Financial news

• US stock market hits record high as Donald Trump gives trade deal hint - as it happened

  28-10-2019 21:15 via theguardian.com
  S&P 100 climbs to new highs as US president suggests that ‘Phase One’ deal with China could be signed next monthLatest: S&P 500 hits record highTrump says trade talks ‘ahead of schedule’Earlier:Latest: Stockpiling by UK retailers hits record levelsIntroduction: US and China make trade war progress
  China looks to boost blockchain 8.15pm GMT And finally.... America’s S&P 500 index has closed at a new all-time high. 7.25pm GMT With roughly 30 minutes until
  
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• Virgin Galactic wins space tourism race to float on stock market

  28-10-2019 20:56 via theguardian.com
  Sir Richard Branson beat Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos by listing his venture in New York Publicity-hungry billionaires must have a space venture, and here’s Sir Richard Branson’s: Virgin Galactic is now a stock market-listed company with a $2.4bn valuation. Actual space tourists won’t depart until next year, but Branson has beaten Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in getting his business floated in New York.Galactic, despite the whizzy-looking planes, is quite a simple financial bet. It&rsq
  
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• Telegraph sale could herald breakup of vast Barclays empire

  28-10-2019 18:37 via theguardian.com
  Decision comes at time when financial performance of twins’ businesses has been patchyThe decision by the billionaire Barclay brothers to put the Daily and Sunday Telegraph up for sale could herald the breakup of a vast but faltering business empire that ranges from luxury hotels to budget retail.Bidders are already circling the newspaper group after the identical twin brothers, who were 85 on Sunday, launched a sale process expected to recoup less than a third of the £665m they paid
  
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• US stock market hits record high as Donald Trump gives trade deal hint - business live

  28-10-2019 18:35 via theguardian.com
  S&P 100 climbs to new highs as US president suggests that ‘Phase One’ deal with China could be signed next monthLatest: S&P 500 hits record highTrump says trade talks ‘ahead of schedule’Earlier:Latest: Stockpiling by UK retailers hits record levelsIntroduction: US and China make trade war progress
  China looks to boost blockchain 5.35pm GMT The US Dow Jones industrial average is moving towards its own record high today.The benchmark index is up 87 points or 0.3% at
  
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• Pound euro exchange rate: GBP/EUR edges higher as EU offers Brexit ‘flextension’

  28-10-2019 17:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound edged up against the euro this afternoon as the EU granted the UK another three-month Brexit delay, leaving the pairing trading at around €1.160. Sterling edged up against the single currency after European Council President Donald Tusk announced, just days before the October Brexit deadline, that the EU27 had agreed to grant the UK a three-month “flextension”.
  
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• Government urged to pay into carers' pensions - system levies ‘dementia tax’ says expert

  28-10-2019 15:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  PENSION wealth differs between men and women, with research by the Pensions Policy Institute finding that by their 60s, women are more than £100,000 worse-off than men of the same age. Today, a think-tank has said the government should pay public money into the personal pensions of women who take time out of work to care for children or elderly relatives.
  
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• Mortgage: Borrowers over 55 at risk of missing out on saving £3,200 each year - are you?

  28-10-2019 15:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  MORTGAGE payments can span a significant proportion of one’s life, however, a new analysis has shown that thousands of borrowers aged 55 and older haven’t sought advice on their mortgage product - and could potentially be missing out on a competitive deal.
  
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• Martin Lewis explains 'horrendous' student loan statements - should you pay off the loan?

  28-10-2019 15:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  MARTIN LEWIS spoke about student loans on the ITV show This Morning today. What does the statement mean, and should a person repay their student loan early if they have a lump sum available to do so?
  
