Financial news

• Renewable energy brings a new set of challenges

  13-07-2024 20:49
  
  The government’s net zero ambitions will be expensive and will require infrastructure improvements that carry a political costEd Miliband’s decision to give the go-ahead for the construction of three big solar sites in eastern England is a major boost for renewable energy generation in the UK and has been welcomed by green campaigners. But many other changes are needed in the way electricity is generated and transmitted if Britain is to achieve its net-zero ambitions. Here we sum up
  
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• Labour’s ‘rooftop revolution’ to deliver solar power to millions of UK homes

  13-07-2024 20:14
  
  Ed Miliband sets new rules on solar panels and approves three giant solar farms as Labour seeks to end years of Tory inactionKeir Starmer’s Labour government unveils plans for a “rooftop revolution” today that will see millions more homes fitted with solar panels in order to bring down domestic energy bills and tackle the climate crisis.The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, also took the hugely controversial decision this weekend to approve three massive solar farms in the east of
  
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• Get bricks quick: collectible Lego sets fuel growing black market

  13-07-2024 19:00
  
  International authorities work to foil thieves as they steal hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of the toysA black market for highly valuable Lego sets is being built brick by brick, and authorities are trying to knock it down.Lego sets are highly sought after, by kids and their parents as well as adult collectors. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Relentless losses’ leave Edinburgh fringe venues fighting to recover from Covid slump

  13-07-2024 18:00
  
  Ahead of next month’s festival, the city’s performing arts economy faces uncertain future amid funding cuts, wage stagnation and lack of business acumenThe Edinburgh festival fringe has always been known for its vast array of venues, from the premium to the homespun. Behind every doorway and around every corner lies a different performance, or so goes the lore.But as arts spaces across Scotland’s capital struggle to stay afloat, the number of venues hosting fringe shows this ye
  
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• Little-known inheritance tax rule could slash £70,000 off your bill

  13-07-2024 17:19 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The 40 percent tax can take away a large chunk of an inheritance.
  
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• ‘Advergames’: how games platform Roblox became a corporate marketing playground

  13-07-2024 17:00
  
  Advertising to children is strictly regulated – but household brands are flooding the gaming platform Roblox with interactive marketing. Is this a danger to young users?In the blocky world of Chipotle Burrito Builder, players don the uniform of the Tex-Mex restaurant chain to make burritos for virtual customers. The available toppings are taken from Chipotle’s real-world menu. Your shirt and cap are emblazoned with the Chipotle logo. And when the game launched two years ago, the firs
  
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• London’s Science Museum forced to cut ties with oil giant – and faces pressure over other sponsors

  13-07-2024 14:28
  
  Campaigners welcome ‘seismic shift’ and urge museum bosses to review links with other fossil fuel sponsors The Science Museum has been forced to cut ties with oil giant Equinor over its sponsor’s environmental record, the Observer can reveal.Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive “WonderLab” since 2016, but the relationship is now coming to close, a move that will be seen as a major victory for climate change campaigners. Continue reading...
  
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• For a government with two-term dreams, Labour is making a lot of short-term plans | Richard Partington

  13-07-2024 14:00
  
  In the rush for growth, the cabinet has hit the ground running; but a temporary boost to public borrowing may be the only way to get quick resultsFor a chancellor targeting a decade in power, Rachel Reeves is in a hurry. After 14 years in the wilderness for Labour, and several centuries of Britain awaiting its first female chancellor, it’s not surprising she is keen to get on with the job.So far, two ideas have predominated: blaming the Conservatives for the worst economic inheritance sinc
  
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• From ‘lottery tickets’ to ‘jam nights’, our guide to getting the best of British culture for less

  13-07-2024 12:55 via theguardian.com
  Want to immerse yourself this summer without splashing huge amounts of cash? Our critics have the key to the offers, hacks and frugal surprises that can save you moneyFrom nabbing presale tickets to free lunchtime gigs and local jam nights, there are a plethora of ways to find yourself enjoying live music without having to delve into your life savings or wait in a queue of thousands. Last-minute seat-filler sites present an inexpensive or often free option for those looking to head to shows
  
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• Seven hacks that can save over 60s £2,500 – and how particular football team could help

  13-07-2024 11:03 via express.co.uk
  
  From discounts on travel, food and even hotels too, 60+ year olds can boost their pockets with these top hacks.
  
