Financial news

• Ministers ‘betray’ renters in England with delay to no-fault evictions ban

  23-10-2023 19:57
  
  Manifesto promise won’t be implemented until after potentially lengthy court reforms, Downing Street saysMinisters have been accused of betraying renters after Downing Street confirmed that a promised ban on no-fault evictions will be delayed until potentially lengthy reforms to the judicial system are completed.The renters reform bill received its second reading in the Commons on Monday, giving MPs the first chance to vote on it, with a series of Conservative backbenchers pushing against
  
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• Green house upgrades are hobbled by VAT rules | Letter

  23-10-2023 19:03
  
  Deborah Henderson suggests introducing VAT exemption on retrofitting if measurable energy efficiency targets are metRe upgrading houses rather than building new ones (Letters, 18 October), in a Covid lockdown-induced fit of enthusiasm, we decided to retrofit our 1920s house to the Passivhaus Institute’s new EnerPHit standard. Thanks to an exceptionally dedicated builder, we’ve been able to hit the full Passivhaus energy standards.If we’d knocked our house down and built a new o
  
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• Oil prices drop as aid arrives in Gaza; major Apple supplier faces China tax inquiry – business live

  23-10-2023 10:14
  
  Rolling, live coverage of business, economics and financial marketsChina’s stock market index has dropped to its lowest level since before the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, a sign of the struggles of the world’s second biggest economy.The CSI 300 index in Shanghai fell by more than 1% to a low of 3,450 points on Monday, the lowest since February 2019.Global investors need two floors before they get back into China — they need a floor for the geopolitics and a floor for the Chin
  
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• Booking.com customers targeted by scam ‘confirmation’ emails

  23-10-2023 10:00
  
  Travellers are getting seemingly convincing messages asking them to provide bank card details and threatening their reservation will be cancelledTravellers using the popular hotel website Booking.com are being warned not to fall for scam emails asking them to confirm their hotel payment, after a hack of Booking.com’s email system.In recent weeks the Observer has been contacted by a number of customers claiming that they had received scam emails from within the Booking.com system. Continue
  
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• Viticulture, the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sector – in pictures

  23-10-2023 09:00
  
  The cultivation and harvesting of grapes is the UK’s fastest-growing agricultural sector, with wine production expected to reach between 25 and 29m bottles by 2032, according to an industry report. Research published in the journal OENO One predicts that climate change will increasingly allow UK winemakers to grow varieties of grape, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillion, which have previously been extremely difficult or impossible to cultivate in the British climate Conti
  
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• Should we take a two-year fixed mortgage or a cheaper five-year deal?

  23-10-2023 08:00
  
  We feel very squeezed as our mortgage is heading for a big jump in November but we can’t work out whichdeal to takeQ My husband and I are remortgaging in November. Our options aren’t the best. We’ve been offered a two-year fixed-rate deal at 5.64% with a product fee of £1,249. If the fee is added to the loan, the monthly repayment is £1,837, or £1,830 if it’s not. The alternative is a five-year fixed-rate deal with an interest rate of 5.23% and product f
  
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• My O2 mobile contract was cancelled against my will

  23-10-2023 08:00
  
  I was suddenly switched to another company without realising itFor the last three years I’ve had a mobile phone contract with O2, which has been excellent. Out of the blue, I was phoned by a salesperson suggesting I should renew it.I was assured, on several occasions, that my contract would stay with O2. Having renewed, I then discovered it was actually with another firm called Plan.com. Continue reading...
  
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• How to choose the right UK health insurance

  23-10-2023 08:00
  
  From saving money with an excess or discounts to weighing up the ethicsHealthcare for most UK residents is available for free on the NHS but the number of people choosing to turn to private insurance for health problems has risen sharply: 44% more people used insurer-provided healthcare services in 2021 than in pre-pandemic 2019, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).Some of that will be to do with NHS waiting lists hitting a record high. Earlier this month it emerged that the n
  
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• High rents and benefit cuts push poorer renters out of UK’s cities, report finds

  23-10-2023 07:00
  
  ‘Surburbanisation of poverty’ is changing social fabric of cities and widening gap between rich and poorThe social fabric of the UK’s biggest cities is being transformed by sky-high rents and cuts to housing benefits as thousands of low-income private renters are pushed out of central areas, accelerating the “suburbanisation” of poverty, according to a study.The trend – driven also by the gentrification of once largely working-class neighbourhoods and the sell
  
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• Belgium investigating alleged criminal breach of data protection laws over Ulez fines

  23-10-2023 07:00
  
  Thousands of fines sent to EU drivers by TfL debt collection agent may be unlawful, Belgian transport ministry claimsThousands of fines for breaches of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) rules may have been sent unlawfully to drivers of EU-registered vehicles, Belgian authorities claim.The Belgian ministry for transport has ordered an investigation into alleged criminal breaches of data rules after motorists received penalty charge notices from a collections agent acting for Transpor
  
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• Judges to rule on whether tenants in England have right to keep a pet

  23-10-2023 06:00
  
  MPs are debating the renters reform bill, which upholds ‘reasonable’ requests by private tenants for a petIs a tank full of snakes in a bedsit OK? Would three St Bernard dogs in a two-bedroom flat be too much?Judges are to be asked to rule on whether private landlords can “reasonably” deny a tenant’s request to keep a pet, under sweeping reforms to the private rented sector facing a key parliamentary debate on Monday.Allow landlords to evict tenants for persistent r
  
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• Heat pump grant boosted by 50% to improve slow take-up across England and Wales

  23-10-2023 01:01
  
  Extra £2,500 now available for low-carbon air source heat pumps to take installation cost below a gas boiler The government is increasing its air source heat pump grants for homeowners in England and Wales by 50% to £7,500 from Monday amid criticism about slow adoption of the low-carbon technology.The £2,500 in extra support – on top of £5,000 offered – aims to take the cost of installing an air source heat pump below that of the average gas boiler. Continue r
  
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• EU-funded report calls for wealth of super-rich to be taxed, not income

  23-10-2023 00:00
  
  Wealthiest 3,000 working on ‘edge of legality’ using shell companies to funnel dividends and own property to avoid income tax, says studyBillionaires have been operating on the “border of legality” in using shell companies to avoid tax and the world’s 3,000 wealthiest individuals should be charged a 2% levy on their wealth, a research group created to inform EU tax policy has claimed.In its inaugural global tax evasion report, the Paris-based EU Tax Observatory said
  
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