Financial news

• Zipcar, world’s biggest car-sharing company, to close UK operation

  01-12-2025 23:13 via theguardian.com
  Move by firm, owned by US group Avis Budget, will remove access to shared fleet across London at end of yearThe world’s biggest car-sharing company, Zipcar, has said it will close its UK operation, removing access to its shared fleet across London at the end of this year.The company, owned by the US car rental group Avis Budget, said it would suspend new bookings through its app after 31 December, pending the outcome of a consultation on possible redundancies. The UK operating company had
  
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• OBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of budget document

  01-12-2025 20:48 via theguardian.com
  Richard Hughes takes ‘full responsibility’ for watchdog error as Starmer attempts to secure chancellor’s positionThe chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has resigned after a damning internal inquiry into the leak that threw Rachel Reeves’s budget into chaos described it as the “worst failure” in the institution’s history.The departure of Richard Hughes, who said he took “full responsibility” for the watchdog’s failure to handl
  
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• Resident doctors in England to go on strike in run-up to Christmas

  01-12-2025 20:07 via theguardian.com
  Five days of strike action over jobs and pay to take place from 17 to 22 December Thousands of doctors in England are to go on strike again this month, in a dispute over pay and job security.The British Medical Association has announced that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – will begin a five-day strike action that will run from 7am on 17 December until 7am on 22 December. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on OBR v the Treasury: ministers have embraced the theatre of errors | Editorial

  01-12-2025 19:56 via theguardian.com
  The government is trapped between Labour’s instincts and bond traders’ demands. Sensible fixes exist, but require imagination ministers have yet shownThe confected frenzy splashed across the morning front pages from the Telegraph to the Mail is remarkable mostly for its absurdity. An outrage machine has decided that a forecast of a few billion pounds in a model that makes projections about trillions of pounds of taxes and spending is the lie of the century. We can’t predict the
  
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• India orders phone makers to preload devices with state-owned cyber safety app

  01-12-2025 19:41 via theguardian.com
  Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom usersIndia’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates.In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking
  
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• Starmer has little choice but to bind himself closer to his chancellor

  01-12-2025 19:35 via theguardian.com
  Ditching Rachel Reeves would put spotlight back on real context for decision to drop idea of breaching manifestoWhen Keir Starmer was mounting the case for the prosecution against Boris Johnson for his Partygate antics, it took almost two months and a police investigation for him to formally call for the prime minister to resign. He was of the view there was no point calling for things until they were likely to happen.This is not the philosophy of the current leader of the opposition. Since Octo
  
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• NHS to pay 25% more for innovative drugs after UK–US zero-tariff deal

  01-12-2025 19:26 via theguardian.com
  Agreement could cost NHS an extra £3bn a year, industry sources estimateThe UK has agreed to pay 25% more for new medicines by 2035 as part of a US-UK drug pricing deal that will cost an estimated additional £3bn a year.The transatlantic agreement will also see the health service in England, which currently spends £14.4bn a year on innovative therapies, double the percentage of GDP it allocates to buying such products, from 0.3% to 0.6% over the next decade. Continue reading...
  
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• Starmer defends Reeves: has she been economical with the truth? | The Latest

  01-12-2025 19:21 via theguardian.com
  The prime minister has been pushed to defend his chancellor after she was accused of lying in the run-up to the autumn budget. Rachel Reeves is alleged to have misled the public by citing bleak economic forecasts from the OBR to justify tax rises, even though the figures were more positive than she suggested. Lucy Hough is joined by Archie Bland, the head of national news Continue reading...
  
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• How the standoff between Rachel Reeves and the OBR unfolded

  01-12-2025 19:04 via theguardian.com
  Treasury’s independent economic forecaster says outlook for economy rosier than chancellor led everyone to believeOBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of Reeves’s budgetRachel Reeves has been accused of overstating the damage to the UK’s public finances from a downgrade of economic growth by the Treasury’s independent economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility.In the aftermath of last week’s budget, the focus has turned to who knew what an
  
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• Jorja Smith’s label requests share of royalties from ‘AI-cloned’ TikTok viral song

  01-12-2025 18:29 via theguardian.com
  Uncredited vocals on song I Run by British dance act Haven alleged to infringe copyright as impersonation of SmithJorja Smith’s record label has called for a share of the royalties from a TikTok-viral song that it claims used an AI-cloned version of the British singer’s voice.The song I Run, by British dance act Haven, went viral in October and was due to chart in the UK and the US after reaching No 11 on the US Spotify chart and No 25 on the platform’s global chart. Continue r
  
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• Does Labour have a death wish or does it secretly enjoy the agony of self-sabotage?

