Food prices
Food prices will go up without continued access to EU workers, 30 food and drink associations have warned.
In a letter published in The Guardian, they argue that EU workers play an important role in the supply chain and some are already starting to return home. It called on the Government to offer ‘unambiguous reassurance’ about their right to remain. CrowdfundingStricter rules are required to protect investors in crowdfunding platforms, the City watchdog has said.
It said it was too difficult to assess the risks and returns of investments, and suggested applying ‘mortgage-lending standards’ to loan-based platforms, the BBC reports. It follows industry regulations in 2014 that some providers called restrictive. Pensions The Guardian reports that the UK’s final salary pension funds have dramatically cut their ownership of stock-market listed companies to just 7 per cent of their total holdings. According to the paper, this follows ‘a huge shift in recent years to overseas stock markets and government bonds.The move away from owning UK stocks emphasises how dependent Britain’s estimated 13.5 million past and present final salary scheme members have become on returns from shares in US, continental and emerging market companies to generate a retirement income.’ HolidaysBritish holidaymakers are booking next summer’s sunshine break in droves, according to TUI Group.
The Daily Mail reports that ‘the owner of Thomson Holidays said 20 per cent of next summer’s holidays have already been snapped up. Revenue at TUI fell 1.9 per cent to £14.5 billion for the year to September 30, but was up when currency movements such as the fall in the pound were taken out.’
PPI
A final decision on whether or when to set a deadline for compensation claims over mis-sold payment protection insurance has itself been delayed, the BBC reports. The Financial Conduct Authority says the decision, expected in December, would now be made in the first quarter of 2017 owing to the weight of feedback during consultation. Spread bettingThe Times reports that spread-betting firms are under continued pressure after Germany became the third country within a week to crack down on risky financial products.
The paper stated that ‘the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority followed its regulatory counterparts in Britain and Cyprus by announcing tougher rules on contracts for difference, or CFDs — risky bets on equity and currency markets — for retail customers.’ Finally…Expensive technology is contributing to a rise in the value of the average Christmas stocking, with items such as smartphones, tablets, action cameras and fitness bands easing out traditional chocolate coins and satsumas as the go-to stocking fillers.
Research by Barclaycard reveals that parents will be splashing out an average £71 on their child’s Christmas stocking this year, peaking at £119 for a typical 15-year-old.
A quarter of us are considering putting technology and gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, action cameras and fitness bands into a loved one’s stocking this month, helping to drive up the cost to the highest in a generation. One in ten 11-year-olds will receive a smartphone, while a fifth of 13-year-olds will be lucky enough to receive music or stereo equipment, such as wireless speakers.
Meanwhile, a new study from TopCashback.co.uk has found that for nearly a third of Brits feeling guilty is a key factor when making festive purchases. The feeling of remorse does not come cheap though with consumers spending £152 on gifts, cards and food in a bid to keep everyone else happy.
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