Financial advisers increased basic pension services fees over the year after freedom reforms, according to new study. This is Money reports that financial advisers raised the cost for pension help by 16 to 17 percent. To get advice on how to turn a £100,000 pension pot into a lump sum, advisers increased their fees to £1,750 from £1,500. Meanwhile, the fee for a drawdown scheme for £300,000 pot has increased to £3,500 from £3,000. These are the middle figures from adviser website unbiased.co.uk from October 2014 to July 2015.
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Iran to sell crude oil to Asia on a huge discount in a bid to regain market share in the region
Next month, Iran is going to reduce prices for all its oil grades export to Asia, according to two people who knew the decision. There will be a reduction on the premium on its main light crude over the similar Saudi blend to the narrowest since the end of 2012 as reported by Bloomberg.
China deflation feared as producer prices fall anew
China faces risks of deflation, as manufacturers' selling prices fall for the 42nd consecutive month in August. The Producer Price Index (PPI) shed 5.9% from a year earlier, much worse than market expectations of a 5.5% decline.
Australian dollar recovers as unemployment figures went down
The Australian dollar has slightly recovered after Australian employers created more jobs than what economists forecasted last month, pulling down the unemployment rate. According to Bloomberg, the Australian dollar was at 69.70 U.S. cents as of 11:38 am in Sydney on Thursday, down by 0.7% from the previous day. It had been at 69.53 cents just before the statistics bureau announced the number of employed in Australia climbed to 17,400 in August. An increase of 5,000 jobs is expected by analysts, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The rate for the jobless went down from 6.3% to 6.2 % in July.
Qualcomm aims to be the go-to chipmaker for drones with new Snapdragon Flight
Qualcomm has revolutionized the drones and now aims to be the go-to chipmaker for this technology with its latest Snapdragon Flight. Drones may have its legal issues, but it has come a long way as a consumer technology. Drones are now convenient, easy to use, and look slicker. Now, Qualcomm plans to take it up a notch with their new Snapdragon Flight, which runs with the processor that power most prominent smartphones in the world.
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Tech giant Apple released Wednesday a series of product upgrades, including the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S plus, Siri-collaborative Apple TV, the enterprise-grade 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the first ever Apple Pencil, which is a stylus for designers and creatives.
Twitter announced Monday that it entered a partnership with giant Indonesian carrier Indosat, allowing its 68 million users to use its direct messaging (DM) feature.
Warren Buffett lets go of Exxon shares, and buys refiner Phillips stake because of the fluctuating oil prices. Bloomberg reports that the billionaire investor announced Wednesday that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold some $4 billion Exxon Mobil Corp. shares due to the dreary outlook of crude oil prices, buying instead a $4.48 billion stake from refiner Phillips 66.
The Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares had fallen in late trading Tuesday to 80%. This is after a study discovered that its manufactured experimental antibiotic was no better than a standard generic treatment.
Brazil's investment-grade credit falls beyond correction and into junk territory as Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's debt Wednesday. According to a report from The Guardian, Standard & Poor's said that Brazil lost its investment-grade status as it is projected with a negative outlook. This downgrade is unfortunate as the nation enters a recession.
French Industry slumps lower in the third quarter as production unexpectedly fell to 0.8%, a number lowest since November 2014. Economists forecasted a 0.2 increase according to Bloomberg survey, making the 0.8 percent downward curve such a big surprise. The statistics office reported Thursday that French industry output fell by 0.8 percent annually. Meanwhile, manufacturing output also dropped by 1 percent this month.
With an ambition to be the next eCommerce giant in Southeast Asia, Matahari Mall officially launched Wednesday with $500 million funding from giant Indonesian real estate development company Lippo Group.
Apple launched the new Apple TV during its big product even in San Francisco Wednesday, showing a lot of promise with the Siri remote; but critics believe it still hasn't "cracked the code" in ultimately changing the way people watch TV.
Nintendo, the largest Japanese video game company, had teamed up with Niantic Inc. to develop Pokémon Go, a mobile game based on the popular monsters from the Japanese cartoon series.
