Financial news

• Elizabeth Warren unveils bold new plan to reshape American capitalism

  15-08-2018 21:09 via theguardian.com
  Accountable Capitalism Act would bring about ‘fundamental change’, redistribute wealth and give more power to workersElizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator tipped as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, has unveiled new plans for legislation aimed at reining in big corporations, redistributing wealth, and giving workers and local communities a bigger say. Related: 'We made history': Vermont Democrats nominate US's first transgender candidate for governorContinue reading.
  
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• Gin is just the tonic for exports

  15-08-2018 20:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Britain’s classic long drink the G&T is winning a worldwide following with new trade figures suggesting UK gin and tonic exports rose to record levels last year.
  
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• PwC got off too lightly after shambles of BHS audit | Nils Pratley

  15-08-2018 20:06 via theguardian.com
  If Financial Reporting Council is to be ‘fit for the future’ more powers are requiredPricewaterhouseCoopers should count itself lucky. The firm’s penalty for producing an “incomplete, inaccurate and misleading” audit of the 2014 accounts of BHS and its parent, Sir Philip Green’s Taveta Group, was a mere £10m, reduced to £6.5m for a cooperative confession of sins.Read the Financial Reporting Council’s 39-page account of the failings, however,
  
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• Turkish lira rallies as Qatar makes $15bn loan pledge

  15-08-2018 19:28 via theguardian.com
  Ankara officials will channel money ‘into Turkey’s financial markets and banks’Turkey’s beleagured currency has bounced back from record lows after Qatar pledged to shore up the banking sector’s shaky finances with loans worth $15bn (£11.8bn).A week after a diplomatic spat with the US sent the lira into a tailspin, the agreement with Qatar was calculated to help Turkey avoid having to ask the International Monetary Fund for emergency funding. Continue reading.
  
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• Elon Musk's tweets investigated for possibly breaking law: reports

  15-08-2018 19:24 via theguardian.com
  SEC is reportedly investigating whether the Tesla CEO’s tweets about going private may have violated US securities lawThe US’s top financial watchdog has reportedly sent subpoenas to Tesla regarding chief executive Elon Musk’s plans to take the company private.Fox Business Network reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is formally investigating Musk’s recent tweets that he had “secured” funding to take the trou
  
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• Hamsters and the chocolate torture treatment | Brief letters

  15-08-2018 18:47 via theguardian.com
  Pension scams | Denis Healey | Lolly sticks | Brilliant Steve Bell | Dog namesFollowing the coalition government pension reforms in 2015, is it any wonder that many people have been tricked out of their life savings (Scammed pension pot holders losing average £91,000, campaign warns, 14 August)? As our Queen famously remarked when she visited the London School of Economics after the 2008 financial crisis, “Why did no one see it coming?”
  Kay Powell
  Cardiff• What’
  
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• Student finances: the lowdown on loans – and how not to blow the lot

  15-08-2018 17:50 via theguardian.com
  University life is a blast – but it doesn’t come cheap. How will you keep the bank from running dry? Seb Murray has some pointersAmid the clamour for clearing places, students tend to focus on just getting into university, rather than on how to pay for it. A student loan is the most cost-effective method for many, as repayments are a portion of earnings and outstanding debt is written off after 30 years. Continue reading...
  
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• Students facing a huge £60,000 debt black hole

  15-08-2018 17:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tomorrow is A-level results day, but students and their families celebrating good grades will quickly sober up when they discover how much debt they could face after graduation.
  
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• Lick and it’s gone: Fendi’s designer ice-cream

  15-08-2018 17:04 via theguardian.com
  Fashion and food may be uneasy bedfellows, but if the Italian luxury brand’s bags are built to last, these lollies take minutes to consume These days in fashion, you can’t move for logos. As common as a floral print, yet not nearly as genteel, they are the quickest way to turn the wearer into a massive advert. In the last few years, they have been found a new home on all sorts of incongruous non-fashion items. Some of these have made commercial sense, such as logo lighters. Similarly
  
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• Spiralling costs of our everyday 'essentials'

  15-08-2018 16:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  Modern technology is putting huge pressure on our purses as we spend growing sums on “essentials” we could happily live without just 20 years ago.
  
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• Bitcoin price: 'EXCITING steps' await crypto world as World Bank sets sight on blockchain

  15-08-2018 16:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  CRYPTOCURRENCIES are on track for an “exciting step towards integration” after the World Bank arranged to set up the world ’s first blockchain bond, crypto investment expert Mati Greenspan claimed.
  
