Financial news

• Pension deficit repairs dwarfed by dividends at big UK groups - Financial Times

  26-10-2018 23:43
  Financial Times
  Pension deficit repairs dwarfed by dividends at big UK groups
  Financial Times
  FTSE 100 companies stepped up payments to shareholders by billions of pounds even as the regulator warned them against neglecting their pension schemes, new analysis shows. The UK's 100 biggest listed companies paid £8.2bn towards repairing their ...
  
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• Budget to offer business rates relief for small shops

  26-10-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Chancellor’s move should give breathing space to high street retailers squeezed by online rivalsThe chancellor will cut business rates bills by a third for almost half a million small high street shops in a £1.5bn spending pledge to fight the threat posed by Amazon and other online retailers.In next week’s budget, Philip Hammond will order £900m of immediate business rates relief for small retailers in an effort to combat shuttered shops on the high street, where small bu
  
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• Week ahead: Brazil, UK budget, US jobs - Financial Times

  26-10-2018 23:27
  Financial Times
  Week ahead: Brazil, UK budget, US jobs
  Financial Times
  Following a torrid week in markets, investors turn their attention to Brazil's election, the UK budget, US jobs data and earnings next week. Here's what to watch in the coming days. Brazil. Brazil holds the second round of its presidential election on ...en meer »
  
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• Ten ways the chancellor could budget for a big NHS spending increase | Richard Partington

  26-10-2018 20:30 via theguardian.com
  Philip Hammond will have to come up with extra funds for Theresa May’s £20bn pledgeBritish taxpayers will soon learn how the government plans to finance Theresa May’s pledge to increase spending on the NHS by £20bn by 2023.After months of intense speculation, Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will on Monday announce the tax and spending changes required to accommodate the extra funds in his budget. Continue reading...
  
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• Fantasy barns for sale – in pictures

  26-10-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Make yourself at home in these fantasy barn conversions, from Abergavenny to Swansea Continue reading...
  
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• Revealed: Philip Green paid seven-figure sums to silence abuse claims

  26-10-2018 18:51 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Insider tells of culture of silence at top of company over tycoon’s behaviour towards women
  Several employees of Sir Philip Green who alleged the tycoon had sexually harassed or bullied them were given enormous seven-figure secret payouts to settle their claims, the Guardian has learned.The huge settlements were part of a widespread culture of silence at Green’s Arcadia Group, an insider said, where the billionaire owner allegedly harassed female staff but few felt able to
  
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• Omnishambles: five big budget bust-ups of recent years

  26-10-2018 18:46 via theguardian.com
  Poor George Osborne – he worked so hard on the 2012 budget, but in the end it was all about pastiesGeorge Osborne was accused of an “omnishambles” budget in 2012, when he unveiled an increase VAT on some hot foods. It was dubbed the “pasty tax” and Osborne was forced into a climbdown. Continue reading...
  
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• MPs vote to give tenants more power to fight rogue landlords

  26-10-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Private member’s bill is sent to Lords following investigation by the Guardian and ITV NewsTenants are to be given more powers to fight rogue landlords renting out properties “unfit for human habitation”, following a key vote by MPs.The move came in a week when a Guardian and ITV News investigation discovered how convicted landlords can continue to collect rents – often funded by taxpayers via housing benefit – even when they have been prosecuted for housing offence
  
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• India rupee: Gold prices SOAR off crippled currency as investors flock to precious metal

  26-10-2018 17:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  INDIA saw gold prices soar to an almost six-year high off the back of the weakening rupee as investors flock to the precious metal. Prices of gold, of which India is the second-largest consumer in the world, were trading at Rs 32,625 per 10gm in the capital of New Delhi on Thursday – the highest level since November 2012.
  
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• Let’s move to Worcester: ‘It’s full of sauce’

  26-10-2018 17:30 via theguardian.com
  Among its other claims to fame are the loveliest cricket ground in the land, the cathedral and the oldest newspaper in the worldWhat’s going for it? Worcester has many claims to fame. The sauce, of course. It’s full of sauce. The factory where they make it is still here, unshipped out yet to China or Ulaanbaatar. The porcelain factory has gone, alas, and the glovemakers: Dents no longer stitches its hides here. It’s also lost its famous oak tree, in which Charles II hid from pa
  
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• UK fracking firm Cuadrilla pauses drilling after tremor - Financial Post

  26-10-2018 17:00
  UK fracking firm Cuadrilla pauses drilling after tremor
  Financial Post
  LONDON — The only company drilling for shale gas in Britain temporarily suspended fracking Friday after a mild earthquake. Cuadrilla said it halted drilling for 18 hours after a tremor was detected at its site in Little Plumpton, northwest England ...en meer »
  
