Financial news

• Fears of food inflation rise as UK harvests hit by cool, wet summer

  04-08-2023 19:07
  
  Farmers warn wheat, oilseed rape, potatoes and other crops have been affected after wettest July on recordUK farmers have warned that harvests of wheat, oilseed rape, potatoes and other crops have been hit by the cool, wet summer, raising fears of further food price inflation.The wettest July on record for parts of the UK risks colliding with rising prices of essential ingredients on global markets due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and unpredictable weather affecting harvests from southern
  
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• Ann Robinson obituary

  04-08-2023 18:55
  
  My friend Ann Robinson, who has died aged 82, began her career in the civil service before moving to leadership roles in public bodies and the charity sector.In 2000 she became executive chair of the consumer organisation the Gas and Electricity Consumers Council, also known as Energywatch, where she developed her lifelong interest in energy and consumer policy. This led to her taking the role of director of consumer policy at uSwitch, the price comparison service, from 2005 to 2016. Continue re
  
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• Golden goose: why private equity is eyeing up UK essential services

  04-08-2023 17:19
  
  More state funding and economies of scale are luring buyers but such firms prioritise shareholders, not societyChildcare sector in England ‘must not become playground for private equity’It’s easy to see why private equity houses are attracted to investment in essential services such as elderly care, fostering and, increasingly, childcare.These are not luxuries that can be easily dispensed with during economic downturns, such as the one into which Britain may soon be sliding. Co
  
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• Childcare sector in England must not become ‘playground for private equity’, experts say

  04-08-2023 17:19
  
  Exclusive: Increasing involvement of investment funds could leave nursery places at riskGolden goose: why private equity is eyeing up UK essential services
  England’s childcare sector risks becoming a “playground for private equity”, experts have said, as exclusive analysis from the Guardian reveals investment funds have more than doubled their stake in the sector in just four years.The findings come as the Treasury prepares to spend an extra £4bn a year of taxpayers&rsquo
  
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• Dave Ramsey explains the real key to building wealth and debunks ‘get-rich-quick cr**’

  04-08-2023 13:28 via express.co.uk
  
  The Ramsey Show outlined how people can bolster their income by avoiding apparent money-making scams on social media.
  
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• Planning a UK mini-break? See how the price has gone up – from hotels to fish and chips

  04-08-2023 12:54
  
  That seaside staple is up by more than 50%, while car hire is up 75% … add an item to our visual tool to see how costs have risen in the past five yearsIt’s enough to make you drop your chips – official figures show that over the past five years the price of a takeaway fish supper has risen by more than 50%.A portion of fish and chips isn’t the only British summer break staple that has become far more expensive since then: hotel, restaurant and bar bills have also all sh
  
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• HSBC boosts interest rates across four savings accounts - see if yours is on the list

  04-08-2023 10:10 via express.co.uk
  
  HSBC bosses have urged customers to review their accounts to make sure they are getting the best rate.
  
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• UK economy caught ‘in low-growth trap’, warns Hunt after latest interest rate rise – business live

  04-08-2023 09:45
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including reaction to UK interest rates hitting a 15-year high of 5.25% on ThursdaySunak under pressure as Bank signals rates will stay high for monthsAs we covered yesterday, the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of one percent was not unanimous.One of its nine policymakers, Swati Dhingra, opposed increasing borrowing costs as the risks of overtightening had continued to build.Yesterday’s decis
  
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• Bank of England's interest rate hikes 'make no difference' to inflation, analyst warns

  04-08-2023 09:22 via express.co.uk
  
  The latest interest rates hike will have no effect on inflation while piling more pressure on Britons' budgets, a group has warned.
  
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• Pay UK households who agree to have power lines nearby, report urges

  04-08-2023 09:11
  
  Energy networks commissioner calls for action to ease backlog of renewables projectsHomeowners in Britain should be paid “generous” compensation if they agree to have power lines built nearby in order to help speed the transmission of electricity from new generation projects, a government-commissioned report has urged.The document from the government’s first energy networks commissioner, Nick Winser, calls for new power linesto be built twice as fast to ease the decade-long bac
  
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• AI companies aren’t afraid of regulation – we want it to be international and inclusive | Dorothy Chou

  04-08-2023 09:00
  
  If our industry is to avoid superficial ethics-washing, historically excluded communities must be brought into the conversationAI is advancing at a rapid pace, bringing with it potentially transformative benefits for society. With discoveries such as AlphaFold, for example, we’re starting to improve our understanding of some long-neglected diseases, with 200m protein structures made available at once – a feat that previously would have required four years of doctorate-level research
  
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• Rise in outsourced UK government services failing to meet standards

  04-08-2023 08:00
  
  Exclusive: Concerns raised over contracts for supporting asylum seekers, educating young offenders and providing prison foodThe number of outsourced government services that are failing to meet standards has risen sharply, with concerns raised about schemes to support asylum seekers and educate young offenders.A register compiled by Whitehall officials keeps track of each contract tendered, along with its “key performance indicators” (KPIs) to judge whether it is being delivered well
  
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• ‘It was hell but the owner said, you have to work’: dying from heat in Greece

  04-08-2023 08:00
  
  Greece relies on its tourism industry. But intense heatwaves, which have led to wildfires across the country, are making life a misery for thousands of staff who have to work outside – and killing some of themAndreas Mallis leans into the smoke and winces from the heat, sweat bursting from his forehead and running down his nose. The 57-year-old boat-tour operator blows on the embers of a fire and carefully turns strips of squid on a grill he hauled from his boat on to shore in the midday s
  
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• English country homes for sale – in pictures

  04-08-2023 08:00
  
  From a chocolate box cottage to an upmarket timber cabin with an industrial-style theme Continue reading...
  
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• UK thinktanks urged to be transparent about funding as $1m US donations revealed

  04-08-2023 07:00
  
  Campaigners urge more openness after more than $1m handed to influential British thinktanks by donors in USTransparency campaigners have called for thinktanks to be more open about their funding sources, after it emerged that some of Britain’s most influential ones received more than $1m (£787,000) from from donations in the US in 2021.They include the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), regarded as an inspiration for policies adopted by the Liz Truss government, and Policy Exchange
  
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• Business is haunted by Brexit – and this safety mark fiasco is its latest nightmare | Polly Toynbee

  04-08-2023 07:00
  
  Money, time, effort all wasted: you can wrap the new red tape three times around the world, one manufacturing boss told me“Car crash!” exclaimed managing director Andrew Varga, whose Brexit progress I have been following since the referendum. News of the latest Brexit U-turn landed on him on Tuesday out of the blue. All his years of preparation for a new UK product safety mark, all his thousands of pounds wasted, all the uncountable hours and effort were rendered pointless, at a stro
  
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