Financial news

• A state clean-up may be the best bet for Thames Water | Nils Pratley

  12-02-2025 19:56 via theguardian.com
  Temporary nationalisation isn’t guaranteed to deliver shock needed, but upgrading operations is priority lost in legal dramaWill the high court allow Thames Water to load another £3bn of debt on to its already unsustainable pile of £19bn? Will the company appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority to try to bag bigger bill rises than the pre-inflation 35% permitted by the regulator? Does special administration, AKA temporary nationalisation, loom at the end of the end of n
  
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• Sky Mobile customers urged to send text to cut bills after price rise announced

  12-02-2025 18:05 via express.co.uk
  
  Sky Mobile customers have been hit with a price rise and are being urged to take steps to cut their bills.
  
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• Brits told 'loyalty doesn’t pay' as over 30 savings providers slash interest on accounts

  12-02-2025 18:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The Bank of England cut central interest rates by 0.25% last week, prompting banks and building societies to start lowering returns.
  
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• Exact dates to take out Sky TV and broadband to avoid price rise

  12-02-2025 17:45 via express.co.uk
  
  Sky TV and broadband customers can avoid the 2025 price rise entirely by taking out a new contract at the right time.
  
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• Martin Lewis issues urgent warning and says your ‘money may be locked away’

  12-02-2025 17:42 via express.co.uk
  
  Money expert Martin Lewis is urging people to take action and says it's 'more important than a will'.
  
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• Free bus travel for over 60s in England plan key update as Government responds

  12-02-2025 17:38 via express.co.uk
  
  Campaigners say it's unfair people in England don't get the same travel right as those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
  
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• New inflation numbers are at odds with Donald Trump’s promise to lower prices

  12-02-2025 17:26 via theguardian.com
  
  The president repeatedly claimed he would lower prices during the election campaign, but that’s not an easy taskInflation gains speed despite Trump vow to ‘rapidly’ cut pricesAs tens of millions of Americans prepared to watch the Super Bowl this weekend, Donald Trump sat for the customary pre-game presidential interview.Trump was elected after pledging to bring down prices fast as much of the country grappled with the cost of living after years of heightened inflation. So when
  
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• Rachel Reeves claims yet another victim - how does she sleep at night?

  12-02-2025 15:32 via express.co.uk
  
  It wasn't a big item on the news. Just the death of a 140-year-old British business. No prizes for guessing whodunnit.
  
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• Warning as UK Foreign Office issues new 'until April 30' travel alert

  12-02-2025 15:19 via express.co.uk
  
  The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said some Brits who are overseas need to act quickly.
  
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• Martin Lewis' MSE predicts who will get £100 Nationwide payments in 2025

  12-02-2025 14:05 via express.co.uk
  
  In recent years, Nationwide has issued what it calls a "fairer share" bonus to millions of customers
  
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• Millions of ISA customers issued warning over March, April and May cash balances

  12-02-2025 12:45 via express.co.uk
  
  The ISA allowance is the maximum amount of money you can save or invest in a tax year without having to pay tax on the interest or returns you earn.
  
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• Rachel Reeves could soon hike income tax rates, experts warn

  12-02-2025 12:27 via express.co.uk
  
  Britain's leading economic think tanks have sounded the alarm
  
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• Car finance scandal: lender sets aside £165m for possible compensation costs

  12-02-2025 11:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Estimate by Close Brothers follows ‘thorough assessment’ of court case’s impact on UK vehicle loan industryOne of the UK’s biggest providers of motor finance has warned it expects to set aside up to £165m in the first half of its financial year to cover possible legal and compensation costs as a result of the car loans commission scandal.Close Brothers said it had come up with the estimate after a “thorough assessment” of the long-running case, although
  
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• My no-plastic life: I tried to cut out single-use items for a month – and it almost broke me

  12-02-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sourcing fruit and veg without wrapping was hard enough, but finding an eco-friendly way to brush my teeth was its own world of pain. And as for my 6pm crisps fix – forget itThe scale of plastic pollution is so terrifying, I mostly try to avoid thinking about it, but some facts stop me in my tracks. According to the UN Foundation, there is already enough plastic in the oceans to fill 5m shipping containers – and if production continues at its current rate, by the middle of this centu
  
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• Major bank launches sub 4% interest mortgages in start of potential ‘price war’

  12-02-2025 10:58 via express.co.uk
  
  The move marks a "significant shift" in mortgage interest rates, with customers to benefit from 3.99% deals.
  
