Financial news

• Pensioners protest outside Labour conference over cuts to winter fuel payments – video

  23-09-2024 21:50
  Dozens of pensioners gather outside the Labour conference in Liverpool to protest against the decision by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to cut winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners, as the government grapples with how to fill a £22bn budget gap. Reeves defended the plan during her speech at the conference, saying: 'I know that not everyone in this hall or in the country will agree with every decision that I make'. Opponents of the plan argue that many pensioners who do not qualif
  
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• Labour conference: Cutting winter fuel payments ‘right decision’, says Reeves, as No 10 says no change to council tax discount for single people – as it happened

  23-09-2024 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor says £22bn gap in current spending budget and state pension rise meant she had to make decision on means-testing fuel paymentsIn interview this morning Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, defended her own decision to accept clothing donations worth £7,500 when she was in opposition.Speaking on the Today programme, she said:I can understand why people find it a little bit odd that politicians get support for things like buying clothes.Now, when I was an opposition MP, when I was
  
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• Rightmove should keep saying no to the Murdochs | Nils Pratley

  23-09-2024 19:19 via theguardian.com
  Latest takeover offer from REA Group deserves a flat rejection, and there is still time for more actionRupert Murdoch’s REA raises Rightmove bid to £6.1bnThe board of Rightmove says it will “carefully consider” the latest takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian property company majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. One hopes Rightmove’s directors are merely being polite. This third bid, like the last two, deserves a flat rejection.Such a response
  
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• Ben Jennings on Rachel Reeves’ Labour conference speech – cartoon

  23-09-2024 18:38 via theguardian.com
  Discover and buy more of Ben’s cartoons hereOrder your own print of this cartoon from the Guardian Print Shop Continue reading...
  
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• Scotland could extend winter fuel allowance, Scottish Labour argues

  23-09-2024 18:04
  
  Further devolution next year will bring allowance under Scottish control just months before Holyrood electionsLabour conference live – latest updatesScottish Labour believes access to the winter fuel allowance could be widened in Scotland as it tries to fight off its opponents’ attacks before the next Holyrood election.Scotland will be able to decide which pensioners get the allowance from October next year under further devolution of benefits to Holyrood, eight months before a Scott
  
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• Working from home is the great social experiment of our age – it’s too soon for the state to wade in | Simon Jenkins

  23-09-2024 17:27
  
  Labour laws are highly sensitive. The government should tread carefully when it comes to dictating where people do their jobsWhat’s not to like about working from home? No commuting. More flexibility. Wear jeans. The boss can’t pester you. It’s a social revolution and it’s happening right now. Before Covid, 4.7% of employed Britons worked from home. Now, 40% say they work from home at least one day a week. Over much of clerical employment, the nine-to-five day has begun t
  
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• NS&I forced to clarify odds of winning for people with less than £50,000 Premium Bonds

  23-09-2024 17:27 via express.co.uk
  
  NS&I has clarified how Premium Bonds work for people with less than £50,000 of Bonds.
  
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• Rachel Reeves sticks to script and saves big changes for next month’s budget

  23-09-2024 17:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Conference speech was light on detail and not the pivot away from doom and gloom that critics wantedReeves defends Labour’s cut to winter fuel allowanceRachel Reeves had a difficult balancing act. Between offering up a message of optimism for Britain as a chancellor elected on a platform of change in July’s election landslide, and holding back the big news for next month’s budget.Facing criticism that she may have overdone a doom-and-gloom-laden approach on the economy as she p
  
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• ‘My car is a hot box of ideas and planning’: why Škoda means business for SMEs

  23-09-2024 17:17 via theguardian.com
  Small businesses have long relied on cars for getting from A to B, meeting customers and more. And while work trends have changed, cars remain key to running many successful operations. Here, two SME owners share how their Škoda has helped them build their brandsSmall businesses have endless to-do lists. From meeting clients and developing products, to monitoring accounts, securing finance and planning for growth – it’s non-stop action stations.Such a hectic schedule means tha
  
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• Stay in charge: why a plug-in hybrid can keep you on the road for longer

  23-09-2024 17:16 via theguardian.com
  When it comes to choosing a car for business, reliability is key. Where there were once concerns about the driving range of electrics and hybrids, a new generation of plug-in hybrids, along with investment in charging infrastructure, should make that a thing of the pastDespite the rising numbers of electric and hybrid cars on our streets, there are still those among us – particularly if you use your car for business – who have concerns about their driving range and the accessibility
  
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• Ed Miliband pledges to end scourge of cold and draughty rented homes

  23-09-2024 17:16
  
  Labour will bring in regulations that apply to social as well as private housing, says energy secretaryLandlords who rent out substandard draughty homes face a crackdown under plans set out by the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, at the Labour party conference.Miliband said the measures would lift a million renters out of fuel poverty. Previous plans, outlined in the Labour manifesto, applied only to private landlords, but the new stipulations will also cover tenants in social homes. Continue read
  
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• Versatile, stylish and smart: is the Škoda Superb the ideal car for business?

  23-09-2024 17:14 via theguardian.com
  From its elegant design and AI-enabled tech, to its safety features and sheer drivability, the all-new Škoda Superb plug-in hybrid ticks all the right boxesWhat’s in a name? In the case of the Škoda Superb, really rather a lot. This is a car designed to live up to the expectations of its moniker, with qualities that really do reflect the claims of the badge on the boot.History buffs might like to know that 2024 marks the 90th year since the first Superb was built, so Š
  
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• Martin Lewis issues update to state pensioners over council tax discount

  23-09-2024 16:48 via express.co.uk
  
  Sir Keir Starmer previously refused to rule out whether the party would scrap the single-person Council Tax discount in the upcoming Budget.
  
