Financial news

• Vodafone terminates contracts of 12 franchisees who joined £120m lawsuit

  14-06-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Telecoms group says it strongly refutes claim by 62 franchisees that it ‘unjustly enriched’ itself at their expenseVodafone has terminated the contracts of 12 franchisees who have continued running the brand’s high street stores while also being part of a £120m high court claim against the telecoms group.The legal case was launched in December, when 62 franchisees claimed Vodafone had “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small busi
  
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• Letting banks loose is back on the agenda as UK politicians chase growth at any cost

  14-06-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour has helped get ball rolling by lifting the bankers’ bonus cap but we have seen before how this play endsAs the old ways of turning a profit become more difficult – from assembling cars to selling soap powder – politicians of all stripes want the City to inject some dynamism into the economy.From Labour to Reform, the siren call of London’s financial district is strong. If only, they ask, the wheels of the banking industry could be cranked to spin faster, surely muc
  
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• Ben Ainslie’s choppy seas: SailGP, the America’s Cup and a split with Ineos

  14-06-2025 16:16 via theguardian.com
  
  The Olympic great is rebuilding after a messy divorce with billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, all while trying to bring SailGP to the masses and win the sport’s ultimate prizeJust off Manhattan last weekend, a dozen 50ft catamarans soared across the water at speeds of up to 52mph. Navigating a precariously tight course, in the shadow of the city’s myriad skyscrapers, teams battled challenging conditions in a series of rapid, hectic races.“A lot of people don’t really know what Sa
  
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• DWP confirms people born before exact date will receive 2025 winter fuel payments

  14-06-2025 15:30 via express.co.uk
  
  The development comes days after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed this week that nine million people who had the £2-300 benefit axed last winter will get it this year.
  
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• Grilled cheese shop offers Minnesotans a second chance after prison

  14-06-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Minneapolis restaurant All Square exclusively hires formerly incarcerated peopleAll Square, a neon-lit diner in Minneapolis, specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist. Variations on the menu include Jamaican jerk chicken with guava jam, brown sugar bacon doused in ranch dressing, and Granny Smith apple slices coated in brie and mozzarella.But the sandwich shop offers more than elevated comfort food. All Square, which also operates a food-truck catering service, exclusively hires
  
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• ‘There’s nothing else like it’: the Ritz is crowned best restaurant in the UK

  14-06-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Described by judges as ‘London’s most decadent dining room’, the 119-year-old venue topped the National Restaurant awards’ list this weekIt is lunchtime in central London and hungry patrons are filing into the newly crowned best restaurant in the country.This time, it is not a sparsely furnished warehouse conversion where you have to squint to see your natural wine. Nor is it a buzzy A-list hotspot, where the chefs will vet your social media before you have even arrived.
  
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• UK broadcasters hail rare win over Netflix in battle for streaming ads

  14-06-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Homes that watch with ads are ‘lighter’ viewers consuming up to 40% less content on some servicesShows such as Netflix’s TV history-making Adolescence and Disney’s romp Rivals are among the latest hits to continue the subscriber juggernaut, as the US streamers continue to mount pressure on UK TV broadcasters.However, research reveals that a new breed of viewers being banked on to drive their next era of growth are watching up to 40% less content on some services, giving t
  
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• ‘The city is being hollowed out’: the billionaire landlord locked in a David v Goliath battle for London’s West End

  14-06-2025 12:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Dubbed ‘Britain’s meanest landlord’, Asif Aziz is fighting it out with a tiny cinema that counts Christopher Nolan, Paul Mescal and other Hollywood heroes as fans. How did the capital’s cultural landmarks end up under the thumb of the super-rich elite?When London’s Prince Charles Cinema has something to say, it declares it with large black lettering across its marquee. Once, during a summer heatwave, it beckoned punters with a blunt: SOD THE SUNSHINE COME SIT IN THE
  
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• ‘Venice is worn out’: locals see Jeff Bezos wedding as symbol of city’s ills

