Financial news

• Four in 10 UK first-time buyers will retire with mortgages, FCA warns

  10-01-2019 18:47 via theguardian.com
  Loans lasting up to 40 years can leave buyers unable to save for pension, say regulatorsFirst-time buyers are taking out jumbo loans on longer terms that will leave four in 10 borrowers paying off their mortgage well into retirement, regulators have warned.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that 40% of borrowers who took out a mortgage in 2017 will be aged over 65 when their mortgage matures – leaving them unable to save for a pension, and vulnerable to any financial shocks. Conti
  
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• Debenhams chairman ousted by Mike Ashley - business live

  10-01-2019 18:43 via theguardian.com
  Sir Ian Cheshire has been ousted at struggling retailer, as Sports Direct votes against chairman and CEOLatest: Turmoil at DebenhamsAshley, who owns almost 30% of shares, has voted chairman outEarlier:Jaguar Land Rover cutting 4,500 jobs worldwideFord plans sweeping job cuts
  M&S suffers falling Christmas salesJohn Lewis staff bonuses at threat 5.43pm GMT Suzy Ross, senior advisor at Accenture Retail says Debenhams woes are a “cautionary tale” for other retailers.“The dramat
  
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• MacKenzie Bezos: divorce from Amazon CEO could make her world's richest woman

  10-01-2019 18:30 via theguardian.com
  She married Jeff Bezos before he started Amazon, and once described herself as a ‘lottery winner’ of a different sortThey are the one couple who could ever be called the parents of Amazon.com, and now the split of MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos is casting a spotlight on the woman who might soon become the world’s wealthiest.The pair jointly announced on Wednesday that they plan to divorce, a reminder that the planet’s “richest man” is one half of its richest couple.
  
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• Ministry of Justice workers to stage two-day strike over pay

  10-01-2019 17:50 via theguardian.com
  Cleaners, security guards and receptionists at government department demand London living wageCleaners, security guards and receptionists at the Ministry of Justice are to stage a 48-hour strike to demand the London living wage.The action by outsourced workers has been coordinated by the United Voices of the World (UVW) trade union, whose members are overwhelmingly migrants from outside the UK. Continue reading...
  
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• Big rise in UK energy bills likely this spring despite price cap

  10-01-2019 17:29 via theguardian.com
  Government defends possible increase in default tariffs paid by millions of householdsMillions of consumers face a big rise in their energy bills from April when an increase in the new price cap is likely to take effect, the energy regulator has warned.Around 11m households on default tariffs saw their bills capped last week in a huge shakeup of the market, resulting in an average saving of £76. Continue reading...
  
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• Graphics dispute plunges British gaming company into crisis

  10-01-2019 17:07 via theguardian.com
  Improbable says key partner Unity blocked its SpatialOS product without warningImprobable, a UK “unicorn” that once received the largest investment ever made in a European tech startup, faces a crisis after being blocked without warning from working with its largest partner.The company’s core product, a cloud-based server system called SpatialOS, allows video game developers and others to build enormous virtual worlds that exist and operate independently of player action. Conti
  
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• Eurotunnel chief hits out at UK over no-deal shipping contracts

  10-01-2019 17:06 via theguardian.com
  Jacques Gounon says deals including £13m for firm with no ships may have been illegalThe government has been accused of “anti-competitive” and “distortionary” behaviour by Eurotunnel, after awarding a series of no-deal Brexit contracts to shipping companies including a startup that has yet to run ferry services.Jacques Gounon, the chief executive of Getlink, the cross-channel rail operator’s parent company, told the UK transport secretary, Chris Grayling, the
  
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• Germany recession 'NOW LIKELY' – Berlin hit with SHOCK economic forecast

  10-01-2019 17:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  A RECESSION in Germany “now seems likely” as the economic powerhouse of Europe continues to be hit with a raft of disappointing financial data.
  
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• Chrysler building, the art deco masterpiece – in archival photos

  10-01-2019 16:52 via theguardian.com
  A look at the famous building currently on sale
  New York City’s second most famous skyscraperContinue reading...
  
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• UK councils invest £566m in arms firms linked to Yemen war

  10-01-2019 16:51 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: workers’ pensions put into companies implicated in deadly Saudi campaignMore than half a billion pounds of council workers’ pension money has been directly invested by local authorities in arms companies implicated in Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen, in which thousands of civilians have been killed.Council pension funds have sizeable shareholdings in BAE Systems, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, according to nearly 100 freedom of info
  
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• UK train firms named and shamed over late compensation

  10-01-2019 16:37 via theguardian.com
  GTR received 1m of the 3m claims sought over timetabling chaos, rail regulator saysMore than 1 million claims were filed by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) passengers seeking compensation for delayed journeys in the six months around the timetabling chaos last year.But it has emerged that long-suffering GTR passengers have at least had their claims dealt with faster than many – with more than one in three rail companies failing to meet the target response time for complaints. Continue readi
  
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• Ofo cycle hire firm pulls out of London

  10-01-2019 15:57 via theguardian.com
  At its peak the Chinese bike-sharing startup had 6,000 bikes in several English cities The Chinese bike-sharing firm Ofo, known for its yellow bikes that users can leave in the street, is pulling out of London.Alibaba-backed Ofo, which is reportedly teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, had already withdrawn from Norwich, Sheffield and Oxford to focus on London, after facing problems with take-up and vandalism. Continue reading...
  
