Financial news

• Keir Starmer told closer EU trade ties ‘strategic necessity’ for UK firms

  22-12-2025 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Labour urged to accelerate reset with Brussels as many exporters struggling to trade in the EU after Brexit dealKeir Starmer’s government has been told a closer EU trade deal is a “strategic necessity” for companies in Britain as growing numbers of exporters find it tougher to do business under the UK’s post-Brexit agreement.Calling on Labour to accelerate its reset with Brussels, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the UK’s existing trade and cooperation ag
  
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• Vince Zampella, co-creator of Call of Duty video game series, dies aged 55

  22-12-2025 22:10 via theguardian.com
  Game developer, who was also involved in Medal of Honor and Titanfall, was killed in a car crashVince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty video game series, has died aged 55.The head of the video game developer Respawn Entertainment and the co-founder of Infinity Ward was killed in a car crash in California, NBC Los Angeles reported. Continue reading...
  
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• Post Office and Fujitsu had deal 19 years ago to fix Horizon errors, paper shows

  22-12-2025 21:47 via theguardian.com
  Document casts doubt on postal service claims it was unaware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfallsThe Post Office made a confidential deal with Fujitsu 19 years ago to fix errors in post office operators’ accounts, a document has revealed.The document casts doubt on claims made by the postal service that they were not aware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfalls. Continue reading...
  
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• No Christmas gifts yet? Don’t panic – here’s your festive survival guide

  22-12-2025 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Skip the Christmas scramble with our last-minute decor and gifting hacks; Jo Malone spills her shopping secrets; and the best tequila for festive tipples with a twist• Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereTen years ago and newly married, I was invited to spend Christmas with my husband’s extended family. “We’re not doing gifts this year, there are too many of us,” my husband told me in early December when I queried who to buy for.So, I show
  
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• Boiling lobsters alive to be banned in UK animal cruelty crackdown

  22-12-2025 19:31 via theguardian.com
  Move is part of a long-awaited Labour strategy including outlawing hen cages and ending puppy farmingBoiling lobsters while they are alive and conscious will be banned as part of a government strategy to improve animal welfare in England.Government ministers say that “live boiling is not an acceptable killing method” for crustaceans and alternative guidance will be published. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour calls to rejoin EU customs union will become harder for Starmer to resist

  22-12-2025 19:20 via theguardian.com
  Wes Streeting’s wish for deeper trade relations to help fight against Farage is shared by growing number of MPsWhen Keir Starmer stood on the Labour conference stage in 2018 and defied Jeremy Corbyn to call for a second Brexit referendum with remain as an option, it put him in pole position to become the next Labour leader.Starmer must now feel a sense of deja vu watching Wes Streeting, the most out-and-out pretender for the leadership, follow a similar playbook. In an interview over the w
  
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• City & Guilds cuts will impact future of vocational training | Letter

  22-12-2025 18:33 via theguardian.com
  Michael Robinson says the planned changes to the qualifications body will erode our capacity to train skilled workers when our country needs them mostThe changes at City & Guilds that your article describes are concerning (City & Guilds to shrink UK workforce amid £22m cost-cutting drive, 14 December). For decades, City & Guilds has helped young people and adults get the skills they need to build their lives. That legacy now feels like it’s hanging by a thread d
  
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• Let me tell you the good things the government has done in 2025 – because it certainly won’t | Polly Toynbee

  22-12-2025 18:06 via theguardian.com
  It’s all there: more apprenticeships, more rights for workers and renters – and most of all, a focus on children. What a shame Labour wavers about saying soWarning. This column contains good news, when it is an (un)truth widely acknowledged that only grim stories attract public attention. News must be something someone somewhere doesn’t want printed, says the old maxim. Well, battalions of interests want to suppress good news: the overwhelmingly Tory or Reform UK press and anti
  
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• ‘Money mule’ cases surge as criminals target young people on social media

  22-12-2025 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Fake job adverts and promises of quick money are drawing thousands into type of money launderingCriminals are increasingly recruiting young people on social media to become “money mules”, with official figures showing that cases are rising sharply.“Money muling” is a type of money laundering in which criminals move stolen or fraudulent money via an intermediary, who receives it in their bank account before transferring it to another, obtaining a commission along the way.
  
