Financial news

• ‘These water companies have got a damn nerve’: anger in England as 58,000 homes lose supply while bills surge

  19-12-2024 19:29
  Southern Water customers’ taps ran dry or lost pressure after a fault at one of its supply works“It feels awful,” said Samantha Hargreaves as she trundled her bottle-laden trolley past queues of cars waiting for drinking water in an Asda car park. It was the second year in a row that her water supply had been cut off shortly before Christmas, and she was loading up her car with extra bottles to give to less mobile neighbours.“There’s quite a few of us who are strugg
  
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• Ofwat opts for expediency. It’s time for water companies to stop bleating | Nils Pratley

  19-12-2024 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Water bill increases are at about the level most firms requested – but not so for beleagured Southern and ThamesAverage water bill to rise by 36% over five yearsHow much more might you pay in your area?Water bills in England and Wales were always going to rise massively. The question was the degree. Ofwat has landed on figures that, for about three-quarters of the companies, represent roughly what they wanted in order to fund regular operations and build new projects.The response in the sh
  
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• Keir Starmer says inheritance from Tories was worse than he expected – video

  19-12-2024 18:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Asked by the liaison committee about his five months as prime minister, Starmer said he was in a better position 'to change lives' than he was before being in power. He decried, however, the state in which the previous Conservative government had left the country, citing the economy and prisons as two of the main challenges he had to faceUK politics live Continue reading...
  
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• Bank of England holds interest rate at 4.75% but warns of UK stagnation risk

  19-12-2024 17:41
  
  Central bank downgrades growth forecast amid threat from budget fallout, rising inflation and Trump trade tariffsInflation fears trump growth concerns among MPC membersThe Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold as it warned UK growth is on the brink of stagnation amid the fallout from Rachel Reeves’s budget and threat of Donald Trump reigniting global trade wars.Reflecting heightened concerns over stubborn inflation, the central bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee
  
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• The Waspi women suffered outrageous misogyny, but in poverty-stricken Britain they’re not the top priority | Polly Toynbee

  19-12-2024 16:37
  The government is right in its decision not to pay the women up to £10.5bn in compensation – it simply can’t afford toSome women born in the 1950s were not adequately warned that they would have to work up to six extra years before drawing their state pension. Some have been left to rely on meagre benefits while they wait for delayed pensions. In March, an ombudsman judged that they deserved redress for communication failings, recommending compensation of between £1,000 a
  
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• Thames Water to pay £18m penalty after breaking dividend rules

  19-12-2024 13:42
  
  Regulator says it will claw back £131m in ‘unjustified’ payments as it announces bills can rise by 36% by 2030Water bills for households in England and Wales to rise by 36%Thames Water will have to pay an £18.2m penalty after the water industry regulator confirmed the troubled utilities company had breached dividend rules.The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that Thames would be penalised over two dividend payments, made in 2023 and 2024, and that it would allow the water c
  
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• Watchdog gives lenders a year to respond to UK car finance complaints

  19-12-2024 11:06
  
  Financial Conduct Authority sets 4 December 2025 deadline for handling rising number of customer queriesBusiness live – latest updatesThe City regulator has given lenders a year to respond to the rising number of customer complaints over the way they were sold car loans, after a high court ruling left firms fearing a potential £30bn compensation bill.The Financial Conduct Authority said firms had until at least 4 December 2025 to provide a final response to agreements not involving a
  
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• How big pharma keeps affordable drugs out of reach – video

  19-12-2024 10:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Pharmaceutical corporations claim high prices are the cost of innovation, but the reality is far more complicated — and troubling. In 2030, the patents of some of the world’s best-selling drugs will expire, an event called the 'patent cliff', and companies are doubling down on tactics such as 'evergreening' patents and pay-for-delay deals to keep prices high and competition out.In this video, Neelam Tailor uncovers the shocking strategies big pharma use to game the system, explaining
  
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• More time, less tedium: how AI is helping SMEs to innovate and compete

  19-12-2024 10:40 via theguardian.com
  Using artificial intelligence to handle repetitive tasks and large data sets is no longer just the preserve of big corporate players. With AI now available as an affordable service, SMEs are freeing up their people to focus on more rewarding work“Admin is important,” says Kevin Fitzgerald, UK managing director of Employment Hero, a global employment management platform that uses AI to make life easier for SMEs. “But technology has progressed so far, especially in the last 10 ye
  
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• Less bias, better hires: why AI could transform recruitment for SMEs

  19-12-2024 10:40 via theguardian.com
  No system, human or digital, is perfect. But by using artificial intelligence to do a lot of the legwork, SMEs can limit the effects of unconscious bias and free up their people to find the ideal candidate for the jobArtificial intelligence is trained on real intelligence – in other words, content created by humans. Theoretically, if you want AI to spit out fiction, you train it on novels and if you want AI to write job specs, you train it on job descriptions written by people. But there&r
  
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• Future perfect: the AI tools helping startups to predict and plan their recruitment

  19-12-2024 10:39 via theguardian.com
  For startups and SMEs it can be notoriously difficult to anticipate how many people and in what roles they need to take on as they grow – but a new AI-powered HR platform is helping businesses forecast their needs and find the right candidates at the right timeImagine the future of HR. You get a message on your phone. It says that, as a result of a recent organisational reshuffle, you’re going to need to hire someone new. The message suggests a shortlist of half a dozen candidates, a
  
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• Average water bill in England and Wales to rise by 36% over five years

  19-12-2024 09:52
  Firms accused of forcing households to pay for years of underinvestment after Ofwat agrees to increases to help fix sector• Thames Water to pay £18m penalty after breaking dividend rulesWater bills in England and Wales will rise by 36% over the next five years, as suppliers were accused of forcing struggling households to pay for years of underinvestment to fix leaky pipes and cut pollution.The industry regulator Ofwat said on Thursday that, from next April, it would allow companies t
  
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• ‘I can’t imagine wearing anything else’: Goodbye to Old Town, the beloved Norfolk clothing company

  19-12-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Stylish but timeless, Old Town’s utility-inspired tailored clothes have won many fans among artists and celebrities. Now it’s to close, leaving devoted customers bereftThe premise of Old Town clothing was a simple one: choose from a limited range of designs and fabrics (cotton drill, canvas, linen or cord), provide your measurements and, a few weeks later, a box would arrive through the post containing your trousers, jacket or skirt, handmade in Norfolk by designer Will Brown, Marie
  
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• Can a steel town survive if its furnaces are turned off? – podcast

  19-12-2024 04:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Port Talbot in Wales is defined by its huge steelworks. But in January Tata Steel announced it was ending primary steelmaking there. George McDonagh charts a year that could change the town for everIn January, Tata Steel announced it was ending primary steelmaking in Port Talbot. The town is known for two huge blast furnaces and its massive steelworks that has provided employment for decades. George McDonagh travelled there to see how people were reacting. He met Gareth Edwards, who had spent 30
  
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