Financial news

• The Guardian view on Britain’s railways: a system where nobody listens | Editorial

  13-08-2018 19:49
  Delays and cancellations continue to plague commuter services. Now the prices are being hiked again. There is a human solution to this messIf there is one thing worse for Britain’s rail commuters than the deteriorating service on too many networks, it is the amount that they have to pay for it. Users of some of the worst performers, like Northern, Southern and Govia Thameslink, have already endured multiple timetable changes this year, without sustained improvements in reliability. Cancell
  
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• Good riddance to GetMeIn and Seatwave. But fans should still beware

  13-08-2018 13:21
  Ticketmaster may be closing its resale sites. But the industry in fleecing gig-goers is still a going concern
  Regular gig-goers will welcome Ticketmaster’s decision to scrap its two “secondary” resale sites, GetMeIn and Seatwave, both of which have become havens for armchair ticket touts looking to fleece fans. Ticket brokers – as the biggest touts prefer to be known – deploy a variety of nefarious techniques to harvest tickets in bulk as soon as they go on sale, be
  
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• Higher UK rail fares would add insult to injury, say mayors

  13-08-2018 13:15
  Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham write to minister demanding freeze in faresThe mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city region have demanded a freeze in rail fares after months of travel chaos across the country.In a joint letter to the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, the mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham said the anticipated 3.5% rise in fares would “add insult to injury” for beleaguered passengers. Continue reading...
  
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• Turkey financial crisis: Contagion fears hit markets as central bank acts to support the lira – business live

  13-08-2018 12:10 via theguardian.com
  All the day’s economic and financial news, as Turkey’s lira crisis hits shares and currencies around the globeLatest: Turkey attacks misleading reportsIntroduction: Turkish financial crisis is deepening
  Lira crashed to record low against the US dollar overnight
  Markets fall in Asia, euro hits one-year low
  Turkish central bank is boosting liquidity........but investors say more is needed.Q&A: Why is the Turkish lira in freefall and should we worry? 10.57am BST You can get up to sp
  
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• Ticketmaster to shut Seatwave and GetMeIn resale sites

  13-08-2018 10:06 via theguardian.com
  Controversial secondary ticketing sites will be replaced by fan-to-fan exchangeTicketmaster is to shut down its two resale sites, GetMeIn and Seatwave, following persistent criticism of “secondary ticketing” platforms used by touts.The ticketing company, owned by the global promoter and venue operator Live Nation, said it would replace the websites with a fan-to-fan exchange selling tickets at face value or below. Continue reading...
  
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• Bitcoin price LIVE: $43 billion in crypto value wiped in a five day rout

  13-08-2018 09:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN and the rest of the cryptocurrency market lost more than $43 billion in market value as investor confidence stalls. Here are the latest news and live updates.
  
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• Park Modern: flats for super-rich leave key workers in the cold

  13-08-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Despite London’s housing crisis, half billion pound development beside Kensington Gardens won’t include a single affordable flat It is billed as “London’s most prestigious residential development” and prospective super-rich buyers are offered the chance to be “neighbours to the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex” in Kensington Palace.The developers have also ensured that residents won’t have to share walls with anyone on a modest wage as they made a no
  
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• My partner is a first-time buyer but I am not. Do we have to pay stamp duty?

  13-08-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I want to buy a home with my fiancee, but already own 20% of another property. Can we benefit from the SDLT relief available to first-time buyers? Q I have a 20% stake in a house I jointly own with my brother. However, I am looking to buy a house with my fiancee later this year. She is a first-time buyer. Is there any way we can buy a house without having to pay the extra 3% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and/or get the benefit of SDLT relief for first-time buyers?Continue reading...
  
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• Scottish Power’s boiler insurance is at breaking point

  13-08-2018 07:59 via theguardian.com
  Reasons for a ‘no repair’ just don’t washAt the beginning of July my gas boiler stopped working. Despite paying Scottish Power £190 a year for boiler insurance, I have not only been without hot water since, but have now been told it will not be coming to fix it at all. A few days after it broke down I reported it, and an engineer called. Ten days later, he returned to fit a new part. But within two minutes of having a shower, it stopped again. I rang Scottish Power to get
  
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• Council pension funds are major investors in tobacco companies

  13-08-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Anti-smoking groups dismiss claims by local authorities that they can’t sell stocksMore than £1.7bn has been directly invested in tobacco company stocks by healthcare providers, fire authorities and schools via UK council pension funds, the Guardian can reveal.Council retirement schemes in the UK are major investors in firms including British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands and Philip Morris, according to data compiled from more than 100 freedom of information requests. Continue re
  
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• Sky stakes are raised to £26bn

  13-08-2018 05:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  RUPERT Murdoch yesterday won Government approval to take over Sky, but the media mogul’s 21st Century Fox will have to dig deeper after rival suitor Comcast pushed up the bidding to £26billion.
  
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• Passengers face fare rises despite waves of train cancellations

  13-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Season ticket prices could increase by hundreds of pounds as consumer satisfaction slumpsTrain passengers will learn of wage-busting fare increases this week, despite chaotic scenes at stations on the Northern network after a third successive wave of Sunday cancellations.The fare increases – expected to amount to 3.5% from next January – will add hundreds of pounds to the cost of many season tickets even though new figures from Which? reveal that punctuality and customer satisfaction
  
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• High street spending dips in UK after two months of expansion

  13-08-2018 01:01
  Rise in hotels and restaurants is more than offset by falls elsewhere, says VisaSpending in the shops fell in July according to Visa, in another blow for Britain’s struggling high streets.The credit card company, which accounts for £1 in every £3 spent in the UK, said that despite hopes that the heatwave could lift retailers, spending was down 0.9% in July compared with the same month a year ago. Continue reading...
  
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• High street job losses mount with Homebase next in line for closures

  13-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Analysis by New Economics Foundation says lost jobs are a £1.5bn cost to GDPThe DIY chain Homebase is expected to reveal the closure of up to 80 stores this week as job losses from Britain’s high streets total more than 30,000.
  Homebase is battling for survival amid a slowdown in the housing market as well as rising costs and increasing pressure from online rivals and discounters such as B&M.Continue reading...
  
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• Companies in Brexit 'supply shock' as fewer EU citizens come to UK

  13-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Businesses are struggling to fill vacancies as a result of drop in new EU workers, says reportCompanies are suffering from a “supply shock” as fewer EU citizens come to the UK, and companies struggle to fill vacancies, according to a survey of 2,000 employers.The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said the number of applicants per vacancy had fallen since last summer across all levels of skilled jobs, and said shortages were forcing many companies to raise wages.
  
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