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• DWP warning as State Pension could jump up by £917

  12-02-2025 10:58 via express.co.uk
  
  Under new forecasts, the State Pension could rocket by £917 a year by April 2026
  
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• Income tax threshold raise update as petition passes huge barrier

  12-02-2025 09:09 via express.co.uk
  
  A surge in support to end the freeze and raise the lowest rate from £12,570 to £20,000 will be considered for a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament
  
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• Health insurer Vitality is first to offer UK members weight-loss jabs

  12-02-2025 08:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Company will give up to 20% off treatments such as Wegovy and Mounjaro through private coverVitality has become the first health insurer in the UK to offer customers discounted weight loss treatments for up to a year through its health cover.Vitality, the UK’s third-largest health insurer behind Bupa and Axa, with 1.9 million members, says it will offer discounts of up to 20% for medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – which are popular but pricey – to members, based on their
  
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• Seven ways to save cash by making the most of the food you have at home

  12-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Save money and cut waste with our tips, from pickling and fermenting to keeping an inventory and careful storageFirst, you must know what you have on hand. Do a thorough inventory of your pantry and make a list of items, noting their expiry dates. Operate a “fifo” rotation system: first in, first out. Arrange items so those with the shortest shelf life are at the front. Continue reading...
  
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• EE won’t refund in full although my daughter’s mobile was reported stolen

  12-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Fraudsters’ activity leaves us facing £1,000 costs but telecoms firm will only refund halfIn March my daughter’s phone was stolen at a tube station. She went straight to a friend’s flat and called EE to cancel the sim and Apple to block the phone. The next day she bought a new handset and obtained a replacement sim.I pay the bill and since the theft I have been charged for almost £1,000 worth of Google Play costs over the four months from March to June. Neither my d
  
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• Aberdeen named cheapest city for single homebuyers in Great Britain

  12-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Average one- or two-bedroom home is £119,000 in Scottish city, as Liverpool tops list in England and Blaenau Gwent in WalesBoost for UK borrowers as Santander ‘fires starting gun’ on mortgage price warAberdeen in Scotland is the most affordable city for single people to buy a home in Great Britain, analysis of national property data shows, with the average one- or two-bedroom home valued at just under £120,000.Monthly mortgage payments in the city came in at £510 a
  
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• ‘Wild west’ UK holiday park industry facing legal action over mis-sold caravans

  12-02-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Group claims compensation after allegedly losing thousands from over-inflated caravan prices and pitch feesCampaigners have called on the UK government to take action on the “wild west” holiday park industry, as nearly 2,000 people join a group legal action alleging they have lost thousands of pounds on mis-sold static caravans and unfair pitch fees.Holiday Park Action Group, which is leading the legal action, says the number of claimants is growing by the day, with people reporting
  
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• Unpaid carer wins overpayment penalty case against DWP

  12-02-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Andrea Tucker has overturned the demand for £4,600 in carer’s allowance overpayments for alleged breaches in benefit rulesUnpaid carer Andrea Tucker has won a legal victory against the Department for Work and Pensions, overturning its demand she repay £4,600 for alleged breaches in benefit rules.Tucker, a part-time charity shop worker who until recently cared full-time for her elderly mother, said the tribunal ruling had left her “stunned and relieved” after months
  
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• Nationwide warns Reeves against cutting tax breaks on cash Isas

  12-02-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  City wants more investment in stocks but move could reduce availability of mortgages for first-time buyers Britain’s biggest building society has waded into a row over whether the government should cut tax breaks on cash Isas, arguing such a move would reduce the availability of mortgages for first-time buyers.In recent days it has emerged that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is being lobbied by City firms to scale back or ditch tax breaks on the popular savings accounts, which are used by
  
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• 'We will make mistakes': Musk pressed on claim $50m of condoms sent to Gaza – video

  12-02-2025 06:20 via theguardian.com
  Speaking from the Oval Office, Elon Musksaid 'some of the things I say will be incorrect' as he appeared to walk back a claim that $50m in condoms were sent to Gaza in the Middle East, after a journalist said they were in fact sent to Gaza in Mozambique to protect people against HIV. Musk said his so-called 'department of government efficiency' works closely with agency heads and he speaks with US president Donald Trump to 'double-check things'King Abdullah rebuffs Trump’s push for Jordan
  
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• Exact date as Nationwide to change fees for millions of customers

  12-02-2025 05:19 via express.co.uk
  
  A raft of changes will come into force between now and May, Nationwide said.
  
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• Rogue landlords in England to face curbs on housing benefit income, says Labour

  12-02-2025 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Deputy PM Angela Rayner announces plans as she presents £350m funding increase for affordable housingRogue landlords in England will face curbs on how much housing benefit they can receive if their properties are substandard, Angela Rayner has said as she announced an extra £350m for affordable housing.The deputy prime minister presented the funding increase, adding to £500m already announced at the budget, as part of the government’s drive to build 1.5m homes. Continue r
  
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