Financial news

• Prospect of £5 pint leaves bitter taste for some pubgoers

  24-03-2025 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Some in West Yorkshire town of Otley think people will stop going out while others are resigned to ever rising prices“It makes sense to Rachel Reeves, I don’t know if it makes sense to anyone else,” said a grumbling pub-goer on hearing the news that pints are expected to rise above the £5 mark for the first time in history next month.According to research by Frontier Economics commissioned by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the average price of a pint of beer
  
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• Was Heathrow’s response to fire at a substation really the best it could do?

  24-03-2025 19:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Given the airport had uninterrupted power from two other substations, did it have to shut down for long?Transport secretary says she’d ‘struggle to sleep’ after report Heathrow boss went to bed amid crisisThe 10-page risk report within Heathrow airport’s latest annual report does not mention North Hyde substation, or even substations in general, but it does describe the company’s approach to managing risks.Heathrow rightly has “no appetite” for safety ri
  
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• Teachers launch legal action over pension delays stalling divorces

  24-03-2025 17:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Union says hold-ups in issuing pension transfer values causing ‘intolerable strain’Teachers have launched group legal action against the government after pension processing delays left them unable to get divorced.Staff have been caused “intolerable strain” because of delays and maladministration by the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme (TPS), according to the NASUWT, which is launching the legal claim on behalf of affected members. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect

  24-03-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Three people tell how knock-on impact of losing Pip on carer’s allowance and other benefits will affect their familiesWhen ministers announced an overhaul to welfare payments last week that will result in an estimated 1.2 million disabled people losing eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip), they did not mention the sweeping knock-on effects.Because Pip is a “gateway”, any disabled person who loses the benefit will not only lose that income but other entitlements
  
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• Here’s how much I pay for childcare – and what I’d do instead if it were free

  24-03-2025 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Parents explain the financial burden childcare places on them and how it hampers their families’ futuresHow did childcare in the US become so absurdly expensive?Childcare in the US has long been broken, forcing parents to forgo work opportunities, scramble to piece together a patchwork of care, and pay enormous amounts of money that often rival their rent or mortgage. Guardian US readers told us of their struggles, and how life could be different if there was a better system in place. Cont
  
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• Spring statement: What to expect – Politics Weekly Westminster

  24-03-2025 14:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey walk us through what we can expect to hear when Rachel Reeves makes her spring statement on Wednesday. With the government facing downgraded growth forecasts, rising borrowing costs and the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs, how can it boost the economy and save public services? And how will major spending cuts go down with the party and the public? Continue reading...
  
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• How did childcare in the US become so absurdly expensive?

  24-03-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Families are taking out lines of credit, working second jobs, commuting for hours and forgoing careers. It doesn’t need to be this way, experts sayHere’s how much I pay for childcare – and what I’d do instead if it were freeAlmost 20 years ago, Danielle Atkinson was invited to interview for a job on a national political campaign. It was a dream role, and although it would mean leaving Michigan, Atkinson felt the opportunity was worth it.Then, she learned she was pregnant.
  
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• Power switching: banks compete for current account customers with cash payouts

  24-03-2025 11:30 via theguardian.com
  
  If you’re thinking of changing bank, several are keen for your business: but time is running out to take advantage of some dealsSome of the biggest high-street banks are eager for people to ditch their existing current accounts and switch to their offerings – with the promise of cash bonuses of up to £175 in return.NatWest has joined First Direct, Lloyds and Nationwide in promising healthy one-off payments for new accounts. Continue reading...
  
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• Motability: is it true that the disability scheme is taking UK taxpayers for a ride?

  24-03-2025 10:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Understanding the rightwing backlash over the government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get carsThis article is an extract from our First Edition newsletter. Sign up hereMotability really ought to be a boring subject: a government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get a car by using a portion of their benefits to pay for the lease. But over the past week, anyone who had never heard of Motability would have got a more lurid impression.First reported in the Daily Mai
  
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• Teachers’ Pensions used to check if I was alive. Now it seems to assume I’m dead

  24-03-2025 09:30 via theguardian.com
  
  I have to answer their letters to confirm my continued existence. This time the letter didn’t arrive – and my pension has stoppedI contacted you a year ago after you wrote about teachers not receiving their pensions because of assumptions that they were dead. I had received six letters essentially informing me that my payments would be stopped unless I confirmed that I was still alive.Recently the payments did stop, only this time I had not received any letter. It only arrived a
  
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• Visual analysis: How the markets boxed in Rachel Reeves

  24-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The chancellor lacks room to manoeuvre before her spring statement thanks to the cost of debt interest payments
  Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement on Wednesday against a backdrop of weak economic growth, rising global uncertainty and higher government borrowing costs.After a turbulent period since her October budget, she is expected to argue the world has changed. Few places illustrate that more clearly than the financial markets, where conditions have turned against the chancellor.
  
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• From TV to toilet rolls: how to save on subscriptions

  24-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Used wisely, subscriptions can be a boon – but forget about them and they could cost you in the long runYou can normally only sign up for free trials once, but there are lots of them to work your way through, especially when it comes to music, audiobooks and TV and film streaming. Continue reading...
  
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• German blacklisted and unable to get job after London criminal steals ID

  24-03-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rami Battikh, 24, got caught up in five-year nightmare after stolen ID card was used in string of crimesA young German citizen has told how his life has been destroyed after a London criminal used his ID to rack up a string of convictions that now appear on the German database against his name.The phantom record has left the 24-year-old in despair, effectively blacklisted and unable to get a job for the past four years in his native Bonn, stymying a budding career and the start of his adult life
  
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