Financial news

• Food prices set to rise in UK as floods ruin crops

  15-11-2019 19:20
  
  Soaring prices likely as potatoes rot in sodden fields and farmers struggle to sow wheat The price of crisps and chips are expected to rise in the new year as the flooding in northern England hits the supply of winter vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages.Official data released on Friday revealed a “great deal of uncertainty” around the fate of a 10th of the country’s potato crop as farmers count the cost of the deluge that has overwhelmed parts of South Yorksh
  
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• Brother of missing ‘Cryptoqueen’ swindler agrees to help detectives find her

  15-11-2019 19:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The younger brother of missing Cryptoqueen Dr Ruja Ignatova has agreed to inform on fellow members of his sibling’s crime gang after striking a deal with prosecutors that may keep him out of jail. Konstantin Ignatov, appearing at New York Southern District Court this week, pleaded guilty to a string of charges related to the OneCoin multi-billion crypto fraud.
  
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• Openreach overreach? Labour's free broadband plan faces hurdles

  15-11-2019 19:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Nationalisation of BT’s broadband arm sounds easy in theory but in practice price and pensions are big obstaclesFree broadband – indeed, an ultra-fast fibre service delivered to every household and business – sounds a highly popular idea. And Openreach, BT’s broadband division, is a deserving target for nationalisation, one could argue. The watchdog Ofcom has been regularly frustrated over the years by the company’s foot-dragging over the pace of fibre optic roll-ou
  
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• Pound US dollar exchange rate steady as hopes for US-China trade deal increase

  15-11-2019 18:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The pound to US dollar exchange rate is holding steady again today with the pairing currently trading around $1.288 after China lifted its nearly five-year ban on US poultry imports. The move weakened safe-haven demand on heightened hopes of a US-China trade deal.
  
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• Record numbers of young adults in UK living with parents

  15-11-2019 18:42
  
  ONS notes 46% rise since 1999 in number of 20- to 34-year-olds returning homeRecord numbers of young adults in their 20s and 30s are living with their parents, according to official figures, with critics blaming soaring house prices and rents.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that over the last two decades, there has been a 46% increase in the number of young people aged 20-34 living with their parents. Over the same period, average house prices have tripled from about £97,000
  
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• Payday lender Non-Standard Finance warns on profits

  15-11-2019 18:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Finance boss to stand down as lender prepares for more loan defaults amid looming recession One of the biggest payday-style lenders to emerge in the wake of Wonga’s demise has itself run into trouble, warning the stock market of tumbling profits and the risks to the business of a potential recession.Shares in Non-Standard Finance, which operates under the George Banco, Everyday Loans and Loans at Home brands – and charges interest of up to 732% – fell by 18% after the profit wa
  
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• Let’s move to eastern High Weald, East Sussex and Kent: not fashionable, but fabulous

  15-11-2019 17:30
  
  It might be under the radar but it’s packed with magical old villages and market townsWhat’s going for it? Rudyard Kipling came to the eastern High Weald to escape. It’s that kind of place. He was, at the time, perhaps the most famous author in Britain. So famous, in fact, that after publication of The Jungle Book, coach parties would come daily to gawp at his family home in Rottingdean. After the untimely death of his daughter Josephine, this became intolerable, so in 1902 he
  
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• Pension warning: Over 50s 'facing £135k pension shortfall' for moderate retirement

  15-11-2019 16:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  PENSION pots are something many may pay into during their lifetime in order to build up a form of income during their retirement, in addition to the state pension. However, people currently in their 50s are being warned they may face a shortfall, should they wish to enjoy a “moderately comfortable” retirement.
  
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• Universal Credit: Cold Weather Payment Scheme has begun - how to check if you’re due £25

  15-11-2019 16:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  UNIVERSAL CREDIT claimants and other recipients of certain benefits may be able to get an extra £25 payment during very cold periods this winter. The Cold Weather Payment Scheme has begun for 2019 to 2020, and it’s possible to check whether a payment is due in one’s area online.
  
