Financial news

• Labour plans £5bn crackdown on tax avoiders to close non-dom spending gap

  08-04-2024 23:30
  
  Funding needed after Tories adopted Labour policy to pay for tax cuts will be used for school breakfast clubs and NHSRachel Reeves has said an incoming Labour government would launch a £5bn crackdown on tax avoiders to close a gap in its spending plans exposed by Jeremy Hunt scrapping the non-dom regime to finance tax cuts.Warning households and businesses that Labour was prepared to adopt tough measures to tackle tax fraud and non-compliance, Reeves said the funding would be used to pay f
  
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• Biden announces new plan to cancel student loans for 30m borrowers

  08-04-2024 21:57
  
  Plan targets borrowers who accrued high level of interest on debt and those who have been in repayment for at least 20 years Joe Biden announced plans to cancel student loans for 30 million borrowers on Monday, the administration’s latest push on addressing student debt before the presidential election.The plan primarily targets borrowers who have accrued a high level of interest on their debt and those who have been in repayment for at least 20 years. Borrowers who face extreme economic h
  
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• Mocking the Abrdn name is ‘corporate bullying’, says chief investment officer

  08-04-2024 19:57
  
  Peter Branner accuses press of making ‘childish jokes’ about rebrand, which would not be acceptable if firm was a personIt is a global company with more than two centuries of managing money but for Abrdn jokes in the media about the lack of vowels in its name is no laughing matter.After changing its name three years ago, an executive at the fund manager formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen has accused the media of “corporate bullying” that would not be acceptable if t
  
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• The Guardian view on carer’s allowance: people who look after others should not be an afterthought | Editorial

  08-04-2024 19:46
  
  The DWP’s system punishes claimants for payment errors. But it is the rules, not the carers, that are most at faultThe problems caused by attempts to reclaim benefit payments to carers, on the basis that they are ineligible due to increased earnings, are not new. Between 19,000 and 39,000 overpayments have been logged in each of the last five years. But this only makes the latest details of the heavy-handed manner in which these situations are being dealt with all the more dismaying. It is
  
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• The Guardian view on Europe’s troubled green deal: make the case, not concessions | Editorial

  08-04-2024 19:45
  
  Leaders need to persuade others of the need for environmental measures rather than capitulate in the face of political headwindsLast month, a survey of public opinion in Germany, France and Poland found that a majority in each country would support more ambitious policies to tackle the climate emergency. The same study also found unexpectedly widespread support for pan-European action linking green goals to other priorities such as economic security. Who knew, at a time when warnings of a popula
  
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• Ex-Tesco man Jason Tarry looks to be just what John Lewis Partnership needs | Nils Pratley

  08-04-2024 18:45
  
  After years of losses or low profits JLP has picked a chair who has deep experience of retailing at its most brutally competitiveJohn Lewis staff brace for shake-up as ex-Tesco UK boss named group chairChalk it up as a mini coup for the John Lewis Partnership. The next chair had to be a nuts-and-bolts operator with recent frontline retail experience, almost everybody agreed, and the employee-owned group has landed someone who fits the bill.Jason Tarry spent 33 years at Tesco, the UK’s bigg
  
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• Global economic risks ‘could eclipse anything since second world war’, says JP Morgan boss

  08-04-2024 18:18
  
  In annual letter to investors, Jamie Dimon warns ‘wars in Ukraine and Middle East could become far worse’The boss of the US bank JP Morgan has warned that the world could be facing the most dangerous moment since the second world war, putting lives and economic growth at risk.In his annual letter to investors, Jamie Dimon said the world had been “generally on a path to becoming stronger and safer” in recent years but had suffered a major reversal in February 2022 when Rus
  
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• Ted Baker to close 15 UK stores with the loss of 245 jobs

  08-04-2024 16:13
  
  Outlets in Birmingham, Liverpool, Oxford, Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham among those to shutBusiness live – latest updatesThe high street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 stores across the UK with the loss of 245 jobs after falling into administration.The company’s European retail and online arm appointed Teneo as administrators last month after the retailer, which has 46 stores in the UK and Europe, struggled with tough trading conditions and the fallout from the 2019 ousting o
  
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• ISA savers in their millions missing out on extra funds as £43bn in low interest accounts

  08-04-2024 16:00 via express.co.uk
  
  There are almost five million instant access cash ISA accounts held earning low rates in the UK with an average balance of over £8,500.
  
