Financial news

• ‘There will be consequences’: Mortgage hikes will be the cost of taming inflation

  12-07-2023 23:01 via express.co.uk
  
  Bank of England warns mortgage borrowers will be hit by the attempts to bring down inflation, which is stuck at 8.7 percent.
  
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• UK lenders passed Bank’s stress tests – but no one should feel relaxed by the news | Nils Pratley

  12-07-2023 20:07
  
  Bank of England has warned about potential risks to financial stability for ages. One of theses days, they may matterFull story: lenders pass tests but BoE warns of mortgage painTerrific news: the banks aren’t about to collapse. The UK’s big lenders would continue to be “resilient”, says the Bank of England, even if the dark clouds over the economy turn into a prolonged thunderstorm. They have sufficient loss-absorbing capital to keep lending to households and businesses
  
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• Principality Building Society offers market-leading 4.2 percent with easy access ISA

  12-07-2023 19:12 via express.co.uk
  
  The easy access ISA account can be opened and managed online and offers the flexibility to take out funds whenever needed.
  
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• Charity discovers valuable World War II papers in Navy sailor’s hidden box

  12-07-2023 19:10 via express.co.uk
  
  Items are regularly donated to Goodwill but some prove to be more valuable than others.
  
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• People in Florida: have you been struggling to insure your property?

  12-07-2023 18:28
  
  We’d like to hear from householders in Florida who have been struggling to get insurance for their properties, and how this has affected their finances and plansFarmers Insurance became the latest property insurer to pull out of Florida on Tuesday despite repeated efforts by the state’s legislature and its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, to try to calm the volatile market that is making home ownership less affordable.Farmers said in a statement that the decision was based on risk
  
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• Renting a room in UK tops £700 a month on average

  12-07-2023 17:02
  
  Analysts say 17% rise from spring 2022 shows ‘housing market isn’t working for anyone’The average cost of renting a room in the UK has risen to more than £700 a month for the first time, according to data from the property website SpareRoom.Experts said the data was proof the housing market “isn’t working for anyone”, and that rising rents meant tenants were stuck in unsuitable homes. Continue reading...
  
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• Economic gloom looks likely to sink the Tories. But Labour is taking no chances | Larry Elliott

  12-07-2023 15:58
  
  Come the general election, the worst of Britain’s pain may be over, so Starmer’s slow and steady approach is the right oneMortgage rates this week are at their highest level since the global financial crisis 15 years ago. The International Monetary Fund has warned that borrowing costs may need to go higher – and stay there – if the Bank of England is to bring inflation back on target. Pay packets are going up but prices are going up faster. People are getting poorer, not
  
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• Mortgages to cost 1m borrowers extra £500 a month by 2026, Bank warns

  12-07-2023 15:56
  
  Bank of England says millions of homeowners will be paying up to £220 more a month by end of yearAlmost 1 million UK homeowners will be forced to shell out at least £500 more a month to cover mortgage payments by the end of 2026, as borrowers suffer the “consequences” of rising interest rates, the Bank of England has warned.Forecasts released on Wednesday showed that of the 4 million homeowners expected to roll on to new mortgage contracts over the next three years, the m
  
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• Channel 4 chief awarded nearly £1.5m salary in 2022

  12-07-2023 15:02
  
  Pay for Alex Mahon is highest in broadcaster’s history but top execs defer bonusesAlex Mahon has been awarded the highest annual pay for a chief executive in Channel 4’s 40-year history, only months after the broadcaster avoided being privatised, amid a “challenging” economic environment and a TV advertising downturn.The station’s top bosses were granted millions in income for the past year but said they had declined a pay rise for the coming year and were deferring
  
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• Disused Tottenham Ikea store to become 15,000-capacity cultural venue

