Financial news

• Online retailers should accept returns without complaining | Letters

  25-10-2024 18:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Serial returner Penelope Jones would prefer to try clothes on in store, but finds it’s often not possibleYour article says serial returners often send products back “out of buyer’s remorse” and quotes Al Gerrie saying that “this cohort is exploiting retailers” (Serial returners send back £6.6bn of online purchases a year in UK, report finds, 21 October). I am a serial returner, and these claims are not true of me. I would much prefer to go to a shop
  
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• Beware the fallout from a tax on land | Letters

  25-10-2024 18:44 via theguardian.com
  
  The government should think twice before imposing a land tax says Sue Rumfitt Michael Meadowcroft asks why articles on the chancellor’s tax-raising options omit the obvious possibility of taxing land (Letters, 21 October). Perhaps the answer is that our most recent venture into land tax was not a great success. Passing the budget that contained the measure – the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 – gave rise to a constitutional crisis, two elections and, it is frequently said, hasten
  
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• Consumers win UK car finance case that could lead to billions in compensation

  25-10-2024 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Judges in test case rule it was unlawful for lenders to pay commission to car dealers without borrowers’ knowledgeConsumers have won a landmark car finance mis-selling case that could pave the way for companies to be forced to pay billions of pounds in compensation to borrowers.On Friday, judges from the court of appeal ruled in favour of three borrowers whose cases were merged earlier this year, saying it was unlawful for lenders to have paid a commission to car dealers without the borrow
  
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• With fuel duty revenue set to fall, is it time for the UK to introduce road pricing?

  25-10-2024 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Transition to electric cars will mean £25bn a year in fuel duty disappearing from government coffers, so what are the alternatives?While the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, grapples with the parlous £40bn funding gap in Britain’s finances, another £25bn of annual revenue is revving up to disappear into the sunset.As the Treasury knows all too well, turning cars electric will spell the end of that great money-spinner fuel duty. But no one appears ready to grab the wheel and tax
  
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• US ex-Juul users suddenly find thousands in their bank accounts after lawsuit: ‘I forgot about it completely’

  25-10-2024 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Recipients say they filed class-action claims on a whim amid lawsuit alleging products were unlawfully marketed to minorsDrewe Raimi was lying in bed scrolling TikTok when she got the notification: Venmo’s cash register cha-ching, telling her $3,456.44 had just hit her account. She assumed it was spam, or a friend playing a prank. But the cash out came from Juul Labs Inc, the e-cigarette company that turned vapes into cool kid accessories and revived nicotine for millennials and gen Z yout
  
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• NatWest urges Reeves to ‘get balance right’ when changing debt rules

  25-10-2024 12:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Bank’s boss says chancellor must signal intentions clearly amid risk to borrowing and mortgage ratesRachel Reeves must “get the balance right” when announcing changes to Britain’s debt rules in next week’s budget given the potential knock-on effects to borrowing and mortgage rates, the boss of NatWest has said.The bank’s chief executive, Paul Thwaite, said markets would be sensitive to the chancellor’s reasons for releasing up to £50bn of borrowing
  
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• UK consumers in ‘a despondent mood’ ahead of the budget, as confidence dips – business live

  25-10-2024 09:49 via theguardian.com
  
  People holding ‘their breath’ to see what’s in store for them in Rachel Reeves’s first budget, reports GfKBudget will reverse huge cuts in UK’s public investment, Reeves confirmsProfits have tumbled at German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz, as demand from China and its home market both weaken.Mercedes-Benz has reported a 53% drop in net profits in the last three months, to €1.719bn, in a quarter which saw “a challenging market environment and fierce compet
  
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• As she delivers her budget, Rachel Reeves must not forget Labour’s historic mission | John McDonnell

  25-10-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world. It is well within this government’s power to rebuild our welfare stateWith the constant drip of stories about possible tax hikes or reinterpretations of the fiscal rules, it’s easy to forget the underlying purpose of any budget. There are two fundamental but straightforward questions to guide a chancellor’s thinking. The first is what society do you want to create? The second is what are the economic measures that will aid its c
  
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• Keir Starmer hints at tax rises on people with income from assets

  25-10-2024 08:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Shareholders and property owners who also work not within PM’s definition of ‘working people’Keir Starmer has hinted at tax rises for those who earn their income from shares and property, saying that they did not fit his definition of “working people”.Ministers are expected to announce increases in inheritance tax and capital gains tax (CGT) in the budget next week. Continue reading...
  