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• WASPI chief issues devastating 11-word response to Work and Pensions Secretary

  08-04-2024 15:48 via express.co.uk
  
  The pensions minister was quizzed about providing compensation for WASPI pensioners today.
  
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• Instagram ads in UK promoting ‘butt lifts’ in Turkey as part of holidays in potential breach of rules

  08-04-2024 15:00
  
  Watchdog warns cosmetic surgery providers abroad as analysis reveals thousands of Facebook advertsA post on Instagram shows the back of a woman in tight blue leggings, her lower body taking up most of the frame. The words “Temptingly sexy curves ahead … Ready to turn heads and break hearts?” are written in the caption. It is from a company offering Britons the chance to get a Brazilian butt lift while enjoying a luxury holiday abroad.The advert is one of thousands on social me
  
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• The UK city where people are least likely to lend money to loved ones according to survey

  08-04-2024 14:56 via express.co.uk
  
  Across the UK an average of nearly one in ten people would never lend a friend or loved one cash, with eight percent ruling it out, and 13 percent responding with "maybe".
  
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• UK state pensions and benefits: what do the changes in April mean for you?

  08-04-2024 14:40
  
  ‘Triple lock’ ensures hefty rise for pensions, while universal credit and other benefits also increaseMonday is the first working day of the new tax year, bringing substantial increases in vital benefits payments – in particular the state pension and universal credit, plus a host of other benefits. So what is changing and how might it affect you? Continue reading...
  
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• Food inflation in world’s rich nations falls to pre-Ukraine war levels

  08-04-2024 14:03
  
  Rate declines for 15th consecutive month across 38 OECD countries from 6.3% in January to 5.3% in FebruaryBusiness live – latest updatesFood prices across the world’s richest nations rose in February at the slowest rate since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to figures that show easing inflationary pressures on households.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said food inflation declined for the 15th consecutive month across its 38 member
  
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• British Savings Bonds branded 'waste of time' for one simple reason - NS&I responds

  08-04-2024 13:40 via express.co.uk
  
  The new savings option was announced in the Spring Budget in efforts to increase investment in the UK.
  
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• We were excited to get ‘free' childcare for our son. Then the government said he didn’t exist | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

  08-04-2024 13:30
  
  The extension of free nursery hours to two-year-olds has been blighted by a lack of places, admin errors and all-round confusionIt had already been stressful, and then the government said my son didn’t exist. After an initial administrative fiasco, we were all set to claim our “free” 15 hours of childcare for our two-year-old as part of the government’s expansion this April. But then another spanner hit the works.We hadn’t been able to get our code due to a totally
  
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• DWP Universal Credit update: New rates from today - how much benefits offers now

  08-04-2024 12:42 via express.co.uk
  
  The new financial year means those claiming DWP benefits can expect to see new amounts paid into their accounts.
  
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• DWP PIP increase update: New benefit rates from today - see if you can claim

  08-04-2024 12:27 via express.co.uk
  
  Payments go out every four weeks with higher rates for those with more needs.
  
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• DWP state pension triple lock update as minister issues new statement on affordability

  08-04-2024 11:22 via express.co.uk
  
  The triple lock refers to the commitment to raise the state pension every year in line with whichever is highest out of wage growth, inflation or 2.5 percent.
  