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• ‘I feel sick’: couple say new-build home turned into disaster valued at £1

  13-07-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  A couple’s Barratt house that surveyors say should be worth £350,000 has been left almost worthless due to defectsWhen Dayle Dixon and Mark Lee bought an attractive new house on the outskirts of Ivybridge in Devon in 2018, they believed it would be their forever home. But less than six years later it has been valued at just £1, and the couple are desperate to move out.Dixon, 53, and Lee, 59, had not owned a property before, and bought their home, in an estate called Lucerne Fie
  
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• £1.2bn plan to turn sewage waste into drinking water branded a ‘white elephant’

  13-07-2024 11:00
  
  Southern Water says it wants to protect rare chalk streams, but campaigners say it could pollute the SolentA £1.2bn scheme to recycle effluent from the sewage system and turn it into drinking water has been branded a threat to the environment and a potential costly “white elephant”.Southern Water wants to treat effluent – wastewater from the sewage system – at a plant at Havant in Hampshire and pipe it into a nearby spring-fed reservoir to boost water supplies durin
  
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• I’m a Swiftie, but the staggering size of the Eras tour has left me feeling alienated | Elle Hunt

  13-07-2024 10:00
  
  From the prices to the endless album rereleases, I feel like a conscript in a campaign for cultural and economic dominanceYou don’t have to have attended Taylor Swift’s Eras tour yourself to be aware of it. After 18 months, it has become an inescapable international juggernaut, with documented effects on economies, infrastructure and policy. Perhaps the closest historical parallel is the Great Exhibition of 1851 – except, while that promised “the works of industry of all
  
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• Housebuilding, railways, Lords reform: what to expect in the king’s speech

  13-07-2024 09:00
  
  More than 30 bills expected as Labour government sets out its legislative agenda for this session of parliamentKeir Starmer’s government will set out its legislative agenda for this session of parliament in the king’s speech on Wednesday. The packed speech is expected to contain more than 30 bills, including measures to kickstart a national housebuilding programme, bolster workers’ rights, crack down on people-smuggling and add millions of voters to the electoral roll. Continue
  
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• ‘As prepared as we can be’: UK airlines and airports get ready for summer getaway

  13-07-2024 09:00
  Measures to manage disruption include recruitment to fill shortages and investment in control centresIt’s time. The summer holidays are upon us and that sunshine jaunt booked back in January is suddenly imminent. But as the first travel chaos stories of the season start to pepper the headlines – a power cut here, a baggage meltdown there – clouds of anxiety can gather over daydreams of beach bliss.In the post-pandemic rush to head overseas, the air and travel industry uncovered
  
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• ‘A beacon of hope’: England’s Euros success gives pubs a vital lift

  13-07-2024 09:00
  
  Struggling hospitality sector celebrated victory over Dutch side but Sunday’s battle against Spain offers even bigger takingsCulture lovers flocked to the Hockley Social Club this year to marvel at the Birmingham Royal Ballet performing highlights from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. On Sunday, it will be the balletic grace of local lad Jude Bellingham that awakens the spirits of 1,000 football fans gathering to watch England battle Spain in the Euro 2024 final.The success of the Thre
  
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• The story of a heat death: David went to work in his new job on a French building site. By the end of the day he was dead

  13-07-2024 08:00
  
  He was keen to impress in his new job just as a heatwave was gripping the country. What can David Azevedo’s story tell us about the threat increasingly extreme weather poses to human health?
  For Anne-Marie Azevedo, 13 July 2022 started off like a normal day. Her brother David was staying with her while he got his life back on track after a period of unemployment. He was on the third day of a new job in construction and had been asked to work extra hours. Eager to make a good impression, Da
  
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• National Trust imposes chandelier ‘tax’ over Only Fools and Horses jokes

  13-07-2024 08:00
  
  Anyone repeating lines from sitcom episode encouraged to pay donation to help with conservation costsIf your job involves caring for chandeliers, one of the hazards is repeatedly being reminded of the classic scene from Only Fools and Horses when the hapless Trotters smash one in spectacular fashion.Conservators cleaning the chandeliers at the Bath Assembly Rooms have heard the jokes so often that they have imposed a “tax” on any visitor who reminds them of the moment – or admi
  
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• Mobile banking: alarm as fraudsters take over handsets and raid accounts

  13-07-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scams underline risks of banking on mobile, with not all lenders prepared to refund victimsThe risks of doing banking on your mobile handset have been underlined by the stories of Guardian Money readers who had their mobiles taken over by fraudsters, who then emptied their bank accounts.In recent months, Guardian Money has become increasingly alarmed at how often people are reporting that their mobile phone account has been taken over – with O2 our most complained-about provider. Continue
  
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• Bank launches new 'appealing' fixed savings account with bumper 4.78 percent rate

  13-07-2024 08:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The new savings account deal has earned an "excellent" Moneyfacts rating.
  
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• Smart rings: England players hope £300 gadget will give them Euro 2024 edge

  13-07-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  FA has supplied Oura health trackers popularised by stars including Prince Harry to Gareth Southgate and teamAdored by royalty and celebrities across the globe, the a £300 smart ring has found itself centre stage at the Euros, adorning the fingers of England players and staff, who are hopeful it can give them the edge over Spain on Sunday.Bought in bulk in March by the FA – and previously described as “addictive” by defender John Stones – the hi-tech piece of titani
  
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