Financial news

• Fraud: here's how scammers get away with it

  07-07-2018 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Online bank Monzo reveals the most common cons, from stolen cards to student ‘mules’
  Digital bank Monzo is one of the fastest-growing new banks in Britain, opening 750,000 accounts over the past two years. Now, in an extraordinarily candid move for a bank, it has thrown open its doors to Guardian Money to expose the scams and brazen criminality that threaten customers – and how it is fighting back. Some of the scams are shocking, others audacious – and one so simple we ar
  
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• UK exposed to ‘serious harm’ by failure to tackle AI risks, MPs warn

  20-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Government, Bank of England and FCA criticised for taking ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI use in financial sectorConsumers and the UK financial system are being exposed to “serious harm” by the failure of government and the Bank of England to get a grip on the risks posed by artificial intelligence, an influential parliamentary committee has warned.In a new report, MPs on the Treasury committee criticise ministers and City regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authori
  
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• Water firms could be let off pollution fines as part of government overhaul

  19-01-2026 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies ‘off the hook’, as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industryWater companies could be let off fines for polluting the environment under changes announced in the government’s new white paper.The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, hailed the changes as “once-in-a-generation reforms” featuring “tough oversight, real accountability and no more excuses”. Continue reading...
  
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• What are Trump’s latest tariff threats and could EU hit back with ‘big bazooka’?

  19-01-2026 19:12 via theguardian.com
  Europe could use powerful but untested law amid pressure over Greenland – but it could also lose out from a trade warMarkets stay calm amid Trump’s gambit, but long-term risks are hugeEuropean industry hits out at ‘ludicrous’ demandsEurope live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s threat to impose punitive US import tariffs on eight European countries opposed to his ambitions in Greenland has raised fears of a full-blown transatlantic trade war. Continue reading...
  
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• Markets stay calm amid Trump’s gambit, but long-term risks are huge | Nils Pratley

  19-01-2026 19:02 via theguardian.com
  Traders have learned to live with the US president’s rhetoric, but the EU’s measures could go beyond tariffs and into capital marketsThat’s how the chancellor’s luck runs these days. You arrange to open the day’s trading on the stock exchange to hail a “new golden age” for the City and bask in the sight of the FTSE 100 index above 10,000, and what happens? You have to skip off to the prime minister’s statement on Greenland.In the event, Rachel Reev
  
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• Markets fall and gold and silver hit new highs after Trump’s latest tariff threat

  19-01-2026 18:34 via theguardian.com
  European carmakers among hardest hit with US president’s talk of Greenland-linked trade levies also pushing down the dollarMarkets stay calm amid Trump’s gambit, but long-term risks are hugeCould the EU hit back with its ‘big bazooka’?Europe live – latest updatesEuropean stock markets fell on Monday and gold and silver prices hit record highs after Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries in an increasingly aggressive attempt
  
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• Ex-gambling bosses facing UK criminal trial lose civil case against regulator

  19-01-2026 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman ordered to pay Gambling Commission’s costs after claim dismissedTwo gambling executives who are facing criminal charges of bribery and fraud have failed in a separate civil suit against the Gambling Commission, in which they accused the regulator of breaching their right to privacy.Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, the former chief executive and chair of Entain, the Ladbrokes and Coral owner, sued the gambling regulator last year over its intervention in thei
  
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• World’s oldest monastic brewery to be sold as German beer sales slide

  19-01-2026 16:38 via theguardian.com
  Brewing tradition of nearly 1,000 years at Weltenburg Abbey in Bavaria to be bought up by Munich company Schneider WeisseThe world’s oldest monastic brewery, Germany’s Weltenburger, is being sold to the Munich brewers Schneider Weisse as part of consolidation in the sector in response to plunging sales.Beer has been brewed at Weltenburg Abbey, a stunning, still active monastery on the banks of the Danube in Bavaria, for nearly 1,000 years. Continue reading...
  
