Financial news

• The Guardian view on public sector pay: higher taxes on the rich are needed to fix broke Britannia | Editorial

  13-07-2023 19:52
  
  Whoever wins the next election will have to spend money to repair the damage done after 13 years of Conservative party ruleIt is unlikely that champagne corks will be popping in government offices, school classrooms and NHS hospitals. But they probably are in the City. While the public sector is offered a below inflation pay hike of 6%, wage growth in finance and business services is running at 9%. The private sector can raise its prices to pay for higher salaries or just to make more money. The
  
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• A crash is unlikely, but the fall in UK home prices has a long way to go | Nils Pratley

  13-07-2023 18:52
  
  First-time buyers face high mortgage rates, while soaring rents and bills hinder saving for deposits – no wonder there’s a big slowdownInquiries by would-be buyers of homes hit an eight-month low last month, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which talked about “a renewed deterioration in UK home sales”. On the same theme, Barratt Developments’ trading update on Thursday related a near-halving in reservations from first-time buyers year on ye
  
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• Ofcom investigates Virgin Media over complaints contracts hard to cancel

  13-07-2023 13:06
  
  Media regulator also plans to name and shame telecoms firms not offering vulnerable customers cheaper dealsOfcom has launched an investigation into Virgin Media after complaints it is making it difficult for customers to cancel, as the media regulator prepares to name and shame telecoms companies lagging behind in offering financially stretched customers cheaper deals.Ofcom said it was concerned about the number of complaints from customers saying it was difficult to leave Virgin Media, which ha
  
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• 'Terrified to put on the heat': Pensioner 'in distress' after receiving £800 energy bill

  13-07-2023 12:04 via express.co.uk
  
  An 82-year-old man who lives alone was told he could pay his huge bill in instalments.
  
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• Yorkshire Building Society launches new fixed rate savings accounts with up to 6% interest

  13-07-2023 11:13 via express.co.uk
  
  Yorkshire Building Society has today launched a new range of fixed rate bonds to support both its loyal members as well as new customers, who are looking for a fixed return on their savings.
  
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• UK GDP: mortgage payers’ worst fears are likely to come true

  13-07-2023 11:02
  
  Cycle of interest rate rises are expected to continue after better than forecast economic dataUK economy shrinks by 0.1% in May after coronation festivitiesBusiness live: economy shrank after bank holidays hit activityFor mortgage payers, the latest economic growth figures are a disappointment.The 0.1% contraction in gross domestic product between April and May tells the Bank of England that the jump in interest rates over the previous 18 months has only had a mild dampening effect on the econom
  
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• NS&I increases interest rates on savings accounts to up to 5% from today

  13-07-2023 10:45 via express.co.uk
  
  The change comes following a spate of interest rate increases on NS&I's variable products, as well as a higher Premium Bonds prize fund rate.
  
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• Bank offers market-leading 4.35% interest rate on easy access savings account

  13-07-2023 10:05 via express.co.uk
  
  Easy access savings accounts are growing increasingly competitive month on month, and Shawbrook Bank is currently topping the table.
  
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• State pension payments may hit over £11,000 next year - but you might not get full sum

  13-07-2023 10:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Those approaching state pension age can use a Government tool to check how much state pension they are set to receive and when.
  
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• HMRC has paid my £1,617.60 tax refund to an agent, but I don’t know why

  13-07-2023 08:00
  
  Tax Returned has my money but there’s no way to make contact with itLast year HMRC informed me that I have been awarded a £1,617.60 tax refund. However, the money has been paid to a company called Tax Returned Ltd which, unbeknownst to me, has become my agent. I’ve tried to contact it by phone, but it never answers, and there’s been no reply to my email or letter. HMRC insists it requires a letter of authorisation from Tax Returned before it can remove it from my account
  
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• State pension to hit inflation-busting £11,373 as wages beat prices in triple lock twist

  13-07-2023 07:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The state pension triple lock looks set to prove its worth yet again by giving pensioners another bumper pay raise next year, but in an unexpected way.
  
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• Woman makes over £2,500 from ‘easy’ side hustle that ‘doesn’t take too much time’

  13-07-2023 01:01 via express.co.uk
  
  Samantha, 50, makes thousands of pounds selling pre-loved items and is often left "surprised" at how quickly it takes.
  
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• UK cost of living payments were ineffective sticking plaster, IFS says

  13-07-2023 01:01
  
  Thinktank says nearly £19bn cost of scheme would have been better spent on raising value of benefitsBillions of pounds of taxpayer cash spent on one-off cost of living support has proved an expensive and ineffective “sticking plaster” that would have been better used to raise the value of benefits, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.Britain’s foremost economics thinktank said the government’s cost of living payments scheme, introduced by Rishi Sunak while he
  
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• Number of would-be homebuyers falls to 8-month low as UK economic anxiety deepens

  13-07-2023 01:01
  
  Survey of estate agents reports growing reluctance among potential homebuyers to make a purchaseMortgages to cost 1m borrowers extra £500 a month by 2026, BoE warnsRenting a room in UK tops £700 a month on averageThe steep rise in mortgage interest rates and anxiety about the prospect of an economic downturn sent new house buyer inquiries to an eight-month low in June, according to a survey of estate agents.A fall in the number of buyers marked “a renewed deterioration in UK ho
  
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