Financial news

• £4,278 of freebies and discounts for people on Universal Credit in January

  01-01-2025 19:20 via express.co.uk
  
  Those claiming Universal Credit can get as much as £4,278 of freebies and discounts in January alone.
  
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• Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine cease as transit agreement expires

  01-01-2025 18:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Ukraine president hails ‘one of Moscow’s biggest defeats’ as deal’s end brings power cuts in breakaway Moldovan regionRussian gas has stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine, ending a major energy route that goes back to Soviet times and had even survived three years of full-scale war between the two states.Ukraine cut off the transit route after an agreement signed in 2019 expired in the early hours of New Year’s Day, marking a new milestone in Europe weaning itself
  
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• EDF Energy admits 'this isn't ideal' as it issues New Year’s Day price warning

  01-01-2025 18:33 via express.co.uk
  
  Gas and electricity supplier EDF Energy has issued a £1,738 price warning to take effect on New Year's Day.
  
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• At best, 2025 will be a year of slow economic recovery. As for the worst? Brace yourselves | Larry Elliott

  01-01-2025 18:10 via theguardian.com
  
  With threats of recession, global fracturing and increasingly angry voters, Labour’s sticky start is unlikely to get any easierThe 2020s have been a dismal decade. Five years ago, when the first reports emerged of a new virus that had its origins in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it was hard to imagine that Covid-19 would have such a devastating impact. Yet within months, the UK was in lockdown, the global economy was in a chokehold, trade flows had dried up and governments were spending freel
  
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• It’s time to get serious about stamp duty on shares, a terrible advert for London

  01-01-2025 17:46 via theguardian.com
  
  The number of listed companies fleeing can’t be ignored – cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital marketLast year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Gro
  
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• UK households handed £500 cost of living payments in January with no benefits needed

  01-01-2025 17:18 via express.co.uk
  
  Households across the UK can get up to £500 cost of living payments this January and don't need to be on benefits to claim.
  
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• HMRC issues £2,200 savings alert with cash on offer to thousands

  01-01-2025 16:54 via express.co.uk
  
  Thousands of people may be unaware they have money to claim.
  
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• NatWest customers can hit £780 by end of 2025 using savings account method

  01-01-2025 16:50 via express.co.uk
  
  The method aims to get people in the habit of saving money every month.
  
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• Five money changes in January from HMRC to state pension Winter Fuel Payments

  01-01-2025 16:34 via express.co.uk
  
  There are at least five key money changes to watch out for in 2025, including state pensions, Winter Fuel Payments and HMRC taxes.
  
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• A year of two halves: how global financial markets fared in 2024

  01-01-2025 16:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Good for equities, good for the US, and good for crypto but the year spawned mixed blessings for the UK, China and EuropeGlobal stock markets climbed in 2024, helped by falling inflation and the US economy’s success in avoiding a hangover from a strong post-pandemic recovery.While Europe and the UK struggled to make headway, the US maintained pole position at the top of the rich nations’ growth league, pushing shares in New York to new record highs. Continue reading...
  
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• Bank offers market-leading easy access savings account paying 'boosted' 5% interest

  01-01-2025 15:34 via express.co.uk
  
  Savers can enjoy the boosted interest rate for the first six months.
  
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• UK consumers warned over offers of money to open betting accounts in their names

  01-01-2025 14:54
  
  Specialists raise alarm over companies such as Moneyful promoting ‘easy money’ in exchange for personal detailsConsumers struggling to pay bills over the festive season have been urged not to sign up with companies that offer money in exchange for personal details in order to open multiple betting accounts in their name.Fraud prevention and consumer specialists raised the alarm after the Guardian highlighted one such company, Kent-based Moneyful Ltd, which promoted the chance to make
  
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• Energy bills: is it worth shopping around for gas and electricity again?

  01-01-2025 14:18
  
  New energy price cap of £1,738 for Great Britain comes into force on 1 January but there are ways to find better dealsThe latest energy price cap came into force on 1 January 2025. At £1,738 a year it is 1.2% higher than in the previous three months. The price cap applies to energy providers’ standard tariffs, and the figure is for a typical household buying gas and electricity and paying by direct debit. Most households will pay a different sum as bills are based on usage. Con
  
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• UK government hires ‘nudge unit’ to help dispel heat pump myths

  01-01-2025 11:06
  
  Behaviour experts say misinformation shared in media and by other stakeholders is impeding uptakeExperts from a “nudge unit” have been hired to help ministers fight misinformation about heat pumps to try to encourage take-up of the devices.The appliances run on electricity instead of gas and are regarded as a way of decarbonising homes at scale. A target of installing 600,000 a year by 2028 is part of a drive to achieve Britain’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Continue r
  
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• I love to travel Europe by train. But here's what a joined-up 21st-century network needs | María Ramírez

  01-01-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Passenger numbers are rising, but competing with budget airlines will take work on ticket prices, infrastructure and integrationLast August, I took the train from Trieste to Ljubljana, following a route once used by the Orient Express. Along the way, I admired the Adriatic coast, discovered that Prosecco is a now abandoned railway station dating from 1857, and felt the shift in geography as the train climbed towards Villa Opicina on the Italian-Slovenian border. Crossing into Slovenia now means
  
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• UK property will be a buyers’ market in 2025, analysts predict

  01-01-2025 07:00
  
  ‘Cautious optimism’ forecast despite end to key stamp duty relief and fears of higher taxes and interest ratesExperts have predicted a “buyer’s market” for house hunters in the year ahead, giving them greater negotiating power as the mood of the housing market shifts to “cautious optimism”.However, even the more hopeful expectations for 2025 were met with caution, as an important stamp duty relief for first-time buyers was scheduled to end in the spring,
  
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• MPs say Post Office should not oversee Horizon compensation schemes

  01-01-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Influential Commons committee calls for government to take action to prevent justice being further delayedThe Post Office needs to be removed from running redress schemes for victims of the Horizon scandal to prevent justice from being further delayed, an influential parliamentary committee has said.In a report published on Wednesday, one year to the day since the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office brought the scandal to widespread public attention, the Commons business and trade committee sa
  
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• Millions of households in Great Britain face higher energy bills as price cap rises

  01-01-2025 06:00
  
  Average annual bill in England, Scotland and Wales increases by 1.2% to £1,738 from New Year’s DayNine million homes will face higher energy bills from Wednesday as Britain braces for freezing temperatures and snow warnings for the new year period.The average energy bill for households across England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% from New Year’s Day to £1,738 a year for a typical household after the energy regulator raised its cap on gas and electricity charges. C
  
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