Breaking - ArchivesPosts of 12/2017

The company behind thousands of the UK’s fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) is offering gambling-style apps on Facebook without age checks, prompting allegations that children are being exposed to the risk of addiction.

Earlier this month, the industry watchdog warned that more than 60,000 children were either gambling addicts or were in danger of becoming hooked. Experts have warned that games mimicking real-life gambling are the “number one risk factor” for developing a problem later in life. Read more HERE

Price cutting by homeowners desperate to shift their property in a slowing market has reached the highest levels in six years, according to an analysis by website Zoopla.

Just over 35% of the homes marketed on the site have marked down their price in the hope of achieving a sale, with the biggest discounts in the London property market. The 35% figure compares with 29% just before the EU referendum in 2016, although it is below the levels recorded in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Read more HERE.

Businesses & bankers urged the government to make urgent progress on trade talks after Theresa May secured a “hard won” agreement with the European commission to allow the government to move to the second stage of Brexit negotiations. Sterling was higher against the euro, up 0.2% at €1.1468.

The British Chambers of Commerce also called for more detail early in the new year about the UK’s future trade relationship with the EU. Read more HERE.

Investors are ignoring warning signs that financial markets could be overheating and consumer debts are rising to unsustainable levels, the global body for central banks has warned in its quarterly financial health check.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the situation in the global economy was similar to the pre-2008 crash era when investors, seeking high returns, borrowed heavily to invest in risky assets, despite moves by central banks to tighten access to credit. Read more HERE.

North Korea has claimed that the rocket it test-fired on Wednesday morning is a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that can strike anywhere on the US mainland, as it declared itself a “complete” nuclear state.

In a special announcement broadcast on state TV, the country’s leader Kim Jong-un said it had successfully tested a Hwasong-15, which appears to be an advanced version of ICBMs it launched in July. Read more HERE.