Financial news

• Heatwave in Europe set to push up UK food prices

  03-08-2018 18:15 via theguardian.com
  Wheat and vegetable crops are struggling throughout the continent with price rises on the wayThe ongoing heatwave is starting to burn a hole in Britons’ pockets, as higher food prices linked to scorched harvests across Europe reach shops and restaurants.“Today I am selling a box of broccoli for £8 but by Monday that could have doubled,” says Paul Murphy, a director of Yes Chef,based at London’s New Covent Garden market, which supplies fruit and vegetables to restaur
  
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• William Hill could close up to 900 betting shops after FOBT clampdown

  03-08-2018 18:01 via theguardian.com
  Bookmaker posts £820m loss and warns crackdown will have long-term consequencesWilliam Hill blamed the government’s clampdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) as it warned that up to 900 betting shops could close, putting 4,500 jobs at risk.The bookmaker reported a loss of £820m in the first six months of the year, as the decision to slash maximum stakes on FOBTs from £100 to £2 forced it to record a £915m accounting charge. Stripping out the one-off co
  
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• The Guardian view on creative workers: Britain needs them | Editorial

  03-08-2018 17:53 via theguardian.com
  The chaos over Womad visas shows the dangers for the UK’s arts, culture and economy after BrexitThis week came the news that acts at this year’s Womad had been cancelled, owing to artists’ difficulties in obtaining visas under the Home Office’s “hostile environment”. This is not an issue confined to the world music festival. It has been causing problems for British cultural organisations for years. Applying for visas is often a humiliating strain for artists a
  
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• Let’s move to Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk: a charming culinary hotspot

  03-08-2018 17:30 via theguardian.com
  Knapped flint. Weatherboards. Georgian townhouse blazing in the sunshine. I love Bury. Can you tell?What’s going for it? The streets of Bury are a catwalk for the architecturally curious (ie me). Suffolk-pink painted 16th-century cottages? Yes, please. Don’t like pink? Walk 10 metres and another stunner arrives. Knapped flint. Half timbers. Weatherboards. Georgian townhouse, orange brick walls blazing in the sunshine. Ooh, is that a spot of pargetting? It IS. Yum. Hey, nice tiles. A
  
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• Holland & Barrett to offer beauty products in vegan-only shops

  03-08-2018 17:19 via theguardian.com
  Retailer to take on Body Shop with test stores that will also stock bigger vegan food rangeThe high street health food chain Holland & Barrett is to open vegan stores as part of a plan to cash in on the increasing number of people who shun all meat and animal products.The chain also aims to take on the Body Shop with a major expansion into cruelty-free beauty. Peter Aldis, the chief executive, said he plans to test two vegan-only stores. They will sell about 1,000 products, including beauty
  
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• Raising interest rates is a big mistake. This will have to be reversed | David Blanchflower

  03-08-2018 15:15 via theguardian.com
  The MPC has made this decision on the basis that wage growth is about to finally skyrocket. It isn’tUK interest rates have risen from 0.5% to 0.75% because the monetary policy committee (MPC) believes the labour market is at full employment and wage growth is set to explode. Pull the other one, it’s got bells on. I don’t buy it.The pound initially rose on the news and then fell back by more than a cent against the US dollar in a sign that the markets didn’t like what they
  
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• Barclays finally turns corner to treble profits

  03-08-2018 14:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  BARCLAYS has begun to show “its true potential” after second-quarter profits nearly trebled as it emerged from years of misconduct and litigation costs.
  
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• EUROZONE CRISIS: Trade fears smash bloc's confidence - shock report

  03-08-2018 13:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  SOME of Europe’s largest economies are experiencing a weakening economic climate with nations concerned about a further slowdown in growth, according to a damning report by the influential German think-tank, IFO.
  
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• Japan urges overworked employees to take Monday mornings off

  03-08-2018 12:51 via theguardian.com
  Shining Mondays scheme will allow employees to start work late one day a monthJapan’s government is to urge companies to give employees Monday mornings off in its latest attempt to improve the country’s poor record on work-life balance.
  The economy, trade and industry ministry believes that “Shining Mondays”, part of a wider campaign to address the punishingly long hours many Japanese are expected to work, will give employees a much-needed lie-in at the start of the worki
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP slides as Carney warns on no-deal Brexit

  03-08-2018 12:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate continues to slide this morning, trading at €1.121, down roughly 0.2 per cent at one point from today’s opening levels.
  
