Category Archives: BUSINESS

Pensions pay gap: Men receive up to £29k more than women in state pension, study shows

Many women have a smaller retirement savings pot because they take breaks in their careers
The pay gap continues after retirement, with men getting a better state pension deal than women, according to research from consumer group Which?.
Male pensioners stand to receive almost £29,000 in total more than women over the course of a typical 20-year retirement, based on the latest available data from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which shows the average man receives a weekly pension of £153.86 while women get £125.98.
Read more Grandparents claiming pension boost for looking after grandchildren Scrapping state pension triple lock may increase poverty, report warns Fifteen million people aren’t saving for retirement, FCA boss warns The figures, which cover the three months to August 2017, show women receive on average 81.9 per cent of what men get, an improvement from 79.7 per cent in the same period of 2015 and 77.7 per cent in 2013.
Almost 13 million people currently..

HSBC faces protests at AGM over investments in arms companies supplying Israeli government

Campaign groups demand bank divest from companies they say supply arms used for violence against Palestinians
HSBC faced protests at its annual general meeting on Friday from activists highlighting the bank’s investments in companies which supply Israel with weapons.
Campaign groups War on Want, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and Children international protested outside the shareholder event in Westminster, demanding that the UK’s largest lender divests from arms companies including Boeing, BAE Systems and Elbit Systems.
They say the defence companies have sold arms used for violence against Palestinians, including extrajudicial executions, attacks on unarmed protesters and house demolitions.
Read more Corbyn condemns Western 'silence' on Israel’s killing of Palestinians According to War on Want’s research, HSBC holds £831m worth of shares in, and is involved in syndicated loans worth at least £19.3bn to, companies that sell weapons and military equipment to the I..

US regulators hit Wells Fargo with $1bn fine

It is the latest scandal to hit the 170-year-old bank
A leading US bank is to pay $1bn – the largest fine imposed since Donald Trump became president – as punishment for selling customers car insurance they did not need and charging them unnecessary mortgage fees.
In the latest in a series of scandals to hit the country’s third-largest bank, Wells Fargo will pay the sum as part of a settlement agreed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). However, none of the money will go to the victims of the bank’s actions.
According to the deal that was reached, the San Fransisco-based bank, which was founded in 1852, will pay $500m each to the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The fine is the first imposed by the bureau under Mick Mulvaney, who Mr Trump appointed to take over the consumer watchdog agency in last November.
World news in pictures 50 show all World news in pictures 1/50 19 April 2018 Outgoing Cuban President Raul Castro raising the arm of Cub..

Nissan to cut hundreds of jobs at Sunderland plant as demand for diesel cars plummets

It comes just days after Jaguar Land Rover cut 1,000 agency staff jobs
Nissan is cutting hundreds of jobs at its Sunderland plant, citing plummeting demand for diesel cars after an emissions scandal.
It comes just days after Jaguar Land Rover cut 1,000 agency staff jobs, blaming continued difficult trading conditions in the car market.
A spokesperson for Nissan said: “As previously communicated, we are transitioning to a new range of powertrains over the next year.
“As we make the operational changes required to support this, we will be managing a planned short-term reduction in powertrain supply and plant volumes at NMUK in line with our 2018 Business Plan. We are now discussing these operational changes with our employees.”
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Scottish Power hikes gas and electricity bills for nearly 1 million customers

Typical household on a dual-fuel bill on standard tariff will rise by £63 to £1,211
Scottish Power is hiking gas and electricity prices by 5.5 per cent on 1 June, the company announced on Friday.
The cost for a typical household on a dual-fuel standard tariff will rise by £63 to £1,211.
The rise will affect a third of Scottish Power’s customers, around 960,000 households. Those on fixed tariffs will not see their bills increase, the company said.
Read more British Gas announces 5.5% price hike, affecting 4.1m UK households Scottish Power blamed the increase on rising wholesale gas and electricity prices compulsory costs such as upgrading meters.
It becomes the latest energy supplier to hit customers with higher bills after EDF Energy announced last week that it would raising the prices by 1.4 per cent, for 1.3 million households from June.
The energy provider said it would increase its standard variable electricity tariff by £16 a year, taking the dual fuel cost for an averag..

Record Stay Day is a remarkable effort at self help by an industry

The event has played a key role in the revival of the much loved independent record store as well as vinyl
Tomorrow’s Record Store Day is beautiful thing, one of those rare business events that are unequivocally worthy of celebration.
More than 200 independent stores will participate, with a bewildering array of new vinyl releases, specials and previously unavailable re releases put together by artists and labels specifically for the event.
To get your hands on the best of them you’ll have to turn up at one of the stores. And perhaps queue, while accepting that you’re going to do some serious damage to your bank balance when you finally get in.
Read more Vinyl bought on Record Store Day appears on eBay for inflated prices Record Store Day 2016: The UK events to have on your radar Record Store Day: The best exclusive vinyl on offer If, like me, you’re among the band of rabid enthusiasts for the vinyl revival you won’t worry too much about the latter point (and you'll boyc..

Scottish Power hikes gas and electricity bills for nearly 1 million customers

Typical household on a dual-fuel bill on standard tariff will rise by £63 to £1,211
Scottish Power is hiking gas and electricity prices by 5.5 per cent on 1 June, the company announced on Friday.
The cost for a typical household on a dual-fuel standard tariff will rise by £63 to £1,211.
The rise will affect a third of Scottish Power’s customers, around 960,000 households. Those on fixed tariffs will not see their bills increase, the company said.
Read more British Gas announces 5.5% price hike, affecting 4.1m UK households Scottish Power blamed the increase on rising wholesale gas and electricity prices compulsory costs such as upgrading meters.
It becomes the latest energy supplier to hit customers with higher bills after EDF Energy announced last week that it would increase prices by 1.4 per cent, for 1.3 million households from June.
The energy provider said it would increase its standard variable electricity tariff by £16 a year, taking the dual fuel cost for an average h..

What should we think of JD Wetherspoon ditching social media?

Tim Martin knows his audience and this is a shrewd move
This week, JD Wetherspoon announced it is closing its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The pub chain said that around 900 pubs and its head office will no longer have a social media presence. According to Tim Martin, the Wetherspoon chairman, ‘It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion.’ He went on: ‘We are going against conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business.’
Commentators were quick to call it a publicity stunt. One Twitter user wrote: “Wetherspoon couldn’t build a social media following so got some free publicity by deleting its accounts.”
Others pointed out that most Wetherspoon Facebook pages have fewer than 1,000 likes but attract many negative reviews. A Twitter account allegedly made by the pub chain’s sacked social media team wrote:”So social media is a ‘waste of..