Financial news

• As working women we have been short-changed. It’s not our problem alone to fix | Eleni Roussos

  08-03-2019 22:00 via theguardian.com
  Women are expected to happily toil away at home and in the office, only to see their salary eaten up by childcare and taxDuring a recent dash into my local chemist to buy infant formula, I came face to face with a cashier at the register who wanted to know why I wasn’t breastfeeding my baby. With my daughter on my hip and exhausted from a rough night, I was unprepared to handle what felt like an interrogation and hurried out as quickly as I could.“Is she sleeping through?” and
  
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• Commuters warned of 'teething problems' with new rail timetable

  08-03-2019 21:57 via theguardian.com
  Rail Delivery Group says lessons have been learned following last summer’s chaotic timetable overhaulPassengers face “teething problems” on the rail network when new timetables are introduced in May, the organisation that represents the industry has warned. However, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said that the introduction of more than 1,000 extra services will help to tackle overcrowding.Last May there was chaos when Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – the parent company of
  
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• Debenhams urges watchdog to look at Mike Ashley coup attempt

  08-03-2019 19:32
  Concerns raised about potential concentration of control in hands of one manDebenhams has called on the competition watchdog to intervene in an attempted boardroom coup by the Sports Direct and House of Fraser boss Mike Ashley.Shares in the ailing department store rose nearly 16% on Friday, or less than half a penny to 3.53p, after Ashley issued a shock stock market announcement calling a Debenhams shareholder meeting to oust nearly all the department store’s directors and install himself
  
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• Global economic fears mount as US job growth stalls and Chinese exports tumble - as it happened

  08-03-2019 19:28
  America’s non-farm payroll only rose by 20,000 in February, much weaker than expected, and the lowest monthly growth in almost 18 monthsLatest: US jobs report shock!Construction sector cut jobsBut wage growth rose to 3.4%Earlier:Norway to stop investing in exploration and production firmsChinese exports plunged 20% in FebruaryChina’s stock market slides, Europe down too6.28pm GMT Time for a quick recap.Unexpectedly weak US job figures, and a shock tumble in Chinese exports, have reig
  
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• The verdict on 10 years of quantitative easing

  08-03-2019 18:54
  In March 2009 the Bank of England began to slash interest and buy bonds – has it worked?Over the past decade an experiment has been underway in Britain since the Bank of England reduced interest rates to almost zero and cranked up the money printing presses of quantitative easing.Ten years ago this week, Threadneedle Street dropped borrowing costs down to the lowest level in the Banks 324 years of existence and embarked on the bond buying programme of QE, never before tested in Britain. Co
  
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• Brexit BOOST: GDP to FLOURISH post-Brexit as UK economy rids ‘EU DRAG’

  08-03-2019 18:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE UK is due to leave the European Union in just three weeks but Theresa May is yet to strike an exit deal. As the Brexit deadline nears, an expert has revealed how the economy will thrive post-Brexit.
  
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• Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green menswear brand calls in advisers

  08-03-2019 18:14
  Loss-making label founded by ex-Oasis frontman reviewing options including saleLiam Gallagher’s loss-making menswear brand Pretty Green has appointed advisers to review options for the future of the business.The brand, founded by the former Oasis frontman in 2009, told the trade journal Drapers it was “not immune to the challenges currently facing the UK high street” and had appointed restructuring and insolvency experts Moorfields Advisory to help consider ways forward, includ
  
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• Ocado could face customer exodus after M&S deal, poll suggests

  08-03-2019 17:47
  Survey shows many shoppers loyal to Waitrose and don’t see M&S as ‘adequate replacement’ Ocado risks a customer exodus as a result of its tie-up with Marks & Spencer after a straw poll by analysts suggested shoppers were loyal to Waitrose and did not see M&S products as an “adequate” replacement.On Friday, a note by HSBC’s retail analyst David McCarthy revealed the opinions of 250 Ocado shoppers on the deal, views which he described as “worry
  
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• Let’s move to Brentford, west London: its finer moments are the grungier ones

  08-03-2019 17:30
  It’s as if some deranged, power-filled local politician had spliced Putney with the lower reaches of PudongWhat’s going for it? Walking along the Thames, from Kew to Twickenham, you’d be momentarily excused for wondering where you were. Brentford is an odd place, as if some deranged, power-filled local politician had spliced, say, Putney with the lower reaches of Pudong. It has all the usual accoutrements of a west London suburb: a pleasant enough old, bricky centre, snug pubs,
  
