Financial news

• What is leasehold, and are there any alternatives?

  10-05-2023 20:42
  
  Cladding crisis highlighted issues as leaseholders ask government to facilitate commonhold systemPlans to abolish ‘feudal’ leasehold system in England and Wales dropped Given that they have paid large sums for their homes, leaseholders might be surprised to find that they are in a landlord and tenant relationship with the freeholder. The rights and obligations on both sides are governed by the terms of the lease agreement – including its length. There are almost 4.9m leasehold
  
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• Plans to abolish ‘feudal’ leasehold system in England and Wales dropped

  10-05-2023 20:34
  
  Row between Michael Gove and No 10 results in end of promise to scrap leaseholdsWhat is leasehold, and are there any alternatives?Plans to abolish the “feudal” system of leaseholds across England and Wales have been dropped after a battle between Downing Street and Michael Gove.Gove, the housing secretary, will next month announce a range of measures to protect the 10 million Britons who own their homes in a leasehold, as part of a major speech following months of bruising party rows
  
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• Fast fashion but slow progress at loss-making Asos | Nils Pratley

  10-05-2023 19:18
  
  Covid lockdown boom masked flaws until it didn’t – and the loss of £291m in six months was worse than expected“There is a lag between operational change and visible results,” said online fashion retailer Asos in its half-year report, giving an optimistic spin on half-year numbers that were conspicuously awful.While the new chief executive talks the management blah of optimising and rightsizing, an adjusted pre-tax loss of £87.4m was several degrees worse than
  
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• UK government to investigate Post Office over wrongly paid bonuses

  10-05-2023 18:06
  
  CEO Nick Read and other top bosses given thousands of pounds for cooperating with IT scandal inquiryThe UK government has said it will investigate after the Post Office admitted it had wrongly paid thousands of pounds of bonuses to top executives simply for cooperating with an inquiry into a long-running miscarriage of justice.The Post Office chief executive, Nick Read, agreed last week to return an undisclosed portion of the £455,000 bonus reported by the state-owned company in its annual
  
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• British households and firms cut enough peak-time energy use to power 10m homes

  10-05-2023 18:00
  
  Payments were given in scheme to reduce electricity consumption during periods of high demand to help avoid winter blackoutsHouseholds and businesses in Great Britain moved enough of their energy use to non-peak times last winter to power 10m homes and help avoid blackouts.About 1.6m households and businesses received payments to help reduce the pressure on the National Grid during the winter months as part of a demand flexibility scheme run by its electricity system operator (ESO). Continue rea
  
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• British households and firms cut enough energy use at peak times to power 10m homes

  10-05-2023 18:00
  
  Payments were given in scheme to reduce electricity consumption during high demand to help avoid winter blackoutsHouseholds and businesses in Great Britain saved enough electricity over the winter to power 10m homes by reducing their energy use during peak demand hours to help the country avoid blackouts.About 1.6m households and businesses received payments to help reduce the pressure on the National Grid during the winter months as part of a demand flexibility scheme run by its electricity sys
  
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• Wendy’s to test AI chatbot that takes your drive-thru order

  10-05-2023 17:59
  
  US fast-food chain says pilot program ‘seeks to take the complexity out of the ordering process’The next time someone asks for fries with their shake, they might be talking to a robot. At least, that’s what the US fast-food chain Wendy’s has planned.Next month, Wendy’s will be testing an artificial-intelligence powered chatbot with the capability to speak with customers and take their orders. Continue reading...
  
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• Perhaps it’s time to admit it: drinking at work is an ugly hangover from the past | Stefan Stern

  10-05-2023 17:53
  
  Booze still runs deep in Britain’s workplace culture. At last bosses are being urged to think hard about its roleWhen she was about to leave her midwest home to head to drama school in New York in the 1940s, the actor Elaine Stritch’s father offered her some parental guidance. “Lainie,” he told her, “you are not the same after two martinis.”Good advice, then and now. But while awareness of the harm that excessive alcohol consumption can do has grown in the int
  
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• Virgin Money offers market-leading 4.37% interest rate on fixed cash ISA

  10-05-2023 17:48 via express.co.uk
  
  Fixed cash ISAs are offering savers increasingly competitive interest rates.
  
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• Moment protester throws cake at Volkswagen chair during AGM – video

  10-05-2023 17:38
  
  Protesters threw what appeared to be cake at the Volkswagen chair, Hans Dieter Pötsch, at a shareholders' meeting on Wednesday. Pötsch can be seen ducking to avoiding being hit.About 10 activists also interrupted the speech by Volkswagen's chief executive, Oliver Blume, protesting against the carmaker's plant in China's north-western Xinjiang region by waving banners that read: 'End Uyghur Forced Labour at VW' Continue reading...
  