  12-07-2023 15:00
  
  Drumsheds, a venture from Printworks company Broadwick, will preserve industrial elements of the 608,000 sq ft spaceIt once played host to the sound of staff announcements, bored children and tense couples arguing over wardrobes with semi-pronounceable names. Now, a 608,000 sq ft Tottenham warehouse that was home to an Ikea for 17 years is to vibrate to sub bass and repetitive beats, as it becomes a leading new cultural venue for London.Entitled Drumsheds, it will host “a carefully curated
  
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• ‘Tory mortgage bombshell’ contributing to child poverty in UK, says Rayner – video

  12-07-2023 14:39
  
  At prime minister's questions, Angela Rayner repeated John Prescott’s question from 1996 – 'Why is it that in Tory Britain tens of thousands of families are facing repossession, negative equity and homelessness?' – and asked why she should need to ask the same question 27 years later, as she challenged Oliver Dowden on child poverty and the ‘Tory mortgage bombshell'.Dowden and Rayner were standing in for the prime minister and the Labour leader as Rishi Sunak attende
  
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• Nvidia in talks to be anchor investor in Arm flotation, say reports

  12-07-2023 13:48
  
  Semiconductor powerhouse could invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Cambridge-based firmThe British chip design company Arm is in talks to bring in Nvidia as an anchor investor in its US flotation, according to a report.Arm, based in Cambridge, is in discussions with the world’s most valuable semiconductor company about taking a stake in the business during the initial public offering (IPO), the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...
  
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• Calls for inquiry into appointments of Ofwat chairs past and present

  12-07-2023 13:34
  
  Campaigners raise concerns about water industry links as Lib Dems say watchdog should be abolishedThe appointments of the current and previous chairs of the water regulator Ofwat should be investigated, campaigners have said, as the Liberal Democrats called for the watchdog to be abolished.Jonson Cox, a former chair of the regulator, had multimillion-pound links with the privatised water industry before taking up the role. The current chair, Iain Coucher, remains a senior adviser to a global pri
  
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• Thames Water boss and ex-Ofwat head refuses to apologise for letting companies increase debt – video

  12-07-2023 12:53
  
  The joint chief executive of Thames Water has refused to apologise for allowing water companies to increase their debt during her time as chief of Ofwat, the water regulator. Cathryn Ross's comments came during a parliamentary committee session with Thames Water bosses as concerns mount over the financial viability of the company. Thames Water has secured £750m of emergency funding from its shareholders but the debt-ridden company warned it would need further funding in the years aheadTham
  
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• Former Uber driver wins payout of £20,000 owed for more than seven years

  12-07-2023 12:37
  
  James Farrar pursued ride-hailing firm for holiday pay and minimum wage after 2021 supreme court rulingA former Uber driver has won a payout of more than £20,000 owed to him for more than seven years after a tribunal ruled the gig economy firm failed to respect minimum wage and holiday entitlement laws.James Farrar, who brought the landmark supreme court case that forced Uber to recognise drivers as having more extensive employments rights than it would previously admit, is one of more tha
  
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• Elon Musk’s Tesla plans to launch electricity supplier in Britain

  12-07-2023 12:22
  
  Tesla Electric seeks executive ‘with healthy scepticism of status quo’ to manage entry into UK energy marketElon Musk’s Tesla is poised to disrupt Britain’s energy market with the launch of a new household supplier.The maker of electric cars, which also runs an energy supply business in the US, plans to begin selling electricity to homes and running “virtual power plants”, according to a recent job listing. Continue reading...
  
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• Barcelona traders demand action over rise of CBD shops ‘posing as florists’

  12-07-2023 11:55
  
  Over 100 ‘weed shops’ have opened in old city, says association, alleging many also sell psychoactive ingredientBarcelona’s old city has been overrun by outlets selling cannabis paraphernalia that are getting around tight zoning restrictions by registering as florists, disgruntled shopkeepers say.In recent years, so-called weed shops have sprung up all over the city but are mainly concentrated in Ciutat Vella, the oldest part of the city and the area most popular with tourists.
  