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• Stamp Duty reform 'could save buyers £4,300' - and see no SDLT to pay for 90% of purchases

  15-11-2019 16:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  STAMP DUTY LAND TAX reform could save the average owner-occupier £4,300 each, and the changes would cut the average Stamp Duty paid by movers by 63 percent, with nine out of ten home purchases seeing no duty being payable, new research suggests.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn promises free broadband under Labour – video

  15-11-2019 13:36 via theguardian.com
  
  A Labour government would deliver free broadband as a 'universal public service' to every home and business in the UK, Corbyn pledged on Friday. Speaking in Lancaster, the opposition leader said internet access had gone from being a luxury to a necessity. Corbyn said the plan would be funded by 'fairly' taxing large firms such as Facebook and Google  Continue reading...
  
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• Halifax joins HSBC in letting customers block cards from gambling

  15-11-2019 13:32
  
  Block is designed to prevent problem gamblers betting money they can’t afford to loseHalifax has joined HSBC in announcing customers can now self-exclude their bank cards from being used to gamble – and if they change their mind they won’t be able to start spending again for another 48 hours.The block is designed to prevent problem gamblers betting money they can’t afford to lose and restrict impulsive behaviour. It lets them prevent their cards being used at bookmakers a
  
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• This pension scheme has 8m members – and ethical savers do best

  15-11-2019 13:17
  
  The publicly owned Nest has thrived thanks to investments such as its £1.1bn ‘climate aware’ fundIt’s often said that paying into a workplace pension is a no-brainer, and maybe here’s the proof: early investors into Britain’s biggest auto-enrolment scheme have tripled their money in seven years. And those who chose the ethical fund have made the best returns.Figures provided exclusively to Guardian Money by Nest (National Employment Savings Trust) – whic
  
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• How feasible is Labour's free broadband plan and part-nationalisation of BT?

  15-11-2019 11:56
  
  UK lags behind other countries over full fibre but the election pledge raises many questionsLabour pledges free broadband for all homes and firms in UKMcDonnell: free broadband ‘essential to make UK competitive’Labour’s pledge to provide free full-fibre broadband to every home and business in the UK, including part-nationalising BT and introducing a tax on the tech giants to help pay for it, is an eye-catching offer to potential voters – but raises a host of questions abo
  
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• Family homes for first-time buyers – in pictures

  15-11-2019 08:00
  
  Get your foot on the property ladder with these starter homes, from Devon to Aberdeenshire Continue reading...
  
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• Labour urged to scale back plans to give workers stake in firms

  15-11-2019 07:00
  
  Changing policy to focus on UK profits would counter ‘stealth tax’ criticism, says thinktankRadical Labour plans to pay workers as much as £500 each in dividends, by forcing every large company in Britain to give staff a 10% stake, should be scaled back to focus on profits generated in the UK market, a key architect of the policy has said.In response to criticisms of the landmark proposal by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, the leftwing Common Wealth thinktank said changi
  
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• Watchdog attacks Tory and Labour minimum wage proposals

  15-11-2019 01:01
  
  Institute for Fiscal Studies launches scathing review of plans to cut in-work povertyLatest election news – live updatesLabour’s plans to increase the minimum wage to £10 an hour for all workers on its first day in office will treble the number of people covered by the pay policy and largely miss the target of raising the incomes of poor households, according to a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.The tax and spending watchdog said a Tory proposal to increase wages at a
  
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• Victims of bank transfer scams risk being left unprotected

  15-11-2019 01:01
  
  Industry fails to agree on compensation plan after current scheme expiresBank transfer scam victims risk being left unprotected from January after the industry failed to agree a plan to compensate people.More than £1m a day is being lost to scams in which people are duped into authorising a payment to an account controlled by a criminal. The failure to agree a protection plan may make it more likely that the next government will step in. Continue reading...
  
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