Financial news

• Holiday firms reporting surge in demand for long-haul breaks

  18-02-2025 20:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Thailand and Vietnam now often seen as ‘more cost-effective’ than visiting traditional European favouritesHoliday companies are reporting a surge in demand for long-haul breaks amid claims that the likes of Thailand and Vietnam are now often “more cost-effective” than visiting traditional European favourites.On Tuesday, the travel brand Kuoni said long-haul bookings for the year ahead were 14% higher than at the same point in 2024. Continue reading...
  
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• Five water companies appeal against Ofwat’s curb on bill rises

  18-02-2025 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Anglian Water, Southern Water, Northumbrian Water, Wessex Water and South East Water ask regulator to refer its ruling to the CMABusiness live – latest updatesFive more water companies have asked the UK’s competition watchdog to allow them to raise bills even higher than they have been allowed to the end of the decade.Southern Water, Anglian Water, South East Water, Northumbrian Water and Wessex Water said on Tuesday that they had asked Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wale
  
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• Energy bills in Great Britain forecast to rise by 5% from April

  18-02-2025 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Households face greater than expected rise in Ofgem price cap after Europe’s gas storage levels slump, analysts sayBusiness live – latest updatesMillions of households face a greater than expected increase to their energy bills of about 5% from April after a slump in Europe’s gas storage levels caused market prices to climb, according to analysts.The average gas and electricity bill for a typical household in Great Britain is expected to rise by £85 from April to £1
  
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• ‘It feels enveloping and calming’: the London house wrapped in cork

  18-02-2025 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Designer Nina Woodcroft has created an energy-efficient family home that is also a useful conversation starterFor most homeowners a request from a passerby to touch the exterior of their house would probably raise eyebrows. But for the owner of Nina’s House, which is covered with unusual and striking cork insulation panels, it is not only a common occurrence but is welcomed.The conversations may start with curiosity but much of the time lead to lengthy, passionate discussions on how to mak
  
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• EasyJet hammers home that there will be no refund

  18-02-2025 09:30 via theguardian.com
  It warned us of 11 hours a day building work at our booked ‘tranquil’ hotel and we wanted our money backI booked a £609 package to Spain through easyJet Holidays. Shortly afterwards, easyJet notified me that there were building works at the hotel. I was given the option of going ahead with the trip, or changing the holiday and paying any difference in price. Equivalent packages cost more, and since I’ve been under a lot of stress the last thing I wanted was a week on a bu
  
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• Miliband urges energy watchdog to act as typical bill could rise by more than £100 a year

  18-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Whitehall source expects bills in England, Scotland and Wales to rise by about £9 a month over the next three monthsEd Miliband has urged the energy watchdog to take swift action as it emerged that the typical energy bill could soar by more than £100 a year amid a rise in global gas prices.A Whitehall source said they expected bills in England, Scotland and Wales to increase by about £9 a month over the next three months in another challenge to government plans to ta
  
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• Drivers warned of £1,000 fine and your vehicle could be seized over this offence

  18-02-2025 03:00 via express.co.uk
  
  The maximum amount you can be fined was increased in recent years
  
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• Irish figures show €6bn drop in trade with Great Britain

  18-02-2025 01:29
  
  Value of imports and exports is now about €32bn, with chemical sector among those hit by Brexit red tapeTrade between Great Britain and Ireland dropped more than €6bn in 2024 as post-Brexit frictions hit shipments across the Irish Sea.The value of imports and exports between the nations fell to about €32bn last year, down from €38bn in 2023, according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.This article was amended on Tuesday 18 February 2025 to clarify that the UK remai
  
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• Support for ESG proposals at record low driven by US investors, report shows

  18-02-2025 01:01
  
  Report highlights ‘worrying retreat’ in support for shareholder resolutions on environmental and social risksSupport for shareholder proposals aimed at tackling environmental and social risks hit a record low last year, figures show, amid a “worrying retreat” by investors, particularly in the US.A report compiled by the responsible investment campaign group ShareAction found that, out of 279 environmental, social and governance (ESG) shareholder resolutions put forward at
  
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• E-scooters blamed for big jump in children caught in UK driving without insurance

  18-02-2025 01:01
  
  Hundreds of teenagers have been given an IN10 police endorsement since 2020, says road safety charityElectric scooters have been blamed for a surge in the number of children being penalised for driving without insurance.Since the start of 2020 almost 800 children aged between 13 and 16 have been given an IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for “using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks” – according to data obtained by a road safety charity. Continue r
  
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