Financial news

• Major bank to reduce mortgage rates amid 'rates war' between lenders

  02-01-2026 21:18 via express.co.uk
  Experts predict this move will be followed by other major banks.
  
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• Premium Bonds January winners confirmed by NS&I with £1m jackpot prize - full list

  02-01-2026 19:44 via express.co.uk
  Premium Bond savers reportedly received 71,722,056 prizes in 2025.
  
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• Elon Musk’s Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’

  02-01-2026 19:01 via theguardian.com
  Lapses in safeguards led to wave of sexualized images this week as xAI says it is working to improve systemsElon Musk’s chatbot Grok posted on Friday that lapses in safeguards had led it to generate “images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on social media platform X. The chatbot, a product of Musk’s company xAI, has been generating a wave of sexualized images throughout the week in response to user prompts.Screenshots shared by users on X showed Grok’s public m
  
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• £700 alert to anybody who has bought a car on finance over 19 year period

  02-01-2026 17:17 via express.co.uk
  A compensation scheme could help Brits receive their compensation more quickly.
  
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• China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s biggest electric car seller

  02-01-2026 17:07 via theguardian.com
  Sales at Elon Musk’s company slump after Donald Trump’s withdrawal of EV subsidiesChina’s BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s largest electric carmaker in 2025, after the US company run by Elon Musk reported a slump in deliveries at the end of the year.BYD sold 2.26m battery electric cars during the year, easily outstripping the 1.63m deliveries reported on Friday by Tesla for the same period. Continue reading...
  
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• Ørsted files legal challenge against US government over windfarm lease freeze

  02-01-2026 15:27 via theguardian.com
  Europe’s biggest offshore wind developer seeking to overturn White House decision to suspend work on a $5bn wind farm projectEurope’s biggest offshore wind developer is taking the Trump administration to court over its decision to suspend work on a $5bn project on the north-east US coast.Denmark’s Ørsted filed a legal challenge on Thursday against the White House’s decision 10 days ago to suspend the lease for its Revolution Wind site as part of a sweeping move hal
  
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• Warning over New Year scam that that could you leave you 'thousands out of pocket'

  02-01-2026 15:22 via express.co.uk
  Brits have been warned to be wary of a 'New Year scam' that invites recipients to click a link on their phone to obtain an 'outstanding tax refund' from HMRC
  
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• WASPI campaign in new key letter update as 'decision in February'

  02-01-2026 15:20 via express.co.uk
  The WASPI campaign is urging supporters to send one million letters to MPs ahead of the Government's compensation decision in February
  
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• Households told ‘take action now’ if DWP payment not received before January 2026

  02-01-2026 15:02 via express.co.uk
  If you did not receive this payment, you'll need to act quickly.
  
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• Bitterly cold weather expected in UK as up to 10cm of snow settles in some areas

  02-01-2026 14:28 via theguardian.com
  Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in place, with latest warnings reaching into MondayBitterly cold weather is expected to grip the UK over the weekend with as much as 10cm of snow already in some areas.A number of yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place, with the latest warnings reaching into Monday, while amber snow warnings for northern Scotland are in place until midday on Saturday. Continue reading...
  
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• Brits to see rise in pension and benefits from DWP this April - what you will get

  02-01-2026 14:26 via express.co.uk
  Here's what you need to know about certain payments from the DWP.
  
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• Uber rewrites contracts with drivers to avoid paying UK’s new ‘taxi tax’

  02-01-2026 14:08 via theguardian.com
  Hailing app will now act as agent rather than supplier outside London, avoiding VAT requirement Uber has swerved paying millions of pounds to the UK exchequer under Rachel Reeves’s new “taxi tax” after the ride-hailing app rewrote contracts with its drivers.The move came as rules announced in November’s budget took effect, which adjusted how VAT is payable on minicab fares and would have resulted in the whole Uber fare becoming subject to the 20% sales tax. Continue readi
  
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• Donald Trump wants the US back on the moon before his term ends. Can it happen?

  02-01-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  After losing a year to havoc and job-slashing at Nasa, the pressure is on billionaire administrator Jared IsaacmanWith astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in more than half a century when Artemis 2 makes its long-awaited ascent some time this spring, 2026 was already destined to become a standout year in space.It is also likely to be one of the most pivotal, with new leadership at Nasa in billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, and the tycoon-led private space industry
  
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• ‘Social listening’: Unilever seeks to capitalise on Vaseline’s TikTok moment

  02-01-2026 12:46 via theguardian.com
  Multinational boosts online chatter after social media users showcase product’s widespread use in life hacksAs a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promo
  
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• Great British Rail sale launches - how to get half-price train tickets for three months

  02-01-2026 12:30 via express.co.uk
  This January, the Great British Rail Sale is back, offering irresistible discounts on thousands of popular train journeys with tickets starting from £1.20
  
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• Brits could get free cash worth up to £200 for switching banks this January

  02-01-2026 12:27 via express.co.uk
  Santander and Nationwide are among the banks offering these deals.
  
