Financial news

• IMF warns Trump trade war could cost global economy $430bn

  16-07-2018 16:22 via theguardian.com
  US could find itself ‘focus of global retaliation’ in tariff dispute, says WEO reportRising trade tensions between the United States and the rest of the world could cost the global economy $430bn (£324bn), with America “especially vulnerable” to an escalating tariff war, the International Monetary Fund has warned. Delivering a sharp rebuke for Donald Trump, the Washington-based organisation said the current threats made by the US and its trading partners risked lowe
  
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• Marks & Spencer has plans for further 300 job cuts to reel in costs

  16-07-2018 15:16 via theguardian.com
  Documents seen by the Guardian show retailer has consulted on redundanciesMarks & Spencer has plans for a new wave of job cuts, with more than 300 posts to go in stores around the country, according to documents seen by the Guardian.The high street chain, which last week warned that its decision to close 100 stores would not necessarily be the end of its attempts to restructure, has been consulting on redundancies among managers in a bid to streamline its business. Continue reading...
  
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• Fears of UK cashpoint 'deserts' lead to scaling back of ATM fee cuts

  16-07-2018 15:04
  UK’s largest ATM network alters planned reductions in fees paid by banks to operatorsPlans to slash the fees paid by banks to cash machine operators have been scaled back after they prompted fears of ATM “deserts” appearing in parts of the UK.The U-turn came less than a month after Link, the UK’s largest cash machine network, began a phased reduction in “interchange” fees, with cuts of 5% a year planned until 2021.Continue reading...
  
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• The smart office: how to remain human in our high-tech world

  16-07-2018 12:37 via theguardian.com
  The tracking of employee location, fitness and mood is on the rise. How can we ensure new tools such as big data and artificial intelligence are a force for good?Wherever humans go, we leave little trails of data behind us. There are the digital bits – Facebook profiles, mailing lists, search histories – and there is the treasure trove our bodies can produce. Smart watches can pick up changes in skin conductivity that indicate how stressed you are, and sleep trackers can monitor how
  
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• Businesses must address impact of next industrial revolution, says Siemens boss

  16-07-2018 08:36 via theguardian.com
  Firms and government can tackle short-term reduction in jobs by retraining, says Joe Kaeser Global workforces will fall as the next industrial revolution gets under way, the head of one of Germany’s biggest firms has warned, unless workers are retrained with new skills. Joe Kaeser, global chief executive of the engineering giant Siemens, said up to almost a third of jobs could be lost as the transition from combustion engines to electric cars takes place over the next decade, in what will
  
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• Why won’t Barclays let me cancel my direct debit?

  16-07-2018 08:00
  The bank insisted I had to tell the ‘merchant’ involved to confirm the cancellationShortly after we cancelled a direct debit, we received an email from Barclays saying we had to contact the “merchant” we had been paying to confirm the cancellation. After complaining, we were told that if we did not do so, the merchant could continue to take a payment. Halifax, our other bank, said the same. BG, NewcastleAccording to the official direct debits website, operated by Bacs, yo
  
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• Premium rate phone lines still used for vital public services

  16-07-2018 08:00
  Callers facing huge mobile phone bills as some councils flout government guidelinesPeter Codner was in crisis. The retired barrister is confined to a wheelchair following a stroke and when one night he needed urgent assistance, he made several calls to Wiltshire council’s out-of-hours adult care centre. The SOS cost him dear. Not until his mobile phone bill arrived did he realise he had been charged £80.“The emergency number I’d been given was an 0845 one and I had no ide
  
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• UK house price slump blamed on surge in sellers

  16-07-2018 07:01
  Number of homes put on market rises 8.6% but there has been no increase in buyersA surge in homeowners putting their property on the market – just as buyers melt away in summer – is depressing house prices, according to the biggest property website, Rightmove.The number of properties coming on to the market in July rose by 8.6% but there has been “no corresponding increase in buyer numbers to soak up the new seller influx”, Rightmove said.Continue reading...
  
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• Car insurance costs fall as fears over payout changes subside

  16-07-2018 07:01
  Average premium drops to £752 after rising to £847 in second quarter of 2017 The average cost of car insurance has tumbled by more than a 10th over the past year, as fears subsided about potentially huge increases in payouts after car crashes.Insurers raised premiums sharply in 2017, partly blaming changes to the “Ogden rate”, which is used to calculate compensation awards for serious personal injuries. Continue reading...
  
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• I'm 65 and my interest-only mortgage is ending – what can I do?

  16-07-2018 01:00
  I still owe £112,000 and I want to stay in my house, not sell up to pay it off Q I’m 65 and single and still work part time earning £23,000 a year (£1,560 monthly) on top of my private pension of £550 and state pension of £700 (both monthly). My interest-only mortgage will come to an end in November 2019 and I will still owe £112,000. The house is worth £190,000 and I want to stay in it. What are my options? PHA Until relatively recently, because o
  
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