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• Rachel Reeves defends cutting winter fuel payments in Labour conference speech – video

  23-09-2024 16:33 via theguardian.com
  Rachel Reeves has defended her cut to the winter fuel allowance and abandoning infrastructure projects, arguing that the decisions taken in the early weeks of the Labour government would pave the way for a more optimistic economic future. Giving her first speech to the Labour conference as chancellor, Reeves said she had been forced to make unpopular cuts because of the economic situation she had inherited from the ToriesRachel Reeves defends Labour’s cut to winter fuel allowancePolitics l
  
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• Act now to secure £190 from TSB: Essential steps for new customers before offer expires

  23-09-2024 16:18 via express.co.uk
  
  The bank is offering extra cash for new customers who switch to one of two current account, however, customers must take a couple of steps
  
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• DWP Winter Fuel Payment warning over 'absolute deadline' for pensioners to secure £4,300

  23-09-2024 16:01 via express.co.uk
  
  The eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment is tightening making it ever more important to make sure you qualifty.
  
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• Bank of England blamed for new risk of home loan rate rises

  23-09-2024 15:41 via express.co.uk
  
  So-called "Sonia swap rates", which set the benchmark for lending between financial institutions, have risen slightly over the past week.
  
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• Martin Lewis’ Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Iceland and Sainsbury’s ‘free money’ savings trick

  23-09-2024 15:29 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis' MSE has shared a tip on savings schemes for each of the major supermarkets which effectively give 'free money' for Christmas shopping.
  
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• UK workers failed to claim £1.4 billion in expenses over the last year, study finds

  23-09-2024 15:22 via express.co.uk
  
  A poll of 2,000 employees found many are failing to claim back work expenses such as millage or client lunches due to complex processes or lost receipts.
  
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• Nationwide to allow first-time buyers to borrow six times their earnings

  23-09-2024 15:14
  Building society ramps up mortgage price war with ‘gamechanging’ move, as it also cuts ratesBritain’s biggest building society is to let first-time buyers borrow up to six times their earnings in what has been labelled a “gamechanging” move that ramps up the mortgage price war.Weeks after it was announced that the Halifax and Lloyds would allow new buyers to take out loans worth up to 5.5 times their household annual income, Nationwide said it would now go up to six
  
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• WAPSI women sent major update on DWP compensation worth £2,950

  23-09-2024 14:35 via express.co.uk
  
  The WASPI campaign is calling for compensation for women who were impacted by the increase to the state pension age.
  
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• Millions to get £150 DWP payment as scheme about to open

  23-09-2024 14:12 via express.co.uk
  
  The Warm Home Discount scheme is set to reopen in October, with around three million households expected to benefit from the £150 credit on electricity bills
  
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• Six water firms in England ‘overcharged customers by up to £1.5bn’

  23-09-2024 14:05
  
  Firms underreported true scale of sewage pollution for 10 years, which allowed them to set higher bills, tribunal toldSix water companies overcharged customers between £800m and £1.5bn by “significantly or systematically” underreporting the true scale of their sewage pollution of rivers and waterways, a tribunal has heard.In the first environmental competition class action against water companies in England, lawyers argued that the privatised firms had abused their monopo
  
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• Tesco’s Aldi price-matched products are not like for like, report says

  23-09-2024 11:26
  
  Dozens of items at UK’s largest supermarket chain contain lower proportions of key ingredients than rival, BBC claimsBusiness live – latest updatesDozens of Tesco food products contain lower proportions of key ingredients than “price-matched” equivalents at Aldi, according to a report that raises questions over value for money at the UK’s largest supermarket chain.BBC Panorama said that 38 out of 122 Tesco products it surveyed contained at least five percentage poin
  
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• Do packaged bank accounts deliver value for money?

  23-09-2024 10:00
  
  As banks raise fees customers pay in exchange for a range of perks, it’s time to ask: Are you are really getting your money’s worth?Consumers with packaged bank accounts are being urged to scrutinise how much they pay for the benefits they receive after another leading provider increased its fees.Nationwide has become the latest big name to announce it was upping the cost, in this case by almost 40% – prompting calls for users to ensure they are getting the best value for their
  
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• BA left my 14-year-old daughter alone and stranded at an airport in France

  23-09-2024 08:00
  The departure gate was changed after check-in but it didn’t offer her any supportBritish Airways lost my 14-year-old daughter in Toulouse airport when she was flying alone to Heathrow, then charged me for a whole new flight departing the next day. My cousin had checked her in, and she was given a boarding pass marked gate 54, where she duly waited. When staff appeared, she presented herself at the desk and was told that her flight was, in fact, departing from gate 52. Gate 52 had closed be
  
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• UK petrol and diesel prices falling at fastest rate this year, says RAC

  23-09-2024 06:00
  
  Households paying about £4 less to fill up a family car than a month ago, with further drops expectedThe price of petrol and diesel in the UK is falling at the fastest pace this year, with households paying about £4 less to fill up a family car than they did a month ago.Analysis from the RAC found that the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol in the UK was now just above 136.15p, down 7p from the 142.86p recorded last month. Diesel now costs almost 141p a litre, compared with
  
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