Financial news

• Chinese manufacturing slows as trade war with US dents confidence

  14-11-2019 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Sector slows for sixth month amid growing uncertainty over pact with WashingtonChina’s manufacturing sector slowed for the sixthmonth in a row in October, and by more than expected, as the tit-for-tat trade war with the US and weaker consumer demand dampened activity in the world’s second-largest economy.Industrial production, the main engine of the Chinese economy, grew at annual rate of 4.7% in October, down from 5.8% in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Stati
  
  Read more

• China to reward troops with cryptocurrency bonuses

  14-11-2019 19:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  CHINESE military chiefs are considering rewarding troops with cryptocurrency. Soldiers executing their duties with merit could have crypto added into special digital wallets, while those who underperform may even have assets removed.
  
  Read more

• 'Burrito bond' Mexican restaurant chain in restructuring talks

  14-11-2019 19:05 via theguardian.com
  
  UK-based Chilango in discussions about long-term planning, options and strategyA UK-based Mexican restaurant chain that raised millions of pounds from small investors this year via a “burrito bond” scheme is in talks with restructuring experts about options for the business.Chilango, which has 12 UK outlets, most in London, made headlines around the world in 2014 when it launched its quirkily named bond, and earlier this year announced that it had pulled in £3.7m from hundreds
  
  Read more

• Touts used false IDs and bots to harvest tickets, court hears

  14-11-2019 18:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Pair accused of reselling Ed Sheeran and Harry Potter tickets at inflated pricesTwo ticket touts who used false identities and bots to harvest event tickets at the expense of fans and sell them for £11m through websites such as Viagogo were “dishonest fraudsters motivated by greed”, a court has heard.Lawyers acting for National Trading Standards told a jury at Leeds crown court that the pair tried to “milk profit” from genuine fans by reselling tickets for Ed Sheera
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Pound US dollar exchange rate: GBP/USD steady UK retail sales fall unexpectedly in October

  14-11-2019 18:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The pound US dollar exchange rate is holding steady today, with the pairing currently trading around $1.284 after UK retail sales growth came in at -0.1 percent in October due to pre-Brexit concerns and easing wage growth. Samuel Tombs, the Chief Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, was mixed in his assessment, saying: “Looking ahead, a modest slowdown in wage growth and stagnation in employment look set to dampen growth in spending.”
  
  Read more

• Surprised that women are still struggling for equal pay? You shouldn’t be | Linda Scott

  14-11-2019 18:23
  
  On Equal Pay Day, let’s confront the real reason women are paid less – employers know that a successful challenge is incredibly unlikelyIf a national government stood aside for five decades while the legal rights of half its citizens were heedlessly trampled, one might expect it to lose the public’s trust. Yet that is exactly why British women endure a massive gender pay gap – and no one seems to notice.This year, 14 November is Equal Pay Day. Because of the gender pay ga
  
  Read more

• Never too small: the aspiration and nauseation of micro-apartments

  14-11-2019 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A hit Australian YouTube show presents a vision of our housing future that’s both charming and off-puttingIt’s hard to explain the exact appeal of Never Too Small. The YouTube series takes viewers on meditative tours of tiny homes from across the world. Yes the spaces are beautiful and the design innovative, but there’s a curdle in the architectural cream. The residences, which range from 22 to 40 square meters in size, are a curious mix of aspirational and off-putting. Part of
  
  Read more

• City firms must do more to tackle sexual harassment, says FCA executive

  14-11-2019 16:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Jonathan Davidson says managers who allow such behaviour are ‘not fit and proper’A top executive at the City watchdog has said there are still too many incidents of sexual harassment happening inside financial sector companies and criticised independent directors within some institutions for failing to act because they believe it is “political correctness gone mad”.Jonathan Davidson, a member of the Financial Conduct Authority’s executive committee, said that while
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• National Grid invests £2bn in US amid doubt over UK business

  14-11-2019 16:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Energy firm builds US presence as calls grow to renationalise utilities in BritainNational Grid has ploughed a record of almost £2bn into its booming US-based business this year as increasing political pressure raises questions over the multinational’s future in the UK.The energy network provider spent nearly £1.6bn growing its regulated US business over the first six months of the year, and also invested £200m into its US-based renewables company Geronimo. Continue readi
  
  Read more

• Universal Credit changes: New checks in place to combat scams - how could it affect you?

  14-11-2019 16:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  UNIVERSAL CREDIT changes were brought in earlier this year in a bid to crack down on benefit fraudsters, after the scammers targeted vulnerable people and attempted to convince them to share personal details under the promise of a cash windfall.
  
  Read more

• Not yet state pension age? How to check if you can still get a free bus pass

  14-11-2019 16:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STATE PENSION age has been changing in recent years, and the age at which a person is able to apply for an older person’s bus pass in England is when one reaches the female state pension age - whether they’re a man or a woman. However, a person can check to see if they’re able to get free bus travel ahead of this date online.
  
  Read more

• Inheritance Tax rates: Expert reveals a ‘useful way of reducing your Inheritance Tax bill'

  14-11-2019 16:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  INHERITANCE TAX is a tax on the estate of a deceased person’s threshold, which exceeds a certain threshold. What is the standard Inheritance Tax rate? It may be possible to benefit from a reduced Inheritance Tax rate.
  
