Financial news

• Just Stop Oil protesters invade World Snooker Championship arena – video

  17-04-2023 22:21
  
  Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the evening session at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. Footage showed a man interrupting the match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry by jumping on the table, where he emptied a packet of orange powder. A female protester was prevented from disrupting the match between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi on table two by the quick-thinking response of the referee, Olivier Marteel. On Twitter, Just Stop Oil said it was 'demanding that the government immedia
  
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• Energy firms to ban forced prepay meter installations in homes of over-85s

  17-04-2023 20:47
  
  Exclusive: Suppliers in Great Britain will also make workers wear body cams as part of new code of conductEnergy suppliers have agreed to a ban on forcibly installing prepayment meters in the homes of customers over 85 and will make representatives wear body cameras as part of a new code of conduct, the Guardian can reveal.Suppliers have agreed to fresh guidelines for putting in the devices when households have run up energy debt after an outcry over agents using court-approved entry warrants to
  
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• The climate cost of insulating our homes | Letter

  17-04-2023 18:41
  
  Paul Brannen makes the case for using natural materials for home insulationYour report (UK insulation scheme would take 300 years to meet government targets, say critics, 9 April) is bad climate news, but the situation is actually worse. Even if we did speed up insulating our leaky homes, we would simply be robbing Peter to pay Paul. Because more than 95% of our insulation materials have manufacturing processes that involve the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in high levels of embodied energy
  
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• UK bosses grow more optimistic as energy prices fall, and AI spending boom looms – business live

  17-04-2023 10:22
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK now on course to avoid recession, according to the EY ITEM Club Spring Forecast.The economic forecasters predict UK GDP will rise by 0.2% this year – adding to the optimistic mood this morning.The UK economy is forecast to flatline in the short term and avoid two consecutive quarters of contraction – before better growth later in 2023
  House prices are expected to fall by around 10% peak-to-trough, although a serious correct
  
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• Why bank blunders can turn your house move into a living nightmare

  17-04-2023 10:00
  
  An already stressful day can become a weekend-long ordeal iffunds fail to arrive in time to seal the dealIt was nine days before Christmas and Kate Ross and her young family were on the road from London to their new home in Worthing, West Sussex. But instead of moving in, a banking error left them in limbo with a baby, a toddler, a cat and a dog and two removal lorries. Four days passed before they eventually obtained the keys, during which time they racked up storage and transport costs of &pou
  
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• Toxic PFAS chemicals used in packaging can end up in food, study finds

  17-04-2023 10:00
  
  Compostable packaging is popular for environmental reasons, but it can be treated with ‘forever chemicals’ linked to health problemsA group of toxic PFAS chemicals that industry has claimed is safe to use in food packaging are concerning and present a health threat because they can break off and end up in food and drinks, a new peer-reviewed study finds.The subgroup of PFAS, called “fluorotelomers”, have been billed as a safe replacement for a first generation of PFAS com
  
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• Sir Martin Sorrell reveals cancer treatment

  17-04-2023 09:59
  
  S4 Capital boss says it’s almost ‘business as usual’ after keyhole surgery to remove tumourSir Martin Sorrell has revealed that he had keyhole surgery to remove a tumour in February, and will undergo further preventive cancer treatment.The veteran advertising boss, who is executive chair of the digital-led ad group S4 Capital, said he is back almost to “business as usual” after “successful keyhole surgery”, and will continue working, in a statement to th
  
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• Scottish Power caused me distress after my father’s death

  17-04-2023 08:00
  
  After he died it sent emails addressed to him, and I’ve been threatened with debt collectorsI am contacting you in desperation about the serious problems I am having dealing with Scottish Power after the death of my father last year.When I notified it of AJ’s death back in September it closed his account and promised a cheque for his credit balance would be posted to me. Continue reading...
  
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• How to buy the right laptop for you at the best price

  17-04-2023 08:00
  
  Tech experts on how to work out want you need, set a budget and find the perfect device – or upgrade an existing one“The first question we’d ask is: ‘What are you going to be using it for?’” John Webster, the managing director of Digital Doctors in Brighton, says. “That is ultimately what guides us in terms of recommending what a person wants to buy.” Continue reading...
  
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• How can we release equity from our home as we start retirement plans?

  17-04-2023 08:00
  
  The property is worth £330,000 and we have no dependants – we know a lifetime mortgage is one optionQ My partner and I are starting to plan for retirement and we are not sure what options we might have for our home when it comes to the time. The property is currently worth £330,000 and, all being well, will be owned outright by the time we retire.We have no dependants and won’t have anyone to pass any inheritance on to, and so we would like to release as much cash from ou
  
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• Why are British audiences suddenly so out of control? – podcast

  17-04-2023 04:00
  
  From fights at the Bodyguard musical to wild drunken antics at comedy clubsand even heckling at the opera, performers and theatre staff say crowds are getting out of hand. What’s going on?From drunken revellers singing over emotional ballads at jukebox musicals to an opera-goer heckling a child performer, there has been a growing number of news stories since the pandemic about people behaving badly at entertainment venues. Then came the headlines about the police being called to the Bodygu
  
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