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• I travelled around Britain on low-carbon transport. It was creaky – but magical | Sophie Pavelle

  12-07-2023 11:13
  
  Even train delays and waits for buses felt worth it for the space to think and environmental benefits. Our public transport is full of untapped potentialThe water was clear enough to notice the sun’s rays touch the seabed. Seconds later, the scene was repeated in light piercing the canopy of a beech tree, spotlighting patches of dry earth below. I stared through the salt-smeared window of the train as it raced north on Devon’s famous Riviera line. In the carriage my skin felt weather
  
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• Wetherspoon’s sales jump as people seek cheaper food and drink

  12-07-2023 11:04
  
  Fellow hospitality chain Loungers enjoys record sales, with inflationary pressures diminishingThe pub chain JD Wetherspoon has reported soaring sales in recent weeks, as cash-strapped consumers look for cheaper food and drinks amid high inflation and the cost of living crisis.Wetherspoon’s, which runs just under 830 pubs across the UK and Ireland, said its sales had risen by 11% in the 10 weeks since the start of May, compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. Continue rea
  
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• Tech companies block wage increase for New York City delivery workers

  12-07-2023 11:00
  
  Doordash, GrubHub, Uber and Relay lawsuits claim that the $17.96 per hour wage set to start on 12 July would deal blow to businessA week before New York City’s app-based delivery workers were poised to see an hourly minimum wage increase, several tech companies fired a legal salvo that has temporarily delayed this change.Doordash, GrubHub, Uber and Relay filed lawsuits in Manhattan state civil court on 6 July, alleging that a recently greenlit $17.96 hourly minimum wage for app delivery wo
  
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• ‘It cost £191 and I’ve made £1,000’: four women on the dresses making them a fortune

  12-07-2023 11:00
  
  There has been a huge rise of peer-to-peer lending online, where people borrow clothes directly from one another. For some, it can be a lucrative side hustle and a way to pursue bigger dreamsA Burberry dress for £60? A Prada bag for £100? It sounds too good to be true but – thanks to the booming fashion rental market – designer pieces are no longer reserved for those with a six-figure salary.Experts have dubbed it the “rental revolution”, with GlobalData forec
  
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• After two years of real progress on climate, a European ‘greenlash’ is brewing | Nathalie Tocci

  12-07-2023 09:00
  
  As climate pledges become reality, opposition to the green agenda is growing. And the populist right is latching on to itWhen floods swept Europe in July 2021, killing more than 200 people in Germany, Belgium and neighbouring countries, it was a disaster that came as the climate crisis was moving to the top of Europe’s political agenda. All of a sudden, climate was no longer an abstract threat that could be batted into a distant future; it was already here, causing shocking weather events,
  
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• Pensioners can get up to 8.76% a year as interest rates soar - check your options now

  12-07-2023 08:42 via express.co.uk
  
  After years of misery pensioners looking to supplement their retirement income can suddenly get yields of four, five, six, seven or even eight percent a year. Today's high interest rates won't last forever so it's time to check what's out there.
  
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• Rising UK interest rates threaten Sunak’s fiscal plans, OBR to warn

  12-07-2023 08:00
  
  Inflation and borrowing costs make it less likely PM will be able to tackle debt or cut taxThe Treasury’s tax and spending watchdog is preparing to sound the alarm over the impact of rising interest rates on the public finances, delivering a serious blow to the government’s scope for pre-election tax cuts.The independent Office for Budget Responsibility will warn that stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs are adding to the challenges facing Rishi Sunak, making it less
  
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• Airbnb ‘flat’ in Paris turned out to be one room with an 8pm curfew

  12-07-2023 08:00
  
  Host texted us after the cancellation period with critical details but has said ‘no’ to a refundWe used Airbnb to book an apartment in Paris. An hour after the cancellation period expired, the host texted us to point out the flat was actually a room in a family home with pets and babies, and we couldn’t go in or out after 8pm. This critical information is only visible when you click “show more” under “About this place” and is buried deep down a 400-word
  
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