  Read more

• PIP claim: Charity urges change to Personal Independence Payment assessment process

  14-11-2019 16:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT is a payment which a person may get in order to help with some of the extra costs they may face if they have a long term ill-health or disability. Today, a charity has announced it is urging change, following a survey of 900 people who live with Multiple Sclerosis .
  
  Read more

• Burberry and Cathay Pacific profits dented by Hong Kong protests

  14-11-2019 15:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Retailer and airline report disappointing figures as anti-government rallies take tollTwo companies with substantial interests in Hong Kong have announced figures that underline the damage being inflicted on the economy by the continuing anti-government protests.Burberry said its sales were down more than 10% and it had slashed £14m off the value of its 12 stores in the territory. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Throwing big numbers around ignores the economic questions that really matter | Carys Roberts

  14-11-2019 15:01 via theguardian.com
  
  The Tories’ obsession with policy costings as the only measure of economic credibility is austerity logic in actionThis week the election campaign has been squarely focused on public finances, with the Conservatives publishing a widely derided £1.2tn assessment of Labour’s spending plans. In spite of the debunking of these figures, the party has doubled down with a separate assessment of Labour’s tax plans – it says Labour’s spending plans outweigh how much it
  
  Read more

• UK retail sales hit by surprise downturn despite big discounting

  14-11-2019 13:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Drop of 0.1% blamed on pre-Brexit concerns and declines in employment and wages growthBritain’s shops were hit by a surprise downturn in sales in the run-up to Christmas after official figures showed a 0.1% drop in October.City analysts had expected consumers to continue their month-on-month spending increases with a 0.1% rise, albeit largely built on heavy discounting by retailers. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Norwegian wealth fund blacklists G4S shares over human rights concerns

  14-11-2019 10:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Sovereign wealth fund cites risk of company contributing to ill-treatment of migrant labour in Qatar and UAENorway’s sovereign wealth fund has blacklisted shares in British security company G4S because of the risk of human rights violations against its workforce in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Norway’s Council of Ethics, which monitors investments in the country’s £860bn Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), said there was an “unacceptable risk of the company
  
  Read more

• Mercedes-Benz to axe more than 1,000 jobs in cost-cutting drive

  14-11-2019 10:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Move blamed on heavy cost of investing in electric vehicles just as traditional car sales slowMercedes-Benz plans to save €1.65bn (£1.4bn) by cutting more than 1,000 jobs in the latest sign German carmakers are struggling to make big investments in electric car technology.Carmakers around the world are spending billions on developing battery-powered electric vehicles but at the same time sales of internal combustion engines are slowing in the face of economic weakness and scandals ove
  
  Read more

• Why won’t this airline level with us about a four-day change?

  14-11-2019 08:00
  
  We can’t make an insurance claim for compensation unless it gives us the reasonMy fiance and I travelled to Martinique in the Caribbean, flying from Leeds to Paris and then onwards to Fort-de-France. We were having a lovely holiday until I received an email from our airline, Level, saying our return flight to France had been put back four days. I spent hours trying to find out why and what assistance it could offer us as it meant we had to book another flight from Paris to Leeds and find a
  
  Read more

• Do I really need fibre broadband?

  14-11-2019 08:00
  
  Angela is a light internet user and is wondering if she could make do with an older, slower ADSL serviceI signed up for fibre broadband a couple of years ago but am now wondering whether it is worth the cost. The only devices I use in my home are a six-year-old Toshiba Satellite L870 laptop and a Samsung tablet. I use them for email, web browsing and watching BBC iPlayer, but not much else. The laptop runs Windows 10 and works well enough so I don’t have any immediate plans to replace it.I
  
  Read more

• State pension: DWP figures reveal most people not paid full new state pension - are you?

  14-11-2019 07:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STATE PENSION payments can be a form of income for many people during their retirement. On Tuesday, the Department for Work and Pensions released figures which showed that hundreds of thousands of people who receive the new state pension are not getting the full amount.
  
  Read more

• The task of politics today is to scare the capitalists as much as communism did | Aditya Chakrabortty

  14-11-2019 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The threat of the Soviet bloc forced western democracies to acknowledge the rights of workers and poor peopleAs the big day dawned last weekend, Berliners held a huge street party, with more than 100,000 revellers gathering in the cold to ooh and aah over an epic display of fireworks. Elsewhere, celebrants of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall followed their own time-honoured traditions. TV producers ran that grainy archive of burly Germans smashing sledgehammers into brickwork, while
  
  Read more

• Shareholder payouts have risen 6.4 times faster than wages – TUC

  14-11-2019 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Returns to shareholders at UK’s top 100 firms surged by 56% in 2014-18 as wages rose by 9%Shareholder payouts at Britain’s biggest companies have risen more than six times faster than workers’ wages since 2014, according to a study that shows how investors have won the largest slice of company profits in recent years.Returns to shareholders at FTSE 100 companies increased by 56% between 2014 and 2018, while wages edged up by just 8.8%, the report says. Firms maintained sharehol
  
  Read more

• John Lewis Christmas ad features excitable dragon Edgar

  14-11-2019 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Retailer hopes first festive collaboration with Waitrose will breathe life into salesJohn Lewis is counting on an excitable baby dragon called Edgar to put some heat under sales this Christmas in its first joint festive ad with its sister chain Waitrose.The department store chain’s festive campaign – which costs about £7m a year – has become one of the media events of the year, generating millions of views on social media. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!