Financial news

• Why did Silicon Valley Bank fail?

  10-03-2023 23:20
  
  Shutdown and takeover of bank by regulators can be traced to the Fed raising interest rates and risk-averse investorsUS regulators seize assets of Silicon Valley Bank amid institution’s failureThe shutdown and takeover of Silicon Valley Bank by regulators on Friday can be traced to the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates and souring the risk appetite of investors.Here is the sequence of events that led to the failure: Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on the budget: no easy fixes for a broken Britain | Editorial

  10-03-2023 19:30
  
  Jeremy Hunt has little to offer a country battered by austerity and venal politics On one thing, politicians, economists and commentators on the left and right can agree: Britain is broken. Not as in the silly, smirking slogan used by David Cameron in opposition, but in the most basic sense. This winter, sick people have died in the hours that it took for ambulances to arrive. This week’s cold snap has again forced many families across the UK to debate whether to heat their homes or feed t
  
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• Shrinking rewards or not, the past 22 years have taught me I'm a Boots Advantage card person | Laura Snapes

  10-03-2023 17:06
  
  The high street’s best-value loyalty card has been hit by the cost of living crisis, but that won’t diminish my attachment to itIn fiction-writing courses, they say character leaks. By that, they mean that it’s not the declarations or decisive actions that give us away, but our unconscious behaviour. Which is how I learned, to my mortification, that a key part of my character was “Boots Advantage card person”.I had recently started hanging out with an old friend, an
  
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• Budget 2023: Hunt plans to raise pension cap and improve childcare help

  10-03-2023 16:50
  
  Chancellor likely to announce increase to £40,000 pension annual limit and lifetime allowanceJeremy Hunt is considering a boost for the pensions of middle-class professionals and more help with childcare for parents in next week’s budget, as he tries to get more people into the workforce.The chancellor is likely to announce significant increases to pensions allowances in a bid to tackle the “pension trap”, which has led many workers to take early retirement. Continue read
  
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• Gove threatens housebuilders in row over post-Grenfell safety fittings

  10-03-2023 16:42
  
  Exclusive: Developers furious at minister’s public chivvying over contracts they say they have yet to receiveMichael Gove has threatened major housebuilders in Great Britain with a nationwide ban if they fail to sign up to a building safety contract many have not yet been sent.The levelling up secretary has given developers in England, Scotland and Wales until Monday to sign a contract to remove and replace dangerous materials in the wake of the Grenfell fire. Continue reading...
  
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• As carbon offsetting faces ‘credibility revolution’, shoppers should be wary

  10-03-2023 15:24
  
  ‘Carbon neutral’ claims are often based on credits certified by Verra – and investigation has suggested many are worthlessBiggest carbon credit certifier to replace its rainforest offsets schemeThe appeal is obvious: for a few pounds, we can – in theory – cancel out the damage we do to the planet by protecting a threatened rainforest.We can fly and eat “carbon neutral” and even offset CO2 emissions from our breath, making our entire existence “carb
  
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• Boots shoppers to earn fewer Advantage card points as retailers’ costs rise

  10-03-2023 13:36
  
  From May, loyalty card holders will collect 3p of points for every £1 spent at health and beauty chain, down from 4pBoots is cutting the points per pound shoppers can earn on their loyalty card by a quarter, while offering discounts on its own-brand products.The health and beauty chain told customers via email that from May, holders of the Boots Advantage card would collect 3p worth of points for every £1 spent, instead of 4p. They will keep the number of points they have already col
  
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• What have the past three years taught us about hybrid working?

  10-03-2023 13:02
  
  With Covid having permanently changed many people’s working lives, experts suggest ways to improve flexible arrangementsAlmost three years have passed since the first “work from home” mandate was introduced – and many people’s working lives have never been the same since. Some employees have never returned to a physical office, while others are adjusting to hybrid working. So what lessons can recent research teach us about how to make flexible arrangements work bett
  
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• Live your best (and cheapest) life: 11 top tips from money-saving influencers

  10-03-2023 12:00
  
  Experts share ideas for saving money and the planet, from batch cooking to DIY hacks - and how to blag an upgradeMimi Harrison started Beat the Budget at university, where she found herself barely subsisting on late-night chips. She’s since shared 400 budget recipes with 260,000 Instagram followers, for everything from caramelised shallot pasta to peanut butter chicken satay curry (now arranged on her website by dietary needs or meal type). She never spends more than £20 on her weekl
  
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• If Starmer wants a defining policy for government, this is it: childcare, childcare, childcare | Polly Toynbee

  10-03-2023 10:00
  
  I’ve visited Pen Green nursery many times, and now it faces huge cuts. Its plight shows why Labour needs the life-changing radicalism of the Sure Start yearsAn award-winning children’s centre in Corby, Northamptonshire is about to be hit with an estimated 70% funding cut from its local council, demolishing all that it’s famous for. It is the culmination of the 13-year destruction of Labour’s Sure Start programme. I have been visiting Pen Green over many years; it is consi
  
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• Homes with film connections – in pictures

  10-03-2023 08:00
  
  From a grand London building that featured in Bond movies to a modern home near a Hogwarts Castle location Continue reading...
  
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• I won on Premium Bonds - but it got me thinking about interest rates and inflation

  10-03-2023 05:00 via express.co.uk
  
  I began thinking more about Premium Bonds once I clinched my own win - albeit nowhere near a life-changing sum.
  
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• Supermarket hot cross buns taste test: traditional flavours ‘pleasant’, chocolate chip ‘mediocre’

  10-03-2023 01:49
  
  In Australian consumer group Choice’s annual Easter bun fight, a 67c Woolworths variety came out on topGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWhen it comes to supermarket hot cross buns, it’s best to stick to tradition, a blind taste test organised by consumer group Choice has found.Overall, traditionally flavoured hot cross buns scored far more favourably than the upstart chocolate chip variety, while gluten-free options left judges with a bad taste in their mouths.Sign up for t
  
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• FCA urges UK banks to consider cutting mortgage payments for those struggling

  10-03-2023 01:01
  
  City regulator estimates 356,000 borrowers may be at risk of missing monthly payments by summer 2024The UK regulator has told banks to consider slashing mortgage payments for borrowers struggling with rising bills, as it revealed that 356,000 homeowners could be at risk of missing their monthly instalments by summer 2024.The guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority confirms how lenders can support customers who have missed payments or are worried they may fall behind, including by extending
  
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• Britons could pay extra £285 in energy bills next month even if Hunt keeps price guarantee

  10-03-2023 01:01 via express.co.uk
  
  Households are still forecast to be worse off financially next month even if the energy price guarantee remains at its current level, experts have warned.
  
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• Are scammers 'scraping' your data from social media? Red flags you need to watch out for

  10-03-2023 00:53 via express.co.uk
  
  Scams target both sexes, but some use sensitive and personal data to disproportionately go after women, so women must make sure they have control of their personal information.
  
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