Financial news

• Sandwich price shocks but meal deal costs rise less than average food inflation

  29-09-2023 23:56
  
  Pret a Manger’s ‘posh’ cheese and pickle sandwich grabbed headlines for its £7.15 price tag, but it’s not all gloomIt’s not often that a cheese and pickle sandwich turns heads, but this week Pret a Manger’s “posh” version grabbed headlines after a tweet decrying its £7.15 price tag went viral.Although that included VAT for eating in, the social media post shone a spotlight on the rising cost of lunch on the go, as the soaring cost of in
  
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• No 10 denies plan to drop fuel payments to maintain pensions’ triple lock

  29-09-2023 21:44
  
  Campaigners had warned against cutting back allowance amid reports PM was considering its removal for those not on pension creditNo 10 has denied Rishi Sunak will scrap the winter fuel allowance for most elderly people, after reports that he was looking at means testing the allowance.The prime minister was said to be considering cutting back on the allowances of £250 to £600 each winter in order to maintain the triple lock for pensions. Continue reading...
  
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• iPhone 15: users of Pro and Pro Max models complain of overheating issues

  29-09-2023 17:34
  
  Some customers claim titanium frame of more expensive models becomes ‘so hot it’s too hot to hold’Apple is facing complaints from users about overheating in relation to its new iPhone 15 models, with some customers claiming the titanium frame becomes too hot to hold.The iPhone maker’s community forum is carrying customer feedback about the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max claiming that the handsets are overheating. Continue reading...
  
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• Millions to get £300 cost of living payment next month - are you eligible?

  29-09-2023 16:46 via express.co.uk
  
  The next £300 cost of living payment will be distributed from October 31 to eligible families on means-tested benefits.
  
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• Energy bills ‘could hit almost £1,900 annually in coldest months of year’

  29-09-2023 16:08
  
  Freezing winter could push average bills higher under UK government’s price cap, says forecastHousehold energy bills could climb to an average of almost £1,900 a year in the coldest months of the year under the UK government’s energy price cap, according to a leading forecaster.The energy price cap is expected to climb from the £1,834-a-year level for a typical home set to take effect from Sunday to £1,898 when the cap is next updated for the months from January to
  
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• PIP process explained: DWP outlines how claimants with epilepsy are assessed

  29-09-2023 15:48 via express.co.uk
  
  PIP provides payments of up to £691 a month to support people with long-term health conditions and illnesses.
  
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• Shawbrook Bank offers market-leading 5.11% interest on easy access savings account

  29-09-2023 15:20 via express.co.uk
  
  Shawbrook Bank said it remains "committed" to offering competitive savings accounts despite the unchanged Base Rate.
  
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• ‘I could make £1,000 by selling my Nintendo toy at an auction - I’ve had it for 25 years!’

  29-09-2023 14:59 via express.co.uk
  
  People are making a lot money from selling childhood toys and items in auctions.
  
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• Savers urged to take advantage of ‘excellent’ 5.70 percent interest rate

  29-09-2023 14:57 via express.co.uk
  
  Savers are being urged to take advantage of high-interest rates on savings and ISA accounts immediately.
  
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• UK mortgage approvals hit six-month low as interest rates cool market

  29-09-2023 13:47
  
  Number of house sales also fell in August compared with a year earlier, says HMRCUK mortgage approvals fell in August to their lowest level in six months as high interest rates cooled the housing market.The Bank of England said net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August and were down by a third from the same month last year. Continue reading...
  
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• We have all felt powerless as poverty mounts in Tory Britain. Here is a practical way to hold back the tide | Polly Toynbee

  29-09-2023 13:19
  
  Help with essential bills via a social tariff would hark back to the all-too-brief success of the Covid universal credit upliftWinter is coming, and it will be harsher. People in “negative income”, whose incomings don’t cover their bills, are about to be hit even harder. Better economic news on “falling inflation” is a mirage when bills keep on rising.Citizens Advice and the Social Market Foundation are this week calling for social tariffs – cheaper packages o
  
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• Four things you could rent out to boost your income by £10,000 a year

  29-09-2023 13:17 via express.co.uk
  
  With Britons searching for ways to make ends meet more than ever, many have turned to renting out their possessions as a lucrative side hustle.
  
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• Mortgage approvals slump to six-month low as interest rates scare off buyers

  29-09-2023 11:07 via express.co.uk
  
  Mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August, the Bank of England reported.
  
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• New benefits advice trial service in schools helps families claim thousands in benefits

  29-09-2023 11:02 via express.co.uk
  
  A whopping £19 billion worth of benefits goes unclaimed across the UK each year - as many families find the process of claiming these too time-consuming or complicated, research has found.
  
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• Severn Trent customer water bills to rise by almost 37% by end of decade

  29-09-2023 10:38
  
  Firm raises £1bn in investment – half from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund – to improve network over five yearsSevern Trent is to increase customers’ bills by almost 37% by the end of the decade and has raised £1bn in investment – half from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund – to pay for a multibillion investment plan to improve its water network over the next five years.The company, which has 4.2 million customers, said the average annual household
  
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• More than 1 million children in UK sleep on floor or share bed, study finds

  29-09-2023 09:00
  
  Barnardo’s says the rise in ‘bed poverty’ reflects growing levels of destitution following soaring food or gas billsMore than a million children in the UK either sleep on the floor or share a bed with parents or siblings because their family cannot afford the “luxury” of replacing broken frames and mouldy linen, according to the children’s charity Barnardo’s.The charity says increasing “bed poverty” reflects growing levels of destitution in w
  
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• As a parent, I put on a brave face when times are tough. But there was no joy this summer | Charlie

  29-09-2023 09:00
  
  It’s been a long six weeks, and I’ve struggled to feed my children. I just hope things get better – they can’t get much worseThis article is part of the heat or eat diaries: a series from the frontline of Britain’s cost of living emergencyThe summer holidays used to be a joyful period for my family. School’s out, the sun makes an appearance or two and we get to spend quality time together. However, it was particularly hard this year. With four growing boys to
  
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• Coventry Building Society launches top-paying 5.2% easy access saver

  29-09-2023 08:58 via express.co.uk
  
  A saver can open an account online with an initial deposit of just £1.
  
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• Homes with amazing kitchens – in pictures

  29-09-2023 08:00
  
  From a state-of-the-art showstopper with a vast double-height kitchen-diner to rustic chic with a bread oven and flagstone floors Continue reading...
  
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• UK households face tax rise of £3,500 a year by next election, finds IFS

  29-09-2023 07:00
  
  Thinktank says Tories have overseen the biggest increase in taxes during a parliament since records began in 1951UK households are facing an average tax rise of £3,500 a year by the next election, the country’s leading economics thinktank has said – the biggest increase over a parliament on records dating back more than 70 years.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that on current forecasts the Conservatives were on track to raise £100bn more annually by 2024 than
  
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• Energy bills: don’t break promise on social tariff, Sunak urged

  29-09-2023 01:01
  
  Martin Lewis and Citizens Advice among those telling PM poorer Britons must get help, as industry source calls idea ‘unworkable’More than 140 organisations and individuals, including the consumer champion Martin Lewis, have told Rishi Sunak to make good on a promise to help Britain’s least well-off households with a social tariff for their gas and electricity.The group has written to the prime minister reiterating calls to fulfil a government pledge to help vulnerable household
  
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