Financial news

• Sir Ben Ainslie left ‘astounded’ after Ineos announce America’s Cup split

  23-01-2025 22:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s team reveal parting of waysAinslie says he will consider his legal optionsSir Ben Ainslie has said he is “astounded” after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Britannia team announced a parting of ways with the four-time Olympic champion for this year’s America’s Cup. He also threatened to launch a “significant” legal fight in response.Ainslie’s crew overcame Italy in the Louis Vuitton Cup series to qualify for the showpiece event f
  
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• UK government contacts potential administrators for Thames Water

  23-01-2025 22:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Teneo, Interpath and EY among those reportedly approached for the role ifcompany falls into bankruptcyThe UK government has reportedly approached multiple restructuring advisers for the role of special administrator for Thames Water if the troubled utility falls into bankruptcy.Teneo, Interpath and EY are among the companies contacted by the government as it prepares contingency plans should Britain’s largest water company be forced into nationalisation, the Financial Times reported, citin
  
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• Ethics watchdog issues conflict of interest warning to Musk’s Doge agency

  23-01-2025 21:44 via theguardian.com
  
  American Oversight has raised concerns over ‘department of government efficiency’ using encrypted appsA leading ethics watchdog has issued warnings to Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk and the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), an agency Trump has stated he will create, claiming its use of encrypted messaging apps potentially violates the Federal Records Act (FRA).American Oversight, which uses litigation to obtain public records and expose govern
  
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• Ministers must hold the line on Thames Water. It got itself into the mess | Nils Pratley

  23-01-2025 20:58 via theguardian.com
  
  It seems Thames is trying to scare the government into thinking the world will end if it falls into ‘special administration’Make-your-mind-up time approaches for Thames Water. The directors may not have liked Ofwat’s “final determination” last month – even though the regulator allowed bill increases of 35% over the next five years – but if they wish to dispute it, Thames is free to appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The deadline to do
  
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• Reeves to instruct national wealth fund to work with mayors to boost growth

  23-01-2025 20:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor says scheme aims to bridge gap between Whitehall and local leaders to avoid previous top-down approachRachel Reeves will instruct bosses of the national wealth fund (NWF) and the new Office for Investment to work with regional mayors for the first time, as part of a package of initiatives to boost growth.After a meeting of combined authority mayors and civil servants in Rotherham on Thursday, the chancellor said a deeper relationship between Whitehall and regional leaders would enhanc
  
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• Are Rachel Reeves’s efforts to win business confidence ‘fiddling while Rome burns’?

  23-01-2025 20:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour back on the front foot has drawn concerns and questionsDavos day three live – latest updatesRoughing up industry regulators, jetting to Davos to court the global elite, and preparing to greenlight airport expansion: after a difficult start to the year, Rachel Reeves is working overtime to regain business confidence.Financial market turbulence at the start of the year has been followed by a pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour
  
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• Barclays CEO’s maximum pay could rise by 45% to more than £14m

  23-01-2025 20:23 via theguardian.com
  
  New deal being considered by board cuts fixed pay but allows for much higher bonusesThe Barclays chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, could have his maximum pay package rise by 45% to more than £14m, as part of a deal being considered by the bank’s board.The high street lender is understood to have written to the bank’s largest shareholders regarding potential plans to overhaul its pay structures for Venkatakrishnan and its finance chief, Anna Cross. Continue reading...
  
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• Thousands of customers affected by outages across Three network in UK

  23-01-2025 20:11 via theguardian.com
  
  People shared their frustrations on social media after being unable to make or receive phone callsThousands of people in the UK have been left unable to make or receive phone calls due to outages across the Three network.Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, showed more than 10,000 reports of issues across the mobile network on Thursday. Continue reading...
  
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• Almost 40 firms banned from installing UK insulation amid botched jobs outcry

  23-01-2025 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Schemes backed by previous government to improve energy efficiency have left homeowners unable to sellAlmost 40 building companies have been blocked by the government from installing insulation amid a growing outcry over the profusion of botched jobs across the UK.Ministers also announced that any homes found to have received botched insulation would have the issues put right by the installer responsible at no extra cost to the homeowner. Continue reading...
  
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• Purdue Pharma and Sacklers reach new $7.4bn settlement over opioids crisis

  23-01-2025 19:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Settlement resolves thousands of lawsuits alleging Oxycontin caused addiction crisisThe Sackler family, which owns the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a settlement to lawsuits arising from the opioid epidemic.The sprawling deal, agreed between Purdue Pharma, Sackler family members involved in its ownership, thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, and state and local governments, is among the largest settlements of its kind. Continue reading...
  
