Financial news

• First-half losses double at Purplebricks as housing market stalls

  13-12-2018 18:19
  Online estate agent’s shares down 12% after it cuts full-year revenue forecast to £175mFirst-half losses have more than doubled at Purplebricks as the online estate agent warned that it saw little prospect for immediate improvement in the UK property market.Purplebricks made a pre-tax loss of £27.3m in the six months to 31 October, up from £11.4m in the equivalent period last year. The company, listed on the AIM junior stock market, lowered the upper end of its full-year
  
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• ECB halts QE bond-buying programme, and cuts growth forecasts - business live

  13-12-2018 16:12
  European Central Bank warns that protectionism is hurting growth, as Mario Draghi addresses the pressLatest: ECB cuts growth forecasts as threats mounteurozone QE on hold after almost four yearsEarlier:Mike Ashley says November was worst in living memoryAshley says Debenhams may not survive without cash injectionItaly caves in over its budget 3.11pm GMT Time for a quick recapMario Draghi: "In some regions, QE has been the only driver of this recovery". Quite a statement.The risks surrounding the
  
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• Retailers don't need Mike Ashley to tell them how bad things are | Larry Elliott

  13-12-2018 15:35
  Sports Direct boss warns that November trading was the ‘worst on record’ – but he’s not aloneMike Ashley is not everyone’s favourite retailer, but the boss of Sports Direct certainly knows a thing or two about his industry. So when he says that November trading was the “worst on record, unbelievably bad” it’s worth taking notice.To be sure, the Ashley warning needs to be in context. When he said that some retailers would be smashed to pieces, one o
  
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• Italy cuts deficit target for 2019 to 2.04% to avoid EU sanctions

  13-12-2018 14:14
  Bonds rally after Rome bows to pressure but EU says more needs to be doneThe Italian government will be forced to cut “a few billion” across two of its flagship policies to meet the lower deficit target it has proposed to the European commission.Italian bonds rallied after the government bowed to pressure to reduce its deficit target for 2019 to stave off EU sanctions. The country’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, proposed cutting the target from 2.4% to 2.04%. Continue reading
  
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• Paying my Dartford Crossing fine has become a French farce

  13-12-2018 08:00
  I couldn’t pay the automated toll as I was on my way home to FranceI have read about the number of unpaid fees for the Dartford Crossing since the automated system was introduced. My experience may provide one explanation. I crossed on my way home to France. I couldn’t pay the Dart Charge within the “midnight the day after” deadline because I didn’t have internet access en route.Continue reading...
  
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• Betting firms to ban pre-watershed TV adverts during live sport events

  13-12-2018 07:00
  Voluntary plan agreed after bookmakers bend to pressure over children’s exposure to gamblingThe gambling industry has confirmed plans to press ahead with a voluntary ban on betting adverts during sport programmes from next summer, amid mounting pressure to protect children from excessive exposure to gambling. Related: Children 'bombarded' with gambling adverts on I'm a Celebrity appContinue reading...
  
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• Pound largely holds on to gains after May survives no-confidence vote

  13-12-2018 03:20
  Any respite for currency expected to be short-lived as Brexit uncertainty continuesThe pound largely held on to overnight gains on Thursday after the British prime minister, Theresa May, survived a no-confidence vote on her leadership, buying her more time to sell her unpopular Brexit deal to a deeply divided parliament.Sterling held steady at $1.2627 in early trade on Thursday. It had bounced off a 20-month low of $1.2477 during the previous session, ending 1.1% higher on the day in the afterma
  
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• UK property market at weakest since 2012 as Brexit takes toll – Rics

  13-12-2018 01:01
  Surveyors say indicators for demand, supply and prices fell to multiyear lows in NovemberBrexit is battering the UK property market, pushing it to its weakest level in more than six years, with almost half of surveyors reporting that sellers and buyers are sitting tight because of political uncertainty.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said its monthly indicators for demand, supply and prices fell to multiyear lows in November. Continue reading...
  
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• Six slime and putty toys sold in UK fail to meet safety standards

  13-12-2018 01:01
  Versions including one sold at Hamleys found to have unsafe levels of boron in Which? testSix out of 13 “slime” and puttytoys have failed to meet EU safety standards when tested for the presence of a potentially harmful chemical, according to research by a consumer group.Following an investigation earlier this year that found almost all the slime toys available from Amazon it tested posed a health risk, Which? has turned the spotlight on potentially toxic products sold by some of Bri
  
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