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• Rachel Reeves sets early March date for spring statement as OBR prepares forecast

  22-12-2025 17:35 via theguardian.com
  Treasury announces 3 March date to prioritise ‘stability and certainty’ after criticism of buildup to November budgetRachel Reeves has set a date of 3 March for an early spring statement, as Labour attempts to draw a line under a year of tax speculation that business leaders blamed for damaging Britain’s economy.Announcing a date to prioritise “stability and certainty”, the Treasury said the chancellor had asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare
  
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• Larry Ellison gives personal guarantee for Paramount takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

  22-12-2025 17:13 via theguardian.com
  WBD had urged shareholders to reject $108.4bn hostile takeover bid from Paramount, which is controlled by the Ellisons, following $82.7bn Netflix deal The tech billionaire Larry Ellison has agreed to provide a personal guarantee of more than $40bn for Paramount Skydance’s fight to gain control of Warner Bros Discovery, amid an extraordinary corporate battle over the entertainment giant.WBD urged shareholders to reject a $108.4bn hostile takeover bid from Paramount – which is controll
  
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• UK drivers being overcharged as fuel prices fail to track oil market, watchdog finds

  22-12-2025 16:28 via theguardian.com
  CMA rejects retailers’ claims on operating costs, saying weak competition is not passing on lower wholesale pricesDrivers are being overcharged for petrol and diesel, the UK’s consumer watchdog has said, dismissing forecourt operators’ excuse for charging more at the pump.Fuel retailers have said they are unable to lower pump prices to keep pace with falling global oil markets because they need to make up for higher non-fuel “operating” costs, such as wages and ener
  
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• Britain’s economy has been damaged by Brexit. But what should ministers do about it?

  22-12-2025 15:39 via theguardian.com
  The idea of a customs union has gained traction, but agreeing a deal would be far from straightforward Almost a decade on from the Brexit vote, the verdict is clear. Britain’s immediate doomsday economic scenario might not have come to pass. But after years of political paralysis – and with the eventual introduction of tougher trade barriers in 2020 – trade, investment and growth in living standards have all suffered.Just as it was on the morning after the 2016 referendum, the
  
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• China hits EU dairy industry with tariffs of up to 42.7%

  22-12-2025 14:49 via theguardian.com
  Move made after first phase of anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for bloc’sEV tariffsChina will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on certain dairy products imported from the EU from Tuesday after concluding the first phase of an anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7% – although most companies will pay about 30% – and target products such as milk and
  
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• Brawl erupts in Turkish parliament on last day of budget talks – video

  22-12-2025 14:46 via theguardian.com
  A brawl erupted in Turkey’s parliament between members of the ruling AK party and the opposition Republican People's party on the final day of budget talks. Lawmakers threw punches and pushed each other after an argument broke out between two MPs. The session was briefly suspended before members returned to pass the 2026 budget Continue reading...
  
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• Barcelona and Madrid have very different ideas on tackling Spain’s housing crisis. Which will succeed? | Jaime Palomera

  22-12-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  While the country’s capital is loosening regulations, the Catalan city is strengthening social housing. Their outcomes will affect all our futuresIn Spain, two cities face the same crisis, but are responding in fundamentally different ways. Over the past decade, the cost of housing in Madrid and Barcelona has soared – with rents rising by about 60% and sale prices by 90% – leaving young people, working families and retired people struggling to stay in their homes or even find o
  
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• Chinese robotaxis due in London next year as Lyft and Uber reveal tie-ups

  22-12-2025 13:20 via theguardian.com
  Firms agree deals with Beijing-based Baidu to take self-driving cabs to UK capitalChinese robotaxis are due to be on the streets of London next year after the US ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber announced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving technology.Lyft is the third firm to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital next year, after Uber and Waymo, the main operator of robotaxis in the US. Continue reading...
  
