Financial news

• Only 1,500 people compensated so far over prepayment meters, Ofgem says

  03-04-2024 21:40
  
  Regulator says energy firms planning payments for another 1,000 customers after reviewing 150,000 forced installationsOnly 1,500 people have been compensated by energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters over the past year, figures show.The energy regulator, Ofgem, said that initial information from gas and electricity suppliers showed that 1,502 customers had received compensation totalling £342,450. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on free childcare: a subsidy for demand with little thought for supply | Editorial

  03-04-2024 20:08
  
  The government’s extension of free nursery hours reflects a late recognition of problems the Tories’ are ill-equipped to addressBritain’s welfare state was conceived to care for citizens from cradle to grave, although changing governments have prioritised different parts of that demographic range. The Conservatives have tended to be most attentive to the older end of the electorate. Pensioners reliably vote Tory; infants have no vote at all. But their parents do, which is why R
  
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• Disney wins boardroom showdown with activist investor

  03-04-2024 19:40
  
  CEO Bob Iger says defeat of Nelson Peltz campaign will allow company to focus on ‘growth and value creation’ for shareholdersDisney saw off a boardroom coup on Wednesday, defeating a bid by one of corporate America’s most renowned activist investors to overhaul its management.The entertainment giant announced at its annual shareholder meeting that it had secured enough votes by a “substantial margin” to defeat a campaign launched by the billionaire Nelson Peltz, who
  
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• All billionaires under 30 have inherited their wealth, research finds

  03-04-2024 19:16
  
  Aging billionaires handing over fortunes has created 15 billionaires aged 30 or under and led to the beginning of ‘the great wealth transfer’All of the world’s billionaires younger than 30 inherited their wealth - the first wave of “the great wealth transfer” in which more than 1,000 billionaires will pass on more than $5.2tn to their heirs over the next two decades.There are already more billionaires than ever before (2,781), and the number is expected to soar in t
  
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• Retirement anxiety: do you really need $1.46m to have a happy old age?

  03-04-2024 19:08
  
  The equivalent figure in the UK is £43,100 – a year. Time to start saving or come up with a watertight and creative plan BName: Retirement anxiety.Age: Getting closer and closer. Continue reading...
  
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• Hip hosiery brand UK Tights is an ideal fit for all shapes and sizes

  03-04-2024 18:49 via express.co.uk
  
  Huge UK online store UK Tights has become a global brand thanks to its inclusivity
  
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• How much is Elon Musk to blame for Tesla sales slip?

  03-04-2024 18:04
  
  Investor points finger at CEO’s antics on X, but analysts say ‘train wreck’ quarter more down to problems in China and with EV demandFor one Tesla investor, the cause of Tuesday’s underwhelming sales figures was clear: the chief executive.“Basically, Tesla can’t sell its cars due to Elon’s behaviour,” wrote Ross Gerber, the chief executive of the investment management firm Gerber Kawasaki. “Let’s stop blaming the Houthi rebels or German
  
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• Why you could save £1,500 the next time you buy a car

  03-04-2024 16:32 via express.co.uk
  
  There are savings of as much as £9,000 on prestige battery electric models amid concerns about a lack of public charging stations and "range anxiety".
  
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• ‘Many-shot jailbreak’: lab reveals how AI safety features can be easily bypassed

  03-04-2024 16:16
  
  Paper by Anthropic outlines how LLMs can be forced to generate responses to potentially harmful requestsThe safety features on some of the most powerful AI tools that stop them being used for cybercrime or terrorism can be bypassed simply by flooding them with examples of wrongdoing, research has shown.In a paper from the AI lab Anthropic, which produces the large language model (LLM) behind the ChatGPT rival Claude, researchers described an attack they called “many-shot jailbreaking&rdquo
  
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• ‘I want the hair ruffled’ – Martin Parr’s authentic take on the glossy world of fashion – in pictures

  03-04-2024 16:00
  
  The legendary photographer has been capturing the industry for the last 25 years. His new book catalogues the chips, cups of tea and shoots in Katz’s deliFashion Faux Parr by Martin Parr is published by Phaidon (£39.95) Continue reading...
  
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• ‘HR is not your friend’: why frustrated workers are hiring reps of their own

  03-04-2024 16:00
  
  Many US employees don’t trust their HR departments, and instead turn to independent services for help with discrimination or harassment issuesNK Beale knew something was wrong when her boss started sending her listings for other job openings.“My manager was advising me to put in my notice,” said Beale, who is 40 and lives in Washington DC. “It was kind of weird, because we had a pretty good relationship, and I felt as though he was someone I could trust.” Continue r
  
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• Virgin Atlantic on course for profit this year thanks to premium holidays and travel

  03-04-2024 15:50 via express.co.uk
  
  Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability this year, after posting record revenues of £3.1billion for 2023, chief executive Shai Weiss says.
  
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• There were 10 new renters for every available property in February, report says

  03-04-2024 15:46 via express.co.uk
  
  The average number of new applicants registered per agency branch decreased in February 2024, but a reduction in stock levels has meant that demand continues to outstrip supply, Propertymark said.
  
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• Two-thirds of tenants fear eviction after ban lifted, survey finds

  03-04-2024 15:36 via express.co.uk
  
  In a poll carried out by tenants' union Living Rent between December and March, 62 percent of 903 tenants in the private rented sector questioned said they worry for their homes.
  
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• Bank closures: Full list of branches shutting doors this month - check if you're affected

  03-04-2024 15:09 via express.co.uk
  
  Nearly 6,000 bank and building society branches have been shut down since the start of 2015.
  
