Financial news

• Nigel Farage says new Coutts boss has offered to keep his accounts open

  31-07-2023 20:51
  
  Former Ukip leader is still taking legal action against bank demanding compensation and apologyNigel Farage has said that the newly installed boss of Coutts has offered to keep his accounts there open, reversing a decision that triggered a scandal and the resignation of the private bank’s previous chief executive.The former Ukip leader said he welcomed the offer but was still taking legal action against NatWest, which owns Coutts, demanding compensation, a full apology and a face-to-face m
  
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• Capita boss quits as potential fine looms for huge hack of confidential data

  31-07-2023 19:58
  
  Jon Lewis, the chief executive, is to step down as troubled outsourcing firm reels from March cyber-attackBusiness live – latest updatesThe chief executive of outsourcing firm Capita is to step down as the company reels from a cyber-attack that could result in a hefty fine from the UK’s information and privacy regulator.Capita said Jon Lewis would step down by the end of the year, making way for Adolfo Hernandez, the vice-president of telecommunications at Amazon Web Services. Contin
  
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• ‘It’s bleak’: string of family firms shut in Rishi Sunak’s Yorkshire seat

  31-07-2023 19:10
  
  Four businesses in market town of Richmond announce closure in past week as cost of living crisis bitesChristine Swift is shutting her antiques centre in Richmond town centre with a heavy heart but insists she has no choice. “I’ve not taken any money since last Christmas,” she said.“We’ve been £10,000 a month down. I thought, ‘OK, it might just be a blip’ but things haven’t improved. Nobody is buying.” Continue reading...
  
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• UK’s CMA to hear more views on Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal

  31-07-2023 19:00
  
  Competition and Markets Authority gives tech giant hope after it blocked acquisition of Call of Duty makerThe UK competition watchdog has said it will decide whether to clear or block Microsoft’s $69bn (£54bn) takeover of the video game developer Activision Blizzard by 29 August, as it gave fresh hope for the transaction by opening a new consultation on it.The Competition and Markets Authority, which had originally said in April it would block the deal to take over the owner of hit t
  
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• Banks with lowest savings rates to face ‘robust action’, warns UK financial watchdog

  31-07-2023 18:12
  
  FCA gives banks four weeks to justify savings rates as it lays out 14-point plan to monitor treatment of customersUK retail financial services set for biggest overhaul in 20 yearsBanks have been given four weeks to justify low savings rates to the City regulator, before facing “robust action” as part of a fresh crackdown on the UK savings market.The deadline is part of a 14-point action plan unveiled by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday, after it found the UK’s la
  
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• Fair returns for holidaymakers who fled dirty damp rental cottage – The Crusader

  31-07-2023 17:39 via express.co.uk
  
  Two holidaymakers faced major disappointment when renting a cottage as they were confronted by a damp and cold chamber full of dirt and peeling paint.
  
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• Rishi Sunak announces new oil and gas licences despite outcry – video

  31-07-2023 17:30
  
  The UK prime minister visited Aberdeenshire on Monday to announce more than 100 new licences for drilling oil and gas in the North Sea. Rishi Sunak insisted the announcement was 'entirely consistent with our plan to get to net zero', adding that domestic oil and gas saved 'two, three, four times the amount of carbon emissions' of 'shipping it from halfway round the world'. Environmental groups said the licences would obliterate the UK's climate commitments. Jess Ralston from the Energy and Clima
  
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• Inheritance tax slammed as ‘unfair’ as 50,000 Britons dragged into paying levy

  31-07-2023 16:22 via express.co.uk
  
  The Government opted to freeze the inheritance tax threshold until 2028 which has seemingly resulted in more taxpayers being forced to pay up.
  
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• Young entrepreneur earns £5,000 a month with business he started at university

  31-07-2023 16:19 via express.co.uk
  
  He was able to get funding from his university to help launch his enterprise with his revenue increasing fourfold in the business' second year.
  
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• Savings accounts are paying up to 7% interest - 'key' things to consider before switching

  31-07-2023 16:19 via express.co.uk
  
  Two in five savers are currently paid interest rates lower than 2.5 percent.
  
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• Mortgage warning as 'worse could be yet to come' for homeowners ahead of rate rise

  31-07-2023 16:12 via express.co.uk
  
  Mortgage repayments have risen substantially over the past year in the wake of the Bank of England's series of interest rate hikes.
  
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• New BT boss is seen as safe pair of hands – but there’s trouble down the line

  31-07-2023 15:51
  
  Allison Kirkby will stick to Philip Jansen’s plan, but there are problems over pensions, unions, rivals and moreBT appoints Allison Kirkby as company’s first female CEOAnyone looking at BT’s share price last week – languishing at a quarter of its 2016 high – might have thought that the job for the telecoms company’s new leader would be a straightforward turnaround. Yet the message from Allison Kirkby as she prepares to move from the boardroom to the executive
  
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• Pensioner forced to ration electricity for a year after receiving £13,000 bill in error

  31-07-2023 15:24
  
  76-year-old man was threatened with court action and turned to food handouts after E.ON mistakeA 76-year-old widower was forced to ration his electricity for a year and rely on charity food handouts after a clerical error by his supplier left him facing a bill of nearly £13,000.John*, who has a serious heart condition, has paid in advance for his electricity via a prepayment meter for 10 years. However, his supplier, E.ON, began sending unexplained bills several years ago and subsequently
  
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• Eurozone returns to economic growth as inflation falls

  31-07-2023 15:02
  
  GDP also rises in 20-member bloc but German growth remains flat and Italy shrinksBusiness live – latest updatesThe eurozone’s economy has returned to growth after a long period of stagnation as inflation in the 20-member currency area continues to fall from last year’s peak.Activity expanded by 0.3% in the second quarter, while the inflation rate declined from 5.5% to 5.3% in July, said the EU statistics agency Eurostat. Continue reading...
  
