Financial news

• London houseboat residents fear rise in mooring fees will price them out

  04-07-2024 19:44
  
  The Canal and River Trust has increased fees at Ice Wharf Marina by more than 50% in the past nine yearsDespite their low-cost, bohemian image, houseboats can cost a pretty penny and often rival the price of a property on land. Now, those living on rivers and canals in London fear they will be priced out of for good as soaring mooring fees threaten their way of life.The Canal and River Trust (CRT) has raised mooring fees at some sites it owns by 10% for two years in a row. The Conservative gover
  
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• Cineworld ‘considers closing a quarter of its 100 UK cinemas’

  04-07-2024 15:47
  
  Debt-laden chain reportedly drawing up plans to shut 25 screens and renegotiate rent agreements at 50 sitesCineworld is reportedly considering closing a quarter of its UK cinemas as part of a wide-ranging restructure.The cinema operator, which delisted from the London Stock Exchange last year after its share price collapsed, is drawing up plans to shut as many as 25 cinemas and renegotiate rent agreements at 50 more of its 100 or so UK sites, sources told Sky News. Continue reading...
  
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• Pubs furious at Co-op ad urging Euro 2024 fans to ‘stay in’ with a meal deal

  04-07-2024 15:21
  
  Supermarket accused of targeting struggling industry as promotion states football hard to see on a pub TV screenPublicans have called on the Co-op to pull a “disgraceful” TV advert that urges the supermarket’s customers to watch the Euro 2024 football tournament at home rather than going to the pub.The Co-op Food ad says it is hard to see the TV screen in the pub and suggests customers instead “stay in” and take advantage of a beer and pizza deal the supermarket is
  
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• EU brushes aside risk of China trade war over electric vehicle tariffs

  04-07-2024 14:36
  
  Higher levies on Chinese EV imports to come into force despite carmakers’ fears of retaliationBusiness live – latest updatesThe EU’s top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, has brushed aside concerns of trade-war retaliation from Beijing against European business, after the European Commission imposed duties on Chinese electric vehicles.Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, told Bloomberg Television that talks with China were ongoing, adding: “We are not seei
  
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• British electricity prices could hinder switch to green technology, says steel industry

  04-07-2024 14:33
  
  UK Steel says British firms paid prices in spring well over double French and Spanish equivalentsBritish electricity prices were double those paid in France and Spain in the spring, with the steel industry saying the disadvantage could hinder UK efforts to switch to greener technology.UK companies paid nearly £66 per megawatt hour (MWh) for wholesale electricity in the second quarter of 2024, well over double the French and Spanish equivalents in the same period, according to analysis of i
  
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• Penalise startups that take state aid then list abroad, says UK Finance

  04-07-2024 11:27
  
  Banking sector suggests ‘two-way commitment’ that would require subsidies and tax breaks to be clawed backThe British banking sector has called for the next government to penalise startups that take state aid and then list abroad amid concerns about young companies choosing foreign stock exchanges over London.UK Finance suggested subsidies and tax breaks could be clawed back, arguing in a paper published this week that companies in receipt of government help should have “a two-
  
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• ‘They have you over a barrel’: how scammers, touts and bots took over driving tests

  04-07-2024 11:00
  
  It can take you six months to get a driving test in England – unless you’re willing to pay a middleman up to £350. What’s behind this black market? And is there any way to avoid it?I have much good fortune in my life, but in one respect I am unlucky: I live in the part of the country with the longest waiting times for driving tests, and I have been learning to drive.I began learning in 2022. In June 2023, I was test-ready. But when I tried to book my test, there were none
  
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• Our car was no longer driveable after valet parking at Gatwick

  04-07-2024 08:00
  
  We arrived back late at night from our holiday to be told the BMW had literally gone bangWe used the valet parking at Gatwick airport but when we arrived back, late at night with our three-year-old son, we were told our car had a “mechanical fault”.It had apparently suffered a broken coil spring while being driven from the parking lot back to the terminal and was no longer driveable. Continue reading...
  
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• Is Shein really worth £50bn? Reasons to be sceptical are piling up

  04-07-2024 07:00
  
  Shein failed to list in the US and now the EU is planning customs duties that may dent its business modelEU plans for import duty on cheap goods could dent Shein and TemuA stock market listing for Shein has been talked about for so long that the round number of £50bn has become attached to this Chinese-founded fast-fashion retailer as a plausible valuation. It’s probably time to ask: are you sure about that number?The figure isn’t plucked out of thin air, it should be said. She
  
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• Can the climate survive the insatiable energy demands of the AI arms race?

  04-07-2024 07:00
  
  New computing infrastructure means big tech is likely to miss emissions targets but they can’t afford to get left behind in a winner takes all marketThe artificial intelligence boom has driven big tech share prices to fresh highs, but at the cost of the sector’s climate aspirations.Google admitted on Tuesday that the technology is threatening its environmental targets after revealing that datacentres, a key piece of AI infrastructure, had helped increase its greenhouse gas emissions
  
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