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• Turkish Lira MELTDOWN: euro could PLUMMET if Turkey ‘gets worse’ with Italy 'most exposed'

  15-08-2018 15:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE TURKISH Lira meltdown could hit the euro and European banks hard if President Erdogan does not change his policy, a financial expert claimed.
  
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• Fare rises enrage rail commuters 'in this terrible mess'

  15-08-2018 15:20 via theguardian.com
  Passengers at Manchester Piccadilly slate increases after delays and bungled timetable For Biraja Ghosal, traversing Britain’s rail network has been an almost-daily burden for the past nine years. The 46-year-old data scientist, from Barnet in north London, travels across the country five days a week as part of his job. He is no stranger to smelly loos, late trains or missing plug sockets – and that was just Wednesday morning.As he stepped from Virgin’s London Euston to Manches
  
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• Watchdog berates PwC over 'misleading' BHS accounts

  15-08-2018 15:15 via theguardian.com
  Regulator criticises accountant for signing off ‘unrealistic’ forecasts before sale of retailerBHS’s accounts were misleading and featured unrealistic forecasts before Sir Philip Green sold the now collapsed department store chain, according to a report into the role of the retailer’s auditor, PwC.The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said BHS’s 2014 accounts were “incomplete, inaccurate and misleading” because they said Taveta, BHS’s owner, would
  
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• Financial Times boss returns pay rise after staff backlash

  15-08-2018 14:53 via theguardian.com
  Union complained that John Ridding’s pay was 100 times that of a trainee journalist The chief executive of the Financial Times has returned a substantial part of his £2.6m pay packet after a backlash from reporters who argued his high income was unjustified.Staff had been due to hold a union meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss John Ridding’s pay, arguing that it had risen by 442% since he joined the company in 2006. Continue reading...
  
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• House of Fraser pulls plug on website after warehouse dispute

  15-08-2018 14:44 via theguardian.com
  Retailer’s warehouse operator stops processing orders in dispute over paymentHouse of Fraser has taken its website offline amid multiple complaints from customers about delayed or failed deliveries since the company was bought by Sports Direct late last week.The move came as it emerged that a number of fashion brands that have debts outstanding with House of Fraser, understood to include Karen Millen and Whistles, have been pulling their stock from stores as they negotiate overpayment. Con
  
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• Sadiq Khan wants to restrict number of Uber drivers in London

  15-08-2018 14:34 via theguardian.com
  London mayor says cap on new licences would mean less congestionThe London mayor is seeking powers to limit the number of Uber drivers operating in the capital, blaming a surge in private hire drivers for the city’s increasing congestion and pollution.Sadiq Khan said a cap on new licences was an urgent and necessary step. But unlike New York, which announced a cap last week, he is unable to impose restrictions. Continue reading...
  
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• Rising fuel prices push up UK inflation for first time in 2018

  15-08-2018 14:26 via theguardian.com
  Higher costs at the pump add to squeeze on household incomes after months of falling wages growthHigher fuel prices in July pushed up the rate of inflation for the first time this year to put an extra squeeze on household incomes following several months of falling wages growth.The consumer prices index (CPI) rose at an annual rate of 2.5% last month after holding at 2.4% in the previous three months, following a steep rise in annual energy price growth from 8.7% in June to 9.3%. Continue readin
  
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• Network Rail’s planned arches sale will kill off many small businesses | Will Brett

  15-08-2018 13:44 via theguardian.com
  The threatened sale of railway arches across the UK will mean the end for mechanics, bakers, artists, brewers and plumbersIt can’t be often that the interests of bakers and mechanics, craft brewers and metal-shop workers, graphic designers and boxing coaches, artists and plumbers align. But that is what’s happening as a result of Network Rail’s attempt to sell off its railway arches.Arches have long been home to small businesses looking for relatively cheap and flexible workspa
  
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• Don't sell off the arches, Network Rail – it will kill off diverse business dreams | Will Brett

  15-08-2018 13:44 via theguardian.com
  The sale of these railway spaces will signal the end of opportunities for ventures from bakers to brewersIt can’t be often that the interests of bakers and mechanics, craft brewers and metal-shop workers, graphic designers and boxing coaches, artists and plumbers align. But that is what’s happening as a result of Network Rail’s attempt to sell off its railway arches.Arches have long been home to small businesses looking for relatively cheap and flexible workspace in cities whic
  
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• RBS bankers joked about destroying the US housing market

  15-08-2018 13:08 via theguardian.com
  Transcripts of pre-financial crisis conversations show senior bankers’ disregard for customersRBS bankers joked about destroying the US housing market after making millions by trading loans that staff described as “total fucking garbage”, according to transcripts released as part of a $4.9bn (£3.8bn) settlement with US prosecutors.Details of internal conversations at the bank emerged just weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the financial crisis, which saw RBS rescued
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP dips as UK inflation rate hits 2.5 per cent

  15-08-2018 12:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound has made a minor loss against the US dollar today, following the news that annual UK inflation rates in June have risen from 2.4 per cent to 2.5 per cent. This increase has unsettled pound Sterling traders and puts the pound US dollar exchange rate at a level of $1.271.
  
