Financial news

• US supreme court halts Purdue Pharma deal that shields Sacklers from lawsuits

  10-08-2023 22:53
  
  Court agrees to hear challenge from Biden administration to legality of OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy settlement The US supreme court has agreed to hear a challenge by Joe Biden’s administration to the legality of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement that would shield its owners from the Sackler family from lawsuits over their role in the country’s opioid epidemic.The court also paused bankruptcy proceedings concerning Purdue and its affiliates and said in
  
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• Virgin Galactic successfully flies tourists to space for first time – video

  10-08-2023 22:37
  
  Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, the reusable rocket-powered space plane carrying the company’s first crew of tourists to space, has successfully launched and landed. Aboard the spacecraft were six individuals in total, including three private passengers. Following liftoff, Virgin Galactic’s carrier plane, VMS Eve, transported VSS Unity to an altitude of about 44,300ft. Eve then dropped Unity, which fired its own rocket motor and ascended to suborbital spacehttps://www.theguardian.
  
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• Versace’s new owner wants to be a big beast. But it’s no match for Europe’s behemoths

  10-08-2023 20:21
  
  Tapestry’s purchase of three big fashion names gives it heft. But LVMH and Kering have the front row to themselvesFor the past two years, Coach, Michael Kors and Kate Spade New York have been the cornerstone of a particular type of New York fashion.A bit ritzy without being eye-wateringly expensive, they mushroomed during the 1990s and 2000s, defining American leisure-glamour – the sort of thing you might see in Sex and the City then and Real Housewives of New York now – and ro
  
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• NatWest and Virgin Money cut rates as mortgage ‘price war’ spreads

  10-08-2023 19:28
  
  Big lenders become latest to reduce borrowing costs, joining four other UK home loan providers this weekNatWest and Virgin Money have become the latest big lenders to slash rates on their fixed mortgage deals, prompting claims that a full-scale home loans “price war” has broken out.The moves came after it emerged on Wednesday that four of Britain’s largest home loan providers were cutting the cost of their new fixed-rate deals, with Halifax reducing rates by up to 0.71 percenta
  
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• Wilko employees: how will you be affected by the retailer entering administration?

  10-08-2023 17:04
  
  We want to hear from workers at Wilko following the news that dozens of outlets are expected to shutThe troubled budget retailer Wilko is going into administration, putting more than 12,000 jobs at risk after it failed to agree a rescue deal.The family-owned household and garden products retailer, which has about 400 stores, is expected to have to close dozens of outlets, leaving big gaps on high streets after weeks of talks with interested parties. Continue reading...
  
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• Britons rush to book last-minute August breaks after rainy July

  10-08-2023 16:57
  
  Travel agents report surge in customers for Mediterranean destinations after record-breaking downpoursBusiness live – latest updatesHolidaymakers are making a slew of last-minute bookings abroad to escape record-breaking downpours in the UK, travel companies have said.Parts of England and Northern Ireland had the wettest July on record this year, which has caused a surge in people trying to find summer sun. Continue reading...
  
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• No-fault eviction proceedings hit highest level for six years in England

  10-08-2023 16:56
  
  Campaigners say the 7,491 claims between April and June show why renters reform bill must become lawCourt proceedings for no-fault evictions in England have reached their highest level in six years, ahead of new legislation being passed to ban the practice.Figures released by the Ministry of Justice on Thursday show that 7,491 no-fault eviction claims were brought before the courts between April and June. Continue reading...
  
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• Full list of 400 Wilko stores at risk of closure as retailer collapses - check your area

  10-08-2023 16:02 via express.co.uk
  
  Wilko has announced it will enter administration meaning around 12,000 people could lose their jobs.
  
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• Melton Building Society launches new 'competitive' savings account paying 5.5% interest

  10-08-2023 15:57 via express.co.uk
  
  Melton Building Society is offering a new and more competitive account that can amass more than £600 in two years.
  
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• Disney raises US streaming prices and plans £3 monthly rise in UK

  10-08-2023 15:29
  
  CEO vows to make services such as Disney+ profitable and announces crackdown on password sharingDisney is raising prices on its streaming services and expanding a version containing adverts to markets including the UK.The monthly cost of ad-free Disney+ in the US will rise by $3 to almost $14 and the cost of Hulu without adverts will go up 20% to $18. Continue reading...
  
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• Savers ‘missing out’ by swapping regular interest rates for Premium Bonds

  10-08-2023 15:07 via express.co.uk
  
  NS&I has added a further £66million to September's Premium Bonds prize fund, but experts argue this still isn't enough to beat the returns paid by savings accounts.
  