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• The perfect way to look after your health if you work shifts

  02-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  There are many knock-on effects of working nights or early mornings, and often employers could do more to protect staff. But there are small, simple changes that can make all the difference• Sign up here to get the whole series straight to your inboxApproximately 8.7 million people in the UK work night shifts, but humans are not meant to be awake at night. “It goes against our natural circadian cycle,” says Steven Lockley, visiting professor at the Surrey Sleep Research Centre,
  
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• Italian pasta makers win reprieve from Trump tariffs

  02-01-2026 11:51 via theguardian.com
  US cuts proposed levies to between 2% and 14% despite accusing Italian producers of selling at unfairly low pricesThe US government has slashed proposed tariffs on Italian pasta that would have almost doubled the cost of many brands for shoppers.Donald Trump had threatened to impose tariffs as high as 92% on Italian pasta companies, after accusing 13 producers including Barilla, La Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo of selling their products at unfairly low prices. Continue reading...
  
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• Brighton’s historic Palace Pier up for sale as tourist numbers fall

  02-01-2026 10:50 via theguardian.com
  BPG hopes to find buyer for Grade II-listed structure by summer after slump in profits and rising costsBrighton’s historic Palace Pier has been put up for sale after a decline in tourist numbers, a drop in profits and increase in costs in recent years.The leisure group that owns the 126-year-old structure, which has appeared in famous films including Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia, said it hoped to find a new owner by the summer. Continue reading...
  
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• UK house prices unexpectedly fell at end of year, Nationwide says

  02-01-2026 10:42 via theguardian.com
  Average property price drops by 0.4% in December to £271,068 after forecasts of 0.1% month-on-month riseBusiness live – latest updatesUK house prices fell unexpectedly in December, according to a top mortgage lender, with the market finishing the year with the weakest annual growth in more than 18 months.The average property price slumped by 0.4% to £271,068 compared with November, according to Nationwide, confounding City forecasts of a 0.1% rise. Continue reading...
  
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• FTSE 100 breaks 10,000 mark for first time, capping stellar year for UK market

  02-01-2026 10:16 via theguardian.com
  Blue-chip share index, created in 1984, has risen by more than 20% over past 12 monthsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK’s blue-chip share index has broken through the 10,000-point level for the first time, as London shares continued to rise after a bumper 2025.The FTSE 100 jumped on Friday morning - the first trading day of the year - to a high of 10,046, a new peak for the index, before easing back slightly. Continue reading...
  
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• Homes for sale with a sauna in England and Scotland – in pictures

  02-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From a former croft near a sea loch in Highlands theto a luxury home with a swimming pool on the edge of the Manchester sprawl Continue reading...
  
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• What if floods left your home unsellable? That’s the reality facing more and more people in Britain | Kirsty Major

  02-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Christine wanted to enjoy her retirement, but then the banks of a local brook burst and turned her and her neighbours’ lives upside-downWhen I visited Christine’s bungalow in Trowell, Nottinghamshire, and asked if I should take my shoes off, she joked: “I wouldn’t worry, I’ll be getting a new carpet soon enough when it floods again.” She’s got another good one about the time she, a 70-year-old great-grandmother, had to climb through her conservatory wind
  
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• UK government should end rail outsourcing ‘racket’, says union

  02-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  RMT estimates six cleaning, security and catering suppliers made £150m profits last year Railway leaders should “think afresh” about outsourcing contracts and try to run services better, the rail minister has said, as union research indicated six major private suppliers made £150m in profits last year.Rail unions are campaigning to end the widespread outsourcing of jobs such as cleaning, security and catering, arguing that staff employed by third-party companies have wors
  
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• Racial and religious hate crime on UK public transport is growing, data shows

  02-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Anti-racism groups warn some people are avoiding public transport or limiting their use of it for fear of abuseRacial and religious hate crime on public transport is on the rise, according to new data obtained by the Guardian, as community groups report how people are restricting their daily journeys because they fear abuse or assault.Police forces across the country have recorded an increase in hate crimes over the past year, with a significant rise in racially motivated offences in Scotland as
  
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• Mini-revival of London stock market listings is relief to Rachel Reeves | Nils Pratley

  02-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Payments firm Wise snubbed the UK in 2025 but the RAC and software giant Visma are forecast to float this yearIt wasn’t quite a downpour after the drought, but the weather changed for stock market listings in London during the course of 2025. The first half of the year was properly parched as President Trump’s tariff agenda upset everything: fundraisings from flotations, or initial public offerings (IPOs), were the lowest in a miserable run that started in 2022. But data from Dealogi
  
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• From bon appetit to Uber Eats: why France’s beloved restaurants are in crisis | Paul Taylor

  02-01-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  When I started as a reporter in Paris in the 1970s, long, boozy lunches were the norm. Now only fast food and fine dining are thrivingSpare a thought for the poor French restaurateur. Once the iconic image of a sybaritic nation that loved nothing more than a boozy meal out with friends or colleagues, the French restaurant is in deep crisis. Traditional restaurants are closing faster than you can shout “garçon!”, as eating habits change and the cost of living pinches.“It&
  
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