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• London property slump puts brake on UK house price growth

  15-08-2018 12:32 via theguardian.com
  Average price rise across UK falls to 3% as London prices and rents nosedive UK house price growth slowed in June to the lowest annual rate in five years, driven by falling prices in London, according to official figures.Average house prices across the country increased 3% in the year to June, down from a 3.5% gain in May, the lowest annual rate since August 2013, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The average price of a UK home was £228,000 – about £6,000 higher th
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP steady as UK inflation ticks higher

  15-08-2018 12:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate is currently trading at €1.122, virtually unchanged from this morning’s opening levels despite the rise in inflation. The pound is trending narrowly against the Euro and the majority of its other peers this morning in the wake of the UK’s latest Consumer Price Index .
  
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• As a social landlord, I want a proper plan to tackle homelessness | Alan Fraser

  15-08-2018 11:58 via theguardian.com
  After a decade of cuts and plummeting staff levels, providers of housing and support want more than promisesIt has been a big week for government housing announcements: the government has quietly backed down from plans to remove protection for short-term supported housing funding; has said it plans to end rough sleeping within a decade; and has announced a “new deal” for social housing tenants.It is important to acknowledge that the government has sought to listen to the people and o
  
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• UK rail fares to rise by 3.2% as commuters voice frustration

  15-08-2018 10:31 via theguardian.com
  Call for freeze on train fare increases after year of mass cancellations and strikesRail fares will increase by up to another 3.2% in January, the government has confirmed, with the cost of some season tickets to rise by hundreds of pounds.The figure is below the 3.6% increase to regulated fares in January this year, the steepest in five years, but continues the trend of fare increases far outstripping average wage rises. Continue reading...
  
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• UK rail fares could rise by 3.2% as commuters voice frustration

  15-08-2018 10:31 via theguardian.com
  Call for freeze on train fare increases after year of mass cancellations and strikesRail fares on commuter routes have the scope to increase by up to 3.2% in January, the government has confirmed, with the cost of some season tickets to rise by hundreds of pounds.The figure is below the 3.6% increase to regulated fares in January this year, the steepest in five years, but continues the trend of fare increases far outstripping average wage rises. Continue reading...
  
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• Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC rallies as the market turns green - is this the recovery?

  15-08-2018 09:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN is making small gains this morning as prices appear to stabilise from a dismal week of losses. Here are the latest news and live updates.
  
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• Blame game, as my Mother’s Day treat fails to take off

  15-08-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  We lost £255 and half a day stay but Directline Flights refuses to payI booked two airline tickets with Directline Flights to give my 84-year-old mother a Mother’s Day treat in Rome. The information stated that our flight was with Iberia and that it “offered a traditional airport check-in service”. We reached Gatwick an hour and 20 minutes before departure after some delays on the way. The Iberia check-in desk was crowded and only staffed by one person. After a long wait
  
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• Annuities set for a comeback

  15-08-2018 05:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Those approaching retirement are being urged to consider lifetime annuities again, as income level finally begin to increase.
  
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• Top pay in UK up by 11% as workers’ wages fail to match inflation

  15-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  FTSE 100 CEO earnings rise six time faster than the average worker, High Pay Centre saysPay for chief executives at Britain’s biggest listed companies rose more than six times faster than wages in the wider workforce last year as the average boss’s pay packet hit £3.9m.Chief executive pay at businesses on the FTSE 100 index surged 11% on a median basis in 2017 while average worker earnings failed to keep pace with inflation, rising just 1.7%, according to the High Pay Centre&rs
  
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• The fat cats are back in business | Nils Pratley

  15-08-2018 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Pay rises for chief executives are up 11% – only shareholders can apply the brakeNormal service is restored. Normal, that is, for members of FTSE 100 chief executive club. They enjoyed a collective 11% pay rise in 2017, having suffered a shocking 12% fall in 2016, according to the annual tally from the High Pay Centre and personnel body CIPD. The average big-company boss got £3.9m.The compilers talk about “significant government and regulatory developments” in the past ye
  
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• ONE THIRD STORIES: Brit firm's foreign language courses for kids win Spanish fans in US

  15-08-2018 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  British children’s books business One Third Stories, whose packs help under-10s learn a foreign language, has raised its turnover forecast to £650,000 following a successful US launch.
  
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