Financial news

• Bill to ban landlords in England from rental bidding wars

  11-09-2024 20:25
  
  Renters’ rights bill goes further than expected to ensure tenants pay no more than advertised priceLandlords in England will be banned from renting out their properties for more than the advertised price under reforms set out by the government on Wednesday, as ministers seek to stop expensive bidding wars.The renters’ rights bill, a key plank of the government’s housing reforms, will ban property owners from accepting more rent than they have asked for, in the UK’s first
  
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• Keir Starmer urged to publish winter fuel payments impact assessment

  11-09-2024 19:00
  
  Rishi Sunak accuses Starmer of hiding assessment, while Downing Street will not say if one was carried outKeir Starmer has been challenged to set out the impact of his decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners in England and Wales.Despite disquiet among many Labour MPs, the Commons backed the government’s plan to means-test winter fuel payments in a vote on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Triple lock won’t save pensioners from Labour’s winter fuel blunder | Letters

  11-09-2024 18:58
  
  Melanie Henwood on the impact that the government’s decision will have this winter on those who are old and cold. Plus letters from Pauline Cartwright and Paul MarsdenJohn Harris writes: “Today, amid deep dismay, the House of Commons approved the government’s ill-conceived and dangerous plan to withdraw the winter fuel allowance from most pensioners in England and Wales” (Starmer and Reeves are playing a dangerous game. How much more do they think Britain can take?, 10 Se
  
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• Martin Lewis issues state pension warning to anyone born before 1979

  11-09-2024 17:50 via express.co.uk
  
  Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis has issued a warning to people born before 1979.
  
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• Britain has two kinds of buses – but the days of second-class services could be numbered | Laura Laker

  11-09-2024 16:20
  
  In some regions they’re a lifeline, in others an irregular, unreliable last resort. Labour’s plans will begin to close the gapWhen the Liverpool City Region mayor, Steve Rotheram, was an MP he had a late-night epiphany. Leaving parliament to head home, he walked past a bus stop. “There were lords and ladies; there were MPs; there were the girls who used to serve us in the tea room, people who worked the doors, the cleaners,” he said. It wasn’t, he concluded, the sor
  
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• 'Miserable' Keir Starmer is driving UK into depression - PM needs a new tune

  11-09-2024 16:07 via express.co.uk
  
  New PM Keir Starmer is supposed to be inspiring the country to better things. Instead, he's been spreading misery in the style of his hero Morrissey, lead singer of 1980s indie band The Smiths.
  
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• You can claim free Coca Colas at supermarkets and restaurants - but be quick

  11-09-2024 15:47 via express.co.uk
  
  The MSE team has shared a nifty hack for those who can't get enough of Coca-Cola, and it could save you between £2 to £4.
  
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• Martin Lewis warns households 'must pay whole year' of council tax 'in weeks'

  11-09-2024 15:42 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis slammed council leaders as 'hypocrites' as he issued a warning over the practice.
  
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• NS&I slashes interest rates on popular savings accounts to reflect 'changing market'

  11-09-2024 15:08 via express.co.uk
  
  Interest rates on certain NS&I savings accounts have been reduced by as much as 0.35 percent.
  
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• Exact date UK households ‘must’ turn heating on as temperatures plunge

  11-09-2024 14:36 via express.co.uk
  
  Households have been warned they must turn the heating back on for this date or risk their health.
  
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• State pensioners urged to use ‘crisp packets’ to replace £300 Winter Fuel Payment

  11-09-2024 14:03 via express.co.uk
  
  State pensioners will be losing £300 this winter and are being urged to use crisp packets now.
  
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• Martin Lewis warns 100,000 are overpaying for day-to-day cost - but it could be free

  11-09-2024 13:38 via express.co.uk
  
  Many of us are regularly paying for certain items that could be free or paid for with a plan making them cheaper.
  
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• Account offers 'unbeatable' ISA savings with massive 5% interest rate

  11-09-2024 13:32 via express.co.uk
  
  The Cash ISA has previously been described as a "great choice" for savers.
  
