Financial news

• For the pound, there is little or no short-term cheer

  16-07-2019 20:11
  Predicting currency flow is a mug’s game but there’s little to stop sterling’s slide anytime soonThere are no sure-fire bets in the currency markets but, in retrospect, selling sterling has been a ridiculously easy trade for two months. The direction for sterling has been downwards from the moment Theresa May lost her third attempt to force through the EU withdrawal bill in early May. The Tory leadership contest, in which both contenders have issued hard Brexit statements, has
  
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• Pound hits 27-month low as no-deal Brexit fears grow - business live

  16-07-2019 15:01 via theguardian.com
  Sterling is sliding as UK and Brussels head for fresh clash over the Irish BackstopPound slides as Hunt and Johnson say backstop is deadPound hits 27-month low vs dollar, 6-month low vs euroConservative leadership rivals hurt sterlingWeaker pound will drive up cost of foreign holidaysFull story: EU to reject Johnson and Hunt’s plan 1.42pm BST Many ministers opposed to a hard Brexit expect to lose their jobs once Boris Johnson becomes prime minister.My colleague Andy Sparrow reports that so
  
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• Topshop owner Arcadia's rescue plan faces US legal challenge

  16-07-2019 15:00 via theguardian.com
  New York-based property group Vornado files high court action against planned restructuring dealsSir Philip Green’s rescue restructure of his Topshop-to-Burton retail empire is under threat from a US property group’s legal challenge.New York-based Vornado has filed papers at the high court challenging two of the seven restructuring deals approved by Arcadia’s creditors last month. Vornado is the landlord of Topshop’s Broadway and Fifth Avenue stores, which were closed aft
  
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• Berlin buys 670 flats on Karl-Marx-Allee from private owner

  16-07-2019 13:02 via theguardian.com
  Move to renationalise buildings follows protests over rising property prices in the cityThe state of Berlin has bought back 670 apartments on the historic Karl-Marx-Allee from a private owner after decades of property privatisation in the German capital.A 1950s prestige project for socialist East Germany, the grand boulevard that stretches from the city centre to Friedrichshain in the east has been the frontline of a months-long fight over gentrification and rising property prices. Continue read
  
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• UK pay growth strong despite economic slowdown fears

  16-07-2019 12:14 via theguardian.com
  Unemployment falls by more than 50,000 but jobs growth declinesWorkers’ basic pay is growing at the fastest rate in cash terms for more than a decade as the British labour market continues to defy the slowdown in the economy.Despite some signs of weakness, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed annual average earnings growth at 3.6% in the three months to May – comfortably exceeding the increase in the cost of living. Continue reading...
  
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• Irn-Bru maker warns over profits after bad weather and sugar tax

  16-07-2019 12:09 via theguardian.com
  AG Barr changed recipes of its flagship product and Rubicon to escape government levyThe maker of Irn-Bru and Rubicon drinks has warned of a 20% drop in annual profits after being hit by poor weather and the impact of last year’s sugar tax.AG Barr, which also makes Rockstar energy drinks and Funkin fruit cocktail mixers, blamed disappointing spring and early summer weather, especially in its Scottish heartland and the north of England, which contrasts with last year’s long, hot summe
  
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• Ryanair to cut flights due to Boeing 737 Max crisis

  16-07-2019 09:43 via theguardian.com
  Budget airline says it plans to close some bases and will carry fewer passengersRyanair has warned delays to deliveries of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft will reduce passenger numbers next year and it plans to downsize or close bases at some airports as a result.Europe’s biggest budget carrier has ordered 135 of the 737 Max models, which remain grounded after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. Boeing has yet to convince regulators that software modificatio
  
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• Facebook launches UK reporting tool to clamp down on scam ads

  16-07-2019 08:53
  Social media firm to investigate users’ complaints and take down violating postsFresh efforts to tackle scam adverts across Facebook are being introduced in the UK following action taken by the consumer champion Martin Lewis.The social media company is releasing a scam ads reporting tool, with a specially trained team investigating alerts raised by users, reviewing reports and taking down violating posts to clamp down on potentially misleading adverts. Continue reading...
  
