Financial news

• Capita awarded £500m MoD contract despite 'highest risk rating'

  19-06-2018 21:24 via theguardian.com
  First major deal completed by government since collapse of Carillion condemned by unionsCapita has been awarded a new contract from the Ministry of Defence to run UK military fire and rescue services despite a financial health assessment that attached the highest possible risk rating to the outsourcing company.The awarding of the contract was condemned by unions. It is the first major deal completed by the government since the collapse of the rival firm Carillion in January, which put the outsou
  
  Read more

• UK summer barbecues threatened by shortage of carbon dioxide

  19-06-2018 20:43
  Meat packers and makers of fizzy drinks and beers may struggle to obtain CO2World Cup barbecues may be under threat as beers, fizzy drinks and meat producers warn of potential shortages caused by a lack of CO2.The British Retail Consortium has written to major retailers informing them that drinks and meat supplies could be affected as at least one UK gas supplier has had to ration orders. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Electrification of north-west railways delayed until November

  19-06-2018 19:20
  Northern rail chief blames lack of ‘stable network’ for prolonged chaos across regionRail passengers in the north of England will face uncertainty and disruption to their journeys until November due to the lack of a “stable network”, industry chiefs have said.Senior executives from the Northern rail franchise and Network Rail, under questioning by a transport watchdog on Tuesday in Manchester, admitted they were aware of the chaos a new timetable would cause two days befo
  
  Read more

• Visa admits 5m payments failed over a broken switch

  19-06-2018 14:03
  IT meltdown affected millions across Europe, but Treasury committee is ‘satisfied’ with company’s responseVisa has admitted that 5.2m transactions failed during its IT collapse earlier this in June – because a back-up data centre designed to handle all transactions across Europe would not switch on when the problems emerged.The extraordinary service failure on the afternoon of Friday 1 June saw queues build up at petrol stations and shopping left at supermarket tills as c
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Markets slide as Trump threatens China with $200bn of new tariffs - business live

  19-06-2018 13:47 via theguardian.com
  Trade war fears are escalating as president Trump pledges fresh measures against Chinese imports; Beijing calls it ‘blackmail’ and vows to retaliateLatest: Trade war fears grip marketsIntroduction: Trump threatens to impose 10% tariff on $200bn Chinese imports
  Beijing: We’ll hit backLatest tit-for-tat move hits shares in Asia and Europe 12.46pm BST Commodity prices are also sliding today. 12.15pm BST The US stock market is expected to fall sharply when trading begins at 9.30am
  
  Read more

• Why is Donald Trump threatening more tariffs – and what next?

  19-06-2018 13:23 via theguardian.com
  The US president has said he plans tariffs on an extra $200bn of imports from ChinaRaising the stakes in the escalating trade standoff between the US and China overnight, Donald Trump has asked US trade officials to draft plans for additional tariffs on $200bn (£152bn) of Chinese imports. The president wants them set at a 10% rate, while indicating he would be prepared to impose tariffs on yet another $200bn of imports if China were to retaliate.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• E.ON to increase prices for 1.8m customers in second rise this year

  19-06-2018 12:53 via theguardian.com
  Increase of nearly 5% will add a further £55 a year for those on dual fuel tariffs E.ON will hit nearly 2m households with a 4.8% price rise, as it became the first of the big six suppliers to put up energy bills for a second time this year.Some of the German firm’s customers had already been struck in April with a stealth increase of up to £50.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The G7 has not been dealt a fatal blow – but the summit did damage | Mohamed El-Erian

  19-06-2018 12:29 via theguardian.com
  The Canada debacle showed the global economic system is no longer anchored by cooperationTo say that this month’s summit of G7 leaders in Canada was an unusual one would be an understatement. A traditionally friendly and predictable gathering of like-minded countries was marred by finger-pointing and disagreement, resulting in an inability to achieve consensus on a final communiqué. But, while political analysts were quick to declare the end of the G7’s coherence, integrity, a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lloyds under pressure as HBOS fraud report is published

  19-06-2018 12:09 via theguardian.com
  Report says Lloyds mishandled investigation and disclosure of fraud after HBOS takeoverAn internal Lloyds Banking Group report written by a former manager at the bank and published on Tuesday alleges serious misconduct by the lender over the handling and disclosure of fraud at its HBOS Reading unit. The report, written in 2013 after the Lloyds manager had taken her concerns to the police, alleges HBOS executives knew of the fraud as early as 2004 and failed to properly disclose it, with far-reac
  
  Read more

• Northern rail strike brings fresh disruption for passengers

  19-06-2018 11:04 via theguardian.com
  RMT members stage 24-hour walkout with further stoppages planned for Thursday and SaturdayPassengers on Northern rail services are facing further travel misery on Tuesday with a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over guards on trains.
  Members of the RMT union are staging a 24-hour walkout, with further stoppages planned for Thursday and Saturday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Debenhams issues profit warning as it battles rivals' price cuts

  19-06-2018 10:35 via theguardian.com
  Retailer seeks to reduce costs as chief executive warns of ‘exceptionally difficult times’Department stores group Debenhams has issued its third profits warning this year, with its chief executive, Sergio Bucher, saying he sees no improvement in the “exceptionally difficult times” on the UK high street.The company first warned on profits in January, after a disappointing Christmas, and says trading in May and early June also fell short of expectations. The group has been
  
  Read more

• How to write the perfect CV – first, refuse to play this stupid game

  19-06-2018 10:00
  They are as trustworthy as a dating profile and too often read like something written by the worst of all Apprentice candidates. What are CVs really for in a zero-hours age?For some strange reason, I find myself having to write a CV at the same time as my teenage daughter. I find this demand as ridiculous and unwieldy as she does. She could just send a Snapchat or something, whereas I wonder if anyone actually needs to know the course of my life, which is the rough translation of curriculum vita
  
  Read more

• My bargain car insurance turned out to be a headache

  19-06-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The broker said there was an issue with my no-claims history – and I couldn’t get a refundIn January I bought a motor insurance policy from One Sure Insurance and paid £190 on my credit card. A month later, on the first day of the insured period, it said there was a problem with my no claim bonus history. However, my previous insurer said there wasn’t and emailed the details to One Sure which still maintained there was a problem. As a result, it charged another £60
  
  Read more

• Flying cars: why haven't they taken off yet?

  19-06-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Despite their potential, no one has managed to take them from flight of fancy to everyday reality In 1940, Henry Ford said: “Mark my words – a combination aeroplane and motor car is coming.” With flying taxis apparently on the way, it looks like he was right, but what a wait. Eight decades years later, “dude, where’s my flying car?” is shorthand for any stuff “they” promised us that we haven’t got.We have always wanted to fly, so, as soon as
  
  Read more

• Regulator condemns ‘beast from the east’ water supply failings

  19-06-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Ofwat says failings by privatised water companies left 200,000 households cut offHouseholds could be in line for much higher compensation payouts when their water is cut off following a damning watchdog report into supply failures during the “beast from the east” weather events this year.Ofwat said multiple failings by privatised water companies left 200,000 households in England and Wales cut off, some for several days, yet the compensation payout totalled only £7m.Continue re
  
  Read more

• No surprise who is the clear winner of £1.7bn Virgin Money takeover | Nils Pratley

  19-06-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Deal to create sixth largest UK bank is no game-changer but makes sense to parties involved, especially Richard BransonDon’t get too excited by the talk from CYBG about creating the UK’s sixth largest bank via the £1.7bn takeover of Virgin Money. The new status needs qualification. First, in terms of lending in the UK, the combination will still be substantially less than half the size of the fifth largest bank. Second, a large building society, Nationwide, also operates in the
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!