Financial news

• Renters protest against ‘rampant profiteering’ outside landlords’ convention

  04-07-2023 20:43
  
  Tenants demand rent freeze at National Landlord Investment Show in London as average monthly UK rents soarTenants facing soaring rents staged a protest against “rampant profiteering” outside a landlord convention in London where investors were told how to “build a £25m property portfolio, using none of your own money”.Dozens of renters chanted: “Landlords! Parasites!” outside the National Landlord Investment Show and demanded a rent freeze, as the averag
  
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• Risks of UK housing crash rising by the day as fixed-rate mortgage deals end

  04-07-2023 19:06
  
  The tipping point for the economy could come if fixed-rate mortgages rise above 7%All things considered, Britain’s housing market has held up pretty well so far in the face of a relentless rise in borrowing costs that has seen five-year fixed rate mortgages climb above 6%. House prices, according to the Nationwide Building Society, are down just 3.5% on a year ago and rose slightly in June. The Bank of England reported a small rise in mortgage approvals in May.The key words, though, are &l
  
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• Tell us: have you been offered reduced rent in exchange for childcare?

  04-07-2023 18:42
  
  We want to hear from people in the UK about their experiences of being offered – or taking – a reduced rent in exchange for childcare or other tasksAs rents rise and childcare costs go up, have you been offered lower rent in exchange for helping out with childcare or other tasks?We would like to hear people’s experiences of these sorts of arrangements. Have you spotted any adverts online? Have you taken on an arrangement yourself? Please share with us below. Continue reading...
  
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• Five-year mortgage rates hit 6%! How can we avoid a house price crash now?

  04-07-2023 17:21 via express.co.uk
  
  The UK property market has yet to crash but it's coming under intense pressure as today's skyrocketing mortgage rates smash through another barrier.
  
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• Do you take a packed lunch in to work? Perhaps that’s why you’re exhausted ... | Anita Chaudhuri

  04-07-2023 16:00
  
  The days of work lunches in cafes, restaurants and canteens are fading. And so, too, are our energy levels and trust in our colleaguesNews that there has been a rise in the number of people bringing a packed lunch to work made me shudder. “It’s crunch time for lunchtime,” chirped the Grocer magazine, and it wasn’t talking about a surge in consumption of crisp sandwiches.The cost of living crisis is apparently responsible for an extra 108m lunchboxes being brought to work
  
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• Barclays to shut an extra 6 bank branches - full list of closures in July

  04-07-2023 15:29 via express.co.uk
  
  Barclays will shut at least 132 of its bank branches throughout 2023 and 2024 across England, Scotland and Wales, with more being announced each month.
  
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• The UK's housing market is hurting everyone. Time to rethink the whole thing | Josh Ryan-Collins

  04-07-2023 15:00
  
  There appears to be no relief in sight for homeowners or renters – but there are things that can be doneThere will be no government handouts for the hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing crippling increases in monthly mortgage repayments after the Bank of England’s decision to raise rates to 5%. To do so would defeat the object of the interest rate rise – to cool down the economy – and prolong the inflation crisis. Further rate rises look likely as inflation proves m
  
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• Martin Lewis gives verdict on homeowner slashing pension contributions as mortgage soars

  04-07-2023 13:57 via express.co.uk
  
  Money saving expert Martin Lewis warned Britons are "giving away money" by deciding to reduce pension contributions without exhausting all other options available.
  
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• POLL: Should all second homes be charged more tax?

  04-07-2023 12:35 via express.co.uk
  
  Second homes are common in tourist areas across the UK but should owners be charged more council tax to support local communities? Vote below.
  
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• Savings warning as Britons miss out on extra £619 - banks 'blatantly profiteering’

  04-07-2023 12:16 via express.co.uk
  
  Bank executives have been called on by the Financial Conduct Authority due to concerns over low-interest rates on savings.
  