  01-12-2025 17:36 via theguardian.com
  Keir Starmer may be keen to move on from the budget megashambles, but chaos is hardwired into his partyFreud has a word for it. Thanatos. Up till now it’s been tempting to give Labour the benefit of the doubt. That being in opposition for 14 years has made them ring-rusty. That they’ve forgotten how this government thingy works. Hadn’t quite realised they were supposed to be in charge.But now it’s beginning to look like Labour has a death wish. Not that it doesn’t q
  
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• Sheffield Wednesday docked six more points for further payment failures

  01-12-2025 17:13 via theguardian.com
  Players, staff and HMRC not paid in March, May and JuneClub now bottom of Championship on -10 pointsThe Football League has confirmed Sheffield Wednesday have been handed a further six-point deduction, leaving the beleaguered club rooted to the bottom of the Championship on -10 points.Reports of the points deduction emerged on Monday morning, with the sanction in regards to the club’s failure to pay players in March, May and June this year, as well as in relation to other non-payments to s
  
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• Can Keir Starmer save Rachel Reeves? – podcast

  01-12-2025 16:54 via theguardian.com
  Pippa and Kiran discuss the prime minister’s speech on Monday and ask whether it will take attention away from allegations that the chancellor misled the public with her budget statements. Plus: chaos at Your Party’s first conference Continue reading...
  
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• Manchester-London 7am ‘ghost train’ to carry passengers after outcry over regulator’s decision

  01-12-2025 16:38 via theguardian.com
  Avanti service was to have been axed from mid-December but would have still run because of needs out of EustonThe express Manchester-London 7am Avanti service will take passengers after all, after the rail regulator conceded defeat in the face of public outcry over a ruling that would have left it running as an empty “ghost train” each day.The 7am train, the only service linking the cities in under two hours, was set to be axed from the passenger table from mid-December – but w
  
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• Swiss prosecutors file charges against Credit Suisse and UBS over ‘tuna bonds’ scandal

  01-12-2025 15:23 via theguardian.com
  Banks accused of ‘organisational deficiencies’ relating to scam that crashed Mozambique economy nearly a decade agoBusiness live –latest updatesSwitzerland’s federal prosecutor has filed charges against the failed bank Credit Suisse and its new owner, UBS, over the long-running “tuna bonds” loan scandal that crashed Mozambique’s economy nearly a decade ago.The Swiss attorney general said on Monday that it had brought money-laundering charges against an u
  
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• Airbus finds problem with fuselage panels after fixing software glitch

  01-12-2025 15:15 via theguardian.com
  Shares in French manufacturer tumble as second problem comes to light after weekend of flight disruptionAirbus has fixed most of its jets affected by a software glitch after a technical problem grounded thousands of its planes, but its shares tumbled on Monday after it discovered a separate issue with its fuselage panels.Airlines around the world cancelled and delayed flights over the weekend after the French plane manufacturer ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its A320 family of jets, more
  
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• ‘Posh-poor divide’: the rise in areas of England where wealth and deprivation appear side by side

  01-12-2025 14:38
  Data shows increase in neighbourhoods where few metres of asphalt, hedgerow, or wall can separate deep inequalityThe homes of people in Nunsthorpe, a postwar former council housing estate known locally as “The Nunny”, sit only a few metres away from their more affluent neighbours in Scartho with their conservatories and driveways.Walking between the two is almost impossible because of a 1.8-metre-high (6ft) barricade between them, which blocks off roads and walkways that link the two
  
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• UK pulls $1.15bn support for Mozambique gas project after climate and terror concerns

  01-12-2025 14:24 via theguardian.com
  TotalEnergies scheme became lightning rod for terror in region and was accused of violating human rightsBusiness live –latest updatesThe UK government has pulled a controversial $1.15bn (£870m) package of support to a giant gas project in Mozambique that has been accused of fuelling the climate crisis and deadly terror attacks in the region.The business secretary, Peter Kyle, said the UK would withdraw its export finance to the Mozambique liquified natural gas project, five years aft
  
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• The question isn’t whether the AI bubble will burst – but what the fallout will be

  01-12-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Will the bubble ravage the economy when it bursts? What will it leave of value once it pops?The California Gold Rush left an outsized imprint on America. Some 300,000 people flocked there from 1848 to 1855, from as far away as the Ottoman Empire. Prospectors massacred Indigenous people to take the gold from their lands in the Sierra Nevada mountains. And they boosted the economies of nearby states and faraway countries from whence they bought their supplies.Gold provided the motivation for Calif
  
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• The one change that worked: I used to be a compulsive shopper – until I hit upon a simple trick

  01-12-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  The minute I had any disposable income, I would spend it on things I didn’t need. Deciding to wait a day before handing over my money changed everythingOne day at work two years ago, a notification hit my phone: my paycheck had come through. It was a fair amount for someone still at university, so I did what I always did when payday arrived: I opened every shopping app on my phone. Amazon, Vinted, Etsy, Depop, Zara, you name it. Within the space of an hour, I had spent £90 on clothes
  
