Financial news

• State pension: How to get an extra £2,500 a year - do you qualify for pension credit?

  26-06-2019 23:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE STATE pension is leaving millions in poverty, it has been warned. Are you eligible for benefits such as pension credit?
  
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• Stagecoach happy to miss the train, but its bad news for the punters | Nils Pratley

  26-06-2019 20:54 via theguardian.com
  Rail franchise bidding has become a contest to find which unsuitable bidder will limp over the lineNow it’s formal. Stagecoach will be off the rails in November. The company won’t bid for new UK rail franchises because it thinks the Department for Transport is unfairly trying to load “unquantifiable and unmanageable” pension risks on to operators. The group’s wholly owned operation on the east Midlands line ends in August and its joint venture with Virgin on the wes
  
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• Ikea could soon start building ‘affordable’ homes in the UK based on what YOU can pay

  26-06-2019 19:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  IKEA could be about to start building affordable homes in the UK after a council gave the green light to a new collaboration to address the housing crisis gripping the nation.
  
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• US-China showdown: Global economy ‘will plunge into recession’ if G20 meeting turns sour

  26-06-2019 19:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE global economy could be plunged into recession if talks between United States President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping end badly when the two leaders meet this weekend at the G20 summit, an analyst has warned.
  
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• Give MPs six months’ parental leave without delay | Letter

  26-06-2019 19:07 via theguardian.com
  We believe the current process discriminates against women and acts as a deterrent to gender equality within Westminster, writes an alliance of charities and campaignersWe write as an alliance of charities and campaigners to express our support for the development of a transparent procedure and budget that would allow all MPs to have access to six months’ parental and adoption leave. We therefore call on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) to take the lead on this matt
  
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• TENZING: Thirst for natural ENERGY DRINK prompts UK manufacturing plan

  26-06-2019 19:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE British firm behind Tenzing, the plant-based energy drink whose low-calorie boosters offer natural alternatives to artificial additives, has plans to start manufacturing in the UK this year.
  
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• Caledonian Sleeper suffers setbacks with Highlands train delay

  26-06-2019 18:12 via theguardian.com
  Luxury trains will not appear until after summer season, says operator SercoThe troubled Caledonian Sleeper has suffered a fresh setback, with new trains on its Highlands service now unlikely to appear until after the summer holiday season.The flagship overnight train, billed as a hotel on wheels, has been plagued by problems on the lowland route between London, Edinburgh and Glasgow since the introduction of a new £150m fleet. Continue reading...
  
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• Uncovered: the £200m theme park, the businessman – and the missing millions

  26-06-2019 18:00 via theguardian.com
  A Guardian/ITV News undercover investigation raises concerns about Gavin Woodhouse, who is behind project endorsed by Bear Grylls
  Gavin Woodhouse: entrepreneur says he is ‘a man who delivers’‘I’m devastated’: Gavin Woodhouse care home investor speaks outHow Gavin Woodhouse raised millions for a string of stalled projectsA new £200m outdoor adventure park, which is being launched with the support of the celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls, is being fronted by a fi
  
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• Boots to open concept store in London with YouTube studio

  26-06-2019 17:58 via theguardian.com
  Outlet in Covent Garden that has beauty hall and free water tap is part of revamp of chainBoots is opening a concept store featuring a beauty hall with its own YouTube studio as part of one of the biggest makeovers in the retailer’s 170-year history.The health and beauty chain’s new outlet, which will open on Thursday in Covent Garden, central London, is the first of a string of revamped shops to be rolled out by Sebastian James, the Boots managing director. Continue reading...
  
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• Bank of England could cut interest rates in event of no-deal Brexit

  26-06-2019 17:37 via theguardian.com
  Governor Mark Carney says no deal would probably require stimulus for the economyMark Carney has indicated that the Bank of England could have to cut interest rates should Britain crash out of the EU without a deal as he said the mounting risks of such a scenario were slowing down growth.Answering questions from MPs on the Commons Treasury committee on Wednesday, the governor of the Bank said a no-deal Brexit would probably require economic stimulus. Continue reading...
  
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• Switzerland-EU stock row: London Stock Exchange could suspend trading in Swiss stocks

  26-06-2019 17:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE London Stock Exchange has warned it will not be able to host trading in Swiss stocks unless a standoff between Switzerland and the European Union is settled.
  
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• Bank of England no deal Brexit fears have risen: Will Bank of England cut interest rates?

  26-06-2019 15:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE BANK OF ENGLAND has warned a no deal Brexit could send shockwaves through the British economy - but will the UK’s central bank cut interest rates as fears of a no deal Brexit soar?
  
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• Bathstore collapses: UK bath specialists plunge into administration – 500 jobs at risk

  26-06-2019 14:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  BATHSTORE has collapsed into administration, leaving more than 500 jobs at risk of being axed.
  
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• Bathstore goes into administration, putting 500 jobs at risk

  26-06-2019 14:46 via theguardian.com
  UK’s biggest bathroom specialist hopes to ‘fulfil majority of outstanding orders’Bathstore, the UK’s biggest bathroom specialist, has collapsed into administration after failing to find a buyer, putting more than 500 jobs at risk.The loss-making company has appointed administrators at the business services firm BDO, which said the retailer would continue to trade for now in the hope it could be sold as a going concern. So far, administrators have not received any offers.
  
