Financial news

• Saudis must push back Aramco's flotation or risk looking desperate | Nils Pratley

  16-09-2019 20:39 via theguardian.com
  After the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries investors will need time to see how events developFinancial markets are reliably terrible at reading big geopolitical developments, so do not read too much into the initial 20% jump in the oil price after the weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. The list of unknowns is long. Saudi officials may not know how long it will take to restore full production and it’s not in their interests to offer full clarity a
  
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• Albemarle & Bond criticised after customer helpline is overwhelmed

  16-09-2019 20:12 via theguardian.com
  National Pawnbrokers Association says industry is ‘not impressed’ with A&BPawnbroker Albemarle & Bond has been criticised for “woefully inadequate” communication with customers hoping to retrieve belongings after the company shut its shops and website last week.The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA), the UK trade body of which Albemarle & Bond is a member, said it was receiving hundreds of calls a day from worried customers who had been unable to get throu
  
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• Kevin McCloud firm's development resembles 'bomb site', say locals

  16-09-2019 20:03
  Grand Designs presenter’s company has yet to deliver on promises while investors are facing up to 97% lossesLocal residents claim a flagship development built by TV property guru Kevin McCloud’s troubled housing empire, which was supposed to have been completed in 2018, resembles a “bomb site”, with unfinished roads and pavements, and homeowners forced to contend with building-site conditions.In its sales brochure, HAB Housing – founded by the Grand Designs presente
  
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• Smart energy meter rollout deadline pushed back to 2024

  16-09-2019 19:32
  Government decision follows critics saying 2020 deadline had no chance of being metThe government has pushed back the deadline for its £13bn smart energy meter rollout by four years to 2024 after critics said the project had “no realistic prospect” of meeting its deadline.The government has bowed to pressure to extend the deadline after a damning report from the National Audit Office said households might be forced to pay £500m more than expected after a string of delays
  
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• Thomas Cook gains extra time to secure rescue deal

  16-09-2019 18:58 via theguardian.com
  Tour operator struggling with debt puts off creditors’ vote over terms of finance packageThomas Cook has delayed a crunch creditors’ vote until next week, giving the stricken tour operator more time to smooth obstacles to a £1.1bn rescue package aimed at saving it from collapse.Fears for the future of the the 178-year-old tour operator have been mounting, as it threatens to buckle under the weight of high debt, intense competition and one-off factors including last summer&rsquo
  
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• Demand for Brexit advice helps push PwC profit to more than £1bn

  16-09-2019 17:53 via theguardian.com
  Partners at firm will get average £765,000 this year in biggest payday for a decadePartners at the accountancy and consulting firm PwC will be paid an average of £765,000 this year after profits soared to more than £1bn, partly due to increased demand for advice on how to handle the Brexit crisis.A total of 913 partners at the firm, which used to be called PricewaterhouseCoopers, are to collect an average of £765,000 – the accountants’ biggest annual payday in
  
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• Unhappy energy customer within sight of his missing SOLARPLICITY credits

  16-09-2019 12:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  AN UNHAPPY former customer of failed energy supplier Solarplicity had all but given up of ever getting back the hundreds of pounds in credit and mistaken debits he believed he was owed. 
  
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• PAPIER.COM: New investment for millennials’ stationery favourite funds US expansion

  16-09-2019 12:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  ONLINE stationery company Papier, whose personalised products play well with younger buyers and digital natives discovering the pleasures of handwritten communication and keepsakes, has secured £9 million investment for a major US push and new launches. 
  
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• Will Universal Credit be scrapped under Labour? Talk of 'medium-term' plan, says source

  16-09-2019 11:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE LABOUR Party could be set to unveil plans to scrap Universal Credit should it win the General Election, according to reports.
  
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• Inheritance tax would be scrapped by the Brexit party – good news for the very rich | Torsten Bell

  16-09-2019 09:00
  A minuscule number of wealthy people would benefit from such a move. Everyone else would be hit by higher taxesThere are bad ideas, really bad ideas, and there’s abolishing inheritance tax. This is the new top priority announced by the Brexit party – one of only two policies it has beyond Brexit.Scrapping inheritance tax is a very expensive pledge: it raised £5.3bn for the Treasury last year. And it’s particularly expensive when there’s a political consensus that we
  
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• Five ways to start saving – from paying yourself first to premium bonds

  16-09-2019 09:00
  It doesn’t matter how little you put away, the trick is to get started. From clever apps to canny tips, here’s a guide to getting into good habits … while still having money for a flutter Rather than treating savings as an afterthought, set up a standing order into a separate account as soon as you get paid, says Anna Bowes, the co-founder of Savings Champion. “That way it can become just another bill, but one that you will benefit from in the future.” Continue rea
  
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• A rising tide: ‘overtourism’ and the curse of the cruise ships

  16-09-2019 09:00 via theguardian.com
  In Kotor and Dubrovnik large cruise ships dock regularly throughout the season, depositing thousands of people each day into the tourist hotspots and putting intense pressure on the historic portsKnown as the “pearl of the Adriatic”, Dubrovnik has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Mediterranean. Its charming old town, array of Unesco World Heritage sites and sizeable port were always draws, but the new success of Game of Thrones, much of which was shot in the Croat
  
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• Why won’t Virgin Active cancel my contract?

  16-09-2019 08:11
  I stopped my direct debit after 12 moths was up, but it tried to impose a rolling dealI took out two consecutive 12-month memberships with Virgin Active. With the second none of the terms and conditions were confirmed and no new contract was signed but a fee agreed for the 12 months. At the beginning of this year I wanted to cancel as I hadn’t been using the gym but decided to wait until the end of my contract to let Virgin Active know I didn’t wish to renew. When I didn’t rece
  
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• How can we remortgage when my husband is aged 62?

  16-09-2019 08:00
  We can’t find an affordable deal from a bank due to his age, despite having a lot of equityQ My husband and I are stuck in a bit of a Catch-22. Since 2004 we’ve had an interest-only mortgage of £153,000. Our house is now worth about £303,000 so we have a large amount of equity. We want to swap to a repayment mortgage but we cannot find a mortgage we can afford because he is 62 (I am 51). The monthly repayments, based on the length of time he could pay a mortgage for, are
  
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• Brexit uncertainty triggers first September fall in house prices since 2010

  16-09-2019 01:01
  Rightmove says average price down by £730 as sellers wait to see how Brexit plays outHouse prices have fallen in September for the first time since 2010 as Brexit uncertainty continues to cast a long shadow over the UK housing market, according to the estate agent Rightmove.The UK’s biggest property website said the traditional “autumn bounce” in the market was simply not happening this year. Instead, the average price of newly listed homes fell by 0.2%, or £730, co
  
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