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• Social mobility in UK’s poorest areas ‘falling further behind’

  11-09-2024 12:00
  
  Social mobility commissioner calls for bold action to combat entrenched ‘geography of disadvantage’Social disadvantage is now so entrenched in “left behind” areas that a young person growing up poor in parts of London has a significantly better chance of going to university and getting a good job than a child of a similar background from the north-east of England, the UK’s social mobility commissioner has said.Alun Francis, whose remit is to assess progress in impro
  
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• Renting in England is like trying to buy Oasis tickets – Labour’s solutions only go so far | Tom Darling

  11-09-2024 11:38
  
  Stamping out surge pricing-style bidding wars would be welcome, but they are a symptom of our broken renting systemAre you a forty- or fiftysomething who recently spent your whole Saturday in a queue for Oasis tickets, only to discover that, as you finally approached your purchase, you were unwillingly subjected to the whims of “dynamic pricing” – a sudden surge in the ticket cost the moment before you buy? If so, you experienced something like what most renters experience ever
  
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• UK economy continues to stagnate, confounding forecast of growth – business live

  11-09-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Economy showed no growth for second month running but grew by 0.5% in three months to July; UK government to outline £500m rescue deal for Port Talbot steelworks with 2,500 job cuts“The July GDP print was disappointing: despite the modest boost from the Euros, the UK saw broad-based weakness across the economy,” said Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank.Growth is normalising from the rapid pace set in the first half of 2024 – this much should be expected. The
  
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• Campbell’s to drop soup from company name after 102 years

  11-09-2024 10:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Plan to rename group the Campbell’s Company part of shift in focus to other food it sellsBosses at Campbell Soup Company, whose cans feature in one of Andy Warhol’s best-known 1960s pop artworks, have announced plans to drop “soup” from its name after more than 100 years.Its chief executive, Mark Clouse, said the decision to rename the group the Campbell’s Company was part of a shift in focus to the other snack foods and jarred sauces it sold. Continue reading...
  
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• UK imposes sanctions on 10 ships in crackdown on Russia’s shadow oil fleet

  11-09-2024 09:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Tankers believed to be at heart of illicit operation transporting gas and oil to fund Moscow’s war effortThe UK has taken new steps to clamp down on Russia’s shadow fleet exporting oil and funding Moscow’s war machine, with the Foreign Office announcing sanctions on 10 ships that it believes to be at heart of the operation.Russia has a large fleet of often unseaworthy and ageing tankers that transport Russian gas and oil products around the globe. Oil exports are Vladimir Putin
  
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• Rupert Murdoch-owned firm REA makes £5.6bn offer for Rightmove

  11-09-2024 09:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Board rejects non-binding indicative proposal of 705p a share for UK’s biggest online real-estate portalREA, the Australian property company majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has made a £5.6bn offer for Rightmove, the UK’s biggest online real-estate portal.The Rightmove board rejected the 705p a share offer, worth 18.6% of the enlarged company post-deal, which comes a week after REA confirmed it was considering a cash and share offer for Rightmove. Continue re
  
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• ‘My uniform’s more valuable than I am’: a security guard’s take on bodyworn cameras

  11-09-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Public-facing staff in shops and frontline services are donning cameras to help fight abuse and theftWhen you work in security it can be a battle to stop people stealing. Most thieves know that they have the same legal power as guards, and it’s not easy trying to decide who gets to dole out “reasonable force” when a teenager’s cutting through a bike lock in front of you.My shift mates and I recently observed a heroin user cutting through our car park repeating a shopping
  
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• Earn while you learn: is a degree apprenticeship the right choice for you?

