Financial news

• Has Rachel Reeves just thrown the biggest Budget sucker punch EVER? She'll deceive us all

  04-11-2025 17:41 via express.co.uk
  What was Rachel Reeves up to this morning?
  
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• Australia is facing its shortest rate cut cycle in 30 years as the RBA hints it may have to start hiking

  09-12-2025 08:15
  It’s sure to leave many mortgage holders feeling short-changed given the RBA’s equally historic 13 rate hikes through 2022 and 2023The Reserve Bank’s governor, Michele Bullock, has effectively ruled out further rate cuts and flagged that hikes might be needed in 2026 if the recent inflationary rebound proves persistent.Speaking at a press conference after the widely expected decision to hold the cash rate at 3.6%, Bullock seemed surprisingly upbeat as she delivered the bad news
  
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• UK campaigners condemn ‘creepy’ digital billboards that can track viewers’ responses

  09-12-2025 08:00
  Tech company has installed the advertising screens in hundreds of apartment blocks across 20 British citiesDigital billboards that can film viewers’ responses to adverts have been installed in hundreds of apartment blocks, in a move that civil liberty campaigners called “creepy as hell”.The supplier, 30Seconds Group, says the cameras allow them to track “occupant engagement” from residents who are a “captive audience” as they wait for lifts to their apar
  
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• HMRC owes me £2,200 but says it could be 33 weeks before it pays me back

  09-12-2025 08:00
  A reader says they overpaid their national insurance, but seem to be lending the government money with no interestI have two roles within the NHS, which has resulted in overpayments of national insurance each year.Since Covid, the refund system has slowly ground to a halt. I was told in October that I am owed £2,200 and that it could take 33 weeks to receive the payment. Continue reading...
  
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• China’s record trade surplus reveals its biggest strength – and hidden weakness

  09-12-2025 07:52
  Booming Chinese exports have driven trade surplus past $1tn but also reveal the extent of country’s reliance on foreign marketsA boom in exports that has pushed China’s trade surplus past $1tn for the first time reveals the extent to which its economy is still overwhelmingly reliant on foreign markets – and the difficulty figures like Donald Trump will have in trying to rebalance global trade.Data released on Monday shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China’s
  
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• Would you entrust a child’s life to a chatbot? That’s what happens every day that we fail to regulate AI | Gaby Hinsliff

  09-12-2025 07:00
  As deaths in the US are blamed on ChatGPT and UK teenagers turn to it for mental health advice, isn’t it obvious that market forces must not set the rules?It was just past 4am when a suicidal Zane Shamblin sent one last message from his car, where he had been drinking steadily for hours. “Cider’s empty. Anyways … Think this is the final adios,” he sent from his phone.The response was quick: “Alright brother. If this is it … then let it be known: you di
  
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• UK households cut spending at fastest pace in almost five years, says Barclays

  09-12-2025 06:00
  Bank reports 1.1% drop in card spending despite Black Friday boost for retailersUK households cut back on spending at the fastest pace in almost five years last month as consumers put Christmas shopping on hold, according to a leading survey.Adding to concerns that uncertainty surrounding the budget has helped dampen consumer confidence, Barclays said card spending fell 1.1% year on year in November – the largest fall since February 2021. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘I feel it’s a friend’: quarter of teenagers turn to AI chatbots for mental health support

  09-12-2025 06:00
  Experts warn of dangers as England and Wales study shows 13- to 17-year-olds consulting AI amid long waiting lists for servicesIt was after one friend was shot and another stabbed, both fatally, that Shan asked ChatGPT for help. She had tried conventional mental health services but “chat”, as she came to know her AI “friend”, felt safer, less intimidating and, crucially, more available when it came to handling the trauma from the deaths of her young friends.As she started
  
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• Palantir: the world’s ‘scariest company’? – podcast

  09-12-2025 04:00
  How far will tech firm Palantir go to ‘save the West’? With Michael Steinberger and Johana BhuiyanWhy do some consider Palantir the world’s ‘scariest company’ and who is its chief executive, Alex Karp?Michael Steinberger, the author of The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir and the Rise of the Surveillance State, describes Karp’s origin story to Nosheen Iqbal and the way that his political positions have changed over the years. The pair also discus
  
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• Great British Railways flies the flag as logo goes back to the future

  08-12-2025 23:30
  Livery for renationalised railway features red, white and blue alongside familiar double arrow symbolNo matter how much train fares cost under Great British Railways, no one can accuse the government of wasting money on an expensive redesign.The logo, branding and livery for the impending renationalised and reformed railway will be unveiled by ministers at London Bridge on Tuesday. It is red, white and, yes, blue. Continue reading...
  