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• Court victory for reader who fought easyJet’s sudden cancellation

  16-07-2019 07:59 via theguardian.com
  The family told about cancellation at the flight gate, and their holiday was over before it beganRegular Money readers may remember the appalling case of Nicola Eldridge, whose 2018 trip to Greece was halted when easyJet cancelled her family’s air tickets without telling them – not once, but twice. The second time was at 3am on the morning they were due to fly. The family only learned this at the airport gate, and the holiday was over before it had begun.At the time the airline claim
  
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• The big fashion fight: can we remove all the toxic, invisible plastic from our clothes?

  16-07-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  More than half of all textiles produced each year include plastic. Now the urgent search is on for a more sustainable way to clothe the worldIt was probably the only time a 93-year-old has stolen the show at Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage. Sir David Attenborough had important things to say when he warmed up for Kylie Minogue last month. After showing scenes from Blue Planet 2, the wildlife series credited with inspiring a sea change in attitudes towards plastics pollution, the broadcaster tha
  
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• Alan Turing to feature on new £50 banknote

  16-07-2019 01:46 via theguardian.com
  Mathematician who cracked Enigma code was persecuted for his homosexuality in 1950sThe father of modern computing: Alan Turing’s legacyAlan Turing, the scientist known for helping crack the Enigma code during the second world war and pioneering the modern computer, has been chosen to appear on the new £50 note.The mathematician was selected from a list of almost 1,000 scientists in a decision that recognised both his role in fending off the threat of German U-boats in the Battle of t
  
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• Young key workers in London spend more than half of pay on rent

  16-07-2019 01:01
  Harder for teachers, nurses and police to keep pace with England’s housing costs – PwCLondon and the southern regions of England are facing a dearth of teachers, nurses and police officers as rising rents make housing in large parts of the UK unaffordable for key public sector workers.A report by the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said there was an urgent need to increase the supply of homes after it found that the failure of public sector pay to keep pace with soaring housi
  
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• Working parents face £800 bill for summer holiday childcare

  16-07-2019 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Survey shows provision in UK remains inadequate and prices have risen by 3% since last yearWorking parents face bills of about £800 for childcare over the summer holiday, according to research that shows provision remains inadequate across the UK, particularly for disabled children whose families struggle to find appropriate care.The annual survey by the Coram Family and Childcare children’s charity suggests a postcode lottery of holiday childcare in terms of cost and availability. C
  
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• Food management: how to eat on a budget

  16-07-2019 00:59
  Shop late in the day and cook multiple portions to make the money go furtherHowever tempting the pizzas, cheese toasties and sugary alcoholic drinks are, there are plenty of ways to still aim for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Here are our top tips: Continue reading...
  
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• Fees and funding: ‘Think of your loan as a graduate tax’

  16-07-2019 00:59
  A university education won’t come cheap, but you may be entitled to more help than you thoughtBiology student Molly Savage struggled to imagine how she’d ever afford university – she knew her parents were too cash-strapped to help. But she’s managed to win £5,000 a year as part of a scholarship scheme targeting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.“I was over the moon,” she says. “It’s made a massive difference – I knew I could go to
  
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• 'Tulip' tower project in City of London vetoed by Sadiq Khan

  16-07-2019 00:39 via theguardian.com
  Design of proposed 300–metre skyscraper by Norman Foster’s firm deemed not good enoughPlans to build a 300-metre (1,000ft) skyscraper dubbed “the Tulip” in the City of London near the Thames have been thrown out by the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan.The building, designed by Norman Foster’s architectural practice, would have been the second tallest in western Europe, but its design was deemed not to be good enough for such a prime location. Continue reading...
  
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