Financial news

• Etsy to ‘substantially’ cut vendors’ funds held in reserve after UK boycott

  02-08-2023 21:39
  
  Sellers put online shops in ‘holiday mode’ after website’s move to hold back up to 75% of takings for as long as 45 daysEtsy has said it is “substantially decreasing” the amount of sellers’ funds held in reserve globally after UK vendors began boycotting the online craft marketplace over a hold-up in payments.Sellers have been putting their Etsy shops in “holiday mode” and switching to rivals including Folksy, Shopify and Facebook Marketplace after
  
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• Asda publishes daily petrol prices online after pressure from watchdog

  02-08-2023 19:48
  
  Other retailers say they are working with government on implementing industry-wide comparison service Asda has begun publishing local fuel prices at its forecourts online, becoming the first retailer to launch the service following pressure from the competition watchdog and MPs over widened profit margins at the pump.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on the government to introduce legislation to ensure fuel retailers provide up-to-date pricing for a new industry-wide compari
  
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• Buy now, pay later firms stay unregulated – and Britons are racking up debt

  02-08-2023 18:42
  
  Estimates suggest one in 10 consumers who use companies such as Klarna and Clearpay end up with debt collectors as no safeguards in placeIf you’ve been shopping for summer sale bargains online lately, you’ll have come across the tempting opportunity to buy now, pay later – splitting the cost of that must-have item into several repayments, usually over a few weeks.It can feel like a win-win – it’s interest free, at least upfront, because the business model of firms s
  
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• Want a glimpse of dystopia? Visit the self-service checkouts | Adrian Chiles

  02-08-2023 17:25
  
  Automated tills now take up much more space than those staffed by humans. We must resist!I’ve wailed before about the proliferation of self-checkout machines. But I will do so again, because my mood darkens every time I visit my local big supermarket. I first honoured the place with my business about 20 years ago. Back then there were about two dozen staffed checkouts, in those days of innocence before the death march of progress gathered pace. A handful of self-checkouts appeared; a handf
  
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• Note to Keir Starmer: delaying investment in childcare would be bad economics – and bad politics | Ignacia Pinto

  02-08-2023 15:26
  
  Failure to support women affects productivity. Neglect of female voters could also cost Labour crucial votesAs politicians strategise before what are likely to be the final party conferences before the general election, parents are turning their hands to magic tricks not just to entertain their children, but to juggle the costs and availability of childcare.Labour should be paying attention, because it too often falls to mothers (and grandmothers) to pick up the slack where childcare support fal
  
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• Drax denies use of subsidy loophole to avoid £639m payout to households

  02-08-2023 15:07
  
  Bloomberg alleges Drax idled an electricity generating unit and resold its biomass pellets rather than return money to bill payersBusiness live – latest updatesThe owner of the Drax power plant has been forced to deny that it used a loophole in the government’s subsidy scheme to avoid paying almost £650m to households since the start of the energy crisis.An investigation by Bloomberg found that the FTSE 100 company idled one of the generating units at its giant North Yorkshire
  
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• Rising UK interest rates force homebuyers to take on longer mortgages

  02-08-2023 13:51
  
  Builder Taylor Wimpey says Bank of England stance has weakened housing marketBusiness live – latest updatesOne of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, Taylor Wimpey, has warned that the Bank of England’s rate rises to tame high inflation have weakened the housing market and made homes less affordable, forcing some homebuyers to take on longer mortgages to cope with higher borrowing costs.The company said the share of its first-time buyers who were taking on mortgages of more than 3
  
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• Mortgage blip leaves woman devastated as 'admin error' sparks application rejection

  02-08-2023 13:07 via express.co.uk
  
  Borrowers are being locked out of the mainstream mortgage market, simply because they have minor adverse credit of a few hundred pounds.
  
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• Slash your household bills by £400 a year with these six simple changes

  02-08-2023 13:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Families can rack up some big savings with simple changes to how they use their heating and other appliances.
  
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• Martin Lewis debunks fuel pump ‘urban myth’ and shares how you can save money on petrol

  02-08-2023 12:53 via express.co.uk
  
  The host of The Martin Lewis Money Show is reminding drivers that petrol could be cheaper at certain times of the day.
  
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• What another Bank of England Base Rate rise may mean for your savings, mortgages and loans

  02-08-2023 12:48 via express.co.uk
  
  Market analysts predict the Bank of England to raise the Base Rate again this week by at least 0.25 percent.
  
