Financial news

• UK inflation rate in surprise rise to 10.4% as salad crisis pushes up prices

  22-03-2023 12:14
  
  Increase confounds forecasts of a modest dip and adds to pressure on Bank of England to raise interest ratesLive coverage: Inflation jumps as cost of living crisis intensifiesWhich goods and services have risen most in price?Inflation calculator: find out how much price rises affect youUK inflation has jumped unexpectedly on the back of food prices surging at their highest rate for 45 years, piling pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates again this week.Adding to the squeeze o
  
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• ‘Money is a constant worry and it’s infecting everything’: one family’s experience of the soaring UK cost of living

  22-03-2023 12:00
  
  With food prices increasing at their fastest rate in 45 years, we hear how one family is coping with the financial pressureLive coverage: Inflation jumps as cost of living crisis intensifiesWhich goods and services have risen most in price?Inflation calculator: find out how much price rises affect you“Money is just a constant worry and I feel like it’s infecting everything,” says Jess Daly of the impact of rising living costs on her family. “Costs are increasing from all
  
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• Odds of UK interest rate rise surge after inflation jumps to 10.4% – business live

  22-03-2023 11:48
  
  City investors expect Bank of England to hike borrowing costs tomorrow as rising food and clothing prices kept UK inflation in double-digit levelsFull story: UK inflation rate in surprise rise to 10.4% as salad crisis pushes up pricesIncreased prices for womens clothing also pushed up UK inflation last month, with prices rising more in February than a year ago.Prices of clothing and footwear rose, overall, by 8.0% in the year to February 2023, up from 6.2% in the year to January 2023The upward e
  
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• UK inflation rise complicates Bank of England’s interest rate decision

  22-03-2023 11:37
  
  Surprise increase makes hike more likely, but economy is perilously close to recessionLive coverage: Inflation jumps as cost of living crisis intensifiesUK inflation rate in surprise rise to 10.4%Inflation calculator: find out how much price rises affect youFor millions of households, there had been hope that the worst of Britain’s cost of living crisis was behind us. But last month’s unexpected increase for inflation – reversing three months of progress – is as a painful
  
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• Switzerland’s national pride dealt heavy blow by the merger of its banking titans

  22-03-2023 10:00
  
  ‘A monster is born’, say local press, as Credit Suisse takeover by UBS creates bank twice the size of the Swiss economyOutside Zurich central station, monsters snap at the feet of modern Switzerland’s founding father. The towering statue of the 19th-century industrialist Alfred Escher used to symbolise Switzerland’s calm and stability amid geopolitical storms: his back to the railway whose expansion he masterminded, his face turned to Paradeplatz square and the bank he cr
  
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• ‘My name is cleared’: the US workers fighting back against union busting

  22-03-2023 10:00
  
  Organizers say an increased unionizing drive has been met with threats and retaliation – and now the Senate wants answersLast year, public support for labor unions hit a high unseen since 1965 amid high-profile union campaigns at major corporations including Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, Chipotle, REI and Trader Joe’s.This renewed interest has been accompanied by aggressive opposition from employers: threats, intimidation and what workers allege are retaliatory firings. The backlash seem
  
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• The ultra-low emission zone cost me an ultra-high fine

  22-03-2023 08:00
  
  I was driving a compliant car on a visit from Germany, and have been sent five penalty charge notices totalling more than €1,700I live in Germany and came to London with my car to visit my daughter last May. In January, I received six penalty charge notices (PCNs) from Transport for London (TfL), each dated November 2022, through its agent, Euro Parking Collection (EPC). The fines, for driving within London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), were €95.96 (£84.10) each if paid
  
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• Good riddance to the work capability assessment, the cruellest social policy of modern times | Frances Ryan

  22-03-2023 08:00
  
  Thousands of people have died after wrongly being found ‘fit for work’, but benefits campaigners aren’t celebrating yetAs the government announced plans to finally abolish the work capability assessment (WCA) last week, I thought about Stephen Smith’s ribs. The image of Smith’s emaciated body went viral in 2019 after the 64-year-old was declared “fit for work” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in 2017.Lung disease and osteoarthritis meant Smi
  
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• Ousted Persimmon boss sets up new venture with his wife

  22-03-2023 07:00
  
  Exclusive: Jeff Fairburn, who was forced to leave housebuilder after outrage at £82m bonus, registers ‘credit granting’ businessThe former chief executive of the housebuilder Persimmon who landed one of the biggest bonuses in British corporate history has set up a new venture with his wife.Jeff Fairburn, who was ousted from Persimmon after protests at his bumper £82m bonus in 2018, has set up an investment company with his wife, Jayne, the Guardian can reveal. Continue re
  
