Financial news

• UK energy watchdog demands answers after major power cut

  10-08-2019 10:16
  Outage caused travel chaos and cut electricity to almost 1m people in England and WalesThe energy watchdog, Ofgem, is demanding the National Grid provide answers after a power cut left people stuck in trains for up to nine hours and cut electricity to almost 1 million people in England and Wales.The biggest power outage in a decade caused widespread disruption on the rail network during the evening rush hour on Friday. Traffic light systems stopped working, causing gridlock in some areas, and Ne
  
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• Train feels the strain: passengers slate £150m Caledonian Sleeper

  10-08-2019 09:00
  Public tell of delays, power cuts and being told to take a taxi 100 miles to their destinationWith luxury double rooms, en suite showers and a breakfast service which includes smoothie bowls and eggs royale, the relaunch of the renowned Caledonian Sleeper just over 100 days ago seemed to have elevated the train service to the highest standards of luxury and convenience.But since the £150m fleet of trains was introduced in April, it has been beset with difficulties – from severe delay
  
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• Why is it so difficult to stop your pension money making the climate crisis worse?

  10-08-2019 08:00
  You’re lucky if your company pension set-up includes ethical funds that don’t invest in coal extraction or oil drillingIn the highly unlikely event that Greta Thunberg grows up and gets a job at the average British company (yes, highly unlikely) then there would be almost nothing she could do to stop part of her pay going every month into a company pension that would, in turn, stuff the money into oil companies such as Shell and BP.It’s 2019, and computer processing has transfo
  
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• This week: Frozen out by money-laundering regulations … and a smart meter goes rogue

  10-08-2019 08:00
  How banks can close your accounts without telling you why – and always take your own meter readings, just in caseI desperately need your help after Barclays bank closed my current account of 10 years, freezing the £56,000 held in it without explanation. This account has been credited with my wages each month for the past seven years. The bank demanded to see evidence of where the money came from and, fortunately, I kept all my wage slips. But I have now been told that I will not be a
  
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• Our neighbours’ yapping dogs are driving us mad. What can we do?

  10-08-2019 08:00
  We’ve politely mentioned it, but it just goes on and on. The noise is so bad that my wife is thinking of selling our homeEvery 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 live in a terraced house and the neighbours’ two yapping dogs are driving us mad. We’ve politely mentioned it, but it just goes on and on. It’s so bad that my wife is
  
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• Jersey grants licence to harvest hemp flowers for CBD oil

  10-08-2019 08:00
  Team of ex-firefighters given go-ahead to legally process crop for cannabidiol extractionJersey has become the first place in the British and Irish Isles to grant a licence for farmers to harvest hemp flowers for cannabis oil.A former Royal Marine commando and two former colleagues will be the pioneers who process hemp for cannabidiol (CBD) extraction. Continue reading...
  
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• Home insurance: ‘Our house was wrecked. But the AA only offered us £4,270’

  10-08-2019 08:00
  A couple returning from holiday found that their home had been devastated by a flood. Their problems were just beginningHow much would it cost to fix your home after flooding, with the ceiling collapsed, plaster falling off, electrics dangling and tiles dropping off the walls? Berkshire couple Paul and Anne Mansbridge had quotes varying from £13,000 to £24,000 – but their home insurer, the AA, will pay just £4,270.The Mansbridges say they have been left baffled and increa
  
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• Climate crisis: ‘We don’t fly to go on holiday now – and it doesn’t cost the earth’

  10-08-2019 08:00
  Campaigners want 2020 to be a no-fly year, but are trains and ferries really financially viable travel options?For her summer holiday this year, Anna Hughes, 36, is cycling from London to Nice, stopping in Paris, Nevers, Lyon, and Provence along the 700-mile route. To return, she’s jumping on the TGV in Nice, arriving back in London around nine hours later. Hughes is one of the trailblazers for flight-free holidays, avoiding gas-guzzling planes for the past decade, and is now director of F
  
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• ‘I’ve waited 25 years for a movement like Extinction Rebellion’

  10-08-2019 07:59
  Larch Maxey is working six days a week developing and implementing strategies – while living off his savingsName: Larch Maxey Age: 46 Income: £0 Occupation: Full-time volunteer with Extinction RebellionI’m on a year’s sabbatical, and volunteering full-time with Extinction Rebellion. I’ve always been interested the environment and social justice – I have a PhD in sustainability and was a geography lecturer and post-doctoral researcher for 17 years – and I
  
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• Widow's Pension & Bereavement Allowance: MP on 'discrimination' millions of couples face

  10-08-2019 05:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  STELLA CREASY MP has spoken out about financial support for bereaved families - such as the Bereavement Allowance, which was previously the Widow’s Pension - calling the ban on the allowance for unmarried couples “blatant discrimination”.
  
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