Financial news

• Markets fall sharply as Donald Trump attacks China over trade talks

  30-07-2019 20:03 via theguardian.com
  US president sends series of tweets and suggests agreement might be delayedMarkets have fallen sharply across Europe after Donald Trump reignited trade war fears with a series of tweets attacking China’s handling of negotiations with the US.With a two-day meeting between the countries’ trade teams due to begin in Shanghai, the US president said China’s economy was “doing very badly” and added negotiators “just don’t come through” on agreements, inc
  
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• As sterling falls, will PM alter course or risk price hikes as election looms?

  30-07-2019 19:23 via theguardian.com
  Money markets did not take a disorderly departure seriously, but do now. So should JohnsonBritish holidaymakers heading abroad for their summer holidays might not thank him for it, but the fall in the value of the pound to its lowest level in 28 months is evidence that Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy is having an impact.The currency markets never took the idea seriously that the UK would leave the EU without a deal when Theresa May was prime minister. That has changed in the past five days
  
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• No, a falling pound is not good. It’s a sign of weakness and decline | Dan Davies

  30-07-2019 18:30 via theguardian.com
  Britain has a vocal weak-currency lobby but depreciation is not a route to long-term success, as Italy could tell youLike the weather, the foreign exchange market changes every day and appears at the end of the evening news. Unlike the weather, though, the external value of the pound isn’t directly experienced by most people, except when they go on holiday. This creates something of a cognitive vacuum – into which a lot of politicised folk theories seem to get sucked and which makes
  
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• How to keep valuables safe: use cereal and toy boxes, say ex-burglars

  30-07-2019 18:21 via theguardian.com
  Panel of ex-offenders reveals underwear drawers and pillows are first places to be checkedForget hiding your valuables under your pillow, in a safe or stuffing them in your underwear drawer – those are among the first places professional burglars look for jewellery and cash.A panel of former burglars, brought together by department store chain John Lewis, have advised holidaymakers that the safest places for family heirlooms are actually cereal boxes or storage for children’s toys. C
  
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• Holiday Inn owner to ditch mini toiletries from 5,000 hotels

  30-07-2019 18:06 via theguardian.com
  InterContinental Hotels Group will switch to refillable bottles by 2021 to reduce plastic wasteInterContinental Hotels Group is ditching miniature shampoo, conditioner and body-wash bottles across its 5,000-plus sites worldwide to reduce plastic waste.The owner of the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental chains will switch to bulk dispensers, refillable bottles and ceramic containers by the end of 2021. Continue reading...
  
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• Greggs à la carte? Stores to open late to lure evening diners

  30-07-2019 15:29 via theguardian.com
  Bakery chain wants to echo breakfast success as vegan sausage roll helps serve 50% profit rise
  Having won thousands of new fans with its vegan sausage roll, Greggs now wants to build on this growing popularity by making a move into the takeaway dinner market.Roger Whiteside, the chief executive of Britain’s largest bakery chain, said the vegan pastry launched in January had helped change the perception of Greggs from “an old-fashioned bakery from the north” to a “modern f
  
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• How can you spot the quickest-moving queue in the supermarket?

  30-07-2019 13:30
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsHow can I determine which will be the quickest-moving queue, whether at the supermarket, passport control or wherever?Debbie Levey, Brookline, Massachusetts, US Continue reading...
  
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• What does the falling pound mean for holidays and prices?

  30-07-2019 12:48
  Sterling’s Brexit-driven plunge could make imported goods more expensiveFears of a no-deal Brexit have sent the pound plunging this week, with currency markets more alarmed than at any time since the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum.When the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, told BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning that “We must be prepared to give the country the finality it needs, to prepare businesses and people more broadly”, currency traders immediately began marking down
  
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• FCA plans clampdown on unsuitable pension transfer advice

  30-07-2019 12:02
  Watchdog to ban advisers from getting paid only when customer moves schemeBritain’s financial watchdog has proposed measures to protect consumers transferring out of defined benefit pension schemes, including a ban on contingent charging for advice and a clampdown on ongoing fees over 20 to 30 years – practices it said were costing customers £2bn a year.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to ban financial advisers from getting paid only when a customer transfers a pensi
  
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• Centrica boss to step down as energy firm posts first-half losses

  30-07-2019 11:52 via theguardian.com
  Owner of British gas cuts dividend as it announces Iain Conn will leave next yearIain Conn has agreed to step down as chief executive of Centrica, the owner of British Gas, after the energy company swung to a loss for the first half of the year and slashed shareholder payouts.The embattled energy boss said he would retire from the board by next year’s annual general meeting, five years after taking the reins of the company in 2015. Continue reading...
  
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• Giffgaff fined £1.4m for overcharging millions of mobile customers

  30-07-2019 11:33
  Ofcom investigation finds billing error led to network overcharging 2.6 million usersGiffgaff has been fined £1.4m for overcharging 2.6 million mobile phone customers over an eight-year period.An Ofcom investigation revealed the network, which is owned by O2’s parent company Telefónica, overcharged users a total of almost £2.9m. Continue reading...
  
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• Time to bin letters making dubious solar claims

  30-07-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Messages appear to be a ruse to get people to sign up to unnecessary servicesWe have had solar panels on our roof for some years and all is working well. Last week we received a letter from the British Trading Solar Association warning us that the five-year warranty on our inverter was due to expire. It invited us to book a free health check and service. I have never heard of the BTSA and it did not install our system. Can you shed any light on this?
  PI, LondonIn March this year the Microgenerat
  
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• Superyachts and bad art: how Mykonos became the party island of the super-rich

  30-07-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The Greek island has long attracted a glamorous clique, but the influx of billionaires has transformed it into a haven of absurd luxuryThere’s nowhere to buy a bucket and spade, but you can pick up a €10,000 (£9,000) Gucci clutch handbag or a €250,000 piece of graffiti art. This strip of sand, on the south-west coast of the Greek island of Mykonos, is no ordinary beach.“Ha ha, no,” says Anna, a smartly dressed hostess welcoming guests to Nammos beach club, when
  
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