Financial news

• Tax and spending cuts will backfire, economists warn Jeremy Hunt

  02-03-2024 21:00
  
  Former Treasury aides say the chancellor is courting danger on UK debt and that fiscal rules must goLeading economists warn today that Jeremy Hunt will “cost the country dear” if he gambles on pre-election cuts to tax and spending in this week’s budget.Two former advisers to the Treasury, backed by other economists, said that instead of decisions aimed at “sabotaging prospects for the next government”, the chancellor should focus on the long-term national inter
  
  Read more

• WWF shelved report exposing River Wye pollution ‘to keep Tesco happy’

  02-03-2024 19:00
  
  The wildlife charity allegedly dropped a study highlighting farm pollution linked to the supply chain of its former supermarket partnerThe wildlife charity WWF-UK shelved a report that warned how intensive chicken production is devastating the River Wye, the Observer can reveal.Since 2018, the charity has received more than £6m in donations from the supermarket chain Tesco, which has faced action from campaigners over the decline of the Wye because many of the intensive poultry farms in th
  
  Read more

• ‘Profiteering off children’: care firms in England accused of squeezing cash from councils

  02-03-2024 19:00
  
  A local authority leader claims private equity groups are exploiting vulnerable youngsters in care homes in the pursuit of profitCare companies are insisting on unnecessary and expensive support packages for vulnerable children to boost their profits, a council leader has claimed.Barry Lewis, the Tory leader of Derbyshire county council, said that former family-run businesses acquired by private equity groups were trying to get “as much cash as possible” out of local authorities. Con
  
  Read more

• ‘We’re hugely worried’: UK private pension rule changes disrupt retirement plans

  02-03-2024 12:00
  
  Banned from making transfers or told they must wait to retire, older people tell of fears for their life savingsYou’ve been dutifully paying into your company or private pension for years, maybe even decades, but then – perhaps when you’re just about to retire – they suddenly change the rules.As a result, it looks like you may be hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year worse off. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Rail fares to rise by 4.9% in England and Wales on Sunday

  02-03-2024 09:00
  
  In London, Tube and bus fares are being frozen and prices reduced during rush hour and on FridaysRail fares in England and Wales will rise by 4.9% on Sunday, adding hundreds of pounds to annual travel costs for many commuters.Campaigners said passengers would be “rightly angry” at the latest increase, above the current inflation rate of 4%, despite the government arguing that it had made a significant intervention to keep the fare rise down. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Tory peer calls for £10,000 ‘citizens inheritance’ for all 30-year-olds

  02-03-2024 08:00
  
  David Willetts suggests policy would help spread wealth among millennials amid deepening inequalitiesMinisters should hand all 30-year-olds a £10,000 “citizens inheritance” amid fears a £1.5tn wealth transfer to millennials will deepen inequalities, a Conservative peer has urged.David Willetts, who leads the Intergenerational Centre thinktank, called for the next government to implement a major new policy to spread wealth in Britain. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘I was in despair’: how lending a phone led to life savings being stolen

  02-03-2024 08:00
  
  Thief went on £9,000 spree with the victim’s money before using her Uber account to travel to Stansted‘We’re hugely worried’: pension rule changes disrupt retirement plansSim-swap fraud: How your bank account can be emptied by phoneIf you are one of those people who keeps their debit card in their mobile phone case, has a note of their pin on their handset, or only ever uses mobile banking, you may want to rethink your setup after you read the case of Sami Souret*.O
  
  Read more

• The Conservatives’ economic record since 2010 in 10 charts

  02-03-2024 07:00
  
  From a huge budget deficit to weak GDP and a record rise in tax, we look at thebackground to the Tory budgetJeremy Hunt will attempt to use next week’s budget to reboot the Conservatives’ flatlining performance in the opinion polls before the next general election, with the chancellor widely expected to announce sweeping tax cuts.But while Rishi Sunak will be hoping his chancellor delivers a near-term bounce from crowd-pleasing giveaways, his government is facing growing pressure ove
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!