Shares and sterling are rallying as the financial markets react to the Conservative Party’s election triumphLatest: FTSE 100 and 250 surged todayBiggest trading volumes since 2017Housebuilders, utilities and banks rallyChancellor Javid promises ‘deal dividend’ for economyBilliona ▶️ Read more ◀️
Family decide to buy property in central London as direct result of election outcomeA super-rich European family on Friday bought a house in central London for £65m, saying their decision was a direct result of Boris Johnson’s historic Conservative party election victory.The fami ▶️ Read more ◀️
The fashion retailer has been blighted by scandal, but the current crisis in styles and sales has deeper rootsTed Baker has been a jack-the-lad character in the City for the past 30 years. The story goes that “Ted”, the presumed alter ego of company founder Ray Kelvin, got the id ▶️ Read more ◀️
Retailer plans US expansion and overhaul of Regent Street branch in battle to compete with key rivals Fake snow is falling and a hyperactive elf is hopping around on the pavement, geeing up the crowd pressed against the windows of Hamleys toy store, which is filled with a Christm ▶️ Read more ◀️
Scheduling changes on Sunday herald 1,000 new weekly services with more frequent trains and new routesPassengers have been urged to check their train times ahead of a major timetable change on Sunday, which will see more faster services on various routes around the country.Rail c ▶️ Read more ◀️
Car mechanic says he thought transfer was from ‘nan’s estate’ and put it into premium bondsA heavily indebted car mechanic in Cambridge who found £193,000 in his account – following a sort code error by a pensioner – says he thought the money was from his “nan’s estate” and that ▶️ Read more ◀️
Beijing says deal includes rollback of tariffs in phasesTrump hails ‘amazing deal for all’China and the US have reached an initial deal to resolve a bruising trade war between the two countries, according to statements from both sides.China’s vice-commerce minister, Wang Shouwen, ▶️ Read more ◀️
Bondholders of the Mexican food chain may only get 10p in the pound backSmall investors who sank millions of pounds into a “burrito bond” scheme were this week told they could face losing 90% of their money – or 99% if the company goes into administration. The Guardian revealed o ▶️ Read more ◀️
Aspiring Bank of England governor styles herself as ‘soft power dresser’ offering tipsTop City fund manager, campaigner for equal pay and opportunities, aspiring governor of the Bank of England, author – and now social media fashion influencer?Dame Helena Morrissey has often been ▶️ Read more ◀️
Consumers are waiting up to two years for adjudications, according to FOS documentsCan you trust the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to resolve your dispute with a bank or insurer? A whistleblower has told Guardian Money that a “disastrous” management reorganisation has left th ▶️ Read more ◀️
Boots will offer products online and in stores and will host Mothercare shop-in-shops The Mothercare brand will remain on UK high streets despite the collapse into administration of its UK retail business last month after a deal was struck to sell its products in Boots.Mothercare ▶️ Read more ◀️
High street shops cannot survive the death blow of online retail. But there are ways to make town centres come alive againAnother winter passes, and the plague continues its rampage through the high streets of Britain. Shutters are going up and stores are closing. The disease fel ▶️ Read more ◀️
Maximising output and finding better ways to measure it should be policymakers’ priorityDecember is usually a time for looking back on the past year and forward to the year ahead. In 2019 we have witnessed rising political extremism (on both the left and right) and polarisation, ▶️ Read more ◀️
At the least, timing of US president’s tweet means tit-for-tat tariffs may now be cancelledLast week Donald Trump thought it might be best to delay any trade deal with China until after next year’s US presidential election. Now he says the two countries are “very close” to a deal ▶️ Read more ◀️
Retailers are struggling, and evidence suggests this is more about the rise of online shopping than proof that we have reached ‘peak stuff’Shops are struggling. The fortnight before Christmas, and the January sales that follow, will be even more crucial than usual this year to re ▶️ Read more ◀️
Workers from tilers to toymakers need to attain rank of master craftsperson to start a businessGerman workers including tilers, organ builders and makers of wooden toys now need to attain the rank of “master craftsperson” before they can start their own business, as the country r ▶️ Read more ◀️
Rightmove’s annual top-five properties include a Downton Abbey-like castle and a star striker’s Towie pileThey are this year’s five most-viewed properties on the UK’s biggest house-selling website – from a Premier League footballer’s “wagtastic” Essex mansion to a castle that cou ▶️ Read more ◀️
Kali Peacock on how she manages her finances and the demands of bringing up three small childrenName: Kali PeacockAge: 44Occupation: Actor, EastbourneIncome: £8,000-£12,000 including self-employed earnings and benefitsI knew I wanted to be an actor after I was cast as chief Oompa ▶️ Read more ◀️
Demands for withdrawals from funds accelerate after M&G blocks redemptionsA dash for the exit by investors has left UK property funds nursing their worst week of withdrawals since the Brexit referendum, and raised fears that further funds may be forced to close.Last week M ▶️ Read more ◀️
I moved my husband and son to Oklahoma so I could pursue a PhD in English, but now I can’t afford to see my family for Christmas. Is all this worth it?As the heartache sank in, I stared out the back window at mounds of leaves littering the ground, accepting the finality of my dec ▶️ Read more ◀️