Financial news

• Mortgage rise impact ‘will dwarf energy bills crisis’ for UK homeowners

  24-06-2023 20:14
  
  Tories warned about threat to middle earners as Labour increases lead among mortgage holders and Lib Dems target blue wall areasThe growing mortgage timebomb facing millions of households will “dwarf the energy bill crisis” for many middle earners, ministers are being warned, amid new evidence that Labour is amassing a huge lead among mortgage payers.The spiralling costs of energy dominated the concerns of ministers last autumn, before they were forced to intervene as annual costs so
  
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• Caught short: lack of recycled toilet paper in UK ‘fuelling deforestation’

  24-06-2023 17:07
  
  Less office waste material during Covid has led big lavatory roll makers to cut amount of recycled paper in tissues, according to consumer bodyHoarding during the Covid-19 pandemic underlined just how important loo roll is to the British public. But working from home had another unexpected effect: less waste paper from offices, which means less recycled material to make toilet roll.New research by Ethical Consumer magazine shows that the three main toilet brands have cut the amount of recycled p
  
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• Bailiff fears grow as council tax debt hits £5.5billion

  24-06-2023 14:52 via express.co.uk
  
  Council tax debt hits £5.5billion which has more than doubled in the past 10 years. Fears grow as missing a single payment could lead to Bailiffs coming to homes.
  
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• ‘We’re going to keep fighting’: delivery workers stand up to Amazon

  24-06-2023 12:00
  
  Unionized workers at delivery service partner in California fight company’s intent to terminate contractAmazon is embroiled in a fight with workers at one of its delivery service partners in what union activists say is part of a longstanding anti-union drive by the retail giant which is now facing scrutiny in the US Senate for its anti-labor rights practices.At Battle Tested Strategies, an Amazon delivery service partner in Palmdale, California, workers are currently fighting Amazon’
  
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• Interest-only mortgages: a godsend for UK borrowers (if you can get one)

  24-06-2023 12:00
  
  Such deals can halve your monthly payments but lenders are picky and there are drawbacksMortgages: how to cope as UK interest rates hit the roofIf you are one of those households staring down the prospect of unaffordable monthly mortgage repayments, one option is to go interest-only.Massive before the 2008 financial crisis, interest-only mortgages in which the borrower only repays the interest on the loan can almost halve a household’s mortgage repayments. Continue reading...
  
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• Buying a home in the US is expensive – and that isn’t changing anytime soon

  24-06-2023 12:00
  
  Even if there are fewer home buyers and prices have been falling slightly, they’re still much higher than pre-pandemic and for many, more unaffordable than everAfter an intense two-year buying frenzy during the pandemic, the once-hot US housing market has started to cool.The US Federal Reserve set interest rates to its highest level in over a decade, and mortgage rates are sitting well above 6% for a 30-year fixed rate. The effect on the housing market has already started to show: the Nati
  
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• Shapps signals U-turn on planned hydrogen levy for energy bills

  24-06-2023 11:54
  
  Energy security secretary says costs should be paid for ‘further up the chain’ rather than by householdsGrant Shapps has signalled the government will U-turn on its planned hydrogen levy on energy bills.The annual levy, estimated to add about £118 a year to already soaring energy bills, had been expected to be introduced in 2025 via the energy bill going through parliament. The fee was intended to cover the cost of producing the low-carbon gas instead of polluting fossil fuels.
  
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• Head chef at Britain’s best restaurant verbally abused me, diner claims

  24-06-2023 10:00
  
  Donna Southby says cook Gareth Ward at Ynyshir in Wales appeared to challenge her husband to a fightIt was supposed to be the dinner of a lifetime at a restaurant last week anointed Britain’s best. But instead of finishing with a sweet flourish of banana ice-cream and birch syrup, a meal at Ynyshir in Wales ended in a bitter dispute between the star chef and two of his customers.Donna Southby, who was dining with her husband, Mark, and friends at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the
  
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• Mortgages: how to cope as UK interest rates hit the roof

