Pension freedoms causing confusion and longer careers for UK's older workers, study shows

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Older workers are now planning to retire later because of pension concerns, the research found
Almost two-thirds of working over-55s in the UK have admitted they are confused by the rules around pensions since the government introduced more freedom to the sector in 2015, according to a new study.
Pension freedoms, launched by the former chancellor, George Osborne, give everyone aged 55 years and older greater flexibility on how to use their defined contribution pension funds, where previously they were required to purchase annuity products with their savings.
Read more FCA adds to confusion created by Osborne’s pension freedom reforms Research from Prudential shows that 64 per cent of over-55s say they are confused by the regulations, while 82 per cent want the government to stop making changes to pension rules.
Meanwhile, 42 per cent are concerned about running out of money during retirement and 41 per cent are worried about paying for long-term care.
People are growing inc..

C.F.P.B.’s Chief Gives Big Raises, Even as He Criticizes Spending

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C.F.P.B.’s Chief Gives Big Raises, Even as He Criticizes Spending Photo Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has recently approved high salaries for top appointees while using its cash reserves to fund its budget. Credit Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has complained that the regulator engages in “wasteful spending” and needs to be slimmed down. To underscore the point, he submitted a quarterly budget request recently that was a nice round number: $0.
That attitude, though, apparently didn’t apply to two of his recent hires.
Mr. Mulvaney appointed two senior staff members who are paid salaries of more than $230,000, amounts that are far above what they had been earning in their previous government jobs in Washington, according to agency documents obtained by The New York Times through a public records request.
The consumer bureau, as well as fellow financial regulators like..

HSBC tax evasion whistleblower released after being detained on Swiss extradition request

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German MEP says Hervé Falciani should be given a medal not put in jail for being 'pioneer in fight against tax fraud'
An HSBC whistleblower who leaked data that led to a tax evasion scandal has been released by a Spanish judge after being arrested on an extradition request from Switzerland.
Hervé Falciani, a former IT worker at HSBC’s secretive Swiss bank, faces a five-year prison sentence in Switzerland after being convicted in absentia for industrial sabotage in 2015.
Police arrested Mr Falciani in Madrid on Wednesday on his way to speak at a conference on whistleblowing. Swiss authorities had requested that he be remanded in custody but he was released without bail on Thursday and ordered to surrender his passport while Spanish authorities consider whether to extradite him.
Read more HSBC accused of 'criminal complicity' in money-laundering scandal In 2008, Mr Falciani fled Switzerland, having stolen data on 130,000 HSBC clients, many of whom he suspected..

Trump's Twitter war with Amazon is about more than preserving the Post Office

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The President's tweets have previously had a dramatic impact on the retailer's share value
It’s no secret that Donald Trump has become a bit of a problem for Amazon lately.
His gripe with the retail giant is, according to his Twitter account, due to the firm’s tax practices and failure to support the US postal service – he alleges that the company is costing the US Post Office billions of dollars each year.
Read more Kimmel on why Trump hates Amazon: “Bezos is actually a billionaire' However, commentators have long linked the US President’s anti-Amazon agenda with Jeff Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post, not least because Mr Trump has made that link publicly several times.
He has previously accused the newspaper of being little more than a vehicle through which Mr Bezos can lobby on behalf of his business interests, using the hashtag #AmazonWashingtonPost on more than one occasion. On Thursday, in his fifth tweet targeting Amazon this week, Mr Trump called..

Google finds itself in a military muddle as staff get restive

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More than 3,000 have sent a letter to the search giant's boss protesting its work with the US Department of Defense amid increasingly heated debate over AI
First it was “don’t be evil”, then it was “do the right thing”.
It appears Google staff members aren’t too sure whether their employer is living up either of those much vaunted, but admirable, principles with its work for the US Department of Defense.
At issue is the latter's Project Maven. It is using the company’s open source artificial intelligence system TensorFlow to analyse footage captured by army surveillance drones and highlight what may be of interest for human review.
It's a pilot project sparked by the fact that there's too much footage for personnel to practicably scan, but one which has prompted more than 3,000 Googlers to take the time to sign a letter to boss Sundar Pichai stating that their company “should not be in the business of war” and requesting that the project be dropped.
Read mor..

Gender pay gap: worst offenders in each sector revealed as reporting deadline passes

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The worst gender pay gap offenders have been revealed after the deadline for large firms and public sector bodies to report the difference between what they pay their male and female staff passed at midnight on Wednesday.
The parent company of Millwall football club has the worst gender pay gap of any firm to publish data. The South London-based club revealed it pays women just a fifth of the amount it pays men. The figures also highlight some other organisations with large pay discrepancies in a broad range of sectors
Universities Read more How Belgium is defeating the gender pay gap Harper Adams University in Shropshire and York St John University have the joint-worst gender pay gap, paying women 37.4 per cent less than men on average.
Among the prestigious Russell Group universities in England, Durham University has the worst gender pay gap at 29.3 per cent. Six Russell Group universities reported median gender pay gaps wider than the national average of 18.4 per cent.
Counc..

Google staff protest company's involvement with Pentagon drones programme

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Thousands of Google staff are protesting against the use of the company’s technology in the Pentagon’s controversial drones programme.
The US Department of Defense's Project Maven, commenced last April, utilises the Silicon Valley search giant's artificial intelligence system to analyse vast amounts of footage captured by the US Army’s unmanned surveillance planes around the world.
Around 3,100 staff are thought to have signed a letter to Google boss Sundar Pichai, demanding that the company pulls out of the project.
Read more Google's decision to build AI for Pentagon drones divides company Google confirmed last month that the Pentagon was using its technology, sparking outrage among some of its employees.
A copy of the letter published in the New York Times said: “We believe that Google should not be in the business of war.
“Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicise and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google ..

A View from the Top: Anne-Marie Curtis, editor-in-chief of ELLE UK

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An advocate for the enduring value of print, Anne-Marie Curtis talks about her rise from intern to editor-in-chief
“When I bought the first issue, I was like, ‘This is my magazine’,” says Anne-Marie Curtis of discovering Elle UK back in 1985.
Curtis got her first taste of working for Elle as an intern in the early 1990s under the late Sally Brampton, who she describes as a “brilliant, brilliant editor”. Curtis’s commitment to Elle had secured a promising start to her career.
Fast-forward to 2018 and she’s talking to me in her office, just off London’s Carnaby Street, as the title’s editor-in-chief – Wednesday marks her first anniversary in the role.
Read more Ann Summers CEO Jacqueline Gold on the tough world of retail I ask if she expects new hires to possess her level of devotion. “I don’t want to hire me,” she says. “It’s about a sense of individuality and a point of view, as well as absolutely getting what Elle is.”
Curtis knows the power of plucky ideas and clear purpose…

Asset managers must assess value they offer investors under strict new FCA rules

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Asset managers will have to prove their value for money
Asset managers must assess each year how much value for money they offer investors, Britain’s markets watchdog said on Thursday, stopping short of tougher measures called for by critics of the 7 trillion pound sector.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said asset managers would have 18 months to prepare for a requirement from September 2019 to make an annual assessment of value, as part of their duty to act in the best interests of investors.
In a requirement that will take effect six months later than originally indicated, asset managers will have to publish their value assessments and show if any corrective action was taken if charges were identified as not being justified.
Read more UK services sector felt the chill from the Beast from the East After pressure from industry, the value for money idea floated in last year’s review has been broadened to overall value to avoid what the FCA says is too much focus on costs.
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