Financial news

• Is bitcoin on the brink of COLLAPSE?

  09-10-2019 23:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  BITCOIN’S recent woes look set to continue as the world’s leading cryptocurrency struggles to get up off the canvas following a knockout blow more than two weeks ago.
  
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• Pound Euro exchange rate: GBP/EUR falls as EU denies Irish backstop concession

  09-10-2019 22:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE pound slumped against the euro this afternoon, with the pairing currently trading at around €1.112 as the EU refuted news they were prepared to offer a major Brexit concession.
  
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• We shouldn't be too sceptical about rescue of Thomas Cook shops

  09-10-2019 20:55 via theguardian.com
  Hays Travel was vague on details but its debt-free status shows it’s clearly doing something right The package holiday market is dead and nobody under 40 goes to a travel agent, declared Michael O’Leary after the failure of Thomas Cook. So one must assume the Ryanair boss would diagnose an extreme case of naïvety at Hays Travel, the Sunderland-based, family-owned firm that has emerged as the surprise rescuer of 555 Thomas Cook shops and the willing re-employer of up to 2,500 sta
  
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• Earning its crust: Pizza Express hires advisers over £1bn debt

  09-10-2019 20:52 via theguardian.com
  Rumours abound over fate of 54-year-old business as consumer tastes changePizza Express has a mountain of debt: a towering £1.12bn is owed to various lenders, a cash sum equal to 77m of its famous Sloppy Giuseppe beef and pepper pizzas.In recent days rumours have swirled that the 54-year-old business, one of the UK’s biggest casual dining chains, might be about to go the same way as Jamie’s Italian. Continue reading...
  
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• Facebook Libra must meet strict standards, warns Bank of England

  09-10-2019 19:29 via theguardian.com
  Digital currency must be subject to measures such as stress tests to gain approval The Bank of England has hardened its stance on Facebook’s Libra digital currency, telling the social media company it must meet its highest standards to get the green light for launch in Britain.In its toughest intervention to date, the central bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) said digital currencies such as Libra would need to reach the same high standards as those of traditional payments. Cont
  
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• Barclays bosses tried to 'legitimise' fraudulent payments to Qatar, court told

  09-10-2019 18:53 via theguardian.com
  Serious Fraud Office accuses ex-bank executives of creating a ‘smoke-screen’ over 2008 paymentsProsecutors for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) say attempts by former Barclays bank bosses to show advisory services provided by Qatar were merely a “smoke-screen” to try to “legitimise” fraudulent payments to the Gulf state in 2008.A jury at the Old Bailey in London heard that former banking executives tried to gather evidence that would show that payments to Qatar
  
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• Thomas Cook stores buyer hopes to re-employ entire 2,500 workforce

  09-10-2019 18:38 via theguardian.com
  Hays Travel acquires 555 stores and sees a bright future for package holiday sectorA husband-and-wife team who built their tourism business from the ground up say they hope to save the jobs of all 2,500 former Thomas Cook staff, after buying the collapsed tour operator’s 555 shops.John and Irene Hays, who run Sunderland-based Hays Travel, the Just Go Travel operator, snapped up Thomas Cook’s UK travel agency business for an undisclosed fee, in a takeover sealed at 11.53pm on Tuesday.
  
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• Links of London jewellery chain goes into administration

  09-10-2019 16:15 via theguardian.com
  Mike Ashley and Hilco among parties interested in making bids for 350 outlet companyJewellery chain Links of London has collapsed into administration, putting up to 350 jobs at risk, in a new blow to the high street.The chain, which operates 35 stores and concessions in the UK and Ireland, had been seeking a buyer before being put into administration on Tuesday. Sports Direct owner, Mike Ashley, and Hilco Capital, the owner of Homebase, had been reported as potential bidders in a last-ditch atte
  
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• Online casino advert banned for targeting problem gamblers

  09-10-2019 13:11 via theguardian.com
  Casumo offered free spins to people Googling ways to block themselves from bettingThe online casino Casumo has been forced to retract an advert that offered free spins and bonuses to people who Googled ways to bar themselves from gambling.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about an advert, paid for by Malta-based Casumo, which has previously paid penalties of £5.85m for failures in systems designed to protect problem gamblers. Continue reading...
  
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• BT says it plans to set up free home tech support for customers

  09-10-2019 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Company also announces high street comeback after 15-year absence via its 600 EE shopsBT is to hire an army of 900 tech experts who will visit customers in their homes to help them sort out problems with their TV and broadband services.Customers will be able to book an appointment with a Home Tech Expert, to help install a new technology product or fix a technical problem. Repair visits will be free for all BT home broadband, TV and phone line customers. Continue reading...
  
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• Green Star Energy won’t switch off fraudulent account

  09-10-2019 08:00
  The firm’s slogan is ‘take back control’, but I can’t stop it sending debt collectorsI have had ongoing issues with Green Star Energy. When my bank detected fraudulent activity on my account, Green Star was one of the payees. My compromised bank account was refunded and closed, and my credit file updated. Green Star confirmed that a fraudulent email address had been used to set up an account in my name and promised to investigate, but in the year since then I have heard n
  
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• Wonga customers' average compensation payout may be just £118

  09-10-2019 07:00
  People who were mis-sold loans expected to get 10% of compensation they are owedCustomers who were mis-sold loans by the collapsed payday lender Wonga are expected to receive less than 10% of what they are owed in compensation after administrators revealed that only £41m will be put aside for claimants.Administrators for Wonga, which collapsed last year, also revealed that they had scrapped plans to sell its loan book, saying there were doubts that bidders met the criteria, including prope
  
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• 'Alexa, are you invading my privacy?' – the dark side of our voice assistants

  09-10-2019 07:00
  There are more than 100m Alexa-enabled devices in our homes. But are they fun time-savers or the beginning of an Orwellian nightmareOne day in 2017, Alexa went rogue. When Martin Josephson, who lives in London, came home from work, he heard his Amazon Echo Dot voice assistant spitting out fragmentary commands, seemingly based on his previous interactions with the device. It appeared to be regurgitating requests to book train tickets for journeys he had already taken and to record TV shows that h
  
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