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• Working for the Royal Mail sounded like an ideal job. But I discovered it’s falling apart, just like its vans | Gareth Roberts

  08-04-2024 11:00
  
  My year there was marked by crumbling depots, staff constantly leaving and impossible targets. This once-great institution is on its kneesFor most of my life, I worked in the media. In early 2023 I returned from a job abroad, and it had been intense: six weeks in a remote mountain environment. I needed another job quickly, but could not face an office or the blank gaze of a laptop. The Royal Mail seemed to be on an aggressive recruitment drive: ads for drivers and postal workers flickered across
  
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• DWP pension warning issued as new update shows you could be missing out on £218 a week

  08-04-2024 11:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The DWP has issued a warning that many pensioners could be missing out on a non-taxable benefit.
  
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• IMF warns BoE over keeping UK interest rates high due to fixed-rate mortgages

  08-04-2024 10:35
  
  Risk of declining consumption, house price falls and defaults as tighter policy finally has impactBusiness live – latest updatesThe high proportion of UK homeowners on fixed-rate mortgages means the Bank of England should be wary of keeping interest rates too high for too long, the International Monetary Fund has warned.The IMF said many borrowers had been sheltered until now from the impact of higher interest rates and there was a risk of declining consumption, house price falls and incre
  
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• DWP PIP benefits increase: The 25 conditions that could get you maximum of £737 a year

  08-04-2024 10:20 via express.co.uk
  
  The Department for Work and Pensions is increasing the Personal Independence Payments by 6.7 per cent as part of the annual review of benefits.
  
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• Insurers accused of using ‘excessive excesses’ to disguise car cover costs

  08-04-2024 10:00
  
  As premiums rocket, and motorists look for a better quote, the headline price can be deceptive. And, the bill for a claim, can also be unaffordableMotorists on the hunt for more affordable car insurance are being warned to watch out for a marketing trick that makes deals look cheaper than they are.With the cost of cover having soared over the last year or so, insurers have been accused of charging excessive excesses in a bid to propel their quotes to the top of the rankings on price comparison s
  
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• ‘Our margins are threadbare’: UK’s craft beer scene says it’s on the brink

  08-04-2024 09:00
  
  Small brewers are being squeezed, with a flurry of insolvencies hitting the sector despite strong salesNeither Rishi Sunak nor Gordon Brown is a beer aficionado. The former is teetotal and his predecessor all but gave up booze during his time in office.Yet the two prime ministers loom large over the turbulent saga of the UK craft beer scene. Continue reading...
  
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• Left stranded and humiliated by Eurostar’s new wheelchair ‘policy’

  08-04-2024 08:00
  
  In Paris staff readily help a passenger using a wheelchair to and from a train, but not in LondonA friend who uses a wheelchair recently bought a return trip from Paris to London with Eurostar and booked assistance at both ends of his journey. At the Gare du Nord in Paris, he was duly wheeled to the train, but on his arrival in London he was told that Eurostar staff were no longer allowed to push a wheelchair. Passengers must either propel their own chair, or be accompanied by a companion. Event
  
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• Fitness to finances: tips to help manage the menopause

  08-04-2024 08:00
  
  From getting affordable professional help to becoming part of a support community, don’t suffer in silenceWomen experience menopause in widely varying ways. Some breeze through it problem free, but most experience some symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. Continue reading...
  
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• Engine cowling on Southwest Airlines Boeing plane falls off during take-off – video

  08-04-2024 03:18
  
  Passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 film the engine cover falling off during take-off at Denver international airport on Sunday. US airline regulators have launched an investigation after the part came off and struck the wing flap. Flight 3695 – with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard – rose to about 10,300ft (3,140 metres) before returning safely 25 minutes later to Denver. No one was injured. Continue reading...
  
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• UK rent rises forecast to outpace wage growth for three years

  08-04-2024 01:01
  
  Average 13% increase by 2027 will put millions of households under further pressure, says thinktankRent rises in Britain are forecast to outpace wage growth, despite having already surged at the fastest pace on record after the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.The Resolution Foundation expects added pressure on millions of households and said average rents could increase by 13% over the next three years as current high growth in the private rental market work their way through existi
  
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