Financial news

• Crest Nicholson sits crestfallen as Bellway suddenly walks away

  13-08-2024 19:21
  Damage to the smaller housebuilder’s reputation will take time to heal but a takeover deal isn’t a deal until it’s signedBellway’s plan to buy smaller housebuilder Crest Nicholson for £720m-ish in shares was proceeding smoothly as recently as last Thursday, or so we were told. “Good progress has been made on reciprocal due diligence with a number of elements satisfactorily completed by both parties,” purred the two boards in harmony.Five days later, the
  
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• BP technology could be used to drill on Mars or moon after Nasa deal

  13-08-2024 19:01
  BP hopes deal will help develop earth technologies such as robotics and clean energyBP’s technology could one day be used to drill on Mars or the moon after it struck a deal with US space agency Nasa.Under the terms of the agreement, the two have agreed to share their technology and expertise gained from working “in hostile environments”. Continue reading...
  
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• DWP urged to investigate 'urgent' State Pension error for widows and widowers

  13-08-2024 18:08 via express.co.uk
  
  The DWP has been urged to investigate a potential new State Pension error that could see widows and widowers owed thousands of pounds in back payments
  
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• Savers urged to grab inflation-beating rates before returns are slashed by £100s

  13-08-2024 17:52 via express.co.uk
  
  Finance industry experts warn that best paying deals are likely to be removed in the coming days.
  
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• UK unemployment falls as wages growth hits lowest in two years

  13-08-2024 17:37
  
  Rachel Reeves says there is more to do in supporting people into employment and she will take action in budgetUncertainty causes headache for BoE rate settersBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK jobs market bucked predictions of a further weakening in June after official figures showed unemployment fell and wages stayed well above inflation, sending the value of the pound higher.Unemployment unexpectedly dropped to 4.2% from 4.4% in the three months to June from the previous three months,
  
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• Owner of Avon in UK files for bankruptcy in attempt to off-load $1bn debt

  13-08-2024 16:46
  Avon Products Inc, subsidiary of Natura, says it does not have liquidity to solve 386 talc-related lawsuitsBusiness live – latest updatesThe owner of the beauty brand Avon in the UK, Europe and Latin America has filed for bankruptcy as it tries to off-load more than $1bn of debt, including millions of dollars in liabilities linked to lawsuits alleging that talc in its products caused cancer.Avon Products Inc (API), a subsidiary of Brazil’s Natura which bought Avon’s non-North A
  
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• British Gas, EDF, EON and Octopus customers on state pension can to cut bill to £0

  13-08-2024 16:35 via express.co.uk
  
  Customers of major energy firms including British Gas, EDF, E.On and Octopus or OVO can cut their bills to £0 this winter.
  
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• Bellway walks away from £720m Crest Nicholson takeover bid

  13-08-2024 16:19
  
  UK housebuilder said it did not intend to make a firm offer for its smaller rival after months of negotiationsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK housebuilder Bellway has walked away from a £720m takeover bid for its smaller rival Crest Nicholson after months of negotiations.Bellway said it “does not intend to make a firm offer for Crest Nicholson”, without giving any reasons. Continue reading...
  
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• Starbucks names Chipotle chief Brian Niccol as new CEO in surprise shake-up

  13-08-2024 15:48
  
  Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan as company tries to fend off pressures from activist investorStarbucks named the Chipotle Mexican Grill head, Brian Niccol, as its new CEO on Tuesday in a surprise management shake-up as it tries to fend off pressures from the activist investor Elliott Investment Management.Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who was tapped in 2022 from the Lysol maker Reckitt to undertake a “reinvention” of the world’s biggest coffee chain. Continue reading...
  
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• Rachel Reeves ponders private finance to help fund £9bn Lower Thames Crossing

  13-08-2024 15:06
  Chancellor looks at handing income from tunnel tolls to investors in UK’s largest infrastructure projectBusiness live – latest updatesThe Treasury is investigating how to attract private finance to bring down the cost of the UK government’s largest planned infrastructure project, the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing.Rachel Reeves’s department is considering handing over the income from tolls to a private consortium in return for a cash injection that would reduce the cost
  
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• ‘I’ve met seven housing ministers, one of them twice’: the head of Homes England on the battle to build

  13-08-2024 15:00
  
  In the light of Labour’s ambitious housing programme, Peter Denton, the man charged with getting residential projects started for the private sector, has his work cut outPeter Denton, the chief executive of Homes England, is used to meeting housing ministers. “If I count one twice, he is the eighth housing minister I have met,” he says, referring to Matthew Pennycook, the new man in the role.There have been 16 entrants on the housing minister merry-go-round since 2010, and sinc
  
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• State pension blow for millions as triple lock hike downgraded by £11.50 a month

  13-08-2024 14:43 via express.co.uk
  
  More than 12 million pensioners face "disappointment" when the state pension triple lock hike is confirmed next month, experts warn.
  
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• House buyers have weeks left to avoid £2,500 Stamp Duty charge

  13-08-2024 14:30 via express.co.uk
  
  Anyone buying a house has just weeks left to get a house purchase sorted and avoid a £2,500 charge.
  