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• UK exploration groups turn attention to South America - Financial Times

  26-10-2018 16:53
  Financial Times
  UK exploration groups turn attention to South America
  Financial Times
  While Africa remains the darling of many small UK exploration and production companies and investors, another far-flung region has seen growing interest — South America. Factors ranging from an improved political environment to a better security ...en meer »
  
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• Your chance to be lord of a medieval manor – for only £7m

  26-10-2018 16:23 via theguardian.com
  Laxton in Nottinghamshire, the last open-field farming estate in England, is up for sale – complete with manorial courtFancy becoming the lord of your own medieval manor? The country’s last remaining feudal village, complete with 17 working farms, 10 cottages, a pub and the title lord of the manor of Laxton, is up for sale for £7m.The Nottinghamshire village, which dates back to 1066 and still operates a an “open field” strip farming system, has been put up for sale
  
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• Asda says 2,500 jobs at risk before Sainsbury's merger

  26-10-2018 16:11 via theguardian.com
  Grocer eyes back office roles in shake-up, with redundancies not expected before ChristmasAsda has said 2,500 jobs are at risk as the supermarket giant embarks on a fresh round of cost-cutting ahead of its proposed merger with rival Sainsbury’s.The Walmart-owned grocer is looking to reduce costs across its store operations, with staff working in its bakeries, petrol stations and back office among those under scrutiny. The retailer is also considering closing counters used by customers to r
  
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• UK's biggest health outsourcer in groundbreaking NHS deal - Financial Times

  26-10-2018 15:16
  Financial Times
  UK's biggest health outsourcer in groundbreaking NHS deal
  Financial Times
  The UK's biggest provider of outsourced health services to the NHS has agreed a groundbreaking deal that will see it provide all the hip, knee and other orthopaedic operations for an NHS hospital for the first time. Care UK, a private-equity owned ...en meer »
  
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• Grosvenor's £1bn build-to-rent plan could fail affordable housing test

  26-10-2018 15:10 via theguardian.com
  Plan for London flats by Duke of Westminster’s group do not comply with Southwark policyA £1bn build-to-rent project of four- to 28-storey apartment blocks in south London is in deadlock as the local council battles the developer to ensure more affordable flats are made available.Like developments built for sale, councils can require build-to-rent projects to have a minimum number of units at an “affordable” rent, meaning they are let at a minimum of 25% below the standar
  
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• Can 'co-living' solve millennials' housing woes?

  26-10-2018 15:06 via theguardian.com
  A new wave of apartment blocks is springing up in the UK with shared facilities for renters. Is the future build-to-rent hotel-style housing?For millennials struggling to get on the housing ladder, is this the shape of living in the future? Developers across the UK are building “co-living” blocks for rental only, promising fully-furnished apartments, a “professional” landlord, and round-the-clock concierges.Many have spacious communal lounges, rooftop gardens and gyms. An
  
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• What will the autumn budget 2018 mean for you?

  26-10-2018 15:05 via theguardian.com
  From inheritance to pensions, we set out the likely tax changes and what they mean to youOn Monday afternoon, the chancellor will present a budget amid the most febrile political atmosphere for years. Brexit uncertainty is at a peak, Philip Hammond needs to find £20bn to meet pledges to the NHS, and the public sector is on its knees after years of austerity. Will he raise taxes, or fund spending from better than expected flows into the public purse? Here’s what we know already, and w
  
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• Lloyds faces bill of up to £150m in pensions discrimination ruling

  26-10-2018 14:54 via theguardian.com
  Landmark decision could lead to £20bn in payouts for women in the private sectorLloyds is to pay up to £150m to female members of its pension scheme after a landmark court ruling on sex discrimination that could lead to £20bn in payouts for millions of women who work in the private sector.The high court ruled Lloyds should equalise pension payments for men and women, after three women brought a case against the bank, complaining that their pension incomes were increasing at a l
  
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• Global stock markets suffer worst losing streak for five years

  26-10-2018 14:39 via theguardian.com
  Falls in Europe follow nervous US trading as investors question tech giants’ valuationsGlobal markets chalked up their longest weekly losing streak in five years on Friday, as Wall Street reacted to worse-than-expected results from US tech giants.The MSCI all-country world index, which tracks shares across stock markets in 47 developed and emerging countries, closed down 3.7% on Friday. Continue reading...
  