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• Macy’s shares COLLAPSE 18 percent in US: Is this the end of big US retail giants?

  10-01-2019 15:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  MACY’s shares tanked more than 18 percent in pre-market trading on Thursday after weak holiday results for 2018. Could this be the end of big US retail giants?
  
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• Bitcoin price news: Why did bitcoin DROP this morning?

  10-01-2019 15:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN suddenly experienced a precipitous price plunge this morning. So why did the leading cryptocurrency drastic drop in value so swiftly?
  
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• Christmas sales: the winners and losers on the UK high street

  10-01-2019 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Tesco fares well over festive period but John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams and Halfords all sufferThe 2018 festive shopping season in the UK got under way with low expectations for the retail sector. Investors were braced for bad news after a string of warnings in the run-up to Christmas, including a declaration from Mike Ashley, the chief executive of Sports Direct, that November was the worst on record for retailers. Against a backdrop of rising rents, business rates, a shift to online shopping a
  
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• Macy's shares COLLAPSE 18 percent: Christmas retail APOCALYPSE hits US and UK high street

  10-01-2019 14:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  MACY'S shares have plunged by 18 percent in pre-market trading after the department store giant slashed its sales guidance off the back of weak December sales.
  
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• The big cheese mountain: America's stockpile nears record high

  10-01-2019 14:50 via theguardian.com
  Demand for American cheese is falling behind supply – partly because of changing tastes but also because of Trump’s tariffsSay cheese, America. No, seriously, please start saying cheese at the grocery store. The country’s dairy farmers are depending on you. Related: The best cheese in the world is running out fast. What should we eat instead?Continue reading...
  
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• Brighton Pier owner issues profit warning

  10-01-2019 14:32 via theguardian.com
  Group says profits will be fifth lower than expected, in fresh blow to chair Luke JohnsonBrighton Pier Group, the leisure company that owns the 119-year-old Grade II*-listed pier alongside a string of bars and mini golf courses across the country, has warned that its profits will be a fifth lower than expected.The profit warning, which caused the shares to fall by 42% before recovering to 24% down, is the latest blow for the serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, whose investment fund bought the pier
  
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• US stocks: Why did the markets PLUMMET in December - truth revealed

  10-01-2019 14:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  US STOCK markets went through their worst December since the Great Depression in 1931. Here is why the markets plummeted.
  
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• Germany facing MAJOR RECESSION: Stark WARNING issued to Merkel as Berlin set for 'crisis'

  10-01-2019 13:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  GERMANY should prepare to deal with a financial crisis should the economic structure of Europe’s most powerful country start to crumble, according to EU Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger.
  
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• John Lewis may suspend staff bonus as retail slump bites

  10-01-2019 13:38 via theguardian.com
  Weak consumer demand prompts department store chain to consider scrapping bonus for first time since 1953John Lewis may suspend its staff bonus for the first time in 66 years in the wake of the worst Christmas for retailers since the depths of the financial crisis.The employee-owned department store group, which also owns Waitrose, said it would “need to consider carefully … whether payment of a bonus is prudent in the light of business and economic prospects at that time”. Co
  
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• Bitcoin CYBER-ATTACK WARNING: Security experts warn attack could happen AT ANY TIME

  10-01-2019 12:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  A DEVASTATING cyber-attack on bitcoin could happen at any time, warn security experts.
  
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• Debenhams and M&S sales FALL as UK high street suffers WORST Xmas since financial crisis

  10-01-2019 12:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRITAIN’S high street has suffered its worst Christmas performance since the 2008 financial crisis with Debenhams and Marks and Spencer both confirming falls in sales.
  
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• Ford to cut THOUSANDS of jobs across Europe in major shake-up

  10-01-2019 11:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  FORD is to cut thousands of jobs across Europe as part of a major cost-cutting plan.
  
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• Pound LIVE: GBP down against euro and US dollar as Brexit meaningful vote ticks nearer

  10-01-2019 09:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound is trading softer against the euro and US dollar this morning as the clock ticks nearer to the meaningful vote on Brexit.
  
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• Why did Secret Escapes say it hadn’t received my booking?

  10-01-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I spoke to the company on the phone, but they told me they had no record of the reservationWe booked a holiday to Iceland with Secret Escapes and paid with Barclaycard. We received an emailed confirmation of the itinerary. Three months later, we called with a question about the holiday and were told there was no booking in our name and that no payment had been made. We contacted Secret Escapes multiple times asking what was being done and had to relay the events every time as no information was
  
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• Do legal fees apply if a house sale falls through?

  10-01-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  My daughter may pull out of a property purchase – will she have to pay her solicitor for work done so far? Q My daughter is in the process of buying a house, but has not yet exchanged contracts. However, she is thinking of pulling out of the purchase because the surveyor’s report says the property will need a lot of repairs as well as the removal and disposal of asbestos found in the structure of the garage walls. If she does pull out, will she have to pay her solicitor for the work
  
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• US-China trade war: is the time ripe for peace to break out? | Larry Elliott

  10-01-2019 01:00 via theguardian.com
  Beijing talks look to have neatly concluded, just in time for Trump to visit Davos and claim victoryEverything is slotting neatly into place for peace to be declared in the trade war between the US and China. The 90-day truce brokered between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last month is holding and talks at official level in Beijing this week have gone well.China’s eagerness for a deal was shown when Xi’s righthand man on economic issues, Liu He, turned up unexpectedly
  
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