Financial news

• Mind the gap in help for disabled people | Brief letters

  29-08-2024 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Tanni Grey-Thompson’s train troubles | Keir Starmer’s country | AI reset | The return of the Man from UNCLE | The big fightTanni Grey-Thompson’s experience is beyond disgraceful (ParalympicsGB chief says Tanni Grey-Thompson’s train ordeal ‘a disgrace’, 28 August, but it is not only wheelchair users who are in dire need of a more disability-friendly world. Many people – especially older people – walk around on legs that are stiff, painful or unstead
  
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• Gathering fairer ways to pay winter fuel allowance | Letters

  29-08-2024 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Readers offer suggestions on how the government could manage the benefit better so that vulnerable pensioners are not left out in the coldWhat an exemplary idea from Martin Lewis in response to plans to limit winter fuel payments (Martin Lewis calls for rethink of plan to limit winter fuel payments, 23 August). If the government were to restrict the payment to any pensioner living in a property in council tax bands A, B, C or D, this would effectively means-test the benefit by excluding wealthy
  
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• Who is the Russian billionaire founder of Telegram? – video explainer

  29-08-2024 17:22 via theguardian.com
  On Saturday 24 April, the billionaire founder of the Telegram social media and messaging app, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities as he disembarked from his private jet in Paris on his way from Azerbaijan. Officials said the arrest was part of an inquiry into criminal activity on the platform and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement. Durov has since been formally charged. In a statement on Sunday, Telegram said it abided by European Union laws and that its moderation was '
  
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• Lloyds Bank raises borrowing limit for first-time buyers

  29-08-2024 17:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Group will provide mortgages worth up to 5.5 times household income – and other lenders could follow suitBritain’s biggest mortgage provider is increasing the maximum sums it is willing to lend first-time buyers in a £2bn move that experts say will bring home ownership within the reach of more people but could further increase house prices.Lloyds Banking Group’s decision to let people borrow more means those who meet the criteria may be able to buy a property they might h
  
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• Round-the-world cruise delay keeps passengers in Belfast for three months

  29-08-2024 17:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Oceangoers waiting to start three-year voyage can spend days onboard docked ship but must disembark overnightIt was supposed to be a life on the ocean wave, a home on the rolling deep. Instead, cruise passengers who signed up for a three-year voyage around the world have been gazing at a rainswept quayside in Belfast for the past three months after a series of delays.The Odyssey, operated by the US cruise line Villa Vie Residences, was scheduled to depart from the Titanic Quarter in Belfast on 3
  
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• ‘Hold them captive’: Australian billionaire boss aims to end staff going out for coffee

  29-08-2024 17:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Chris Ellison, of Perth-based mining firm Mineral Resources, has already banned working from homeA billionaire mining boss who has already banned home working has said he does not want staff to step out of the office for coffee either.Chris Ellison, the managing director of Mineral Resources, said the industry could not afford to continue down the path of flexible working, and that his company was investing in amenities at the firm’s head office in Perth, Western Australia, to keep people
  
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• ‘Like throwing myself at a wall’: UK graduates struggle in ‘insane’ job market

  29-08-2024 16:18 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Hostile and impersonal’ process to find first job after university leads many to work for minimum wage“The job market is so insane right now. I’ve got work experience and internships from the UK, Paris and Hong Kong. I’ve taken courses, networked and am working in an admin job to try to get more skills, after no luck with applications.”Having graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class BA in English and French last year, Emma*, a 23-year-old fr
  
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• Nvidia profits fail to spark share price rally; UK to join Pacific trade bloc in December – business live

  29-08-2024 11:26 via theguardian.com
  Live coverage as chip company beats analyst expectations but share price falls 7% in after hours tradingThe UK will officially enter a new trading bloc on 15 December, after ratification by Peru completed the requirements to join.The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will eventually give British exporters tariff-free access to 11 countries, although it will only apply at first to the six who have ratified it: Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietn
  
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• Drax to pay £25m after Ofgem finds inaccurate sustainability data

  29-08-2024 10:58 via theguardian.com
  Energy regulator’s investigation found ‘inadequate data governance’ over sourcing of wood to fuel power stationBusiness live – latest updatesThe power generator Drax has agreed to pay £25m after the energy industry regulator found it had submitted inaccurate sustainability data on the sourcing of wood pellets used at its massive plant in North Yorkshire.An investigation by Ofgem, which was launched last year, concluded there was “an absence of adequate data go
  
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• UK film studio developers to appeal against rejection of £750m project

  29-08-2024 09:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Move by Hollywood-backed Marlow Film Studios seen as test of Labour’s push to prioritise economic growthThe developers of a planned £750m film studio near London backed by Hollywood directors including Titanic’s James Cameron have said they hope to revive the stalled project, in a case seen as a test of a broader push by the new government to prioritise economic growth.Marlow Film Studios said it would appeal to a national planning body after the proposed new complex was reject
  
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• Thrush hour: study suggests birdsong can ease commuter stress

  29-08-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Research for South Western Railway finds passengers who listened to natural soundscapes reported 35% reduction in stress levelsAt the end of summer even adults suffer that “back to school” feeling as they resume stressful commutes on packed trains. But instead of listening to a podcast or music, opting for a nature soundtrack of birdsong or waterfalls could be the key to a “zen” commute, according to a study.The research, undertaken by South Western Railway (SWR) on one o
  
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• I was quoted £1,100 to replace my easily stolen VW badge/sensor

  29-08-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Many of the car’s safety featuresare useless without the device, and the company has known about this problem for yearsI’m contacting you in relation to the story you published in May concerning stolen Volkswagen badges/radar sensors. Six weeks ago the badge/sensor was stolen from my 2018 VW Golf R while it was parked outside my south-west London house. It has been very frustrating and has rendered many of the safety features on the car useless. I also note that quite a few other VWs
  
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• Unlock financial benefits: How state pension boost adds £3,900 to yearly income

  29-08-2024 04:27 via express.co.uk
  
  The DWP is urging people to help family members, friends, neighbours and loved ones check if they could be entitled to the income boost
  
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• Online tool launched by DWP to help pensioners claim an extra £434 a month

  29-08-2024 03:26 via express.co.uk
  
  Attendance Allowance is a benefit administered by the Department for Work and Pensions which offers state pensioners either £72.65 or £108.55 each week.
  
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• Support planned for UK households struggling with winter energy bills

  29-08-2024 01:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Government discusses measures after criticism over cuts to winter fuel paymentsMinisters have committed to help households struggling with their gas and electricity bills this winter after energy industry bosses warned that consumer debt had climbed to more than £3bn.With Labour under fire for scrapping universal winter fuel payments to pensioners, ministers met energy industry bosses on Wednesday to discuss ways of supporting struggling households through the coming colder months. Continu
  
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• DWP PIP eligibility explained - 21 conditions that can qualify you for £796 a month

  29-08-2024 01:15 via express.co.uk
  
  Millions of people claim the support to help with their daily living and mobility needs.
  
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• Home Office criticised over ‘woefully’ understated Tory asylum budgets

  29-08-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  An IFS report vindicates Labour concerns that it inherited a worse financial situation than previously thoughtThe Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending.In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the
  
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