Financial news

• No deal Brexit: Can I protect myself against the impact of Brexit? How to PREPARE

  26-02-2019 21:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  IN JUST over a months time, the UK is due to leave the EU and the effects are expected to severely impact the British economy. But can you protect yourself against the impact of Brexit? Here’s how to prepare.
  
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• Kids’ magazines service wasn't Amazing

  26-02-2019 20:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  WHEN editions of monthly kids' magazine Amazing! did not arrive as expected, a family which had bought an annual subscription demanded to know why.
  
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• M&S confirms talks with Ocado on food delivery service

  26-02-2019 19:44
  Joint venture with Marks & Spencer could spell end for Ocado’s deal with WaitroseMarks & Spencer and Ocado are thrashing out the terms of a £1.8bn tie-up with M&S launching a grocery delivery service with the online grocer, replacing Ocado’s current deal with Waitrose.Shares in both companies surged on Tuesday after they rushed out identical statements that confirmed they were in discussions over a deal in which M&S would buy a 50% stake in Ocado’s UK Reta
  
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• Help-to-buy should be axed as Persimmon profits pass £1bn | Nils Pratley

  26-02-2019 19:44
  The taxpayer-funded scheme fuels big margins for builders and massive bonuses for their bosses Persimmon’s £75m chief executive was too politically toxic to continue in post, but his £40m deputy will do just fine as the new boss. Welcome to the nuanced world of housebuilding in the age of help-to-buy, a place were Persimmon’s pre-tax profit of £1.1bn was not the most remarkable number in its 2018 results. That prize was shared by the 31% operating profit margin and
  
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• Metro Bank to hold surprise £350m share sale after loans blunder

  26-02-2019 19:32
  Metro Bank raised £303m in July 2018, but then-chief executive Craig Donaldson ruled out further cash calls
  Metro Bank is again going cap-in-hand to shareholders in hopes of raising a further £350m after revealing a major accounting mistake last month that is now being investigated by City regulators.It comes after the challenger bank raised £303m from investors back in July, with its chief executive Craig Donaldson at the time ruling out further cash calls to fuel the lender&r
  
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• Outrage as help-to-buy boosts Persimmon profits to £1bn

  26-02-2019 19:19
  Builder condemned for making massive gains from taxpayer-funded programmeHousebuilder Persimmon made a record-breaking £1bn profit last year – equal to more than £66,000 on every one of the homes it sold – with almost half of its house sales made through the taxpayer-funded help-to-buy scheme.The York-based builder, which sparked widespread public and political outrage for attempting to pay its former chief executive Jeff Fairburn a bonus of £110m, posted pre-tax pr
  
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• Delay to Brexit could mean a 'damaging double cliff-edge'

  26-02-2019 18:30
  Businesses face a new June deadline, leaving those preparing for no deal in limboDelaying Britain’s departure from the EU would be better for the economy in the longer term – but the move could also have a damaging impact on firms that have spent two years preparing for a 29 March exit and now face the prospect of planning for a double cliff-edge, in March and June, business leaders have warned.Companies across Britain now face the growing likelihood that the Brexit process could be
  
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• BMW says piecemeal Brexit delays 'not good' for its four UK plants

  26-02-2019 17:00
  Stop-start approach to Brexit could disrupt UK business, says head of purchasingBMW has said piecemeal delays to Brexit “would not be good” for the carmaker, spelling more uncertainty for its four UK plants.Andreas Wendt, a BMW board member and purchasing chief, said in an interview with the German industry journal Automobilwoche that a stop-start approach would add unwelcome disruption to its manufacturing in Britain. Continue reading...
  
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• Pound latest: Will the pound STRENGTHEN once a Brexit deal is agreed?

  26-02-2019 16:16 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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• Lloyds and Santander dismiss calls for Brexit back up after NOT seeing signs of downturn

  26-02-2019 16:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  BANKING giants Lloyds and Santander have dismissed calls for a plan to cover millions of pounds in charges post-Brexit, claiming they are well prepared to handle any impact.
  
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• Marks and Spencer and Ocado in talks for GROUNDBREAKING merger - share price soars

  26-02-2019 15:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  MARKS and Spencer is in talks with Ocado to form a huge joint venture that would provide it with a full online food delivery service for the first time in its 135-year history.
  
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• Vauxhall says it won't shy away from the 'dark side' in no-deal Brexit

  26-02-2019 15:12
  Chief executive issues warning of ‘unpopular decisions’ including factory closuresThe chief executive of Vauxhall owner PSA Group said the carmaker would not shy away from unpopular decisions, including shutting factories, if there is a no-deal Brexit.Carlos Tavares said PSA has built up stockpiles of parts and products in preparation for disruption, and that “the bureaucracies of supply chain are going to be disruptive if there is a no-deal [Brexit]”. Continue reading...
  