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• State pension warning as triple lock changes to have ‘large impact’ on millions of Britons

  10-08-2023 14:54 via express.co.uk
  
  Critics are debating on the long-term viability of the state pension triple lock in light of rising costs.
  
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• Pension Credit warning as thousands ‘missing out’ on extra £3,500 a year

  10-08-2023 14:05 via express.co.uk
  
  State pensioners could be entitled to more money through Pension Credit, a benefit payment provided by the DWP.
  
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• Halifax will slash fixed mortgage rates despite base rate increase in 'surreal' market

  10-08-2023 13:16 via express.co.uk
  
  HSBC and TSB have also reduced selected fixed rate mortgage products in recent weeks.
  
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• Tax warning as thousands of households could be hit with higher bills

  10-08-2023 13:03 via express.co.uk
  
  The rate on unpaid taxes has increased by 0.25 percentage points in the past month.
  
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• How to claim train refunds from rail operators for delays as short as 15 minutes

  10-08-2023 12:59 via express.co.uk
  
  Rail companies offer travellers compensation on their train tickets if their journeys are affected by delays to trains or cancellations.
  
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• Plummeting Treasury bond fund could cost every UK household £8,900

  10-08-2023 11:31 via express.co.uk
  
  The Treasury bond fund has cumulated a staggering loss of £251billion, which would come at a price for the taxpayer if cashed out.
  
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• I was a champion of fake meat: but I’m not surprised people are losing their taste for it | Aine Carlin

  10-08-2023 11:00
  
  Sales are falling due to nutritional and environmental concerns – but also because it just doesn’t taste that goodFaux meat is failing. Once championed as a way to fight the climate emergency, protein alternatives are now struggling, with plant-based pioneers Beyond Meat reporting net revenue losses of nearly 31% in the second quarter of this year.I could say I’m surprised, but the truth is I’m only amazed that our collective love affair with fake meat lasted as long as i
  
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• Maui wildfires death toll rises to 36 after historic town torched to the ground

  10-08-2023 10:50 via express.co.uk
  
  The wildfires have forced as many as 4,000 people to flee their homes and seek refuge closer to the ocean as the blaze rips through the paradise island.
  
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• UK mortgage holders: share your experience of repossession

  10-08-2023 10:36
  
  We would like to hear from people who are struggling with their mortgage payments and are facing repossession Consecutive rises in mortgage rates and the ongoing cost of living crisis has placed a growing burden on UK households.There have been 13 consecutive increases in mortgage interest rates placing further strain on homeowners already struggling with soaring bills. Continue reading...
  
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• Council refused to pay full cost of replacing two pothole-damaged tyres

  10-08-2023 08:00
  
  It is deducting 30% ‘wear and tear’ unless I can find a receiptMy car hit a pothole, which shredded two tyres. I paid £197 for replacements and sent the receipt to Reading borough council. It admitted breach of duty but has deducted 30% from my claim to reflect wear and tear. The affected tyres were relatively new and in good condition, but, since I don’t have receipts from when I bought them, the council refuses to refund the full cost. I’ve argued in vain that I s
  
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• UK government urged to scrap 20% VAT on period pants

  10-08-2023 07:00
  
  Campaigners say absorbent alternative to tampons and sanitary towels should not be classed as garmentsMPs, retailers and charities have written to the government urging it to axe the 20% VAT on period pants, the absorbent underwear designed to be worn as an alternative to tampons and sanitary towels.Period pants are classed as garments but campaigners are asking Victoria Atkins, who as financial secretary to the Treasury is the minister responsible for VAT, to get them reclassified as period pro
  
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• One in three of England’s university starters ‘may live at home’ this year

  10-08-2023 01:01
  
  Study shows cost of living influencing students’ choice, with fears of limiting effect on career options‘I’m better off at home’: the commuter studentOne in three students starting university this year may opt to live at home, according to new research that found rising costs and family needs are affecting the “Covid generation” of school-leavers.Before the pandemic about 20% of first year undergraduates in England lived at home while studying, including older
  
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• ‘I’m better off at home’: UK commuter student says moving out not an option

  10-08-2023 01:01
  
  Aimee Morley, 19, who studies in Birmingham, is happy with her choice to live away from campusOne in three new starters ‘may live at home’ Aimee Morley has lived at home in Coventry while studying English and journalism at Birmingham City University, a 20-minute train journey away, and says she has enjoyed the experience despite its ups and downs.“It wasn’t financially possible for me to move out – I work multiple different jobs and work in retail as well, I will pr
  
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