Financial news

• Meta to make new version of AI model available free of charge on Microsoft

  18-07-2023 20:51
  
  Move gives start-ups and other businesses a low-cost opportunity to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s BardMark Zuckerberg’s Meta is making a commercial version of its artificial intelligence model freely available, in a move that gives startups and other businesses a low-cost opportunity compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.A new version of a Meta large language model (LLM), called Llama 2, will be distributed by Microsoft through its Azure cloud
  
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• Keir Starmer defends decision not to scrap two-child benefit cap

  18-07-2023 20:15
  
  Labour leader says there will have to be more tough choices ahead if party is to win the next electionKeir Starmer has doubled down on his decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap, warning his party that there will have to be more tough choices if Labour is to win the next election.The Labour leader, who faces pressure from senior party figures to row back from his position on the policy, instead told them they had to be even more focused and disciplined in the months ahead. Continue read
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover owner expected to announce Somerset battery gigafactory

  18-07-2023 20:12
  
  Announcement on Tata Group plant, which could create thousands of jobs and receive significant state funding, may come on WednesdayThe owner of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is expected to announce that it will build an electric car battery gigafactory in the UK, backed with £500m in government funding, in what would be a major boost for the British car industry.Indian conglomerate Tata Group, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, has been locked in negotiations for months to secure state aid f
  
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• Appointment of American by EU directorate ‘dubious’, says Macron

  18-07-2023 19:46
  
  French president wades into transatlantic row over selection of Fiona Scott Morton as bloc’s chief competition economistEmmanuel Macron has waded into a growing row over the appointment of an American to a role at the heart of the EU directorate that oversees the regulation of big US tech companies including Apple and Google.Fiona Scott Morton, a former Obama administration anti-trust official, was appointed by the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager last week, prompting strong
  
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• Keir Starmer must scrap the two-child benefit cap | Letters

  18-07-2023 18:58
  
  Dr Jonathan J Ross points out that removing VAT relief from private schools would raise more than lifting the cap would cost. Plus letters from Richard Morgan and Peter BrookerLabour states that lifting the two-child limit on child benefit payments may cost £1.3bn (Labour would keep two-child benefit cap, says Keir Starmer, 16 July). Removing VAT relief from private schools would raise £1.4bn or more. Those private schools whose fees crested £30,000 per pupil currently receive
  
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• Grant Shapps earmarks £20bn for new fleet of nuclear reactors in UK

  18-07-2023 18:46
  
  Britain’s neglect of nuclear industry has been a ‘colossal mistake’ says energy ministerGrant Shapps has condemned the neglect of Britain’s nuclear industry as a “colossal mistake” as he earmarked £20bn for a fleet of new reactors – but admitted it would take six years to even make a decision on giving projects the green light.The government formally launched Great British Nuclear (GBN), an independent body designed to aid the delivery of new proje
  
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• French Uber inquiry finds ‘gaping loopholes’ remain in lobbying rules

  18-07-2023 17:33
  
  Firm benefited from close relationship with Emmanuel Macron when he was economy minister, inquiry findsA French parliamentary investigation into Uber has concluded there are “serious flaws” in France’s system of governing the gig economy, with “gaping loopholes” in rules around transparency still in place almost 10 years after the ride-hailing app established itself in Paris and beyond.The six-month investigation, prompted by the Guardian’s Uber Files revelati
  
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• After 20 years, here’s why the Post Office scandal is special: the cover-up is happening in plain sight | Marina Hyde

  18-07-2023 16:38
  
  People whose lives were destroyed deserve justice. And those responsible are contriving to make sure they don’t get itPop your teeth-grinding guards in and gather round, because it’s time to talk about the Post Office scandal again. It remains something of a downer that the most widespread injustice in British legal history doesn’t get the full-spectrum fever coverage that is lavished on more frivolous news – but then, the forces formerly known as The Man have always want
  
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• Air travel brings out the absolute worst in people – from faking injuries to demanding seat swaps | Arwa Mahdawi

  18-07-2023 15:20
  
  Sky-high entitlement is causing havoc, with passengers baring their feet and complaining about their meals. Another reason to give up flyingHere is your mission, should you choose to accept it: you have to get from point A to point B in an aeroplane without causing an international incident or inspiring a viral TikTok about what an entitled nitwit you are. Sounds simple, right? Apparently, it isn’t. About 76.9% of the general population, extensive analysis has led me to believe, seem to fi
  
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• FCA warns it will crack down on banks that fail to pass on savings rates

  18-07-2023 15:18
  
  Nikhil Rathi tells Treasury committee there are ways to assess whether customers are being treated fairlyBusiness live – latest updatesThe City regulator has warned it will consider cracking down on banks that appear to be profiteering from, or failing to quickly pass on, savings rates once new regulations come into force at the end of the month.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, told MPs on the Treasury committee that it was likely to take a range of &ldq
  
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• Labour mayors to take legal action over train ticket office closures in England

  18-07-2023 15:10
  
  Five metro mayors launch challenge to plans, saying ‘rushed’ public consultation not following due processUK politics live – latest updatesLabour mayors are launching legal action to prevent the closure of railway station ticket offices across England.Five metro mayors, led by Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, said the “rushed” public consultation on the changes was not following due process and that the closures would affect thousands of jobs and “erod
  
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• Will high interest rates burst the new car bubble and will drivers hand back keys?

