Financial news

• Nearly 400 jobs lost after Flybmi appoints administrators

  18-02-2019 20:26
  BDO keen to ensure customers, staff and suppliers are supported through processNearly 400 employees at Flybmi have lost their jobs following the collapse of the regional British airline at the weekend.Flybmi formally appointed the restructuring firm BDO as administrators on Monday after ceasing to trade on Saturday. BDO announced that 376 employees in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Belgium have been made redundant, although some will assist with the administration. Continue reading...
  
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• Honda's exit is based on many factors, but Brexit is certainly one | Larry Elliott

  18-02-2019 19:08
  Denials by the North Swindon Tory MP will not save May from the burden of this decisionWe told you so. That will be the reaction of Britain’s leading business groups to the news that Honda is to close its Swindon plant with the loss of about 3,500 jobs in 2022.For at least a year, bodies such as the CBI, the EEF and the British Chambers of Commerce have been telling ministers that the uncertainty caused by Brexit would have serious consequences. The Honda announcement – with its knoc
  
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• 'Shattering body blow' as Honda plans to close Swindon factory

  18-02-2019 16:42
  Japanese firm to shut plant in 2022 but maintain its European HQ near Bracknell in BerkshireHonda is planning to close its factory in Swindon dealing what trade unions called a “shattering body blow” to an automotive sector already struggling with the effects of Brexit-related uncertainty.The Japanese carmaker, which employs 3,500 people in the UK, is thought to be planning to shut the Swindon plant, its only factory in Europe, from 2022. Continue reading...
  
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• Flybmi appoints BDO as administrators after ceasing operations

  18-02-2019 15:17
  BDO keen to ensure customers, staff and suppliers are supported through processThe regional airline Flybmi has formally appointed the restructuring firm BDO as administrators after ceasing to trade on Saturday.The airline’s immediate owner, British Midland Regional, operated 17 regional jet aircraft on routes to 25 European cities but cancelled hundreds of flights at short notice over the weekend, leaving numerous passengers stranded. Continue reading...
  
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• Once-in-a-generation rail fare reform? Ryanair on steroids | Patrick Collinson

  18-02-2019 15:05
  The Rail Delivery Group’s so-called new deal is the opposite of fare simplicationThe latest attempt to simplify our crazily complex rail ticketing system, hailed as a “once in a generation reform” is nothing of the sort. It is tinkering at the margins, which will result in some passengers being a little better off, a few a little worse off and Britain’s railway system still egregiously expensive and unfit for purpose.The Rail Delivery Group’s (RDG’s) new deal
  
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• What are Brexit contingency plans for aerospace and defence?

  18-02-2019 15:00
  With no deal estimated to mean billions of pounds in extra costs, here’s what firms are doingThe British aerospace sector is bracing for a no-deal Brexit, which it estimates could mean billions of pounds in extra costs.The impact on some goods could equate to 38% of their sale value, according to one no-deal Brexit scenario modelled by ADS, a lobby group for the aerospace and defence sectors. Continue reading...
  
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• UK house prices raised age of ownership by eight years since 1997

  18-02-2019 14:26
  In 2018 buyers were 34 before half had bought their own home; in 1997 the age was 26Britain’s increasingly unaffordable housing market has delayed the age when most adults become homeowners by at least eight years since 1997, according to official figures.Among one of several signals that young adults are being forced to wait until much later in life to reach key milestones, the Office for National Statistics said it took until the age of 34 for more than half of the population to own thei
  
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• Super-tall, super-skinny, super-expensive: the 'pencil towers' of New York's super-rich – podcast

  18-02-2019 13:00
  An extreme concentration of wealth in a city where even the air is for sale has produced a new breed of needle-like tower• Read the text version here Continue reading...
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP/USD rises as US braces for China trade talks

  18-02-2019 12:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  The GBP/USD exchange rate has edged slightly higher today to trade in the region of $1.291, with many USD traders remaining cautious as US-China trade talks move to Washington. It is hoped that the two nations will seek a trade consensus ahead of the March 1 “trade truce” deadline.
  
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• Pound latest: Will the pound STRENGTHEN once a deal is agreed?

  18-02-2019 12:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  THERESA MAY’s proposed Brexit deal has been met with dissatisfaction in Parliament. And as political uncertainty continues we take a look at whether the pound will strengthen once a deal is agreed.
  
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• Pound Euro exchange rate: Pound flat as UK housing market slows, Brexit in focus

  18-02-2019 12:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound euro exchange rate is currently fluctuating around the day’s opening levels of €1.141. Today could remain a relatively quiet day for the pairing as there is a notable lack of UK and Eurozone data in the hours ahead.
  