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• Norway's $1tn wealth fund to divest from oil and gas exploration

  08-03-2019 17:03
  World’s largest sovereign wealth fund was created to invest North Sea oil profitsThe world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which manages $1tn (£770bn) of Norway’s assets, is to dump investments in firms that explore for oil and gas, but will still hold stakes in firms such as BP and Shell that have renewable energy divisions.The Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), whose assets exceed those of rival sovereign wealth funds such as China’s, said it would phase out
  
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• Broadband SHOCK: Half of homes NOT getting best deal - here’s how to find out if you are

  08-03-2019 16:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  MILLIONS of people could be getting faster internet at their homes without paying any more, according to a new report.
  
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• State Pension 2019: Could state pension GO UP in no deal Brexit?

  08-03-2019 15:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  STATE pensions will undergo some dramatic changes this year. But could state pension go up if there is a no deal Brexit?
  
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• End of the booze cruise? Calais wine stores run dry amid pre-Brexit stockpiling

  08-03-2019 15:35
  Day trips across the Channel rising as shoppers race to beat a no-deal BrexitIt looks like there has been a heist in the Calais Wine Superstore, with some floor displays stripped of the box towers of prosecco, pinot grigio and cabernet sauvignon that are usually piled up to the ceiling.The wine warehouse has become a victim of its own success. Its “beat Brexit bonanza sale”, which included three-litre boxes of the South African red Namaqua being marked down to £3.99, has whippe
  
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• Bitcoin: Is cryptocurrency building up to something big?

  08-03-2019 15:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  If Nostradamus was still around and somehow been persuaded to attempt a prediction for bitcoin over the next few days, he’d likely be looking extremely bewildered.
  
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• Footage of cracks in North Ayrshire nuclear reactor released

  08-03-2019 13:48
  EDF Energy says cracks in offline Hunterston B reactor growing faster than expectedFootage has been released of cracks found inside a reactor at a nuclear plant in Scotland.The unit at Hunterston B in North Ayrshire has not been operating after the cracks were found to be growing faster than expected. Continue reading...
  
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• The women farming in disaster zones – in pictures

  08-03-2019 13:00
  Across the world, millions of farm animals are owned by women, providing an important source of food, income – and social status. Empowering these farmers means helping them ensure their animals survivePhotos by World Animal Protection Continue reading...
  
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• The companies who co-opt International Women’s Day should be ashamed | Josie Cox

  08-03-2019 12:55
  What do dashcams and cut-price dentistry have to do with advancing the cause of equality? Absolutely nothingAs a journalist, there are two weeks of the year when I might as well have an auto-delete function for almost all pitch emails, adverts and press releases that arrive in my inbox. The first is the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the second is the week before International Women’s Day.The former may not surprise you. I’ve always thought that Valentine’s Day is a
  
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• Geneva motor show: Brexit, electric cars and luxury dominate agenda

  08-03-2019 12:33
  With sales under pressure, carmakers gather to show off their latest offeringsWorld’s most expensive new car snapped up for £9.5mIn pictures – Geneva goes electric: 2019 motor showCarmakers gathering at the annual Geneva motor show this week were hoping the Alpine spring air and customary launches of new models would be a springboard for an industry fightback.Some of the world’s largest manufacturers have stumbled in the past 12 months, with sales under pressure on variou
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP/EUR steadies despite plunging German factory orders

  08-03-2019 12:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound to euro exchange rate is holding steady today and is currently trading around €1.169. GBP/EUR is rangebound following the release of the German factory orders figures for January, which plunged by -2.6 per cent, their biggest drop in seven months.
  
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• Appledore shipyard closure a loss of jobs, skills and way of life

  08-03-2019 12:00
  The Devon site where vessels have been lovingly built since 1855 is about to fall silentFor 164 years, the Appledore yard has been alive with the clang and clatter of shipbuilding. Hundreds of ships – navy vessels, patrol boats, parts of aircraft carriers, dredgers and super yachts – have been built on the banks of the River Torridge in north Devon with skill and love.But the yard, where once almost 1,000 people worked, is about to fall silent when the engineering giant Babcock Inter
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP/USD muted as May pushes for backstop changes

  08-03-2019 11:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  This morning, the pound is rangebound against the US dollar, and the pairing is currently trading at around $1.309. As there is a lack of UK economic data out today, Brexit is likely to remain the main catalyst for movement in Sterling.
  
