Financial news

• The Guardian view on housebuilding: Michael Gove’s urban visions can’t erase his party’s record | Editorial

  25-07-2023 20:13
  
  Regeneration of city centres can’t make up for 13 years in which renters were neglected while construction giants profitedHousing policy managed over decades for the benefit of developers and homeowners has led to insecurity and inequality for everyone else. The number of households renting privately in England and Wales has risen hugely – from 1.9m in 2001 to 5m in 2021, while the home ownership rate has fallen to 62% from 64% a decade ago. Outright ownership (with no mortgage) is t
  
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• ‘Like Squid Game’: British tourists in Rhodes on their holidays from hell

  25-07-2023 18:27
  
  Holidaymakers booked into luxury hotels but sleeping in a sports hall feel let down by tour operators but are touched by the kindness of locals“Have you ever watched Squid Game? This is how it feels.” The words of one British tourist, among the last remaining of 700 holidaymakers put up in an evacuation centre in Rhodes after fleeing the raging wildfires, summed up the chaos and panic that many had experienced as dream holidays had gone up in smoke.Susan Johnson, 64, from Salisbury,
  
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• One in four new UK homebuyers under 25 rely on ‘bank of mum and dad’ – study

  25-07-2023 18:05
  
  Research by Bank of England economist reveals huge scale of parental support in housing market The massive scale of parental support for young people seeking to buy their first property has been revealed in a UK study showing one in four new homebuyers under 25 rely on the “bank of mum and dad”.A blogpost by a Bank of England economist found that even before the sharp increase in house prices during the Covid-19 pandemic, the children of better-off parents were able to become owner o
  
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• ‘Liars and manipulators’: the energy dealmakers overcharging small firms

  25-07-2023 16:32
  
  Former broker reveals how secret commissions are charged to charities, care homes and othersOfgem to clamp down on rogue energy brokers“Cold-calling liars and manipulators”: this was the verdict handed down by a Preston crown court judge in a multimillion-pound fraud case earlier this year that found small businesses had been “duped” into expensive, long-term energy contracts.The judge ruled that Andy Pilley, the owner and former chair of Fleetwood Town FC, used a network
  
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• Marmite and Dove maker’s profits soar on back of price rises

  25-07-2023 13:56
  
  Consumers buy fewer products in cost of living crisis but Unilever’s revenues increaseNils Pratley: nice profit margins, Unilever, but spare us the ‘sharing the pain’ glossThe maker of Marmite, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, Unilever, has reported rising revenues after it increased prices by nearly 10%, even as consumers squeezed by the cost of living crisis bought fewer products.The FTSE 100 company said its underlying sales rose by 9.1% in the first half of
  
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• Plan to replace gas boilers with heat pumps should be reviewed, says Gove

  25-07-2023 10:35
  
  Levelling up secretary calls for scrutiny of green policy but says ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars is ‘immovable’UK politics live – latest updatesBritain’s plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are “immovable” but it is time to review proposals for homeowners to replace gas boilers with heat pumps, Michael Gove has said.Asked on Times Radio if the petrol and diesel ban was an immovable target, the levelling up secretary said: &l
  
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• Urgent scam warning as Australia’s largest loyalty point programs, including Qantas, Telstra and Coles, targeted

  25-07-2023 08:40
  
  Customers warned to be vigilant of messages stating their rewards are expiring as pressure builds for banks to offer compensationFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe ACCC has issued an urgent warning to customers of some of Australia’s largest loyalty reward programs, including Qantas frequent flyer, after detecting a new scam that targets valuable points.The National Anti-Scam Centre has rece
  
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• BT gave me a wake-up call over data roaming charges

  25-07-2023 08:00
  
  Overnight on a ferry I spent £35 as my phone downloaded while I sleptYour recent letter about BT prompted me to write about my own bad experience – in this case, the roaming charges I clocked up while asleep on an overnight ferry.We had boarded a Brittany Ferries service from Portsmouth to Bilbao late in the evening, and turned in fairly quickly after driving all day. But, unbeknownst to me, my phone was downloading data while I slept – I think because I had left Google Maps ru
  
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• Big pay rises for top earners in London have masked cuts in rest of UK, says IFS

  25-07-2023 07:01
  
  Britain’s earnings gap is growing as business services, finance and IT workers prosper, thinktank findsBig pay increases for highly paid workers in London and the south-east have masked real wage cuts across large swathes of the economy and led to a widening in the UK’s geographical earnings gap, a leading thinktank has said.A study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that while workers in some sectors – such as manufacturing, education and hospitality – had
  
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• The Great British motorcycle scam – part two - podcast

  25-07-2023 04:00
  
  In the concluding part of an investigation into Norton, Simon Goodley reports on a prestigious motorcycle brand that became a vehicle for a multimillion-pound pension fraudOn Monday, the Guardian told you how vintage British motorcycle brand Norton had become a vehicle for a multimillion-pound pension scam. Today: the investigation continues.Investigative reporter Simon Goodley tells Nosheen Iqbal how Stuart Garner’s stewardship of Norton came with huge amounts of publicity. He courted pol
  
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