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• John Lewis staff rebuke Sharon White over losses but back her to continue

  10-05-2023 17:20
  
  Retailer to remain employee-owned, vows chair after row about reported plans to sell stake in partnership to investorsThe boss of John Lewis pledged the group will always remain employee-owned, “no ifs, no buts”, after staff backed her to continue as chair but expressed their dismay at the retailer’s poor performance.Dame Sharon White had faced controversy after reports she was considering selling a stake in the John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, to an outside in
  
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• Football star, 29, quits NFL for side hustle selling Pokémon cards and makes £6.5million

  10-05-2023 17:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Blake Martinez of the Green Bay Packers swapped his NFL football career to grow his side hustle selling Pokémon cards.
  
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• Best savings accounts right now as interest rates have 'increased 400%'

  10-05-2023 16:24 via express.co.uk
  
  Analysts anticipate the Bank of England Base Rate to rise to 4.5 percent this month, but easy access savings account interest rates are averaging much lower.
  
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• Low income Britons with under £16k savings may be entitled to hundreds extra each month

  10-05-2023 16:07 via express.co.uk
  
  Universal Credit provides low-income Britons with monthly payments that can help provide financial support against the rising cost of living.
  
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• 'Worried' IMF chief warns eurozone economic stability 'vulnerable' as he warns of 'shock'

  10-05-2023 15:51 via express.co.uk
  
  Financial instability in the US and on the EU borders is prompting analysts to remain cautious about the eurozone's future.
  
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• ‘A lifeline’: DWP urges pensioners to check if they’re eligible for vital £301 boost

  10-05-2023 14:46 via express.co.uk
  
  ‌Thousands of pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit, worth an average of £3,500 per year.
  
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• US CPI eases to 4.9 % in ‘good sign’ interest rate rises bringing inflation under control

  10-05-2023 14:41 via express.co.uk
  
  Analysts had previously expected a 0.4 percent month-on-month increase in inflation and a five percent rise from a year ago.
  
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• US inflation beat forecasts in April but remained high at 4.9%

  10-05-2023 14:34
  
  Annual rate has fallen sharply since hitting 40-year high last June but prices are still rising at a rate over twice the Fed’s targetThe price of goods and services in the US remained stubbornly high in April, rising 4.9.% from a year ago, the labor department reported on Wednesday,The annual rate of inflation has fallen sharply since hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% last June. April’s rise nearly matched the 5% rise recorded in March. It was the 10th consecutive month the rate has dec
  
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• Asos falls £291m into the red as shoppers return to high street

  10-05-2023 14:09
  
  ‘Challenging trading backdrop' for online fashion retailer, with sales down more than expectedAsos has dived £291m into the red after sales slumped in what the online fashion retailer called a “challenging trading backdrop”, with shoppers returning to physical high street stores and cutting spending on non-essentials.Sales fell by 8%, including a 10% drop in the UK, in the six months to 28 February – far worse than the 3% forecast by the City. The company said it ha
  
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• British households and firms cut enough winter electricity use to power 10m homes

  10-05-2023 13:30
  
  Payments were given in scheme to reduce energy consumption during peak demand to help avoid blackoutsHouseholds and businesses in Great Britain saved enough electricity over the winter to power 10m homes by reducing their energy use during peak demand hours in order to help the country avoid blackouts.About 1.6m households and businesses received payments to help reduce the pressure on the National Grid during the winter months as part of a demand flexibility scheme run by its electricity system
  
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• Martin Lewis shares top savings accounts paying near five percent interest rate

  10-05-2023 13:22 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis is urging anyone earning three percent or less on their savings to "ditch and switch".
  
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• Uber users in UK will be able to book flights on app by summer

  10-05-2023 13:04
  
  New function part of firm’s ambition to create ‘seamless door-to-door travel solution’Uber customers in the UK will soon be able to reserve flights through the ride-booking app, as the company aims to offer multiple forms of transport.The new feature allowing consumers to book domestic and international flights is being rolled out on Uber’s UK app and will be available to all British users by the summer. Continue reading...
  
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• Tell us: will you apply for an 100% mortgage in the UK?

  10-05-2023 11:55
  
  We are interested in speaking to prospective homeowners about applying for a no-deposit mortgage A leading UK lender will launch an 100% mortgage for those unable to save for a deposit, the first since the 2008 financial crisis.Borrowers will need to demonstrate a history of paying rent comparable to mortgage repayments for up to two years to qualify for the loan from Skipton Building Society. Continue reading...
  
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• Longer lorries to be allowed on Britain’s roads despite safety warnings

  10-05-2023 11:29
  
  New laws to permit vehicles up to 18.55 metres long, but campaigners say they will increase fatal accidentsUK politics live – latest updatesLonger lorries are to be fully permitted on Great Britain’s roads after the government said it would introduce laws to allow their use, despite warnings that the move will increase the number of fatal road accidents.The Department for Transport (DfT) said lorries measuring up to 18.55 metres long – 2.05 metres longer than the current standa
  
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• Cyber-attack to cost outsourcing firm Capita up to £20m

  10-05-2023 10:54
  
  The group – a contractor for local authorities – takes further steps to ensure security of IT infrastructureThe outsourcing firm and government contractor Capita has revealed it will take a hit of up to £20m from a recent cyber-attack in which some customer, supplier and staff data was accessed by hackers.The group, which is a major contractor for local authorities, said investigations into the incident suggested that some data was accessed but that this was from less than 0.1%
  
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• Wetherspoon’s enjoys record sales as people turn to cheaper pubs

  10-05-2023 10:15
  
  Pub chain reports highest Easter week sales and busiest-ever SaturdayThe pub chain JD Wetherspoon has reported its highest Easter week sales and busiest-ever Saturday, with cash-conscious drinkers searching out cheaper options amid the cost of living crisis.Wetherspoon’s, which runs more than 830 branches across the UK and Ireland, said it had benefited from a rise in sales in the past two weeks, both of which included bank holiday weekends. Continue reading...
  