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• Virgin Galactic launches (on the New York Stock Exchange)

  28-10-2019 15:32 via theguardian.com
  Public investors can now buy shares as Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism venture seeks funds for takeoffVirgin Galactic has become the first publicly traded space tourism companyas billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s venture prepares to take its first paying customers beyond the confines of the planet.Investors are now able to buy shares – under the stock market ticker symbol “SPCE” – in the company, which is betting that enough wealthy tourists will pay the $
  
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• John Lewis trials sustainability schemes at Oxford store

  28-10-2019 14:02 via theguardian.com
  Ban on 5p single-use plastic bags and replacement of bubble wrap with eco-wrap among measuresJohn Lewis has stopped selling 5p single-use plastic carrier bags at its Oxford store as part of a major trial to test and change shoppers’ behaviour.The sustainability initiatives, which were unveiled on Monday, are aimed at encouraging a “reduce, reuse and return” culture among customers and could provide a model for its other shops. Continue reading...
  
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• UK retail stockpiling reaches record levels on back of Brexit concerns

  28-10-2019 13:48 via theguardian.com
  October stock levels compared to volume of expected sales at highest point since 1983 – CBIBritain’s biggest retailers have been ramping up their stockpiling efforts to record levels in the run-up to Brexit, according to the Confederation of British Industry.The country’s leading business lobby group said retailers’ stock levels compared with the volume of expected sales had risen to the highest point in October since it began compiling retail sales estimates in 1983. Con
  
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• Women paid £260,000 less than men over their careers – report

  28-10-2019 13:17 via theguardian.com
  Figures lay bare scale of UK pay gap, revealing huge gulf even among most highly qualifiedWomen are paid just £380,000 on average over their lifetimes compared with £643,000 for men, according to official figures that lay bare the scale of Britain’s gender pay gap.The Office for National Statistics figures revealed huge inequality between men and women even at the highest levels of educational attainment. It said women with a master’s or PhD degree still made one-third le
  
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• QuickQuid customers: how have you been affected by its collapse?

  28-10-2019 12:45 via theguardian.com
  If you have taken out a payday loan from the company or are seeking compensation from the financial ombudsman, we want to hear from you More than a million customers are facing financial uncertainty after QuickQuid, the UK’s biggest payday lender, collapsed into administration on Friday. The US-based owner of the business Enova quit the UK, after failing to reach an agreement with the financial ombudsman over how many customers it should compensate over past loans.Continue reading...
  
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• Luxury goods group LVMH makes $14.5bn Tiffany & Co approach

  28-10-2019 09:18 via theguardian.com
  French conglomerate has held preliminary takeover discussions with US jewellerChinese demand drives billionaires’ fight for luxury goods brandsThe French luxury group LVMH has made a takeover approach for Tiffany & Co, valuing the US jeweller at $14.5bn (£11.3bn).The owner of Louis Vuitton said it had held preliminary discussions with Tiffany, but that there was no certainty a deal would be agreed. Continue reading...
  
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• Luxury goods giant LVMH makes $14.5bn Tiffany & Co approach

  28-10-2019 09:18 via theguardian.com
  French conglomerate has held preliminary takeover discussions with US jewellerTiffany takeover bid is all about chasing Chinese moneyEurope’s richest man Bernard Arnault on Monday made a $14.5bn (£11.3bn) bid to buy Tiffany & Co, the jeweller famed for its extravagant engagement rings and white diamond necklaces worn by the likes of Audrey Hepburn for the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.Arnault’s €194bn (£167bn) LVMH luxury goods empire, which features brands s
  
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• State pension age change 'injustice' sparks row among 50s women as legal action launched

  28-10-2019 08:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  STATE pension age changes for women have sparked a furious backlash from campaigners born in the 1950s as politicians and activists disagree on how to tackle the “injustice”.
  
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• Retirement and me: Working on an oil rig age 63 - WASPI woman opens up on finding work

  28-10-2019 08:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  RETIREMENT AND ME is the weekly series which looks at how people are spending their time and money as they approach later life. This week, a WASPI woman has opened up about her decision to sell her house and pick up work as she tours the UK in a camper van.
  