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• Building supplier Marshalls to axe further 250 jobs amid UK housebuilding slump

  31-07-2023 14:31
  
  West Yorkshire-based firm warns of ‘markedly lower’ profits with company hit by falling demand for new-build homesUK mortgage approvals rise despite surge in borrowing ratesBusiness live – latest updatesAnalysis – mortgage rates show sign of easingThe building products supplier Marshalls is cutting another 250 jobs and has issued a profits warning in the latest sign of the growing slump in the UK housebuilding market.The group, based in Elland, West Yorkshire, will also c
  
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• All I want is a job with a decent number of hours – why is that so hard to find? | Sharron Spice

  31-07-2023 14:20
  
  The rising price of basic products is crazy, and what makes things harder is that steady jobs are thin on the groundI am back on the job hunt. My recent role working with young people who are at risk of becoming involved with county-lines activities has come to an end.I’m used to it. I’ve always worked short contracts. What I’m not used to is how hard it is to get a proper contract now with a decent number of hours. No one knows what the future holds so employers have become te
  
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• All I want is a job with a decent amount of hours – why is that so hard to find? | Sharron Spice

  31-07-2023 14:20
  
  The rising price of basic products is crazy, and what makes things harder is that steady jobs are thin on the groundI am back on the job hunt. My recent role working with young people who are at risk of becoming involved with county-lines activities has come to an end.I’m used to it. I’ve always worked short contracts. What I’m not used to is how hard it is to get a proper contract now with a decent number of hours. No one knows what the future holds so employers have become te
  
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• Nationwide relaunches current account with £100 cashback - savers urged to ‘act quickly’

  31-07-2023 14:14 via express.co.uk
  
  Savers can also benefit from fee-free overdrafts up to £3,000 further down the line of opening an account.
  
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• Sunak’s new oil and gas licences are ‘moral and economic madness’

  31-07-2023 13:54
  
  PM becomes ‘dangerous radical’, in words of UN chief, by backing fossil fuels incompatible with net zero goalsNew North Sea oil and gas licences will send ‘wrecking ball’ through climate commitmentsBy announcing hundreds of new oil and gas licences, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has become a “dangerous radical” pursuing “moral and economic madness”.That is not the judgment of Just Stop Oil, or any other environmental campaign group, but the Unit
  
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• ‘Good news’ for mortgage borrowers as signs emerge that interest rates will soon stabilise

  31-07-2023 13:47 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Mortgage rates may continue to climb but could soon stabilise as part of a ‘new normal', an expert has said.
  
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• ‘Don’t delay!' Martin Lewis urges Brits to ‘check’ credit card to avoid £100s in charges

  31-07-2023 13:36 via express.co.uk
  
  The host of The Martin Lewis Money Show is offering vital advice to those saddled with credit card debt.
  
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• UK mortgage approvals rise despite surge in borrowing rates

  31-07-2023 13:04
  
  Surprise jump in demand for home loans as borrowers ‘scramble’ to get ahead of interest rate increasesAnalysis – mortgage rates show sign of easingMortgage approvals in the UK rose to their highest level since October 2022 last month amid signs of a scramble to secure home loan deals before an expected surge in interest rates.New data from the Bank of England revealed a surprise increase in demand for mortgages, with the increase from 51,100 in May to 54,700 in June confounding
  
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• NS&I reveals how to add Premium Bonds as far back as 50s to online accounts

  31-07-2023 12:38 via express.co.uk
  
  A man ran into trouble when trying to open an online account and add his old Premium Bonds.
  
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• From cheap gyms to secondhand kit: how to get fit in the UK without breaking the bank

  31-07-2023 10:00
  
  Cutting fitness costs has never been easier, whether it’s by online coaching or simply using your own body weightInvest in some simple gym equipment, such as dumbbells and resistance bands, and you can do pretty decent exercise sessions at home. There are a range of offerings online providing on-demand access to a library of workouts. Continue reading...
  
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• BT appoints Allison Kirkby as company’s first female CEO

  31-07-2023 09:12
  
  Former boss of Swedish telecoms firm Telia to continue outgoing Philip Jansen’s cost-cutting driveAnalysis: There’s trouble down the line at BTBT has appointed board member Allison Kirkby as its first female chief executive, to take over from Philip Jansen after he set a course for significant job cuts at the telecoms provider.Kirkby will leave her job as chief executive of Swedish telecoms company Telia at the end of January 2024. She has been a non-executive director at BT since 20
  
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• You really could make your child a millionaire - by investing just £1k a year

  31-07-2023 08:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Parents and grandparents have an opportunity to make their little ones millionaires by taking action today. It could cost less than you think due to the miracle of long-term compound growth.
  
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• My debit card and pin were stolen but Barclays is treating me as the criminal

  31-07-2023 08:00
  
  It had sent me new ones but before they arrived £1,000 disappeared from my accountLast year we moved from the US to London to allow me to take up a new, quite prestigious job. As part of that, I opened a new bank account at Barclays last November, and deposited £1,000.The bank duly sent out a debit card and pin to our west London address, but before either had arrived, someone had emptied the account of the £1,000 – making five, separate ATM withdrawals in south London. I
  
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• Can we avoid stamp duty on a second house if my husband buys it in his name?

  31-07-2023 08:00
  
  I bought a property before we met, which we hope to rent out when we buy a bigger homeQ I bought a house before I met my husband. We now live in this house together but the mortgage is solely in my name. I have almost paid off the mortgage. We are looking to move to a bigger property and keep my house, so that we can rent it out. Our hope is that my husband is able to buy the new house in his name only so that we avoid paying second home stamp duty. Would this work? Or would we have to pay it, a
  
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