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• Food inflation plunge boosts supermarket sales as Ocado and Marks & Spencer benefit most

  03-04-2024 15:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Falling food price inflation has encouraged shoppers to spend more at the tills of supermarkets, which saw their sales rise 5.4 percent last month according to data from NIQ.
  
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• State pension triple lock threat looms as millions of pensioners get just £1 a week extra

  03-04-2024 14:52 via express.co.uk
  
  The state pension triple lock has been credited with lifting millions of retirees out of poverty since it was introduced in 2010. Yet it still has a lot of work to do.
  
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• British Gas extends scheme to offer half price electricity to customers

  03-04-2024 14:30 via express.co.uk
  
  British Gas has paid almost £7million to over 500,000 customers partaking in the Sunday scheme so far.
  
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• BA, easyJet and Wizz Air resume flights to and from Israel

  03-04-2024 13:55
  
  Virgin Atlantic to restart services in September, almost a year after airlines suspended flights owing to Gaza warMajor European airlines have started to resume flights to and from Israel. Wizz Air, easyJet and British Airways are now all flying to Tel Aviv, and Virgin Atlantic is planning a resumption this year.Wizz Air said on Wednesday it had restarted flights to Israel from six airports in March, and planned to resume operations on further routes during the next three months. This will inclu
  
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• Royal Mail owner proposes second-class post deliveries every other weekday

  03-04-2024 12:56
  
  IDS says it could cut nearly 1,000 jobs and save £300m a year while maintaining Monday-to-Saturday first-class serviceBusiness live – latest updatesThe owner of Royal Mail has asked the industry regulator to let it reduce deliveries of second-class letters to just two or three days a week, cutting nearly 1,000 jobs and saving £300m a year in the process.Responding to Ofcom’s consultation on reforming the universal service rules amid declining letter volumes, International
  
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• Yorkshire woman wins discrimination case after boss called her ‘emotional and tearful’

  03-04-2024 12:35
  
  Judge says male boss’s description of Nicola Hinds, who was pregnant,was ‘dismissive and belittling’Describing a pregnant woman as “very emotional and tearful” in the workplace amounted to discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.The ruling relates to an email sent by the boss of an account manager after she raised concerns about her workload. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘They are breaking the law’: inside Amazon’s bid to stall a union drive

  03-04-2024 12:00
  
  Retailer doing ‘whatever it takes’ to halt organizing at warehouse in Moreno Valley, California, workers say, as Amazon faces unfair labor practice chargesFacing an insurgent campaign which threatened to unleash a wave of unionization across its vast workforce, Amazon stands accused of reaching for dirty tricks.Workers who tried to organize inside its warehouses claim the technology giant orchestrated an illegal counteroffensive, using scare tactics and spreading misconceptions. Cont
  
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• In the age of the broken ‘career ladder’, here’s how to zigzag towards the job you want | André Spicer

  03-04-2024 11:00
  
  Young people may have fewer paths from shop floor to boardroom – but you can still find your way to a more fulfilling roleRecently, I sat in a lecture hall with a couple of hundred final-year undergraduate students. Looking around, I thought about my own uncertainty at their age. When I was about to graduate, the future seemed unclear. I didn’t have a place on a company graduate programme like many of my classmates. Decades on, I realised that what seemed like obvious career ladders
  
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• We have seen the failure of Tory levelling up, so in Manchester we have radical plans to help ourselves | Andy Burnham

  03-04-2024 10:18
  
  At this defining moment for English devolution, my new manifesto has clarity, ambition and three big ideas
  Andy Burnham is mayor of Greater ManchesterThis morning I launched my campaign for a third term as mayor of Greater Manchester with a manifesto that is by far the most radical yet.For those who have hitherto been sceptical of English devolution, hopefully our recent successful reregulation of buses will have convinced the doubters.Andy Burnham is mayor of Greater Manchester. He served as th
  
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• Network Rail to spend £2.8bn to cope with effects of climate crisis

  03-04-2024 09:42
  
  Funding for drains, embankments and other measures is part £45.4bn five-year investment planBusiness live – latest updatesNetwork Rail is to spend nearly £3bn to protect the railway from the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather, as it warned that the country’s network was having to contend with hotter summers and more winter floods.As part of its new £45.4bn five-year investment plan, the body in charge of Great Britain’s rail network will spend &
  
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• After our dog died I had to continue paying premiums to Perfect Pet

  03-04-2024 08:00
  
  With the not-so-perfect end to our beloved pet –it feels like pet insurance is becoming a waste of moneyWe recently had our beloved springer spaniel put to sleep. He was 14, so a good age, and there was no other option after he suffered a stroke.I phoned to cancel our pet insurance with Perfect Pet, only to be told we must continue paying until it ends in November. It said this was because we had already made a claim for an unrelated stomach issue. Continue reading...
  
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• One in three UK water workers verbally abused amid sewage fury, GMB finds

  03-04-2024 07:00
  
  Exclusive: public anger over river pollution affecting employee safety, union survey suggestsWater industry workers say they have been physically assaulted and feel unsafe working alone for fear of attack amid a public backlash over sewage dumping.More than one in three UK water employees have been verbally abused at work, according to a survey of almost 1,300 staff conducted by the GMB union. Continue reading...
  
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• Nationwide TV ads starring Dominic West banned as misleading

  03-04-2024 01:01
  
  ASA says sneering bank manager character wrongly suggests building society has not closed any branchesAdverts featuring the actor Dominic West as a sneering bank manager will be pulled from TV in their current form after the advertising watchdog ruled they were misleading because they wrongly suggest that the building society had not closed branches.The Advertising Standards Authority (Asa) received 282 complaints, including one from rival lender Santander, about the advert, which ran in October
  
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