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• Bitcoin: How do you buy Bitcoin? Is it easy to buy Bitcoin? Quick guide here

  03-08-2018 12:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN has swept the world with its volatile, unpredictable but potentially profitable price swings. How do you buy bitcoin if you are looking to invest?
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP falls to two-week low on Carney no-deal Brexit warning

  03-08-2018 11:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound has fallen to a two-week low against the US dollar today, trading at a level of $1.297.
  
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• Amazon halved corporation tax bill despite UK profits tripling

  03-08-2018 11:05 via theguardian.com
  Revelation comes after US company posts record $2.5bn profit in most recent quarterAmazon has revealed that its UK corporation tax bill almost halved to £4.5m last year, days after the US company posted a record profit of $2.5bn (£1.9bn) in its most recent quarter.
  The company, which has been locked in a race with Apple and Alphabet to be the world’s first trillion-dollar business, revealed that pre-tax profits at its UK business tripled from £24m in 2016 to £72m la
  
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• George Soros-backed firm unveils superfast broadband rollout in UK

  03-08-2018 10:59 via theguardian.com
  Up to 50 towns and cities to enjoy gigabit-speed fibre-optic service in Hyperoptic’s £250m investmentThe UK’s bid to improve its broadband infrastructure has been given a boost as the fibre-optic company Hyperoptic, which is backed by investors including the billionaire financier George Soros, raises £250m to roll out gigabit speed lines to 20 more towns and cities.Hyperoptic will use the money to start to make its fibre broadband service available in towns and cities inc
  
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• UK estate agents need customers, but get short sellers | Financial ... - Financial Times

  03-08-2018 10:14
  Financial Times
  UK estate agents need customers, but get short sellers | Financial ...
  Financial Times
  Even estate agents deserve a little sympathy now and again — after all, following journalists and politicians, they serve an important role as a target for ...en meer »
  
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• RBS to pay its first dividend since 2008 bailout

  03-08-2018 09:40 via theguardian.com
  Bank will pay 2p a share once $4.9bn settlement with US Department of Justice is finalisedRoyal Bank of Scotland is to pay its first dividend since its £45n bailout by the UK government during the financial crisis a decade ago.The bank will pay an interim dividend of 2p a share once its provisional $4.9bn settlement with the US Department of Justice is finalised, ending an investigation into sales of mortgage-backed products. The dividend is worth £240m and the Treasury will receive
  
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• Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC prices slump but could a larger correction be around the corner?

  03-08-2018 08:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Bitcoin traders wake up to further losses this morning as prices drop perilously close to $7,000 resistance, but could the market see a major correction? Here are the latest news and live updates.
  
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• 'All-weather friendship': but is Pakistan relying too heavily on China?

  03-08-2018 08:15 via theguardian.com
  China already accounts for 46% of Pakistan’s trade deficit – yet few have questioned acceptance of huge loans as part of a new economic allianceChen Zhu, a 46-year-old director of a Chinese shipping company in Karachi, Pakistan, was sitting in his car after finishing lunch. He had dispensed with his normal security since it was a public holiday, and his next task for the day was to buy some groceries.An unknown assailant crossed the road, approached Chen’s car and shot him nine
  
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• Airport queues highlight UK's border problems ahead of Brexit ... - Financial Times

  03-08-2018 05:01
  Financial Times
  Airport queues highlight UK's border problems ahead of Brexit ...
  Financial Times
  Border Force under pressure after passengers endure three-hour waits at passport control.en meer »
  
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• Soaring rents rose 60% faster than pay since 2011 – Shelter

  03-08-2018 01:01
  Many English towns out of reach for workers, whose pay rose only 10% in seven yearsRents have risen 60% faster than wages across England since 2011, according to analysis from housing charity Shelter, which claims the crisis is spilling out of cities into “Middle England” towns such as Tunbridge Wells.The figures show that private rents have risen by 16% since 2011, outpacing average wages which have only risen by 10% over that period. Shelter analysed official data from the Annual S
  
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• 5,500 UK churches switch to renewable energy

  03-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Churches estimated to have diverted £5m from fossil fuels to clean energy providersMore than 5,500 churches including some of the UK’s most famous cathedrals have converted to renewable power to help tackle climate change.
  Church of England places of worship, along with Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Quaker and Salvation Army congregations, have made the switch to 100% renewable electricity, and faith leaders are urging more to follow suit. Continue reading...
  
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