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• Starmer: ‘We don’t want a trade war’ – podcast

  19-01-2026 14:19 via theguardian.com
  Keir Starmer has held an emergency press conference in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland. Pippa and Kiran discuss what the UK prime minister said and how it may be received Continue reading...
  
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• In Davos, the rich talk about ‘global threats’. Here’s why they’re silent about the biggest of them all | Ingrid Robeyns

  19-01-2026 14:10 via theguardian.com
  Economic inequality is at the heart of all humanity’s major problems, but the wealthiest refuse to confront a system that benefits themThis week, hundreds of government leaders, heads of state, and business executives are gathering at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. They will be discussing solutions to the world’s biggest risks and problems.But everything suggests that, once more, what will not be addressed at their meeting is the biggest threat to huma
  
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• ScottishPower named worst energy supplier for customer service

  19-01-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  Which? survey ranks many of Great Britain’s biggest suppliers near bottom, with British Gas and EDF Energy also scoring poorlyBusiness live – latest updatesScottishPower has been ranked Great Britain’s worst energy supplier for customer service in a survey from a leading consumer body, which placed many of the biggest suppliers near the bottom of the league table.British Gas and EDF Energy were just above ScottishPower at the foot of the annual Which? rankings. These are based
  
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• Make films shorter if you want them shown in cinemas, says Picturehouse director

  19-01-2026 11:34 via theguardian.com
  Clare Binns says three-hour runtimes deter audiences as she is named Bafta recipient for outstanding British contribution to cinemaDirectors should make shorter films if they want their work screened in cinemas, the head of one of the UK’s leading cinema and distribution companies has said.Clare Binns, the creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas, made the comments after being named the recipient of this year’s Bafta award for outstanding British contribution to cinema, amid concern
  
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• HMRC '10 months' alert as people across UK owed cash

  19-01-2026 10:42 via express.co.uk
  Professional bodies say the problem is widespread
  
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• Out of sight: spectacular HS2 tunnels offer glimmer of hope for stalling project

  19-01-2026 09:37 via theguardian.com
  Despite much soul-searching over UK’s inability to build infrastructure, two sections of HS2 under Chilterns are being hailed for their engineeringSeventy metres down, in deep incognito beneath a disguised ventilation shaft in the Chilterns countryside, lies HS2’s buried treasure: two 10-mile tunnels, built to avoid an area of outstanding natural beauty, eerily spectacular in gleaming concrete.They are, laments a staffer on the high-speed railway scheme, what all of the route should
  
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• 'I'm a pension expert - 6 things to consider now if you plan to retire in 2026'

  19-01-2026 08:16 via express.co.uk
  Only 21% of people retiring in 2026 have made a retirement plan.
  
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• E.ON cancelled £13,000 bill it sent to my late mother, but still owes £3,360

  19-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A bereaved young customer was baffled by the wildly fluctuating balances the energy supplier claimed on a family’s accountWhen my mother died of cancer, my aunt adopted me. She, too, died of cancer in 2024. At 26, I am now alone and struggling to deal with enormous, nonsensical energy bills from E.ON Next. In 2022, I discovered my aunt had been paying massively inflated bills for the flat I shared with her, so I had the account closed and a new one set up in my name. An E.ON agent took met
  
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• Pension savers urged to get 3 things 'right' in 2026 for 'comfortable retirement'

  19-01-2026 07:31 via express.co.uk
  Approximately 14.6 million people are making a crucial pension mistake.
  
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• China’s economy hit growth target last year despite Trump trade war and property crisis

  19-01-2026 07:26 via theguardian.com
  Economy weathered a fraught geopolitical landscape to reach 5% goal but domestic structural challenges ‘not going away’, say expertsChina’s population falls again as birthrate hits record lowBusiness live – latest updatesChina has said its economy grew 5% last year, hitting Beijing’s official target as the world’s second-largest economy overcame Donald Trump’s tariff war with a record trade surplus.Data released on Monday by Beijing’s National Bure
  
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• The UK’s top 10 most expensive postcodes outside of London

  19-01-2026 07:15 via express.co.uk
  The most expensive postcode has an average house price of £1,875,000.
  