  24-06-2023 09:20
  
  Options for homeowners and first-time buyers as they face maelstrom in marketInterest-only mortgages: a godsend for UK borrowers (if you can get one)For Britons buying their first home or chasing a new deal the maelstrom in the mortgage market is the stuff of nightmares, with products being pulled right, left and centre, and no end in sight as the Bank of England raises interest rates yet again.As the consumer champion Martin Lewis put it this week: the mortgage “ticking timebomb” ha
  
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• When it comes to rich countries taking the environment seriously, I say: vive la France | George Monbiot

  24-06-2023 09:00
  
  Emmanuel Macron’s government is at least doing the bare minimum to avert the planetary crisis – and putting the UK to shameWhile we remain transfixed by a handful of needy egotists in Westminster and the crises they manufacture, across the Channel a revolution is happening. It’s a quiet, sober, thoughtful revolution, but a revolution nonetheless. France is seeking to turn itself into an ecological civilisation.Like every government, the French administration should be going fur
  
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• UK mortgage rate crisis driving record rent squeeze as landlords pass higher costs on to tenants

  24-06-2023 09:00
  
  Homelessness charity says hundreds of thousands of people could be left unable to cover their rent and at risk of losing homesBusiness live – latest updatesMillions of renters across the UK are being squeezed by landlords passing on higher mortgage costs to their tenants, contributing to record rent increases amid the cost of living crisis.Property experts and charities warned the rapid rise in borrowing costs set by the Bank of England – which this week increased rates to 5% –
  
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• 800,000 homeowners could see mortgages rise by £2,900 year - 'crucial' steps to avoid it

  24-06-2023 08:01 via express.co.uk
  
  If the Bank of England continues to increase the interest rate, the total annual mortgage repayments are on course to rise by £15.8billion by 2026.
  
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• Netflix cracks down as it begins password-sharing purge in UK

  24-06-2023 08:00
  
  Emails are landing warning UK subscribers who allow family and friends to use their account that they have to pay extraAfter years of ignoring password sharing, Netflix has started to crack down on the millions of UK subscribers who give friends and family free access to their account.It is thought that a quarter of Netflix’s 15 million UK subscribers share their password with others, and warning emails are now landing in the inboxes of some of these account holders. Continue reading...
  
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• Mortgage expert shares tips to ‘access lower rates’ and ‘reduce' monthly repayments

  24-06-2023 05:01 via express.co.uk
  
  More than 1.4 million households face mortgage repayment rises this year, but many are concerned they won't be able to afford the new rates.
  
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• 'Easy to do!' Woman, 58, shares 'quick check' online that's saved her £4,000 when shopping

  24-06-2023 05:01 via express.co.uk
  
  Britons could be saving thousands of pounds by making use of various cashback deals and sites.
  
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• State pension is not automatically paid at state pension age - how to get sum

  24-06-2023 05:00 via express.co.uk
  
  People can currently access their state pension when they reach state pension age, which is currently 66.
  
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• Pensioners on track for ‘higher income’ despite high inflation reducing the value of cash

  24-06-2023 05:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Pension savers should try to keep up their contributions despite the rising cost of living, a wealth expert told Express.co.uk in an exclusive interview.
  
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• 'I lost my multi-million pound business but now I turn over £2.7million'

  24-06-2023 05:00 via express.co.uk
  
  An entrepreneur overcame the devastation of losing her previous business to become a successful business coach helping other people develop their enterprises.
  
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• Investigation reveals UK’s freshest and least fresh online groceries

  24-06-2023 01:01
  
  Shoppers for consumer group Which? ordered 1,800 items to test the average shelf life at six retailersFrom out-of-date frankfurters to bashed brie, online food shopping can be a lottery, especially when it comes to the groceries’ shelf life, according to an investigation by the consumer group Which?.Groceries delivered by Sainsbury’s were found to have the shortest average time left before their use-by dates, according to the items received by a team of 12 mystery shoppers located ar
  
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• South East Water blames working from home for hosepipe ban

  24-06-2023 00:16
  
  Utility’s head says demand for drinking water has risen 20% since pandemic, outpacing supplyA water company has blamed more people working from home post-pandemic for a new hosepipe ban.South East Water, which supplies more than 2m homes and businesses, will impose the first hosepipe ban of the summer on Monday, affecting households across Kent and Sussex. Continue reading...
  
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