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• Turned £1k into £65k: Top Isa savings option has beaten everything for 40 years

  10-05-2023 10:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The world's best performing asset class could be set to rocket again and investors should consider investing before it climbs even higher, experts say.
  
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• Capital gains tax and inheritance tax bills rocket - fight back now against Hunt's grab

  10-05-2023 09:11 via express.co.uk
  
  Britons are paying record amounts of capital gains tax and inheritance tax in the wake of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's April raids. Now accountants are urging ordinary people to fight back.
  
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• It’s official: billionaires aren’t the brainboxes they like to believe | Arwa Mahdawi

  10-05-2023 08:00
  
  The obscene wealth of many CEOs is less a result of intelligence and more down to luck, background and personalityMoney may be able to buy you happiness, but it can’t buy you brains. A study published in January found that billionaires aren’t any smarter than the rest of us – indeed, those in the top 1% of earners scored lower on cognitive ability tests than those who earned slightly less.This is according to researchers who analysed data from 59,000 Swedish men, then tracked t
  
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• How can HP block me from using a cheaper printer cartridge?

  10-05-2023 08:00
  
  I was stopped from using a recycled toner product: it’s going to cost me an extra 30%I bought my usual recycled toner cartridge for my HP LaserJet printer. When I installed it I got a message telling me that printing was blocked as it was not an HP cartridge. It turns out that, in the last few weeks, HP has updated the printer firmware (without asking) to stop the use of non-HP cartridges. This means I will have to pay an extra 30% for my toner cartridges. What’s going on?
  PW, Argyll
  
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• UK tops list for fossil fuel sites in nature protected areas

  10-05-2023 07:00
  
  Globally, fossil fuel extraction and exploration is taking place at almost 3,000 sites in conservation areas, analysis showsFossil fuel extraction and exploration is taking place at almost 3,000 sites in protected areas around the world, analysis has revealed, with the UK having the highest number of fossil fuel sites in protected areas.Globally, the activities affect more than 800 areas established to defend nature. The coal, oil and gas at the fossil fuel sites would lead to 47bn tonnes of cli
  
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• English councils holding back millions of pounds of free childcare funds

  10-05-2023 07:00
  
  FoI requests reveal at least 90 councils top-sliced childcare budget to offset deficits or add to reservesMPs have expressed concern that local authorities in England are failing to pass on government funding for free childcare places to nurseries, after research showed councils were holding back millions of pounds to offset deficits or add to reserves.Freedom of information requests submitted by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) revealed that more than 90 of the 150 local education
  
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• Civil service union attacks No 10 for not offering cost of living payment

  10-05-2023 07:00
  
  Prospect members set to strike as pay offer for civil servants fails to follow template for others public sector workersA major union has criticised No 10 for not offering civil servants the lump sum cost of living payments that other public sector workers such as teachers and health staff have been promised.Prospect union’s general secretary, Mike Clancy, said as members prepared to strike that the unions had been “given every indication” that the pay offer for civil servants
  
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• US economy inches toward default amid Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deadlock

  10-05-2023 03:26
  
  President deemed the talks ‘productive’ while McCarthy stressed lack of progress as $31.4tn default looms as soon as 1 JuneJoe Biden and top lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to further talks aimed at breaking a deadlock over raising the $31.4tn US debt limit, with just three weeks before the country could be forced into an unprecedented default.After about an hour of talks in the Oval Office, Biden, a Democrat, and House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, deputized t
  
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• Twitter hack: UK man pleads guilty to hijacking accounts including of Joe Biden and Elon Musk

  10-05-2023 02:32
  
  Joseph James O’Connor was extradited from Spain to the US last month to face charges over the hack of a number of organisations and celebritiesA British man has pleaded guilty over his role in schemes to hack the Twitter accounts of celebrities including Joe Biden and Elon Musk, as well as stealing $794,000 in cryptocurrency.Joseph James O’Connor, 23, entered his guilty plea in a New York court after being extradited from Spain on 26 April. Continue reading...
  
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• Landlords ‘profiting from sub-standard housing’ for vulnerable people

  10-05-2023 01:01
  
  Watchdog says gaps in regulation are letting landlords offer costly supported accommodation ‘with little or no support’Increasing numbers of landlords are profiting from letting bad housing to some of society’s most vulnerable people, the National Audit Office has found.Gaps in regulation are allowing property owners “to profit by providing costly, sub-standard” supported housing “with little or no support, supervision or care”, the spending watchdog sai
  
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