Financial news

• Gig economy: worker loses Pimlico Plumbers holiday pay claim

  20-03-2019 20:41 via theguardian.com
  Man who won earlier workers’ rights case against firm is not entitled to £74,000, court rulesA heating engineer who won a claim against Pimlico Plumbers at the supreme court, establishing he was a worker and not self-employed, has lost his bid to claim £74,000 in holiday pay as a result.An employment tribunal in Croydon ruled on Wednesday that Gary Smith, from Kent, who worked at the firm for six years until 2011, had not filed his holiday pay claim quickly enough. Continue rea
  
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• The welcome sight of banks rowing back on executive pensions | Nils Pratley

  20-03-2019 20:04 via theguardian.com
  HSBC and Lloyds are showing the way, but it’s still one rule for bosses and another for staffAt HSBC and Lloyds in the past week, we’ve been treated to a rare sight: boards deciding not to defend the indefensible on executive pay. The issue has been executive pensions, territory in which large companies have spouted more self-serving nonsense than in almost any other area of boardroom rewards. If the mini-capitulations by the two banks prompt a wider rethink, bring it on. Current pen
  
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• Superdry founder's return dealt blow by shareholder advisers

  20-03-2019 19:01 via theguardian.com
  Julian Dunkerton is battling to return to the company after a dive in its share priceSuperdry founder Julian Dunkerton’s ambition to return to the fashion brand was dealt a blow on Wednesday when two leading shareholder advisory groups came out against his reappointment.ISS said Dunkerton’s return should not be supported as Superdry’s problems were at least partly the result of his decision-making, while Pirc said his presence on the board would make it insufficiently independe
  
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• Volvo to install cameras in new cars to reduce road deaths

  20-03-2019 18:38 via theguardian.com
  The Swedish carmaker says the cameras will detect early signs of intoxicationVolvo will introduce cameras in its new cars to watch out for drink driving in a bid to reduce the number of deaths on the road.The cameras will be one of multiple sensors that will measure if a driver is showing signs of intoxication, Volvo said on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
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• French customs strike continues to cause cross-channel travel chaos

  20-03-2019 18:36 via theguardian.com
  Eurostar delays caused by more rigorous checks to highlight lack of Brexit preparationsA work-to-rule strike by French customs officers warning they are not ready for Brexit is likely to stretch into next week and cause further chaos on Eurostar trains and channel ports.At Gare du Nord in Paris on Wednesday, hundreds of passengers queued in lines stretching the full length of the station, with an estimated six-hour wait for trains to the UK. Eurostar has encouraged people not to travel at all be
  
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• Instagram users will be able to buy from brands on platform

  20-03-2019 17:42 via theguardian.com
  ‘Checkout on Instagram’ is new e-commerce service available to US customersFacebook is moving into retail, as the company partners with more than 20 brands to allow Instagram users to buy clothes, accessories and makeup on the social network without leaving the app.“Checkout on Instagram” is a step up from previous shopping features on the service, which ultimately pushed buyers to a brand’s web page to complete transactions. Users were then required to enter paymen
  
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• House price growth at six-year low and inflation rises to 1.9%

  20-03-2019 13:48 via theguardian.com
  UK is predicted to suffer first fall in prices since 2011 towards the end of this yearHouse prices grew at the slowest rate since 2013 in January, according to official figures that signalled the UK was heading later this year for the first fall in property values since the financial crash.Average house prices in the UK increased by 1.7% in the year to January 2019, down from 2.2% in December 2018 and 5.1% in October 2017, the Office for National Statistics said. Continue reading...
  
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• Pound LIVE: GBP Sterling trades lower as Theresa May to ask EU for 'short delay' to Brexit

  20-03-2019 10:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound is trading lower against the euro and US dollar today as reports suggest Theresa May will not ask European Union chiefs for a long Brexit delay.
  
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• B&Q owner to shut 15 more stores as Kingfisher’s profits plunge 52 PERCENT

  20-03-2019 09:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  B&Q owner Kingfisher is considering axing another 15 stores amid tumbling annual profits.
  
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• Pilot, lawyer, medic: meet the people who turned video game careers into real ones

  20-03-2019 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Games can offer a window on to other jobs as well as other worlds. Three players explain how their favourite games guided working life choicesBack in 2016, the current Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that his interest in the managerial aspect of the beautiful game came from a video game. Having led an illustrious career as a United striker, famously the super-sub who scored the winning goal in the 1999 Champion’s League final, it was Solksjaer’s experience with t
  
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• Amyas Morse: ‘I’m angry when ministers waste taxpayers’ billions’

  20-03-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The outgoing National Audit Office chief says every wasted £1bn could pay for millions of visits to A&E and ambulance calloutsI still get angry – and that is the word for it, angry – 10 years into the role, when I see badly-thought-through programmes and wasted public money,” says outgoing watchdog chief Sir Amyas Morse. “And the reason I’m angry is because the citizen ends up picking up the tab. They are the ones who end up suffering.”For almost a d
  
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• Why did P&O use a shuttle bus on our cruise to Amsterdam?

  20-03-2019 07:59 via theguardian.com
  The company moved the berth of our cruise ship to a port 30km away from the cityA group of us booked a four-day P&O cruise from Southampton on 22 March, docking in Amsterdam early Saturday until late Monday giving us direct access to the city. Last month, we learned the ship will dock at a location 40 minutes away by shuttle bus. P&O did not contact us about this. Anyone wishing to take three daily meals on board (part of the package) and spend the rest of the day in Amsterdam, would spe
  
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• Report calls for reform of 'unhealthy' land ownership in Scotland

  20-03-2019 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Commission set up by Scottish government recommends new powers to split monopoliesScottish land ownership rules must be radically reformed to reverse the concentration of the countryside in the hands of a small number of ultra-wealthy individuals and public bodies, a major review has warned.The study by the Scottish Land Commission, a government quango, says that in extreme cases where landowners abuse their power they could face compulsory purchase or community buyouts. Continue reading...
  
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