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• Labour calls for release of forecasts for Javid’s scrapped budget

  28-10-2019 08:01 via theguardian.com
  Chancellor must make OBR analysis public so voters are informed, says John McDonnellLabour has demanded Sajid Javid immediately publish economic forecasts prepared for the budget to ensure the government does not avoid public scrutiny before a potential election.In a letter to the chancellor seen by the Guardian, John McDonnell called for the urgent release of forecasts compiled by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the independent Treasury watchdog. Continue reading...
  
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• Five best phone grips to stop smashed screens

  28-10-2019 08:00
  If your phone is a bit too big, your hand hurts or you frequently drop it, these cheap accessories can helpSmartphones are getting bigger and heavier every year, but our hands aren’t. At some point something has to break. And when it does it’ll either be a sting in the wallet when your phone hits the ground or a pain in the hand as your constant finger stretching induces dreaded RSI.There aren’t any really small smartphones on the market, just smaller phones that are often very
  
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• Number of IT failures at banks and other firms is unacceptable, say MPs

  28-10-2019 07:01
  Calls for regulators to act as committee lambasts finance sector over treatment of customersAn influential committee of MPs has condemned as unacceptable the number of IT failures in the financial services sector, which it said have left customers “cashless and cut off”.With bank branches and cash machines disappearing, customers are increasingly reliant on online banking services, but these have been severely disrupted by IT failures at firms including TSB, Visa, Barclays and Royal
  
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• The WeWork debacle should be an indictment of modern finance | Nesrine Malik

  28-10-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The workspace company’s troubles are a sign that the ‘unicorn’ economic model cannot be sustainedIt happens every few years – not quite with the regularity of the seasons but with the inevitability of a natural disaster. A new company is founded on the basis of a new and seemingly ingenious concept, and then rocket-fuelled by growth-boosting investor capital. It briefly burns bright and then implodes, collapsing under the weight of its own balance sheet.The latest tech fi
  
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• The housing crisis is at the heart of our national nervous breakdown | John Harris

  28-10-2019 07:00
  If we built the houses we needed, the anxieties and fears that motivated the Brexit vote would at last recedeOver the past three years, commentary about the nervous, uncertain condition of Britain has repeatedly veered into questions of “belonging” and community. These things tend to be framed in terms of culture: conversations about whether liberals and leftwingers can speak to people attached to nation and place, angst about flags, understandable fears about the point at which such
  
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• Thames Water filed our home under ‘commercial’ premises

  28-10-2019 07:00
  They did it without any explanation and now we’ve been paying two companiesTwo years ago Thames Water – unilaterally and without notice – decided that the residential rental property we lived in until this August was a commercial one and transferred our account to Castle Water. We were told that it was our new provider, but not the reason behind it. Since our direct debit was also automatically transferred, we continued to pay and didn’t think further about it. It was onl
  
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• How to clock off: five ways to leave work and its worries behind

  28-10-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Whether it’s changing your email habits or having a bath to wind down, here’s how to stop your job taking over your lifeEqually, don’t do it today if it can wait until tomorrow. This is not contradictory. If you can get something done before the end of the day, do it while it is important, rather than leave it to become urgent tomorrow. This will encourage you to prioritise and work more efficiently during the day as you know you have to stop working at 5pm or 6pm. “Organ
  
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• Hong Kong in recession after protests deal 'comprehensive blow'

  28-10-2019 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Financial secretary calls fall in tourism an ‘emergency’ and says it will be extremely difficult for city to achieve any annual growthHong Kong’s financial secretary has said the region is in recession after more than five months of anti-government protests, and said it was unlikely to achieve annual economic growth this year.“The blow to our economy is comprehensive,” Paul Chan said in a blog post on Sunday, adding that figures out on Thursday would show two succes
  
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• Britannia Hotels rated sector's worst chain for seventh year in a row

  28-10-2019 01:01
  Wetherspoon Hotels ranked best for first time in survey by consumer group Which?Britannia Hotels has been rated the worst hotel chain in the UK for the seventh year in a row, with guests repeatedly describing its rooms as “filthy” and complaining about mouldy bathrooms and peeling paintwork.EasyHotel and Ibis Budget also performed badly in an annual satisfaction survey by the consumer group Which?. Continue reading...
  
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