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• Of course there’s a bosses’ backlash over workers’ rights. Starmer must face them down | Polly Toynbee

  23-01-2025 18:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Business leaders may thunder about job cuts, but their threats could backfire: union membership is only growingWhat a perverse act of defiance – two fingers up to government policy by a major company. Bidfood is one of the largest food distributors in the UK, with 26 depots supplying about 40,000 institutions and food service companies, including Manchester United, Subway and Five Guys. What’s more, it supplies NHS trusts, the army, prisons and schools and the royal household. Yet it
  
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• Ben Jennings on Rachel Reeves’s obsession with economic growth – cartoon

  23-01-2025 17:58 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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• How the ‘forever tote’ became the It bag du jour

  23-01-2025 17:10 via theguardian.com
  
  The original cotton totes have a ‘disarmingly short’ life cycle – so demand is high for a more environmentally friendly versionThis year’s It bag isn’t made by any of the usual designers. And if this bag could talk, it wouldn’t say “calf leather” so much as “wash me at 40C”. What’s more, in an ideal world, you would never want to buy another again.The “forever tote” is big business. Usually made from calico, an unbleac
  
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• What’s the point of Davos when even the rich are fed up with the super-rich? | Zoe Williams

  23-01-2025 15:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Rachel Reeves told the elites gathered in Switzerland she was relaxed about ‘wealth creation’. She’s in the minority on thatRachel Reeves might give the impression of being someone who’s never late for social engagements, but she is increasingly late to the party. At a breakfast event on the second day of Davos, after she’d spelled out her faith in artificial intelligence and a high-skilled workforce, someone asked Britain’s chancellor how she felt about &ldqu
  
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• DWP bank account checks could target people on these four benefits

  23-01-2025 15:17 via express.co.uk
  
  New powers will allow the DWP to take cash directly from a person's bank account if they owe money.
  
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• State pensioners given £4,375 from DWP after winter fuel cut

  23-01-2025 15:14 via express.co.uk
  
  Pensioners missing out on the Winter Fuel Payment can claim up to £4,375 from the DWP.
  
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• UK family awarded thousands over stale croissants and ‘mouldy’ hotel in France

  23-01-2025 15:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Family complained food was ‘uneatable’ and room was dirty and smelly at four-star Club Med hotel in ProvenceA British family who claimed they “went home miserable” from a luxury French hotel after they were given stale croissants and a smelly room have won thousands of pounds in damages.Damen Bennion, 52, told his children “Daddy would get things sorted” when they arrived at their holiday in Provence and found the four-star hotel did not meet their expectation
  
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• Bank of England may soon 'deliver six interest rate cuts'

  23-01-2025 14:34 via express.co.uk
  
  Goldman Sachs has issued a new forecast that UK interest rates would fall from the current figure of 4.75 percent to 3.25 percent by spring of 2026.
  
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• Bank launches new savings account with 'excellent' 4.74% interest rate

  23-01-2025 14:33 via express.co.uk
  
  The savings account takes a "competitive spot" within the top tables for its sector.
  
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• HMRC issues urgent £100 warning to 340,000 Britons who need to act - could it be you?

  23-01-2025 14:23 via express.co.uk
  
  Penalties will increase the longer HMRC's deadline is ignored.
  
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• Lloyds Bank '12 month' warning over savings account with big rate drop

  23-01-2025 13:34 via express.co.uk
  
  Lloyds has issued guidance after a customer contacted the bank with a query about how to open a new account.
  
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• Martin Lewis says 'I've got a warning' to people with debit cards instead of credit cards

  23-01-2025 13:20 via express.co.uk
  
  Money expert Martin Lewis told his viewers "I've got a warning" over debit cards.
  
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• Plea for U-turn on Reeves decision to hit pension pots with inheritance tax

  23-01-2025 13:08 via express.co.uk
  
  The move could mean that the HMRC grabs more than 60 percent of the value of some pension nest eggs in a tax double whammy.
  
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• Tax the rich – do it now. Start with me | Dale Vince

  23-01-2025 12:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Across the Atlantic, we see more clearly than ever what happens when the extreme wealth of super-rich men becomes an attack on the public goodI have joined more than 370 millionaires from 22 countries in signing a letter calling on our political leaders to tackle the cost of extreme wealth by taxing the super-rich – people like me.The letter has been delivered to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where more than 60 heads of state have gathered. That includes Donald Trump, who will join vi
  
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• Eliminate pesky draughts around the home 'in seconds' by completing one simple task

  23-01-2025 12:01 via express.co.uk
  
  It's never ideal when the house gets a little draughty. Luckily, you can rid the problem easily by using a simple tool.
  
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• Share your experience of working and paying into a pension

  23-01-2025 10:38 via theguardian.com
  
  We’d like to find out how actively involved people are in saving for their pensionWe are interested in finding out more about different pension systems around the world and how engaged people are with their savings plan.If you are still working, how actively are you involved in your pension and do you think it will be enough when you retire? If not, what are your plans for when you stop working? What, if anything, do you think you will get from your state pension? Continue reading...
  
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• Why is AI so thirsty? – podcast

  23-01-2025 04:00 via theguardian.com
  Keir Starmer plans to rapidly increase the amount of artificial intelligence used in the public sector. But what is the environmental cost? Helena Horton reportsLast week, Keir Starmer announced his plans to use artificial intelligence to drive “incredible change in our country”. Part of the strategy is to create “AI growth zones”, including one in Culham, Oxfordshire.The decision caught the attention of the Guardian’s environment reporter Helena Horton. Continue re
  
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