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• Wall’s sausages maker Kerry Foods to shut down Staffordshire factory – 900 jobs at risk

  26-06-2019 14:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  WALL’S sausages maker Kerry Foods has unveiled plans to shut down a factory in Staffordshire with 900 jobs at risk of being axed after Tesco changed supplier.
  
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• Evening Standard reports £11.5m loss amid ad struggles

  26-06-2019 12:17 via theguardian.com
  Free London newspaper edited by George Osborne has not been in the black since 2016The Evening Standard made a loss of almost £12m last year as the freesheet continues to struggle in a tough advertising market.The title, which is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev and edited by the former chancellor George Osborne, made a pre-tax loss of £11.5m in the year to the end of September 2018. It takes losses at the Standard, which recently cut jobs as part of a cost-saving merger of print and onl
  
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• Hundreds of thousands of tenants in unsafe homes, survey finds

  26-06-2019 11:57 via theguardian.com
  Citizens Advice research finds half of landlords don’t know or understand legal obligationsWeak regulation of private renting has left hundreds of thousands of tenants living in mouldy or dangerous homes, Citizens Advice has warned.A survey of English landlords and tenants conducted on behalf of the charity found that half of landlords do not know or understand their legal obligations. Meanwhile, renters aren’t aware of their rights or don’t feel able to enforce them. Continue
  
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• Bonmarché rethinks rescue bid after weak trading

  26-06-2019 11:21 via theguardian.com
  Shareholders advised to accept offer from Spectre, investment vehicle of Philip DayThe struggling clothing chain Bonmarché said trading in recent months was so poor it was recommending a £5.7m rescue bid from the billionaire Philip Day, less than three months after rejecting it.The firm, which sells fashion for women over 50 and has 312 shops, said weak sales in the first quarter meant there was a greater risk that pre-tax losses this year would be more than the £5m-£6m
  
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• No Scorpios, no meat-eaters: the rise of extreme flatshare ads

  26-06-2019 11:00 via theguardian.com
  It’s a landlords’ market these days, which means Generation Rent has to abide by some frankly bizarre stipulationsThe two-bedroom flat in Turnpike Lane, north London, seemed run-of-the-mill. Laura Evelyn, an actor looking for a new place to stay, didn’t like the decor particularly – the fake leather sofa and glass dining table weren’t to her taste – but her would-be landlord was friendly enough. But as she was leaving the viewing, the owner handed her a sheet
  
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• Brexit is political poison, and it’s green policies that are suffering | Molly Scott Cato

  26-06-2019 10:00 via theguardian.com
  The spat over VAT on solar batteries shows how Brussels-bashing is taking precedence over urgent social priorities• Molly Scott Cato is a Green MEPAs pro-European MEPs we grow weary of the government claiming credit for European achievements while blaming Brussels for its own inaction or mismanagement. The capping of credit card charges is a sterling example. We battled for this in the European parliament while our government tried to block the move in the European council. Once passed, and
  
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• Not-so-smart Ovo disconnected my electricity by mistake

  26-06-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I was switched to pay-as-you-go by an agent when he was changing my gas meterOvo Energy fitted smart meters to our flat for both gas and electricity last September. I requested that the meters report my usage to Ovo on a monthly basis, but in November, after some issues with the readings, I asked for the gas meter to report daily so that I could keep an eye on it. Three days later I got home to discover I had no electricity.As my account was more than £300 in credit I assumed something was
  
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• Rapid robot rollout risks UK workers being left behind, reports say

  26-06-2019 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Study shows 20m jobs will be lost worldwide by 2030 with every robot costing 1.6 manufacturing jobs British workers are being shut out of decisions over the rising use of robots in the UK economy, according to a report.According to the commission on workers and technology, run by the Fabian Society and the Community trade union, almost six in 10 employees across Britain in a poll said their employers did not give them a say on the use of new technologies. Continue reading...
  
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• 'The UK is headed towards a cliff edge' – two experts on the economic outlook

  26-06-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Two former members of Bank of England’s rate-setting committee on Britain’s prospectsRising risk of no-deal Brexit slows UK growth as pound slidesProfessor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US and member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) from 2006-09 Continue reading...
  
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• How has Brexit vote affected the UK economy? June verdict

  26-06-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Each month we look at key indicators to see what effect the Brexit process has had on growth, prosperity and tradeRising risk of no-deal Brexit slows UK growth as pound slidesContinue reading...
  
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• A million pensioners in poverty because of unclaimed benefits

  26-06-2019 07:00
  Charity says government failing to act as £3.5bn a year in pension credit goes unpaid
  More than a million pensioner households across the UK are living in poverty because of the government’s failure to act on unpaid pension credit, according to the older people’s charity Independent Age.Almost 2 million people aged 65 and over are living in poverty in the UK. Pension credit is the income-related benefit specifically designed to lift them out of poverty. But it is estimated that
  
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• Ikea gets green light to build affordable homes in UK

  26-06-2019 01:01
  Worthing council gives go-ahead for 162 flats by retailer’s joint venture with construction firm SkanskaHomebuyers in a town where properties typically cost almost 12 times local salaries may soon have a low-cost option from Ikea after a UK council agreed to work with an affordable housing developer co-owned by the retailer.Worthing council has signed up with BoKlok, a company jointly owned by the Swedish retailer and construction firm Skanska which specialises in factory-built housing tha
  
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