetary Fund launched its global debt database. For the first time, IMF statisticians have compiled a comprehensive set of calculations of public and private debt, country by country, constructing a time series stretching back to the end of the second world war . It is an impressive piece of work.The headline figure is striking: global debt h
  
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• Bitcoin price LIVE: Swiss bank likens crypto to collecting 'beanie babies or Tamagotchi'

  18-06-2018 12:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN was stung by criticism from the influential Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements today after the global finance authority released a paper claiming that bitcoin has no real value, its bad for the environment, transactions are slow and expensive, and you still can't use it to buy a cup of coffee.
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP trades poorly as BCC cuts UK growth forecasts

  18-06-2018 12:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate shifted down towards €1.141 on Monday morning after the British Chambers of Commerce downgraded its growth forecast for the UK.
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP drops as BCC cuts UK growth forecasts

  18-06-2018 11:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound has fallen by 0.3 percent against the US dollar today following a less optimistic view of UK growth forecasts by the British Chambers of Commerce .
  
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• There's a reason why you can't afford to live in America

  18-06-2018 11:00 via theguardian.com
  In this extract of her new book, Guardian columnist Alissa Quart explains how the middle class faces a uniquely American predicament: being ‘squeezed’ economically and psychologically Michelle Belmont’s debt haunted her. It was almost unspeakable, but it was a raw relief when anyone asked her about it. She wanted people to hear about her life as she lived it, how her debt trailed her like a child’s monster, how it was there when she went to the supermarket, to her son&rsq
  
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• UK pension funds get green light to dump fossil fuel investments

  18-06-2018 08:26 via theguardian.com
  Government directive means trustees will be able to push harder for green investmentsManagers of the £1.5tn invested in Britain’sworkplace pension schemes are to be given new powers to dump shares in oil, gas and coal companies in favour of long-term investment in green and “social impact” opportunities.
  Government proposals published on Monday are designed to give pension fund trustees more confidence to divest from environmentally damaging fossil fuels and put their cas
  
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• Eurozone braces for row with Greece over bailout exit terms

  18-06-2018 08:26 via theguardian.com
  Concerns likely that country will suffer fourth collapse unless EU writes off some debtEurozone finance ministers are braced for a row this week with the Greek government over the terms of a “golden goodbye” as the country prepares to exit its third bailout programme.Concerns that Greece will suffer a fourth financial collapse unless an agreement is signed with the EU to write off some of its debt mountain are likely to surface before a showdown in Brussels on Thursday. Continue read
  
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• Why did my refund for walking boots come unstuck?

  18-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The boots only lasted about 250 miles – and the store’s excuse was a step too farI bought a pair of Asolo walking boots in December 2015 from Ellis Brigham in Covent Garden. I wore them three to four times a year for about 250 miles. In August 2017 the sole on one of the boots came unstuck. The store sent them back to Asolo which stuck them down as a repair job. But in May this year, the soles on both boots came unstuck. To my mind they are not fit for purpose, but Ellis Brigham is r
  
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• Can I get a mortgage for more than the value of the property?

  18-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I’m buying a house at a discount from a family member but need funds to renovate itQ My partner and I are first-time buyers. We are looking to buy a house from a family member. The family member has had the house valued at £120,000 but has offered it to us for £70,000 to help us on to the property ladder.The house is in need of a rewire, central heating and new windows, bathroom and kitchen. Continue reading...
  
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• UK debit cards transactions overtake cash for the first time

  18-06-2018 07:01
  Consumers used debit cards 13.2bn times in 2017, while the number of cash payments fell 15%Debit card payments have overtaken cash as the most popular form of payment in the UK for the first time, according to banking industry figures.Consumers used their debit cards 13.2bn times last year, up 14% compared to 2016, according to a report by UK Finance, the trade body for the UK banking and financial services sector. The number of cash transactions fell by 15% to 13.1bn transactions in the same pe
  
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• Money for old socks: John Lewis to buy back clothes to cut waste

  18-06-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Retailer offers incentive to send back worn and unwanted items instead of binning themJohn Lewis is to buy back worn and unwanted clothing from its customers – including underwear and old socks – in a UK industry first that aims to reduce the 300,000 tonnes of fashion waste going into landfill each year. Customers can arrange through an app to have any unwanted clothing that they bought from John Lewis collected from their home, and they will be paid for each item regardless of its c
  
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• Housebuilder moving out to the suburbs - SHARE HUNTER

  18-06-2018 05:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  TUESDAY’s half-year results from Crest Nicholson suggested the Goldilocks conditions housebuilders have been enjoying might be coming to an end. Rising property prices have been boosting revenues in recent years, while a massive supply/demand imbalance means there’s been appetite for as many houses as the industry can churn out.
  
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• UK favours debit cards over cash

  18-06-2018 04:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  DEBIT card payments overtook those made by cash for the first time last year, a trade association has said. There were 13.2 billion debit card payments in 2017 – eclipsing the 13.1 billion made in cash, according to UK Finance.
  
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