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• Most of the 2m people in UK contacted by bailiffs report intimidating behaviour

  22-03-2023 07:00
  
  Harassment and threats common, finds Citizens Advice survey, which discovers MoJ rules were broken in at least a third of casesMore than 2 million people have been contacted by bailiffs during the cost of living crisis, according to Citizens Advice, with a majority of those who came into contact with a debt collector reporting they felt harassed or intimidated.The charity estimates that bailiffs added £250m in fees to people’s debts in the past 18 months, driving people deeper into f
  
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• Most of the 2m people in England and Wales contacted by bailiffs report intimidating behaviour

  22-03-2023 07:00
  
  Harassment and threats common, finds Citizens Advice survey, which discovers MoJ rules were broken in at least a third of casesMore than 2 million people have been contacted by bailiffs during the cost of living crisis, according to Citizens Advice, with a majority of those who came into contact with a debt collector reporting they felt harassed or intimidated.The charity estimates that bailiffs added £250m in fees to people’s debts in the past 18 months, driving people deeper into f
  
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• John Lewis may find that cuddly co-investors don’t exist | Nils Pratley

  22-03-2023 07:00
  
  Sharon White, chair of the partnership, is fishing in an extremely small pool if investors must be like-mindedWould the world fall apart if the John Lewis Partnership were not 100% owned by its staff? Would the shoppers revolt if an outside investor – say a sovereign wealth fund or benevolent pension fund – were to acquire a 25% stake, as suggested by the tentative plan emerging from the boardroom?Actually, the answer is probably no on both counts. A few Waitrose and John Lewis shopp
  
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• Hunt’s jobs drive will push mothers on benefits to work 30-hour week

  22-03-2023 07:00
  
  Exclusive: Single mothers of three-year-olds will be disproportionately hit by ‘unconscionable’ policy, say charities and academicsA generation of parents on benefits will be pushed into near-full-time work when their children turn three in a significant shift in government policy, the Guardian has learned.Charities and academics criticised the move as “unconscionable”, saying it “devalues unpaid care” and would disproportionately affect single mothers, drivin
  
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• TikTok’s CEO eluded the spotlight. Now, a looming ban means he can’t avoid it

  22-03-2023 06:00
  
  The typically low-key Shou Zi Chew faces his biggest test yet as he testifies before Congress over China influence concernsShou Zi Chew is not a prolific TikToker. The 40-year-old CEO of the Chinese-owned app has just 23 posts and 17,000 followers to his name – paltry by his own platform’s standards.Chew’s profile sees him attending football games, visiting Paris and London, trying Nashville hot chicken, or boating on a lake, often with generic captions. (“Love the outdoo
  
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• Six urgent questions TikTok’s CEO needs to answer for US lawmakers

  22-03-2023 06:00
  
  Stakes are high for the app’s US future with the administration pushing for Chinese owners to sell their shares in the firmTikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, will be questioned by lawmakers in Washington on Thursday with the app’s US future in severe doubt. The Biden administration wants TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the business or face a complete ban in the US. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.TikTok says such a move would not “sol
  
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• PIP: Change to 'Special Rules' means thousands to get fast-tracked access from next month

  22-03-2023 01:01 via express.co.uk
  
  The Special Rules are being extended to Personal Independence Payments and other benefits, allowing people who are nearing the end of their lives to get benefit payments six months earlier.
  
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• ‘Never been this ill’: Woman forced to skip medicine as 'no money' for prescription charge

  22-03-2023 01:01 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: NHS prescription charges were frozen last year, but the upcoming rise in England could mean many Britons skip taking vital medicine, experts have warned Express.co.uk.
  
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• Ministers reportedly scrap plan to bring forward rise in UK state pension age

  22-03-2023 00:31
  
  Falling life expectancy and fears of voter unhappiness thought to be behind rethink about increase to 68 late next decadeMinisters have reportedly delayed plans to bring forward a rise in the state pension age amid falling life expectancy in the UK.The state pension age, which is currently 66, was due to rise to 68 after 2044 but reports earlier this year suggested ministers had planned to bring the increase forward to between 2037 and 2039. Continue reading...
  
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• Martin Lewis shares 'top' account offering £175 'free cash' and 7% interest on savings

  22-03-2023 00:04 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis has explained one of the "top" accounts offering free cash which could be vital for families in need of extra cash with the April price hikes approaching.
  
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