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• Food inflation starting to fall, says Sainsbury’s as sales rise

  04-07-2023 12:02
  
  Like-for-like sales up 9.8% in quarter and supermarket says it has put more than £60m into cutting prices of basicsFood inflation is starting to fall, according to the boss of Sainsbury’s, who said shoppers were putting more items in their baskets as it began to cut prices on some basics.Simon Roberts, the chief executive, said the supermarket was “putting all our energy and focus into battling inflation” as household budgets were “under more pressure than ever&rdqu
  
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• Average rate on five-year fixed mortgage deal in UK climbs above 6%

  04-07-2023 11:54
  
  Rate is at highest level since last November, and average two-year fix is now 6.47%A typical five-year fixed mortgage deal in the UK now has an interest rate of more than 6%, putting further pressure on borrowers who are hoping to buy a home or reaching the end of their existing deals.Data from the financial information firm Moneyfacts shows the cost of a five-year deal for homeowners rose to 6.01% on Tuesday, up from 5.97% on Monday. It is the highest level since last November, after mortgage r
  
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• Food bank use a ‘personal decision’, says veterans minister

  04-07-2023 11:14
  
  Johnny Mercer says food bank use not an accurate measure of poverty after reports of some military personnel relying on them UK politics live – latest updatesThe use of food banks is a personal decision for some people and not an accurate measure of levels of poverty across the UK, the veterans minister has said.Johnny Mercer argued that food banks remained a lifeline for “some dire cases” but that it was “not correct” to say people used them only when they had no c
  
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• Mortgage warning as average five-year fixed deal sits above 6%

  04-07-2023 10:53 via express.co.uk
  
  Mortgage rates have been slowly rising following base rate rises since May as the Bank of England attempt to bring inflation down to their two percent target.
  
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• 'Amazing idea’ Man sold car to fund business now it makes £10m and he drives a Lamborghini

  04-07-2023 10:39 via express.co.uk
  
  One man funded his business by selling his worn-out Renault and now makes £10m a year and drives a Lamborghini.
  
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• Watchdog summons UK bank bosses to discuss weak savings rates

  04-07-2023 10:32
  
  Financial Conduct Authority to meet executives on Thursday as part of its investigation into savings marketUK bank bosses have been summoned to a meeting with the financial watchdog this week amid mounting concerns that they are profiting from rising interest rates by offering paltry savings rates to customers.Executives from the big high street names Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, HSBC and Barclays, as well as from smaller lenders, are due to attend a meeting at the Financial Conduct Authority
  
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• Refund averts chilling Greek villa tragedy - The Crusader

  04-07-2023 10:07 via express.co.uk
  
  A couple's dream Greek holiday turns into a nightmare but Crusader helps avert the tragedy by helping them get the compensation they deserve.
  
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• British Gas customers have weeks left to submit a meter reading or risk being overcharged

  04-07-2023 09:36 via express.co.uk
  
  With the energy price cap dropping, many risk being overcharged if they don't take a meter reading for their suppliers.
  
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• Why are Virgin Media and BT so quiet about broadband ‘social tariffs’?

  04-07-2023 08:00
  
  When I asked about a more affordable option, the providers failed to mention themDid you know that Virgin Media and BT offer cheap broadband packages to families receiving benefits, including universal credit? I only point this out because the companies themselves don’t seem to publicise these offers.I am helping a Ukrainian refugee family who have managed to find a home of their own in the UK. Broadband costs are incredibly high relative to their low income, so I asked Virgin Media whethe
  
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• England’s water firms should pay to fix illegal discharges, high court to hear

  04-07-2023 07:00
  
  WildFish charity says £56bn plan to reduce sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal because it expects customers to foot billWater companies must pay to fix illegal sewage discharges rather than pass the cost to customers, lawyers for the charity WildFish are to argue in the high court.The campaign group will allege at a judicial review that the government’s £56bn plan to reduce raw sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal. Continue reading...
  
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• Why are windfarms turning record profits for the crown estate? – podcast

  04-07-2023 06:00
  
  Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s energy correspondent, Jillian Ambrose, about how offshore windfarms are generating record profits for the crown estate, and why King Charles has asked for the money to be used for the wider public good. She also hears from economist Guy Standing about how the seabed became a source of income for the crown and what it means for our view of the oceans as ‘commons’Read more of Jillian Ambrose’s reporting on the crown estate here Cont
  
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• ‘More than half of UK broadband customers’ hit by connection problems

  04-07-2023 01:01
  
  Telecoms providers added ‘insult to injury’ as prices rose, says report by Which? for year to January 2023More than half of UK broadband customers have experienced problems with their connections, according to a report that says telecoms providers are adding “insult to injury” after forcing inflation-busting price rises on to their customers.Many of the UK’s mobile and telecoms companies have been accused of “greedflation” for pushing through mid-contrac
  
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