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• Sunak signals he may not achieve goals on inflation and NHS waiting lists

  02-08-2023 12:36
  
  Prime minister blames strikes for long NHS England waiting lists, and acknowledges progress on halving inflation is slowUK politics live – latest updatesRishi Sunak has signalled he will struggle to achieve two of his five priorities: to halve inflation by the end of the year and to reduce NHS waiting lists in England, which he blamed on striking workers.In his final interview before heading to California with his family for their first holiday in four years, the prime minister urged voter
  
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• Grandparents may be missing out on a state pension uplift worth ‘thousands of pounds’

  02-08-2023 11:47 via express.co.uk
  
  Grandparents are being urged to check if they're entitled to additional National Insurance credits to boost their state pensions.
  
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• PIP claimants missing out on freebies and discounts - from weekly top ups to £30,000 grant

  02-08-2023 11:24 via express.co.uk
  
  Around £15billion is wasted in unclaimed benefits every year as millions of people miss out on money to which they are entitled.
  
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• Slash your inheritance tax bill by thousands of pounds with little-known rule

  02-08-2023 11:16 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: A person with an estate worth £1million could save £76,000 in inheritance tax with this simple change.
  
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• Millions of UK households missing essential bill payments, finds Which?

  02-08-2023 11:00
  
  Defaults and missed payments back at levels seen last winter, as cost of living crisis piles on pressureMore people in the UK are missing payments for essential bills, including for energy, water or council tax, according to a consumer group, as the cost of living crisis continues to hurt household finances.Which?’s consumer insight tracker found that 2.4m UK households missed or defaulted on essential payments, including for housing, loans or credit cards, in the month to 13 July, returni
  
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• Warning of ‘key concern’ facing house sellers — and it’s not falling house prices

  02-08-2023 10:28 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Uncertainty in the property market is causing problems for home sellers and buyers alike, experts have said.
  
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• Full list of bank branches closing this month including NatWest, Barclays and Halifax

  02-08-2023 09:52 via express.co.uk
  
  With online banking becoming more popular, many high street banks are closing their doors for good this year.
  
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• Premium Bonds prizes worth £80million are going unclaimed in these regions

  02-08-2023 09:46 via express.co.uk
  
  There are unclaimed prizes in three areas of England - and the largest is worth £100,000.
  
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• Loveholidays booking blunder ruined our vital family treat

  02-08-2023 08:00
  
  We had paid £4,000 for a week in Morocco, but when we arrived with two children it was for adults onlyI booked a £4,000 week in Morocco through Loveholidays to celebrate my 50th birthday and to treat the family after two recent bereavements. I paid extra for swim-up rooms in all-inclusive five-star White Beach resort in Taghazout. When we arrived, we were blown away, but our excitement was short-lived.The receptionist informed us that the hotel was now adults only, and our two childr
  
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• No-shows, cork-sniffers and salt addicts: restaurateurs on 21 dining habits to avoid

  02-08-2023 06:00
  
  Standing on chairs, invading the kitchen, complaining about the bill … customers’ manners often leave a little to be desired. Here, chefs, restaurant owners and sommeliers reveal what really irks themIn 2023, every diner is an amateur restaurant critic. From Twitter to TripAdvisor, they are free to air their opinions, with chefs and owners expected to field feedback gracefully, no matter how ill-informed.Today, we are turning the tables. It is time to talk about how a minority of di
  
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• TUC urges Bank of England to halt ‘reckless’ interest rate increases

  02-08-2023 01:01
  
  Unions say widespread job losses in recent months have left UK ‘teetering on the brink of recession’The TUC has urged the Bank of England to call a halt to interest rate increases after warning that widespread job losses in recent months have left the UK “teetering on the brink of recession”.Employment had fallen in more than half of Britain’s 20 industrial sectors in the three months to June, the union body said as it predicted a fresh increase in the cost of borro
  
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• Product safety laws to be changed to better protect online shoppers

  02-08-2023 01:01
  
  Ministers announce post-Brexit review of legislation to ensure online retailers follow same rules as high street stores The UK’s product safety regime is to be overhauled to provide better protection for the public and make it “fit for the digital age”, ministers have announced.But some consumer organisations said they had been warning for years about dangerous goods – from electric heaters to kitchen blenders – being sold online, and urgent action is needed now ins
  
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