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• Cosy cottages for autumn for sale – in pictures

  25-10-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Picture postcard homes with a wealth of period features to warm to Continue reading...
  
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• Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists

  25-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  UK market rose to all-time high of £12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to ease backlogThe value of the UK’s private healthcare market rose to a record £12.4bn last year as long NHS waiting lists fuelled demand from individuals and the health service paid for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to help ease the care backlog.As private medical insurance boomed, total revenues generated in the independent healthcare sector hit an all-time high in
  
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• Council destroys missing tenant’s belongings after banning his family from flat

  25-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  East Riding council promised to store Robert Bracegirdle’s possessions after his disappearance, but disposed of themA council destroyed the belongings of a tenant who went missing, after banning his family from entering his flat.Robert Bracegirdle, 75, disappeared from his home in Goole in 2020 after struggling with mental health issues. A police search failed to find him and a coroner later ruled that he had died by drowning in the nearby River Ouse. Continue reading...
  
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• AstraZeneca ‘said it could cut UK jobs’ if biodiversity drug levy is introduced

  25-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Biotech giant’s alleged comments come as world leaders at Cop16 discuss how to share benefits from genetic code discoveries fairlyAstraZeneca has said it may cut jobs at its UK operation if the government enforces a global push to make companies share profits derived from nature’s genetic codes, multiple sources have told the Guardian.The alleged comments from the company came amid a concerted lobbying push by the pharmaceutical industry against the profit-sharing measures. Continue
  
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• Why Elon Musk needs Donald Trump to win – podcast

  25-10-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Why is the tech billionaire owner of X spending millions on helping the Trump campaign? What does he get out of it? What’s at stake for him if Kamala Harris wins on 5 November?Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US democracy reporter focused on misinformation, Rachel LeingangArchive: 10 Tampa Bay, CBS News, PBS Newshour, CNN, CNBC, Don Lemon, HBO, Sky News, WDBJ 7 Continue reading...
  
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• State-backed loans to go to firms importing critical minerals into UK

  25-10-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in her budget next week. Companies that bring supplies of critical
  
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• Dean Forbes tops 2025 Powerlist as UK’s most influential black person

  25-10-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  CEO of tech company Forterro, who was homeless as a teenager, replaces Edward Enninful in the top spotDean Forbes who rose from being a homeless teenager to become the CEO of a successful tech company, has been named the UK’s most influential black person.The 45-year-old chief executive of software company Forterro, which is valued at €2bn (£1.7bn), has replaced the former Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful in the top spot of this year’s Powerlist. Continue reading...
  
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• City firms rarely dock pay for misconduct, FCA survey finds

  25-10-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Watchdog found 40% rise in alleged bad behaviour, including sexual harassment and bullying, last yearCity firms are only rarely docking pay and bonuses in cases of bad behaviour including sexual harassment, bullying and drug use, according to the industry’s watchdog, which recorded a 40% rise in complaints about non-financial misconduct last year.The findings are the result of the City regulator’s first survey looking at the issue, which was launched in the wake of high-profile alleg
  
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• Calls for Keir Starmer to act on state pension 'injustice' affecting 453,000 people

  25-10-2024 01:01 via express.co.uk
  
  A group of MPs is calling for the policy to change so all state pensioners get the increase.
  
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• Ship owner agrees to pay $102m over Baltimore bridge collapse that killed six

  25-10-2024 00:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Singaporean companies Grace Ocean and Synergy settle lawsuit with US government over deadly crash in MarchThe owner and operator of a ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge in March, leaving six dead, will pay the US a $100m settlement.The US justice department announced on Thursday that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singapore-based corporations that owned and operated the Dali agreed to the $101,980,000 sum, settling a lawsuit over the Francis Scott Key
  
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