Financial news

• Ministers can’t ignore the UK’s higher education debt crisis | Phillip Inman

  10-11-2018 23:43
  UK universities may soon struggle to repay billions in borrowing but the government can’t afford to let them failIt should be one of the bright spots in the British economy, one that shines through the Brexit gloom, but the higher education sector has become a pin on which balances the most enormous mountain of debt.And with speculation that institutions may be in financial trouble circulating around the sector, ministers are nervous. Continue reading...
  
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• Conflicted Italy hovers on the brink of renewed hard times

  10-11-2018 17:00
  After a long recession, Italians have enjoyed three precious years of growth: but now the country is stalling again as its populist leaders wrangle with the EUGiuseppe Pasini, the president of Italian steelmaker Feralpi, based in the northern province of Brescia, has reason to be concerned. When Italy finally emerged from its crushing triple-dip recession in 2015, Brescia, an important European industrial hub some 50 miles east of Milan, enjoyed uninterrupted growth.But after the general electio
  
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• Should the rich pay more for the same services – and higher fines too?

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The government is considering a sliding scale of probate fees, an idea that could apply elsewhereThere was outrage this week when the government said it was pressing ahead with a new approach to charging for its role in probate (the legal process for settling your financial affairs on death). Instead of the current £155 flat fee for the paperwork, the government is considering a sliding scale of probate fees based on the value of the estate, from zero to £6,000 – even though th
  
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• NatWest customers dumped and left unable to pay bills

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Britons are having their accounts closed as anti-terrorism and money laundering rules biteIs NatWest secretly conducting a purge of customers who have links to countries it doesn’t like the look of?A 26-year-old Londoner saving up to buy his first home and a 54-year-old woman on disability benefits are the latest people to have their NatWest bank accounts shut down with no explanation. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Living with a refugee gives you a real understanding of what is important’

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Management consultant Rachel Mantell on what she has learned from hosting refugeesName: Rachel Mantell
  Age: 40
  Income: More than £100,000
  Occupation: Self-employed management consultantI began opening up my home to refugees three years ago. I had been volunteering in Calais, while working as a management consultant. I’m the mother of a five-year-old boy and when I saw children in the camp that were my son’s age, it would get me in the gut. My partner Chris and I have a spare be
  
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• Is this Britain’s most ridiculous parking fine?

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Shoppers were charged £60 after parking outside Starbucks but going next door to McDonald’s in the same Stansted parkWhen Kate Readman and her husband decided to visit the McDonald’s restaurant near Stansted airport’s midstay car park, they were quick to check the parking restrictions.The pair, who had just got off a flight, had found the first available space at the Southgate retail park near the next-door Starbucks and, after seeing a sign that told them they had one fr
  
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• Is it worth buying a wool duvet – or is there a better option?

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  They aren’t cheap at more than £100 for king size but they appear to get great reviewsEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.We need a warmer duvet, and are thinking of going for a wool one. They aren’t cheap at more than £100 for king size but they appear to get great reviews. It’s claimed that they are warm in the winte
  
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• Childminders left up to £1,000 in red by HMRC technical glitch

  10-11-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Chaos at the government’s tax-free childcare scheme means many have gone unpaidChildminders across the UK were left unpaid this week following a technical glitch at the government’s tax-free childcare scheme, which meant some were up to £1,000 out of pocket.Iona, a childminder, tweeted: “Take parents’ money but don’t pay providers, leaving us overdrawn! Told nothing you can do, just hold tight a couple more days! Government going to pay parents’ late fee
  
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