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• Mall-going but budget-constrained: gen-z shoppers shape the future of retail

  01-12-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Malls are popular with zoomers, but they show less brand loyalty and are happy to settle for ‘dupes’ over the real thingTikTok finds and homemade gifts, trips to the mall and the endless search for “dupes” – gen Z’s shopping habits are shaking up retail in the run-up to Christmas. And with price tags climbing and brand loyalty slipping, retailers this season must work harder to earn this generation’s dollar.Gen Z’s spending power is expected to nea
  
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• ‘It’s going much too fast’: the inside story of the race to create the ultimate AI

  01-12-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  In Silicon Valley, rival companies are spending trillions of dollars to reach a goal that could change humanity – or potentially destroy itOn the 8.49am train through Silicon Valley, the tables are packed with young people glued to laptops, earbuds in, rattling out code.As the northern California hills scroll past, instructions flash up on screens from bosses: fix this bug; add new script. There is no time to enjoy the view. These commuters are foot soldiers in the global race towards arti
  
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• Accenture dubs 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ amid shift to AI

  01-12-2025 10:52 via theguardian.com
  Consultancy’s move to embrace artificial intelligence follows Disney’s use of the term ‘imagineers’ Business live –latest updatesAccenture has reportedly begun calling its near 800,000 employees “reinventors”, as the consultancy tries to position itself as a leader in artificial intelligence.The consultancy’s chief executive, Julie Sweet, has already started referring to staff by the new label and the business is now pushing for the term to be used
  
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• Virgin Media fined £23.8m for putting vulnerable customers at risk

  01-12-2025 09:23 via theguardian.com
  Company failed to protect thousands of people switching from analogue to digital landline, Ofcom rulesBusiness live –latest updatesVirgin Media has been fined £23.8m for putting thousands of vulnerable people “at risk of harm” when switching them from an analogue to a digital landline.The media watchdog, Ofcom, found the company failed to protect people who relied on telecare alarms to call for help, after Virgin Media self-reported a number of “serious incidents&rd
  
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• Wood-burning stoves could face partial ban in Labour’s updated environment plan

  01-12-2025 09:05
  Exclusive: Pollution targets set out alongside nature recovery projects to allay concerns over housebuildingWood-burning stoves are likely to face tighter restrictions in England under new pollution targets set as part of an updated environmental plan released by ministers on Monday.Speaking to the Guardian before the publication of the updated environmental improvement plan (EIP), the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said it would boost nature recovery in a number of areas, replacing an EI
  
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• Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions | George Monbiot

  01-12-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courtsHow do you reckon our political system works? Perhaps something like this. We elect MPs. They vote on bills. If a majority is achieved, the bills becomes law. The law is upheld by the courts. End of story. Well, that’s how it used to work. No longer.Today, foreign corporations, or the oligarchs who own them, can sue governments for the laws they pass,
  
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• UK energy suppliers’ customer service: a tragedy (and a farce) in three acts

  01-12-2025 08:00
  Weird tales of meter mix-ups, incomprehensible bills, and to foment the drama, a teenager threatened with a trashed credit ratingOn a dark winter’s night, what could be more engrossing than my latest tragifarce about energy firms, guaranteed to set spines tingling? Continue reading...
  
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• From star jumps to job cuts: how Ovo Energy fell from grace

  01-12-2025 08:00
  One-time wunderkind of UK energy market faces battle for new investment – but it continues to pay out millions to its founder’s companyAs Britons braced for freezing wintry weather in early months of the 2022 energy cost crisis, the country’s fourth largest gas and electricity supplier urged struggling households to try “doing a few star jumps” to keep warm.This poorly judged suggestion, alongside others such as “having a cuddle with your pets”, was bran
  
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• UK refrains from hitting high street on Black Friday as fears grow over economy

  01-12-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Data comes as KPMG highlights soft consumer spending as one factor likely to hold back growth in 2026Shoppers held back from visiting high streets over Black Friday, data shows, amid fears weak consumer spending will put the brakes on economic growth in 2026.Visitors to all UK shopping destinations were down 2% on Friday and 7.2% compared with the equivalent days last year, according to the monitoring company MRI Software, with locations near central London offices among the few to experience a
  
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• Rising Tide climate activists stop ships from entering world’s largest coal port - video

  01-12-2025 03:31 via theguardian.com
  Activists blocked two more coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle on the fourth day of the Rising Tide protest, bringing the total number of ships turned around by campaigners this weekend to three.Thousands of people have gathered at Rising Tide’s annual climate protest at the world’s largest coal port. The blockade began on Thursday and will continue until Tuesday. Hundreds have kayaked into the port, with many more watching on from the beachRising Tide protest: climate act
  
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