Financial news

• Heathrow: strike action on Monday suspended as union talks continue

  04-08-2019 21:35
  Airport has already cancelled 177 flights, while Tuesday’s strike could still go ahead if talks failA planned strike by Heathrow airport workers has been suspended to allow for further talks between airport management and union officials.Airport staff including security officers, firefighters and engineers were due to begin the 48-hour strike over low pay at midnight on Monday. The airport had already cancelled 177 flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in advance of the industrial actio
  
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• It pays developers not to build homes | Letters

  04-08-2019 18:41
  Slowing down construction keeps house prices high, says Richard Gilyead – while Neil J Young points to a tax-break enjoyed by the clergyThe housing crisis (Can PM rekindle dream of home ownership, the policy that made the Tories?, 2 August) has two more fundamental facets that were not explored in your piece. The first is that the planning system provides perverse incentives for major developers to throttle housing delivery after they have been granted planning permissions. Controlling the
  
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• Whatever they say about Brexit, sterling’s nosedive tells us the truth | Nesrine Malik

  04-08-2019 17:58
  The falling pound betrays the lack of confidence in Britain’s future. It can’t be blagged away, even in a post-truth worldIf you are reading this and earn your living in UK currency, you are already poorer today than you were before June 2016. And you will be poorer by the end of the year if a no-deal EU exit comes to pass. If you have savings in sterling, then you’re in even more trouble. In the post-truth world we have been living in for the past three years, there’s on
  
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• Boris Johnson takes note of Trump's game theory to keep EU guessing on Brexit | Larry Elliott

  04-08-2019 12:42
  New PM has changed UK tactics of chicken while US and China battle to see who blinks firstTwo cars are hurtling towards each other down a narrow country lane. Both have the option to pull over but neither driver wants to give way first. What happens next?This is the sort of scenario that lies at the heart of game theory, the use of models to show how rational decision-makers interact with each other. Game theory is big in economics and, in the current circumstances, that’s hardly surprisin
  
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• Lower price cap could mean cheaper energy bills for 11m UK homes

  04-08-2019 12:01
  Ofgem plans would cut average annual cost for standard variable energy tariffs by 6%Millions of homes in the UK could be in line for a reduction of £80 on their energy bills this winter under plans from the industry regulator to lower the energy price cap.This week, Ofgem is widely expected to announce a lower cap on energy bills for 11m homes using standard variable energy tariffs, which could cut the average annual bill by 6%. Continue reading...
  
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• Know your rights when airport chaos turns a holiday into a nightmare

  04-08-2019 09:00
  What compensation can you claim for if you’re faced with delayed or cancelled flights?It should be the start of the holiday but for too many travellers the airport marks the start of a nightmare. The recent heatwave across Europe brought thunderstorms which left thousands stranded in UK airports having to endure cancellations and delays with many sleeping on the floor as hotels ran out of space.And the coming weeks could see a series of further disruptions with the possibility of strikes l
  
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• ‘Give older people legal right to live in their own homes’

  04-08-2019 09:00
  Equalities watchdog demands changes after care home abusesThe UK’s equality watchdog has demanded that disabled and older people should have the legal right to homes in the community rather than being forced to live in institutions.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says concerns about social care and a shortage of suitable homes means a new law is urgently needed. “We need a rethink on how we treat disabled people, including people with mental health conditions, and old
  
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• Technology may not create inequality, but it certainly enables it to thrive | John Naughton

  04-08-2019 08:00
  A few privileged workers benefit from the rise of the tech giants, but millions more suffer at their handsHere is one of the great paradoxes of our time. The world is dominated by a few corporations that are among the most profitable companies in the history of capitalism. In the US (the home of these giants) and in the UK (an enthusiastic vassal state), parts of the economy are booming and employment is at record levels. And yet, in the middle of this astonishing prosperity, inequality is at le
  
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• Yes, children are great, but they can leave you skint | Sarah Ditum

  04-08-2019 07:00
  No wonder Britain’s birth rate is at a record low – being a working parent is so trickyThere is a point in parenting where you ask yourself whether it’s all worth it. In crude financial terms, the answer is probably no. The most well-paid of women aside, it’s routine for couples to find that a mother’s return to work costs almost as much in nursery fees as her wages are worth (and sometimes more). Childcare becomes a patchwork thing: as many sessions in the creche a
  
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