Financial news

• Neil Woodford dealt further investment fund blow

  13-06-2019 20:30 via theguardian.com
  Hargreaves Lansdown pulls £45m from remaining open fundEmbattled stock-picker Neil Woodford is struggling to stem outflows from his remaining open fund, with Hargreaves Lansdown dealing a major blow by pulling £45m this week.Woodford’s Income Focus Fund has shrunk by 25% since June 3, when the fund manager made the shock decision to suspend trading in his flagship Equity Income Fund. The move trapped thousands of customers’ investments for at least 28 days and sparked an
  
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• Majestic Wine shares plunge after company suspends dividend

  13-06-2019 20:02 via theguardian.com
  Sale of 200-store chain could slip into 2020, although talks are at ‘advanced stage’Shares in Majestic Wine have fallen sharply after the company suspended its dividend and warned that the sale of its retail chain could slip into 2020.The chief executive, Rowan Gormley, said sale talks were at an “advanced stage”, with “multiple bidders” interested in the 200-store chain. However, if a deal was not signed by the summer’s end, the company, which also owns
  
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• My Supermarket Sweep hell: how a visa scam ruined my holiday | Brigid Delaney's diary

  13-06-2019 20:00
  I got scammed by a fake visa website and had to panic buy presents before my money was cut off. No time!I apply for an Indian tourist visa after going online and googling “India tourist visa”.I have travelled to India before – and unfortunately was robbed on my first day (during a street food tour in Old Delhi) after I gave my wallet to a friend to put in his backpack for safekeeping. While sampling samosas, his backpack was slashed with a knife and my wallet taken. Continue re
  
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• Oil tanker attacks will inflame conflict between the US, its allies and Iran

  13-06-2019 18:34 via theguardian.com
  The explosions, on a vital passageway for the world’s oil supply, may prove Trump’s policy of coercion has backfiredThe explosions were bigger and the damage more extensive. But the message and its means of delivery have some similarities.Thursday’s attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman caused jitters in global markets and unease across a region that has been bracing for conflict throughout much of the year. As with the earlier attacks on 12 May, news of the latest str
  
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• Moving away from GDP as a measure of success | Letters

  13-06-2019 18:20 via theguardian.com
  Lawrence Lockhart, John Airs, Peter Wrigley and Jeremy Cushing respond to an article by Dan ButtonAs an economist I endorse Dan Button’s article (Stop obsessing about GDP: we should focus on wellbeing, 11 June). The most we can say is that a succession of GDP figures over months should indicate whether the economy is growing or moving into recession. Also aggregate GDP statistics tell us nothing about how national wealth and income are distributed: globalisation in recent decades has incre
  
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• UK to be left with five coal power stations after latest closure

  13-06-2019 18:11 via theguardian.com
  News comes as National Grid announces greenest winter for energy use after mild weatherThe UK’s race to increase renewable energy sources has intensified with the announcement of plans to close another coal-fired power station.The news on Thursday came as last winter was revealed to be the greenest yet for the country’s energy system, after strong winds produced more renewable electricity and coal-fired power dwindled. Continue reading...
  
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• What financial advice would you have given to your younger self?

  13-06-2019 17:27
  From pension pots to property and investments, we asked three people with a wealth of experience what they wish they had known earlier on in lifeIt’s often said that we regret the things we didn’t do more than the things we did. The road not taken. But these regrets are typically rooted in explicit choices and decisions we’ve made. Often, however, we regret things that we weren’t even aware were options – the roads we didn’t know about. This kind of regret is
  
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• Government has failed to rein in 'extravagant' CEO pay, say MPs

  13-06-2019 17:18 via theguardian.com
  Committee says not linking top bosses’ pay to that of workforce is missed opportunityAn influential committee of MPs has criticised the government for its failure to curb “extravagant” boardroom pay packages.In a report in March, the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee argued companies must do more to link leading executives’ pay to that of the rest of their workforce. Continue reading...
  
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• FCA report into RBS called a 'complete whitewash' by critics

  13-06-2019 17:15
  Watchdog will take no action despite evidence of business customers being mistreated after 2008 crashA report by the City watchdog into the scandal at Royal Bank of Scotland’s turnaround unit has been described as a whitewash after the regulator confirmed it would not punish the bank for mistreating business customers following the financial crash.The Financial Conduct Authority’s final report into RBS’s now-defunct Global Restructuring Group (GRG) said it would take no action
  
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• FCA report into RBS branded 'complete whitewash' by critics

  13-06-2019 17:15 via theguardian.com
  Report says watchdog will take no action despite evidence of mistreatment of business customers after 2008 crashA report by the City watchdog into the scandal at Royal Bank of Scotland’s turnaround unit has been branded a whitewash after the regulator confirmed it would not punish the bank for mistreating business customers in the wake of the financial crash.The Financial Conduct Authority’s final report into RBS’s now-defunct Global Restructuring Group said it would take no ac
  
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• What impact could oil tanker attacks have on global economy?