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• UK consumers saving less as taxes squeeze incomes, data shows

  22-12-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  ONS finds households’ savings ratio has dropped to lowest rate for more than a year across third quarterUK consumers saved less money during the third quarter of the year as higher taxes squeezed disposable incomes.The households’ saving ratio – which estimates the percentage of disposable income Britons save rather than spend – dropped 0.7 percentage points to 9.5%, the Office for National Statistics said. That is the lowest rate for more than a year. Continue reading...
  
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• Bosses at City & Guilds handed million-pound bonuses after training firm is privatised

  22-12-2025 12:31 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Executives at body that trained chef Jamie Oliver awarded pay rises and bonuses after sale to private firm – as hundreds of jobs may be offshoredA pair of City & Guilds executives have each been awarded million-pound bonuses and sizeable salary increases after the skills charity’s business was acquired by an international company in October, the Guardian understands.The payments – which are understood to include a £1.7m award for the chief executive, Kirsti
  
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• US farmers say Trump’s $12bn package not enough to undo damage from tariffs

  22-12-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Thousands of farms set to go bankrupt as grain farmers in particular hit by trade disruptions caused by price hikesDonald Trump, having promised to “NEVER LET OUR FARMERS DOWN”, appeared to come through for them this month when he unveiled a $12bn aid package. Industry leaders say thousands of farms will still go bust this year.While the US president has vowed to increase domestic farm production, and even claimed this formed a “big part” of his plan to lower grocery pric
  
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• State of play: who holds the power in the video games industry in 2025?

  22-12-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  This year has brought us many brilliant video games – but as wealth continues to concentrate, and games are used to exert economic and political influence, we need to keep an eye on the top playersI love playing video games, but what interests me most as a journalist are the ways in which games intersect with real life. One of the joys of spending 20 years on this beat has been meeting hundreds of people whose lives have been meaningfully enhanced by games, and as their cultural influence
  
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• Nationwide issue update as £436 lands in bank accounts

  22-12-2025 08:31 via express.co.uk
  Nationwide says savers earned an average of £436 in interest last year, but millions are still missing out.
  
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• Brits earning over £50,000 issued 4-month tax change warning

  22-12-2025 08:15 via express.co.uk
  The latest phase of the Government's scheme is set to go live in April.
  
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• Passengers left with no compensation after Stansted and Heathrow flight delays

  22-12-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Airports say they were not responsible for incidents that led to passengers being out of pocket or ending tripIn September we arrived at Stansted airport to find that a fire within a departure lounge had closed the terminal.We had to wait outside in the chilly small hours for nearly two hours. It was another hour before security opened in the terminal, by which time our flight had departed empty to maintain the airline’s schedules. We were rebooked for the following day. Continue reading..
  
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• Toy touts, random spins and frantic bidding: the murky side of live auction site Whatnot

  22-12-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Quickfire lots fuel a booming business, but critics condemn gambling-style features and popularity with ‘scalpers’Christmas is fast approaching, the shopping days are ebbing away, and in one corner of the internet, the rush to grab highly prized Pokémon trading cards is boiling over into a competitive frenzy.“Got any cheap Mew?” asks one buyer, deploying the frantic tone of an addict, albeit one craving a rectangle depicting a creature from the all-conquering Japan
  
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• Best of 2025: Life in a ‘sinking nation’: Tuvalu’s dreams of dry land – podcast

  22-12-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2025, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it.From September: with sea levels rising, much of the nation’s population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go?By Atul Dev. Read by Mikhail Sen Continue reading...
  
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• Kimchi, made in China: how South Korea’s national dish is being priced out at home

  22-12-2025 01:39 via theguardian.com
  In the first 10 months of this year, South Korea imported $159m worth of kimchi, almost entirely from China, while exporting $137mThe pungent scent of red chilli powder hangs in the air at Kim Chieun’s kimchi factory in Incheon, about 30km west of Seoul. Inside, salted cabbage soaks in large metal vats in the first stage of a process that Kim has followed for more than 30 years.But watching over the production line has become increasingly fraught. South Korea imports more kimchi than it ex
  
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