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• Video reveals dirty hotel rooms allegedly designated for Aboriginal guests – video

  08-03-2019 10:03
  Video taken by the ABC’s Background Briefing program shows an example of a dirty, unkempt room at the Accor hotel in Alice Springs that is allegedly given only to Aboriginal customers while clean rooms are reserved for non-Aboriginal guests. Both rooms cost the same rate. The international hotel giant Accor, which owns the hotel, says it has launched an investigation into allegations staff have been segregating Aboriginal guests in lower quality rooms and has ordered cultural training for
  
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• EU PANIC STATIONS: Euro growth projections CUT as ECB revives crisis-era economic stimulus

  08-03-2019 09:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  EUROPEAN Central Bank president Mario Draghi has blamed continued "weakness and pervasive uncertainty" as he revealed record low rates will continue "at least through to the end of 2019".
  
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• Carlos Ghosn's lawyer apologises as workman disguise ploy backfires

  08-03-2019 09:30
  Former Nissan chief widely mocked for leaving detention dressed as workmanA lawyer on Carlos Ghosn’s defence team has apologised for encouraging him to leave detention this week disguised as a workman, saying he feared he had damaged the former Nissan chair’s reputation.Not only did the widely mocked getup, intended to throw reporters off the scent, fool no one. It also heightened already intense media interest in Ghosn, who was released on bail on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Cash ISAs SHOCK: Customers hit with HUGE tax bills for their ISAs - could you be affected?

  08-03-2019 08:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  CASH ISA customers have been hit with HMRC tax bills, despite the savings accounts professing to be tax-free. Could you be affected?
  
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• State pension changes for 2019: Pressure mounts to deliver 'fairness' as pension age rises

  08-03-2019 08:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE STATE pension age is increasing this year, marking the first time since World War Two that men and women will receive their pension over the age of 65.
  
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• I was told it could take 12 weeks to get a refund for a flight

  08-03-2019 08:00
  The agent said it would take time to process, but I need the money for a house purchaseSeven months ago I paid the agent Travelup over £2,300 for a return flight from Manchester to Port Harcourt in Nigeria with Air France. Recently, I was told that the return flight had been rerouted and was offered a refund, which I accepted. To my horror I was told this could take up to 12 weeks to arrive.Continue reading...
  
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• Homes with a mishmash of styles – in pictures

  08-03-2019 08:00
  There’s a blend of different styles and periods at these quirky properties, from Kent to Yorkshire Continue reading...
  
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• Gender equality is not a ‘women’s issue’ – it’s good for men too | Julia Gillard

  08-03-2019 07:00
  There are plenty of proud male feminists, but to make equality a reality we need to draw more into the conversationMen have always played critical roles in the women’s movement. From John Stuart Mill to Fredrick Douglass, male allies have long supported the struggle for gender equality. And today there are plenty of men who are proud feminists – just ask Andy Murray, who hired and championed a female coach, Amélie Mauresmo; or Ryan Gosling, who has become something of a femini
  
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• Gender data gap and a world built for men | podcast

  08-03-2019 07:00
  Today is International Women’s Day, and so Science Weekly teams up with the Guardian’s tech podcast, Chips with Everything. Nicola Davis and Jordan Erica Webber look at the repercussions of a male-orientated world – from drugs that don’t work for women to VR headsets that give them motion sicknessToday is International Women’s Day, so Science Weekly is teaming up with the Guardian’s tech podcast, Chips with Everything. Together, they examine the gender data ga
  
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• Big firms lying about female and minority directors, says top business chief

  08-03-2019 06:00
  Exclusive: Charlotte Valeur says she will call for new laws if FTSE 350 firms don’t improve diversityThe new chair of one of the UK’s most influential business groups has accused Britain’s biggest companies of lying when they say they cannot find enough female or ethnic minority directors.Charlotte Valeur, who joined the Institute of Directors (IoD) in September, said she would start calling for new laws next year to force firms to improve their diversity if FTSE 350 companies
  
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• UK vulnerable to money laundering on a massive scale, find MPs

  08-03-2019 01:01
  ‘Fragmented’ system inadequate to prevent influx of dirty money, says Treasury committeeHundreds of billions of pounds could be being laundered through the UK every year, but the government is unable to give a precise figure of the scale of the problem, MPs have found.In a report on economic crime, the Treasury committee said the scale of the problem in the UK was very uncertain, with estimates ranging from tens of billions of pounds upwards. Continue reading...
  
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