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• UK property market ‘on the up’ amid new year bounce in asking prices

  19-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Average price of a home coming up for sale rises almost £10,000, the largest monthly jump in a decadeThe UK housing market is enjoying a new year bounce, with the average price of a home coming up for sale increasing by the largest monthly amount in a decade, data shows.The property website Rightmove said almost £10,000 was added to the average asking price of a British home in the space of five weeks. Continue reading...
  
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• Scottish Power ranked UK’s worst supplier for customer service by Which?

  19-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Consumer group gives many of the biggest suppliers low ratings in its annual survey of energy provider performanceScottish Power has been ranked Britain’s worst energy supplier for customer service in a survey from a leading consumer body that placed many of the UK’s biggest suppliers at the bottom of the league table.British Gas and EDF Energy were just above Scottish Power at the foot of the annual Which? rankings. These are based on a satisfaction survey of almost 12,000 energy cu
  
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• Halifax to close 2 bank branches this week - full list of locations

  19-01-2026 06:37 via express.co.uk
  It comes as more than 100 bank branches are set to close in 2026 as the retreat from the high street continues at pace.
  
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• ‘Brazen’ political influence of rich laid bare as wealth of billionaires reaches $18.3tn, says Oxfam

  19-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Governments opting for oligarchy while brutally repressing protests over austerity and lack of jobs, charity report saysThe world saw a record number of billionaires created last year, with a collective wealth of $18.3tn (£13.7tn), while global efforts stalled in the fight against poverty and hunger.Oxfam’s annual survey of global inequality has revealed that the number of billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time during 2025. Since 2020, their collective wealth grew by 81%, or
  
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• Trump tariff bombshell sends global markets reeling with FTSE 100 set to drop

  18-01-2026 23:52 via express.co.uk
  Donald Trump said he will impose 10% tariffs on eight countries including the UK.
  
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• Thousands of Kent residents still dealing with water supply issues

  18-01-2026 23:51 via theguardian.com
  South East Water treatment works fault, power outage and burst mains leave homes with no water or low pressureThousands of residents across Kent are still dealing with water supply issues after yet more outages from the under-fire operator, South East Water.The water supply of more than 5,500 households was affected on Sunday evening due to a treatment works fault, a power outage and two burst mains. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour-run council offers support to staff made redundant after major chain closes sites

  18-01-2026 23:34 via express.co.uk
  The council said residents looking for a new role can get free help including CV advice and guidance on job opportunities.
  
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• UK construction company enters administration putting 400 jobs at risk

  18-01-2026 23:04 via express.co.uk
  Administrators said the construction industry has faced "challenging trading conditions over recent years", including rising costs and delays to schemes.
  
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• Brits urged to make 1 move to save £203 on broadband as bills jump in April

  18-01-2026 22:05 via express.co.uk
  Some mobile and broadband customers could expect hikes of up to 13%.
  
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• State pensioners handed 3 new Council Tax exemptions to cut bill to £0

  18-01-2026 20:23 via express.co.uk
  A rule change is set to take effect this month.
  
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• If it wasn’t clear before, it is now: Britain needs an escape plan from the Trump world order | Gaby Hinsliff

  18-01-2026 17:59 via theguardian.com
  The US president’s trade war for Greenland tells us that the time for fence-sitting or wishful thinking is overOne way or the other, President Trump said, he will have Greenland. Well, at least now we know it’s the other; not an invasion that would have sent young men home to their mothers across Europe in coffins, but instead another trade war, designed to kill off jobs and break Europe’s will. Just our hopes of an economic recovery, then, getting taken out and shot on a whim
  
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