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• Facebook is out of control and politicians have no idea what to do | Simon Jenkins

  18-02-2019 12:07
  A Commons report lays bare horrifying abuses. But the UK is no closer to regulating the far-too-powerful tech industryDeath threats, bullying, mental torture, privacy invasion, election rigging, fake news, monopoly abuse: as was said of a medieval pope, this is merely to suppress more serious charges. It is hard to recall the social media of 15 years ago and its offer of universal love, democracy and global peace. Britain’s parliament has finally caught up, and today’s Commons report
  
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• Walmart facing gender discrimination lawsuits from female employees

  18-02-2019 12:00
  Nearly 100 current and former workers filed suit against the store, alleging unequal pay and lack of opportunityWalmart, the world’s largest retailer, is once again facing a raft of sexual discrimination lawsuits – eight years after the supreme court blocked the company from facing the largest gender discrimination case ever brought against an employer.Nearly 100 workers filed gender discrimination lawsuits against Walmart on 1 February, alleging denial of equal pay for retail store
  
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• Facebook needs regulation to combat fake news, say MPs

  18-02-2019 11:53
  Damian Collins warns of ‘deepfake films’ showing doctored footage of politiciansOnline disinformation is only going to get more sophisticated, the chair of the committee investigating disinformation and fake news, Damian Collins, has warned. Related: Facebook labelled 'digital gangsters' by report on fake newsContinue reading...
  
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• Footasylum shares soar as JD Sports buys stake

  18-02-2019 11:38
  Britain’s biggest sports retailer acquires 8.3% in struggling smaller rivalJD Sports, Britain’s biggest sports retailer, has acquired an 8.3% stake in Footasylum, sending shares in its struggling smaller rival surging by more than 80%.JD Sports said it had bought the stake in the footwear and hoodie chain for investment purposes and was prepared to increase its holding to 29.9% – the maximum level permitted without triggering a bid – but that it had no intention of making
  
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• Capital Idea: City BANS all cash and launches own cryptocurrency

  18-02-2019 10:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  A “private city" in Norway has ditched cash for its own cryptocurrency. Liberstad, which was established in June 2017 in the south of the Scandinavian country, is a self-proclaimed libertarian city.
  
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• Must I pay higher-rate stamp duty because of my flat in Athens?

  18-02-2019 08:00
  Reader inherited a flat in Athens 15 years ago and is now looking to buy a flat in LondonQ I inherited a flat in Athens when my mum passed away over 15 years ago. I moved to London in 2010 and I have been renting here ever since. The flat in Athens has been let out since 2014. This flat is also mortgaged as I took out a loan in 2005 to fund my masters degree.I have now managed to get enough money together to put down as a deposit on a flat in London and I am trying to figure out if I have to pay
  
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• Diabetes emergency helpline rang for ages and then put me on voicemail

  18-02-2019 08:00
  I was horrified to find that I had paid for a non-existent service and would like my money backMy husband has type 1 diabetes. In December 2017 I bought a diabetes medical ID card from Diabetes.co.uk, which came with a yearly subscription to Alert ID services where you can register emergency medical and next-of-kin contact details. If needed, emergency services call the number on the card and Alert ID passes on relevant information.When I wanted to renew I couldn’t find any contact number
  
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• Skills shortages in UK pushing up workers' pay, says survey

  18-02-2019 01:01
  Concern about availability of migrant workers after Brexit as companies struggle to recruit Growing skills shortages in the UK jobs market are starting to drive up wages, according to a survey, as more companies across the country report difficulties finding staff.In a sign that workers’ pay is gradually rising after a “lost decade” of sluggish growth since the financial crisis, private-sector employers said they were expecting to award annual pay increases of about 2.5% on ave
  
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• Rail industry proposes best fare guarantee in pricing overhaul

  18-02-2019 01:01
  Other suggestions include part-time season tickets and smartphone-based ticketingRail companies are offering part-time season tickets, a guarantee that passengers will get the cheapest prices and smartphone-based ticketing across the UK as part of a radical overhaul of British fares.The rail industry proposals include a weekly fare cap that allows commuters to avoid paying for their season ticket on the days when they don’t use it – something long demanded by campaigners as a benefit
  
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• Maintain EU electrical safety standards after Brexit, ministers urged

  18-02-2019 01:01
  Campaign group fears UK becoming magnet for dangerous or counterfeit goods The government is being urged to prevent consumer safety standards from slipping after Brexit, to avoid putting lives at risk from the growing number of potentially dangerous counterfeit electrical goods coming into the UK.As the country edges closer to leaving the EU, the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF) wants the government to prioritise consumer safety and protection, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negoti
  
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• A digital gangster destroying democracy: the damning verdict on Facebook

  18-02-2019 01:01
  Parliament’s report into fake news raises many questions, but will the government act? Facebook is an out-of-control train wreck that is destroying democracy and must be brought under control. The final report of parliament’s inquiry into fake news and disinformation does not use this language, precisely, but it is, nonetheless, the report’s central message. And the language it does use is no less damning.Facebook behaves like a “digital gangster”. It considers itse
  
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