Financial news

• Republicans need more than tax cuts to woo small business

  28-03-2019 21:28 via theguardian.com
  The 2017 reform has not led to increased consumer spending or a surge in investment by business owners Reducing taxes can certainly help a small business. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that a tax reduction is no silver bullet for our challenges. That’s what Republicans are learning this year and it will be a recurring issue as the country heads towards the 2020 elections. It seems that different people view the impact of a tax reduction in different ways. Related: Business own
  
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• Labour still has questions to answer on renationalisation plans | Nils Pratley

  28-03-2019 19:54 via theguardian.com
  CBI director-general sets up potential clash, urging party to ‘work with, not against’ businessCarolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI, chose a good day to pick a fight with Labour over renationalisation. Amid the Brexit pantomime, investors were studying the odds on an imminent general election and the chances of a Labour administration enacting its plans to take the energy networks, water companies, Royal Mail and the rail operators into national ownership. Shares in United
  
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• RBS faces shareholder rebellion over chief executive's pension

  28-03-2019 19:27 via theguardian.com
  Investor groups raise red flags over CEO receiving annual payments worth 35% of salaryA shareholder rebellion is brewing before Royal Bank of Scotland’s annual general meeting as investor groups raise red flags over a pay policy that involves the chief executive receiving £350,000 per year in pension payments.The Investment Association (IA) and individual shareholder society ShareSoc have released reports raising concern over pension payments for the bank’s CEO, Ross McEwan, wh
  
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• Philip Green tries to ditch stores before Arcadia restructure

  28-03-2019 19:21 via theguardian.com
  One in 10 of group’s shops shared on property list to lure rival chains to buy leasesPhilip Green is trying to quietly vacate one in 10 of his high-street stores before launching a controversial restructuring of his Arcadia fashion empire.The embattled billionaire is working on a plan that will enable his retail group, which includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, to close its worst-performing outlets and slash rent costs. Continue reading...
  
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• HP briefly scrutinised Autonomy finances before £8bn buyout, court told

  28-03-2019 18:13 via theguardian.com
  Defence alleges British software firm’s accounts underwent limited six-hour due diligenceHewlett-Packard carried out only six hours of due diligence on the finances of the British software company Autonomy before buying it for £8bn, in a deal that ended in disaster and a $5bn (£3.8bn) fraud case, according to court documents.Successor companies to HP and Autonomy are seeking more than $5bn in damages from Autonomy’s founder, Mike Lynch, and the firm’s former finance
  
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• Half of UK travel insurance policies do not cover passengers against Wow Air closure

  28-03-2019 16:59 via theguardian.com
  As the Icelandic budget carrier closes, analysis reveals that almost 50% of insurance policies do not protect against airlines going bustAn independent financial information company has warned that 46% of travel insurance policies do not include protection against airline failure, which means many Wow Air passengers will not be covered for cancelled flights as a result of the airline’s closure on Thursday.Defaqto, which rates products including travel policies, has said that travellers are
  
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• Eurozone WARNING: Economy 'NOT resilient enough' for financial crisis – Lagarde panic

  28-03-2019 16:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE eurozone economy is “not resilient enough” to withstand another financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned today.
  
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• Housebuilding in England flat – despite Theresa May's 'mission'

  28-03-2019 16:41 via theguardian.com
  Construction slows in final three months of 2018, with work begun on 40,580 homes Housebuilding slowed in the final three months of 2018 and was flat for the whole of the year, despite Theresa May’s promise to make a personal mission to oversee an increase in housebuilding.Figures released by the housing ministry showed building work began on 40,580 homes in England during the final quarter of 2018 – 8% down on the previous three months. Continue reading...
  
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• City watchdog fines Goldman Sachs £34.4m for misreporting

  28-03-2019 16:24 via theguardian.com
  Bank criticised over ‘serious and prolonged failures’ on 213m transactions in a decadeGoldman Sachs has been fined £34.4m by the City regulator for misreporting millions of transactions over a decade.The US investment bank was criticised by the Financial Conduct Authority for “serious and prolonged failures” at its London-based international arm after reports for more than 213m transactions between November 2007 and March 2017 were not filed in an accurate and timel
  
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• If we want our diplomats to charm the world, they need stylish residences | Oliver Miles

  28-03-2019 14:10 via theguardian.com
  The £12m penthouse for the UK’s trade commissioner in New York is money well spentDiplomacy is about communication. Diplomats, particularly senior ones, often have to deal with the rich and powerful. They cannot of course match the lifestyle of kings, presidents, feudal lords, business tycoons, press barons and so on. But all governments, except the most impoverished (and some of them as well), find it wise to have them deal with such people on something like equal terms. That requir
  
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• Have the Boeing crashes shaken our faith in flying? | Gwyn Topham

  28-03-2019 13:08 via theguardian.com
  It’s still the safest form of transport. Perhaps that’s why honest public conversations about risk are so rareTransport bosses need little prodding in public to utter the words “safety is our number one priority” – a mantra so widespread that, as with an English person inquiring “How do you do?” the inherent insincerity is barely noted.Clearly, the main objective of rail companies, airlines or carmakers is moving people or things, for profit, with all th
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP drops as Mario Draghi blames global risks for eurozone woes

  28-03-2019 12:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound euro exchange rate is falling today and is currently trading around €1.166.
  
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• Five-year passes for Wimbledon tennis will net owner £200m

  28-03-2019 12:50 via theguardian.com
  All England Lawn Tennis Club will use money to repay loan for roof and buy golf clubThe owner of the Wimbledon tennis tournament is set to rake in more than £200m by selling five-year passes for every match on Centre Court.The All England Lawn Tennis Club announced on Thursday that the price of the 2,520 debenture tickets being sold for the 2021-25 tournaments would be £80,000 each.Continue reading...
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP flat against USD as Theresa May promises to resign

  28-03-2019 12:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound US dollar exchange rate is muted as Brexit uncertainty continues with the pairing currently trading at around $1.315.
  
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• Turkey election latest: Turkish lira DIVES as Erdogan support PLUNGES

  28-03-2019 11:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  TURKEY saw its lira dive by as much as five percent against the US dollar this morning after the central bank revealed a drop in international reserves ahead of local elections this weekend.
  
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• Pound LIVE: GBP Sterling lower against euro and US dollar after DUP Brexit blow

  28-03-2019 10:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound is trading lower this morning after DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed the Northern Irish party "cannot sign up" to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
  
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• WOW Air COLLAPSES: Icelandic airline confirms end of operations – ALL flights cancelled

  28-03-2019 09:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  WOW air has closed down with the Icelandic airline cancelling all flights after confirming the end of operations.
  
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• Competition watchdog to investigate funeral sector as prices escalate

  28-03-2019 09:51 via theguardian.com
  Cost has increased by 6% each year – twice the inflation rate – for last 14 years, says CMABritain’s competition watchdog is launching a full investigation into the UK funeral market after it found the cost of organising a funeral increased by 6% each year – twice the inflation rate – for the last 14 years.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said funerals typically cost several thousand pounds and it accused some funeral directors of taking advantage by char
  
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• Tui blamed BA for bumping me off a flight when it made a mistake

  28-03-2019 07:59 via theguardian.com
  We were told the airline had overbooked, but the travel firm didn’t pay for the seats in timeI booked a family trip to the Dominican Republic with travel agent Tui. A month before departure, Tui called stating the BA flight had been overbooked and we had been bumped off. Generally, passengers get bumped off a few hours before takeoff. Tui customer service blamed BA and offered us some unpalatable alternatives – to cancel or fly via Paris or Manchester, adding at least five hours to o
  
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