  14-06-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  City leaders claim days-long event will bring in riches but opponents say it will not benefit ordinary VenetiansMarta Sottoriva, a teacher in Venice, has tirelessly campaigned for various causes in her cherished lagoon city, from railing against giant cruise ships to battling soaring rents. Now she is busy preparing banners, handing out flyers and shouting through megaphones in squares as she joins dozens of activists in whipping up resistance to the “umpteenth gigantic event” she sa
  
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• Labour rebellion over DWP PIP cuts 13-week rule

  14-06-2025 10:03 via express.co.uk
  Fewer people will receive the benefit and some backbenchers are not happy
  
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• There hasn’t been a ‘big chancellor’ since Osborne: IFS chief gives final mark

  14-06-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As he steps down after 14 years, Paul Johnson says politicians and voters refuse to accept economic tradeoffs“In my lifetime, who have been the big chancellors?” says Paul Johnson, as he prepares to hang up his spreadsheets as the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. “You’ve had Healey, Lawson, Clarke, Brown. Arguably Osborne. We haven’t had one since then. They’re the long-lasting ones.”The fact that Rachel Reeves is not on that list will elici
  
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• Brits could get major 32-year council tax refund says Martin Lewis

  14-06-2025 08:01 via express.co.uk
  Hundreds of thousands of homes are estimated to be paying too much.
  
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• Workers in UK need to embrace AI or risk being left behind, minister says

  14-06-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Peter Kyle calls on employees and businesses to act now to get to grips with technology amid forecasts of job lossesWorkers in the UK should turn their trepidation over AI into “exhilaration” by giving it a try or they risk being left behind by those who have, the technology secretary has said.Peter Kyle called on employees and businesses to “act now” on getting to grips with the tech, with the generational gap in usage needing only two and a half hours of training to bri
  
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• M&S ‘praying for sun’ but full recovery from cyber-attack unlikely this summer

  14-06-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Shoppers report low availability as retailer prioritises clothing in partial resumption of online servicesThe bosses at Marks & Spencer will surely be praying for sun.As UK temperatures rise over the coming week, M&S will be hoping it prompts shoppers to fill their virtual baskets with shorts, swimwear and sandals to get its summer sales back on track. Continue reading...
  
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• These two groups 'have to apply' for winter fuel payment, expert says

  14-06-2025 07:49 via express.co.uk
  The £300 payments will automatically be made in November and December this year - though some people may have to check their details with the DWP
  
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• Labour ‘staking everything’ on billions in investment to reverse UK’s decline

  14-06-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Angela Rayner in race to persuade housing associations to take on social housing projectsLabour is “staking everything” on using billions of pounds of investment to reverse Britain’s decline, Angela Rayner has said, promising people would feel the housing crisis ease by the end of the parliament.The UK housing secretary is now in a race to persuade housing associations to take on social housing projects, with nearly £40bn for affordable and social homes to be s
  
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• HMRC urges certain parents to contact them over child's education

  14-06-2025 07:00 via express.co.uk
  HMRC has issued a warning to all parents with children who are currently sitting their GCSE exams
  
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• Tax code error on your P60 could mean you are owed £1,500 in overpaid taxes

  14-06-2025 06:30 via express.co.uk
  Experts have detailed how to check if you are affected.
  
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• NS&I update for 'any customers' affected by Premium Bonds payments issue

  14-06-2025 06:00 via express.co.uk
  A person said they faced the same problem using two different bank accounts.
  
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• Major change to impact two million UK drivers

  14-06-2025 03:00 via express.co.uk
  Ministers have announced a new rollout across England
  
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• Trump signs executive order to clear way for Nippon-US Steel deal

  14-06-2025 02:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies hail ‘historic partnership’ to bring ‘massive investment’ but details of agreement remain unclearDonald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in US Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a “national security agreement” submitted by the federal government.Trump’s order did not detail the terms of the national security agreement. But US Steel and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement
  
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