  18-07-2023 15:00
  
  British drivers upgraded their cars often in the era of cheap lending – but that could changeCompany insolvencies jump 27% as high interest rates hitBritain’s car buyers are a nation of borrowers: more than four in every five new cars bought by individuals in 2022 was paid for with borrowed money.For more than a decade that borrowing, on attractive terms thanks to ultra-low interest rates, opened up the car market to people without much in the way of savings – allowing the Mond
  
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• Twitter investor writes down stake by 47% as analyst claims Threads user fall

  18-07-2023 12:54
  
  Elon Musk has said advertising has plunged on his social media platform and it is cashflow negativeAn investor in Elon Musk’s Twitter has written down their stake in the business by 47% as advertisers rein in their spending on the social media platform.The move by ARK Investment Management came as an analysis firm claimed that usage of the “Twitter killer” Threads app has fallen by half since its launch by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Continue reading...
  
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• Tell us: have you ever won a large prize by investing in Premium Bonds?

  18-07-2023 12:34
  
  We would like to hear from people about their experiences with Premium BondsHave you ever won a large prize (£50,000 or more) by investing in Premium Bonds? Perhaps you have even won the £1m jackpot? Or have you held Bonds for more than 50 years and never won anything?We’d like to know how much you won, and how long you had been investing in Bonds for, when you won, and what you spent the money on. Or if you have held bonds for more than 50 years, please let us know how long yo
  
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• Pret a Manger reports first profit since 2018 as subscriptions perk up sales

  18-07-2023 11:15
  
  Coffee and bakery chain’s growth helped by international expansion, with 600 stores outside UKPret a Manger returned to profit for the first time since 2018 last year as the launch of a subscription service helped the coffee and bakery chain bounce back after the Covid crisis.The group, which suffered during the pandemic lockdowns when office workers stayed at home, said the revival had continued into this year with sales jumping 20% to £430m in the six months to the end of June. It
  
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• UK inflation expected to fall after grocery price rises ease

  18-07-2023 09:00
  
  Shoppers turning to loyalty schemes like Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar to help cut costs at checkoutInflation in the UK is expected to fall back after industry figures showed the rising price of groceries eased in July, as more shoppers turned to supermarket loyalty cards amid the cost of living crisis.The annual pace of grocery price growth cooled to 14.9% over the four weeks to 9 July, down from 16.5% a month earlier, according to the retail industry data provider Kantar, droppin
  
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• Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca: ‘The climate crisis is a health crisis’

  18-07-2023 09:00
  
  The man who led the drive to create a not-for-profit Covid vaccine is now focusing on the deaths caused by global heating and pollution‘I speak as a healthcare CEO, but also as a nature lover and as a grandfather,” Pascal Soriot, chief executive of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, told King Charles III and a select audience during London Climate Week at an event in the gothic grandeur of Guildhall.While the Covid-19 pandemic led to the loss of 7 million lives globally,
  
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• Secure My Booking? It’s a ‘no’ when it comes to rail strikes

  18-07-2023 08:00
  
  We had taken out the insurance after booking for The Pillowman in the West End, but it has refused a refund when we had to cancelI booked two tickets to see a play, The Pillowman, in the West End of London on the evening of 19 July, travelling from Manchester and staying overnight in the capital.For the first time, I took out ticket insurance, paying Secure My Booking £7 through the ATG website. Continue reading...
  
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• What’s at stake if we mine the deep sea? – podcast

  18-07-2023 06:00
  
  As the International Seabed Authority gathers in Jamaica to thrash out regulations for mining the deep sea, Chris Michael of the Guardian’s Seascape team gives Ian Sample the background to this highly contested decision. Ian also hears from the marine biologist Dr Diva Amon about why some scientists are sounding the alarmClips: CBCRead more Guardian reporting on this story from the Seascape team here. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Vast’ growth in value of England rentals since 1990 would have built 3m council homes

  18-07-2023 06:00
  
  Exclusive: Private rentals have grown £400bn in value – making a mockery of landlords’ demands for tax cuts, say campaignersPrivate landlords in England have made enough money from rising house prices in the last three decades to build at least 3m council homes, research suggests.Owners of private rental properties have seen their assets grow in value by £400bn since 1990, equivalent to the amount needed to build more than 50 times the number of council homes that were ac
  
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• Up to 3m UK people behind on bills have had mental health problems, study says

  18-07-2023 01:01
  
  People with recent mental health issues three times more likely to be behind on at least one key bill, research findsUp to 3 million people in the UK who are behind with at least one bill have experienced a mental health problem in the last two years, according to research.YouGov polling for the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute charity found that 12% of participants were behind on at least one payment such as energy, rent or credit cards, of whom half had a mental health problem. That eq
  
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