  13-06-2019 16:15 via theguardian.com
  Strait of Hormuz incidents underline threat hanging over busy shipping laneTwo oil tankers attacked in Gulf of OmanAttacks targeting two oil tankers in the strait of Hormuz on Thursday followed strikes against four ships a month ago. The US has blamed Iran for the action and the oil price has risen as a consequence. Here we examine the potential impact on the global economy. Continue reading...
  
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• Evening Standard and Independent could face inquiry over Saudi funds

  13-06-2019 15:09 via theguardian.com
  Culture secretary will decide this month whether regulators should look into deal The Evening Standard and the Independent could face a government investigation into whether they can guarantee accurate reporting of the news after a mysterious investor with “strong links to the Saudi Arabian state” bought substantial stakes in the publications.The culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, said he was minded to order regulators to look into the sale of 30% holdings in the two news outlets by t
  
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• Amazon and Morrisons expand same-day grocery deliveries

  13-06-2019 14:21 via theguardian.com
  Deal puts pressure on rival supermarkets as online giant moves deeper into UK sectorAmazon is ramping up the pressure on the UK’s traditional food retailers after signing a deal with Morrisons to deliver groceries across the UK.Morrisons’ groceries will be available for same-day delivery in five new cities this year – Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth – and the service will be expanded to further cities in future. Continue reading...
  
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• Sir Philip Green admits his shops didn't adapt to changing high street

  13-06-2019 12:26 via theguardian.com
  Arcadia boss pledges to get on with job of countering online threat after creditors back rescue planSir Philip Green has admitted his retail chains have not moved quickly enough to adapt to the changing high street after creditors backed a restructuring plan that will involve the closure of 50 Arcadia Group stores and 1,000 job losses.In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Green vowed to “get to work, grasp this new marketplace and get on with the job” to get Arcad
  
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• Want to get drunk and play with rats? San Francisco has your bait | Gene Marks

  13-06-2019 12:00 via theguardian.com
  San Francisco’s Rat Bar lets drinkers hold, play and run around with clean, domesticated rats – clearly the owners know their demographicWhat could be more relaxing after a hard day’s work than sitting back with a few friends, sipping a cool cocktail and letting a bunch of rats run all over you? If that’s the kind of thing you’re into I would suggest that you seek out medical counsel. Or, just go to the Rat Bar.The Rat Bar is actually a pop-up event where drinkers c
  
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• Tesco reports sharp slowdown in underlying sales growth

  13-06-2019 10:23 via theguardian.com
  Supermarket blames political uncertainty and volatile weather for drop in consumer spendingTesco has reported a sharp slowdown in underlying sales growth, as political uncertainty and volatile weather held back consumer spending.Like-for-like sales at Britain’s biggest supermarket chain rose 0.4% year-on-year in its first quarter ended 25 May, down from 1.7% in the previous three months. Total sales fell 0.4%, hit by the firm’s decision to close its non-food arm Tesco Direct last Jul
  
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• Seven ways to make Windows 10 work better

  13-06-2019 09:00
  FlintyMcQwerty asked for tips to fix or avoid problems with the operating systemPlease share all your favourite tips, tricks and techniques for harnessing the power, panache and pulchritude of Windows 10. (Apologies, Jack, for my ineluctable tendency to alliterate.) FlintyMcQwertyLast week’s answer provoked a lot of discussion about Windows 10. I can’t do anything about the more hysterical complaints but many issues can be resolved by spending a few minutes in the settings app. I&rsq
  
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• Why are we still pretending 'trickle-down' economics work? | Morris Pearl

  13-06-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Art Laffer, ‘godfather’ of supply-side economic theory, is going to be awarded a presidential medal. He doesn’t deserve itNext Wednesday, Donald Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the arch-conservative economist Art Laffer.Sadly, Laffer’s career has been heavy on punditry, light in academic rigor, and absolutely destructive for the average American and the long-term health and sustainability of our economy. Continue reading...
  
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• A Virgin Media salesman persuaded me to switch to a pricier deal

  13-06-2019 08:00
  He told me my broadband supplier EE had been taken over by BT, so my contract was null and voidWhen a Virgin Media salesman called at my home, I told him I was with EE. He said the contract was null and void as EE had been bought by BT, and persuaded me to sign a contract costing £10 a month more than EE. I then discovered my EE contract was live and I would have to pay a £118 early termination fee. EE has been excellent and waived it, but when I rang Virgin to ask about its complain
  
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• Most help-to-buy recipients could already afford a home

  13-06-2019 01:01 via theguardian.com
  NAO criticises scheme that has proven controversial as housebuilders’ profits have dramatically increasedMore than half of people using the government’s help-to-buy loan scheme could have purchased a home without support from the state, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.In a critical report into the government’s flagship scheme to help more people get on the property ladder, the National Audit Office said about three-fifths of buyers could have bought a home with
  
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