Financial news

• Alarm over talks to implant UK employees with microchips

  11-11-2018 19:53
  Trades Union Congress concerned over tech being used to control and micromanageBritain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security.UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK. Continue reading...
  
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• Addison Lee drivers challenge clients to uphold UN pledges

  11-11-2018 18:10
  Unions confront Deutsche Bank and others in campaign for better pay Taxi drivers are ramping up a campaign for better pay and union recognition from Addison Lee by challenging the company’s major corporate clients to uphold commitments signed under a UN accord obliging them to use ethical suppliers.Deutsche Bank is the first of the taxi company’s clients to be approached by union representatives who have also pointed out that its own “vender code of conduct” obliges it to
  
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• Without a fair tax on tech, it could be the end of the state as we know it | John Harris

  11-11-2018 17:05
  Big tech companies are transforming societies – but their pitiful contributions aren’t enough to help governments adaptAlongside the results of last week’s US midterms came the passing of San Francisco’s Proposition C, a measure that will tax firms with an annual turnover of more than $50m (£44m) to raise an estimated $300m extra a year to help address homelessness. Last Tuesday, 60% of voters backed it: though the proposal is now snarled up in a constitutional disp
  
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• Fracking firm boss says it didn't expect to cause such serious quakes

  11-11-2018 16:39
  Drilling at Preston New Road site in Lancashire has triggered 37 minor quakes in three weeksA senior executive at the fracking company Cuadrilla privately said this summer it did not expect to cause earthquakes that would be serious enough to force it to halt operations.But despite that confidence, the company has triggered 37 minor quakessince it started fracking for gas at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire three weeks ago. Continue reading...
  
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• New UK gas power station 'would breach climate commitments'

  11-11-2018 16:03
  Environmental law group submits objection over proposed 3.6GW Drax plantPlans to build a huge new UK gas power station are facing a challenge from an environmental law group that argues the project would breach the government’s recommendations on climate change.ClientEarth, which has repeatedly defeated the government in court over its air pollution strategy, has submitted an objection to the planning inspectorate over Drax Group’s proposed 3.6GW plant in North Yorkshire. Continue re
  
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• Retailers to pay up to £1bn for recycling under waste strategy

  11-11-2018 13:53
  Exclusive: ministers seeking to make firms pay more towards recycling their own wasteSupermarkets, retailers and major drinks brands are set to pay tens of millions of pounds more towards recycling their used packaging under the government’s new waste strategy expected to be published this month, the Guardian understands.Supermarkets and other major producers of packaging waste currently pay a small fraction of the cost of collecting and recycling the 11m tonnes of packaging waste produced
  
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• Boardroom boys still full of excuses for lack of equality

  11-11-2018 10:00
  A government review into the shortage of female executives – due to make its final report this week – has exposed amazingly backward attitudesSunday is the day that, by rights, no one could really complain if women in the UK simply downed tools and put their feet up for the rest of the year. Equal Pay Day, which fell on Saturday, reflects the disparity between the wage deals enjoyed by men and women.The gender pay gap may be at its lowest ever, but men still get paid 8.6% more on ave
  
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• Black Friday: stay out of the red with our smart shopping guide

  11-11-2018 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Research prices in advance on comparison sites and beware deals that come through on social mediaThe tills on the high street did not ring as frequently last Christmas, as consumers opted to buy their presents earlier, on Black Friday, the annual US-inspired event where shops slash prices to boost sales.This year it will take place on 23 November and will be followed three days later by Cyber Monday, another import from across the Atlantic aimed at people spending online. So popular have these d
  
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• Moorside’s atomic dream was an illusion. Renewables are the future

  11-11-2018 08:00
  The collapse of Toshiba’s project underlines the fact that new nuclear is a more unreliable proposition than wind and solarToshiba’s decision to pull out of building a nuclear power station in Cumbria last week will cause shockwaves far beyond the north-west of England.The outcome is a disaster for the surrounding area, which is heavily reliant on the nuclear industry for jobs and prosperity. Local politicians admit it is a blow and a disappointment for Cumbrians hoping for roles at
  
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• Nursery fees rise as free childcare scheme backfires

  11-11-2018 07:00
  Funding for flagship policy is too low to cover costs, say pre-school providersMore than half of private nurseries have increased their fees in the past year, and experts predict further rises are on the way as nursery owners struggle to make up the shortfall caused by insufficient funding for a flagship government policy.Official figures, published by the Department for Education (DfE) and analysed by Labour, show 53% of private nurseries in England have put up their fees in the past 12 months,
  
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• 85,000 jobs lost from Britain’s high streets as retailers feel the pinch

  11-11-2018 07:00
  New figures reveal surge in the number of businesses going into administration or closing stores as costs rise and shoppers move onlineUp to 85,000 retail jobs disappeared from Britain’s high streets in the first nine months of this year after a surge in the number of businesses going bust and closing stores.Nearly 1,000 retail businesses – from big employers such as House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and Poundworld to independent traders – went into administration between January a
  
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