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• Saudi Aramco says oil industry faces 'crisis of perception'

  26-02-2019 15:09
  Policymakers and investors increasingly believe firms have little or no future, CEO saysSaudi Arabia’s state oil company has said the industry faces a “crisis of perception” because society believes it has no future, which it says could threaten world energy security.Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said financiers at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month had told him the sector had only a few years left because of trends such as the rise of electric car
  
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• Uber survives legal challenge brought by London cabbies

  26-02-2019 14:57
  Judge says magistrate who awarded Uber’s 15-month permit was not biasedUber has survived a high court challenge to its licence to operate in London, after judges rejected claims of bias brought by a group of black cab drivers.In a crowdfunded legal bid, drivers had argued that Uber’s 15-month permit was decided by a magistrate with conflicts of interest, making her ruling “tainted by actual or apparent bias”. Continue reading...
  
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• UK income inequality increasing as benefits cuts hit poorest

  26-02-2019 13:49
  Average income of the poorest fifth of the population shrunk by 1.6% last year, says ONSIncome inequality across Britain increased over the course of 2018 as cuts to benefits damaged the finances of poorer households while the wealthiest in society got richer, official figures show.According to the Office for National Statistics, the average income of the poorest fifth of the population after inflation contracted by 1.6% in the last financial year ending in 2018, while the average income of the
  
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• Brexit uncertainty slows economy and raises risk of job losses

  26-02-2019 13:13
  Latest Guardian analysis shows companies shutting plants and pausing investment Experts debate the Brexit outlook: ‘Stand by for gale-force winds’How has Brexit vote affected the UK economy? February verdict
  Brexit gridlock has dragged the UK economy close to stalling point as growing numbers of companies pause their spending plans, raising the risk of job losses in future, according to a Guardian analysis of developments over the past month.With less than 40 days for the government
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP/EUR hits 14-month high despite German consumer confidence

  26-02-2019 12:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound euro exchange rate edged higher today and is currently trading in the region of €1.154. GBP/EUR increased as German consumer confidence held steady, and as reports of a possible delay of Brexit saw confidence in Sterling soar.
  
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• Payday lenders preying on borrowers escape crackdown as rules rolled back

  26-02-2019 12:00
  Interest rates reach nearly 700% in some states as debate over how to regulate payday loans continuesAsha Clark doesn’t have any savings. She works full-time. She earns a minimum wage, making phone calls as a customer service representative. In Las Vegas, Nevada, where she lives, that’s $8.25 an hour. Sometimes, her paycheck isn’t enough to cover all her bills. Those are times that Clark would take out a payday loan. Related: Trump administration to roll back Obama-era payday l
  
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• Elon Musk could face contempt charge over 'inaccurate' Tesla tweet

  26-02-2019 11:15
  SEC asks judge to act after car boss allegedly breached deal to pre-approve his messagesThe US financial regulator has asked a judge to hold Tesla’s billionaire boss, Elon Musk, in contempt of court for tweeting misleading information in breach of a deal that saw him fined $20m (£15.2m) for inaccurate tweets last year.The Securities and Exchange Commission said Musk had “once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter follower
  
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• Pound US Dollar exchange rate: GBP/USD rises as PM faces resignation threats

  26-02-2019 11:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound US dollar exchange rate rose this morning and is currently trading at a rate of $1.314. This morning it emerged that UK Prime Minister Theresa May is facing the threat of three Cabinet ministers, David Gauke, Greg Clarke and Amber Rudd, resigning if she does not take no-deal off the table.
  
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• Pound LIVE: GBP Sterling jumps to 21-MONTH HIGH against euro as Brexit delay rises

  26-02-2019 10:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound surged to a 21-month high against the euro today on hopes Theresa May could delay Brexit, and Jeremy Corbyn's announcement he was backing a ‘People’s Vote’.
  
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• Why did an insurer make things more difficult after my daughter died?

  26-02-2019 08:13
  I couldn’t get a cheque for a refund on her car insurance sent directly to meMy daughter, who had cancer for more than three years, died last November. She had still been driving and just before her death renewed her car insurance with Hastings Direct. She was always full of hope she would overcome her illness.When I contacted Hastings Direct it said a refund of £371 was due. I confirmed that as there was no will, the cheque would have to be paid directly to me as the close family me
  
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• First ‘fine to flush’ wet wipes approved in drive to tackle fatbergs

  26-02-2019 08:00
  Exclusive: Natracare wipes are first to carry symbol showing they pass stricter sewer testsThe first wet wipes in the UK to be given official certification as “fine to flush” down the toilet will go on sale next month, as part of a national drive to eliminate the growing scourge of fatbergs.The organic brand Natracare is launching what it claims to be Europe’s first truly flushable moist tissue wipe and the first to carry a new symbol drawn up by Water UK, which represents wate
  
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• Britons face five-hour airport queues in Spain with no-deal Brexit

  26-02-2019 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Alicante airport is likely to be worst affected, says consumer group Which?British tourists to Spain could face airport queues of five hours or more after a no-deal Brexit, according to analysis by Which?, and the consumer group suggests travellers should take food, water and even nappies to survive prolonged delays.Alicante airport, which serves Benidorm and other Costa Blanca resorts, is likely to be the worst-affected airport, and Which? said visitors to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Málaga
  
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