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• So Donald chatted with Elon, and here’s the future as they see it – losers win, incompetence rules | Marina Hyde

  13-08-2024 14:24
  
  Both claim they are part of a bright new dawn, but last night the politician could only slur inanities, and the tech boss made a hash of the techWould you like to travel in the advance party to Mars, aboard the space rocket of a man who can’t sort a livestream? Ideally you would have to get in line for this species-level honour behind thousands of Earth’s leading shitposters, who not only trust implicitly in X owner Elon Musk, but truly believe that if they grind away for hours a day
  
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• NatWest, Barclaycard, Halifax customers told which card best to use abroad this summer

  13-08-2024 14:10 via express.co.uk
  
  A money expert has shared top picks when it comes to debit and credit cards to use on holiday with bad choices costing lots of money extra
  
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• Electricity ‘superhighway’ between Scotland and England to go ahead

  13-08-2024 14:08
  
  £4.3bn subsea cable will transmit renewable electricity from Scottish windfarms to 2m homes in EnglandBusiness live – latest updatesGreat Britain’s energy regulator has given the green light to a £4.3bn low-carbon electricity “superhighway”, which will carry renewable power for 300 miles from north-east Scotland to the north of England.The first phase of the Eastern Green Link subsea power cable, the longest in Great Briain, will have the capacity to transmit
  
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• New stats show nearly 10 million Britons now out of work and not looking for a job

  13-08-2024 13:38 via express.co.uk
  
  More than 9.5m people were classed as economically inactive in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics .
  
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• Auction of first King Charles banknotes raises nearly £1m for charity

  13-08-2024 13:30
  
  Collectors snap up £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes bearing king’s head for 11 times monetary value, with one £10 note fetching £17,000A special auction of some of the first banknotes to roll off the presses bearing King Charles III’s face have raised more than £900,000 for charity, more than 11 times their monetary value.Over the summer, Spink & Sons held four specialist auctions of the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, w
  
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• Australian breakdancer Raygun brutally mocked by Jimmy Fallon after viral Olympic moment

  13-08-2024 13:28 via express.co.uk
  
  Australian breakdancer Raygun has been ruthlessly mocked on The Tonight Show after her performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics went viral around the world
  
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• State pension warning as DWP and HMRC change payment this month

  13-08-2024 12:47 via express.co.uk
  
  The DWP and HMRC have issued a payment date change.
  
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• TechScape: Why Musk’s rabble-rousing shows the limits of social media laws

  13-08-2024 12:32
  
  Twitter under the tech owner has become the perfect test case for the UK’s new legislation – but critics say more needs to be done• Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereWhat can the UK government do about Twitter? What should it do about Twitter? And what does Elon Musk even care?The multibillionaire owner of the social network, still officially branded as X, has had a fun week stirring up unrest on his platform. Aside from his own
  
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• A cheque from Equiniti to pay my late husband’s care home fees got lost in post

  13-08-2024 08:00
  
  Money from the sale of shares was urgently needed to fund his care, but it only arrived after my husband’s deathMy 83-year-old husband had to go into a care home last year. We were self-funding, but the money soon ran out and, last October, I had to sell shares he had through share administration service Equiniti. I had registered power of attorney. The sale raised £14,720, but the cheque did not arrive, although Equiniti insisted it had been sent. This happened three times. It was m
  
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• Trump would pull out of Paris climate treaty again – and Harris faces tough choices | Barry Eichengreen

  13-08-2024 07:00
  
  If elected, the Democrat is likely to face a trade-off over manufacturing jobs and economic independence from ChinaEvery US presidential election is consequential but American voters face an unusually weighty decision in 2024. The outcome will have implications for foreign policy, social policy, and the integrity of the political system. But none of its consequences will be more profound or far-reaching than on global efforts to combat the climate crisis.As president, Donald Trump pulled the US
  
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• Say it loud and rejoice: the days of anti-union worker exploitation in Britain are coming to an end | Polly Toynbee

  13-08-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We’re getting back the employment rights that were snatched by the Tories. That could change life for millions of peopleThis is what a fundamental power shift looks like. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, has swept away the worst of the Tories’ strike-banning laws. The 2023 law, known as the Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Act, denied the right to strike for 20% of workers, contravening human rights law. Within Labour’s first 100 days in power – so before 13 Oct
  
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• Brexit delays to seed imports could hit crop production, say growers

  13-08-2024 07:00
  
  Tomato and pepper growers call for UK to strike deal with EU to avoid disruption and duplicate testingVegetable growers in the UK have said crops could be adversely hit this year after post-Brexit border changes resulted in delays to seed imports.Trade bodies representing UK tomato and pepper growers said new rules for seed imports from the EU were causing delays of up to six weeks for deliveries, disrupting their growing schedules and finances. Continue reading...
  
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• Drunk visitors, rocketing rents and homogenised cafes: living in Europe’s tourist hotspots

  13-08-2024 06:00
  
  Locals say swelling visitor numbers are distorting housing markets and have changed their area’s characterIn July, protesters took to the streets of Palma, the Mallorcan capital, carrying placards with slogans such as “no to mass tourism” and “tourism, but not like this”.Although he did not attend, Jaume Fuster, 27, a local, agreed with the messages. “They should be a wake-up call to our politicians to legislate against the overcrowding and bring in laws that
  
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• UK’s biggest housing association fined over four-year failure to fix window

  13-08-2024 01:01
  
  Clarion case among several ‘severe maladministration’ examples highlighted by housing ombudsmanThe UK’s biggest housing association has been fined after a watchdog found that its failure to carry out repairs to a child’s bedroom window for four years left the home mouldy and caused serious illness in the family that lived there.Clarion housing association showed “no urgency” to fix the window, instead leaving it boarded up, despite repeated complaints from the
  
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