  11-09-2024 09:00
  Avoid student debt and gather the skills that are most needed by prospective employers as you study on this new style of courseUniversity can be an expensive business, but there is a way to get a degree and earn money. Since 2015, degree apprenticeships have offered an alternative route into both higher education and the world of work. Companies partner with universities and give you the chance to earn a salary while you study.Degree apprentices spend about 80% of their time doing practical
  
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• Why did Starmer cut the winter fuel allowance? It’s called Treasury brain – and that spells trouble | Rafael Behr

  11-09-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The notorious syndrome causes chancellors to demand savings that look ingenious but really aren’t. No 10 must be vigilantAn unwritten law of Westminster mechanics states that power, in the absence of a countervailing force, gravitates to the Treasury.The governing agenda can be set in No 10, but a prime minister has few instruments of control as immediate and far-reaching as the purse strings in a chancellor’s hand.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
  
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• Death of the corkscrew? Only 27% of young people in UK own one, report says

  11-09-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Prevalence of screw-top bottles and abstinence among young people blamed for falling popularity of gadgetIt was once an essential piece of kit in every kitchen but, like the corks that gave it a reason to exist, tastemakers are announcing the “death of the corkscrew” after it lost the battle with screw-tops and younger consumers who do not know how to use one.Forget music or fashion, it turns out that it is ownership of a corkscrew that divides young and old, according to research. O
  
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• UK TV production sector income falls by £400m as programming budgets cut

  11-09-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Revenue plunges as cash-strapped broadcasters spend less on commissioning amid ad slump and shift to streamingThe TV production sector in the UK suffered a £400m fall in revenues last year as cash-strapped British broadcasters reduced spending to the lowest level since the height of the pandemic.The latest annual industry survey found that total revenues made by UK production companies fell by £392m to £3.61bn in 2023. However, just as traditional broadcasters struggle, global
  
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• Labour urged to impose stricter controls on gambling ads

  11-09-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners say MPs should overturn previous government’s decision not to strengthen restrictionsLabour ministers are under pressure to overturn the previous government’s “bizarre” decision not to impose stricter regulation on gambling advertising, particularly around sport, from politicians, campaigners and figures from the world of football.At a summit held close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, a succession of experts called on the culture secretary, Lisa Na
  
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• Bolt drivers seek to be classed as workers at London employment tribunal

  11-09-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 12,500 drivers are bringing action against ride-hailing firm as Labour prepares plans to strengthen employment rightsDrivers working for Bolt, the ride-hailing app operator, are seeking to be classed as workers rather than self-employed contractors at an employment tribunal.More than 12,500 drivers, who are represented by the law firm Leigh Day, are bringing the action against Bolt, an Estonia-based ride-hailing app which has been operating in the UK since 2019. Continue reading...
  
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• Will Labour’s cold winter of cuts be worth it? – podcast

  11-09-2024 04:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Keir Starmer says cutting the universal winter fuel allowance for pensioners is a ‘tough decision’ Labour has to take. But many of his MPs were not happy, as Peter Walker reportsKeir Starmer has been talking a lot about “tough decisions” since he became prime minister this summer. For some of his MPs, tough decisions came almost immediately – with a vote on the two-child benefit cap. Seven Labour MPs who rebelled against the party line and voted to scrap the cap fou
  
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• Reeves announces £8bn UK investment by Amazon’s cloud computing arm

  11-09-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor says move will create as many as 14,000 jobs at firm’s datacentres and in a range of other industriesAmazon’s cloud computing arm will invest £8bn in the UK to build datacentres that support customers in London and the west of England, Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday.The chancellor said the investment, which it was estimated would create as many as 14,000 jobs at Amazon and in local businesses, was part of the government’s “long-term mission to boost grow
  
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• Landlords warn they may raise rents in response to Labour’s renters’ rights bill

  11-09-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Private rental sector reforms ‘could lead to Airbnb Lite’, says landlords’ association before plan unveiled in parliamentLandlords are warning they may raise asking rents in high demand areas if long-awaited reforms unveiled in parliament on Wednesday turn parts of the private rented sector into “Airbnb Lite”.A ban on no-fault evictions and brakes on in-tenancy rent rises in England will be among key changes in Labour’s renters’ rights bill, as first rev
  
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