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• Dow Jones DOWN by more than 200 points - Amazon, Google-parent results disappoint

  26-10-2018 14:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  DOW JONES Industrial Average has opened more than 200 points this afternoon at the start of the US market open. The US stock market is under pressure after the release of disappointing quarterly results from Amazon and Google-parent company Alphabet.
  
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• Who deserves the credit for strong US economy? | Michael Boskin

  26-10-2018 14:22 via theguardian.com
  Trump’s regulatory and tax policies have aided growth but he will bear blame for any downturnThe US president, Donald Trump, claims credit for “the greatest ever” economy and constantly contrasts economic conditions today with the historically weak recovery under President Barack Obama. With growth this year more than 3%, unemployment at 3.7% and more job openings than unemployed people, the economy has greatly improved on Trump’s watch. The macroeconomic indicators are t
  
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• Russia’s trade intervention is just the start of Liam Fox’s problems | Allie Renison

  26-10-2018 13:21 via theguardian.com
  WTO renegotiations are proving trickier than hoped. But they pale into insignificance beside the scale of Brexit itselfLiam Fox was finally able to announce the start of a set of trade negotiations yesterday, but they were of a kind he had probably hoped to avoid. The issue is this: as the UK leaves the EU, it must go through a process of certifying its own schedule of goods and services at the World Trade Organization. This schedule is essentially a set of rights and obligations the UK must fol
  
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• London's former Stock Exchange Tower sold to Singaporean group for £385m

  26-10-2018 11:51 via theguardian.com
  Uncertainties over Brexit give CDL ‘opportunities to acquire assets with deep value’The former Stock Exchange Tower in London’s Square Mile has been sold for £385m to a Singaporean group that said it took advantage of Brexit uncertainty to strike the deal.The Singapore-listed City Developments Ltd, which is chaired by the billionaire businessman Kwek Leng Beng, has bought the freehold building at 125 Old Broad Street from the US-based private equity group Blackstone. Blac
  
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• China yuan rebounds after falling toward WEAKEST level against US dollar in a DECADE

  26-10-2018 11:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  CHINA saw the yuan plunge toward its weakest level against the US dollar in a decade earlier today before clawing back some losses. The yuan rebounded slightly after dropping as much as 0.22 percent, and creeping closer to a level of 7, against the American greenback.
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP muted amid WARNING of £30bn no-deal Brexit shortfall

  26-10-2018 11:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate is trading around €1.126, close to this morning’s starting levels, but now almost a cent down from the week’s opening rate. Sterling is stuck at a three-week low against the euro this morning as persistent Brexit uncertainty continues to dog the UK currency.
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP hits one-month low on pre-Budget anxiety

  26-10-2018 10:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound is trading at a one-month low against the US dollar today ahead of next week’s budget with the latest decline putting the exchange rate at $1.281. The October budget takes place on 29 October and could cause significant pound Sterling volatility depending on what is announced.
  
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• Pound LIVE: GBP Sterling trading DOWN on euro after PLUMMETING on Brexit warning and ECB

  26-10-2018 09:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound is trading lower against the euro today as Sterling retains a “weak undertone” off the back of Brexit uncertainty and positive news in the Eurozone. Theresa May left a positive mark on the pound earlier this week when she was said to have “won the room” during a meeting at the 1922 Committee.
  
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• RBS breaks with UK rivals to set up Brexit buffer - Financial Times

  26-10-2018 09:20
  Financial Times
  RBS breaks with UK rivals to set up Brexit buffer
  Financial Times
  RBS broke ranks with the rest of the British banking industry on Friday as it implemented several profit-hitting measures to prepare for the fallout from a disorderly Brexit. The bank took a £100m impairment charge to steel itself against an expected ...en meer »
  
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• City in a city: the 63,000 people who run the world's busiest airport

  26-10-2018 08:30 via theguardian.com
  Georgia’s biggest employer is not CNN or Coca-Cola – it is Hartsfield-Jackson airport, which since the 1970s has grown into a unique economic ecosystemPortraits by Bita HonarvarWhen Maynard Jackson introduced affirmative action as mayor of Atlanta in 1973, it “constituted a political revolution in the heart of the south”, according to his 2003 obituary in the New York Times. “Seemingly overnight, it transformed Atlanta into a mecca for talented, aspiring blacks from
  
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• Gender pay gap narrows slightly but TUC calls for greater pressure

  26-10-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Companies should be required to explain how they will close the gap, says Frances O’Grady The gender pay gap has dropped slightly this year to a low of 17.9%, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.Women now earn 17.9% less than men, down from 18.4% last year. The rate for full-time workers has dropped from 9.1% to a low of 8.6%. Continue reading...
  
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