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• Paramount launches $108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery

  08-12-2025 22:20
  Paramount’s bid for the entire company counters $82.7bn Netflix deal for WBD’s studio and streaming operationDavid Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is not giving up in its aggressive campaign to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), launching a hostile bid for the entertainment company despite the announcement on Friday that Netflix had agreed to buy its studio and streaming operation.Netflix’s bid for WBD’s storied Hollywood movie studio, as well as its premier HBO cabl
  
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• Brighton accused of ‘dangerous precedent’ after ban on Guardian over Tony Bloom coverage

  08-12-2025 19:29
  MPs, media and supporter groups accuse club of attacking press freedom with bar after reporting on ownerBrighton & Hove Albion has been accused of setting a “dangerous precedent”, as it faced criticism for banning Guardian reporters and photographers from home matches after reports on allegations concerning the club’s owner.MPs, media and football supporter groups accused the Premier League club of attacking press freedom after its decision to bar the Guardian from the Amex
  
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• ‘It’s Scotland’s energy’: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election

  08-12-2025 19:05
  Leader John Swinney says independence could cut household energy bills by a third in the long termThe future of Scottish renewables will underpin the Scottish National party’s Holyrood election campaign, the party leader, John Swinney, has said, as he claimed independence could cut household energy bills by a third in the long term.At what was billed as the first campaign event before next May’s elections to the Scottish parliament, Swinney declared: “It’s Scotland’
  
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• Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney sell Wrexham stake to US private equity group

  08-12-2025 19:03
  Club gets boost for development of Racecourse Ground, but move comes months after it received £14m state aidThe Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have sold a stake in the company to the US private equity investors Apollo, less than three months after the football club was given £14m in state aid.The Welsh club on Monday announced the investment by Apollo Sports Capital, part of the New York-listed investor. It did not reveal the size of the investment, but said Reyn
  
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• Anglo American’s merger bonus was a pay wheeze too far | Nils Pratley

  08-12-2025 18:18
  Miner will have to do things by the book after ditching plan to pay bosses millions in bonuses after Teck dealAnglo American drops plan to pay bosses millions in bonusesShareholder rebellions over executive pay aren’t what they used to be. In the past 18 months, bumper incentive arrangements for the bosses have been approved at AstraZeneca, the London Stock Exchange Group and Smith & Nephew. All those companies have managed to argue successfully that, since the bulk of their revenues a
  
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• Netflix buying Warner Bros is bad news for cinema and those of us who love it | Jesse Hassenger

  08-12-2025 17:50
  The proposed acquisition would see yet more of Hollywood controlled by a tech company and one that doesn’t seem to care about the theatrical experienceDid Netflix just exacerbate a bunch of seasonal affective disorders in cinephiles? Timed to ruin holidays like a round of end-of-year layoffs, the streaming giant announced plans to buy Warner Bros, a movie and television studio with a full-century legacy. It’s possible that the acquisition won’t actually go through – and i
  
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• Bank of England cutting jobs as part of overhaul after critical Bernanke review

  08-12-2025 16:25
  Bank under budget pressures as it responds to former Fed chair’s report into failure to forecast surging inflationBusiness live – latest updatesThe Bank of England has said it is cutting jobs amid sweeping changes at Threadneedle Street after a highly critical review into its failure to forecast surging inflation.Under budget pressures as it responded to the report from the former US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, the Bank has opened a voluntary scheme last week as part of an ef
  
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• Canada’s environmental ‘realism’ looks more like surrender | Tzeporah Berman

  08-12-2025 14:00
  At a time when the UK and other countries are finally taking bold steps for climate, Canada is preparing a new oil pipelineLast week, the United Kingdom did something all too rare: it chose leadership by backing science and prioritizing public safety. The Labour government announced it would ban new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, strengthen a windfall tax and accelerate phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies.These are not symbolic gestures. They are an acknowledgment that the global energy
  
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• Divided Fed ponders US interest-rate cut at end of tumultuous year

  08-12-2025 13:00
  Markets expect final rate cut amid pressure from Trump as Jay Powell urges central bank to proceed with cautionA divided Federal Reserve meets this week to decide whether to cut interest rates, the US central bank’s last meeting before the end of a tumultuous year.The US central bank faces a number of unique challenges as it weighs its latest interest-rate decision. Continue reading...
  
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• Christmas warning as UK motorists face up to £22,500 in fines - not drink driving

  08-12-2025 11:46 via express.co.uk
  Motorists have been warned they could face severe penalties during the festive police crackdown on drink-driving and other related offences
  
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• Anglo American drops plan to pay bosses millions in bonuses after $50bn Teck merger backlash

  08-12-2025 11:33
  FTSE 100 miner’s U-turn follows investor opposition to payouts when deal completes, including estimated £8.5m to CEOBusiness live – latest updatesLondon-listed miner Anglo American has dropped plans to award its bosses multimillion-pound bonuses if its planned $50bn mega-merger with a Canadian rival goes through, after a backlash from its investors.The FTSE 100 miner had sought shareholder approval for a plan to award its chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, a share bonus worth &po
  
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• HSBC manager urges customers to keep money aside for 'emergency fund'

  08-12-2025 11:11 via express.co.uk
  While many people aim to build up an emergency money pot, the total might look different depending on your lifestyle
  
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• Important alert over Christmas surge in 'porch pirates'

  08-12-2025 11:02 via express.co.uk
  December is now the peak month, say experts
  
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• ‘We’ll never be able to rebuild’: despair of ex-Vodafone franchisees and pressures on their mental health

  08-12-2025 11:00
  Experiences raise questions about how telecoms firm treated small business owners, whose commission it cutWhen Adrian Howe drowned in August 2018, his family found some solace in the support of his longtime employer.The bond between the 58-year-old and Vodafone – the multinational mobile phone group for which Howe had worked for 20 years – was so tight that his funeral featured a wreath shaped like the company’s speech mark brand. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Kids can’t buy them anywhere’: how Pokémon cards became a stock market for millennials

  08-12-2025 11:00
  A surprising economic bubble is making it hard for anyone to buy Pokémon cards – especially childrenPokémon has been huge since the late 90s. Millions of people have fond memories of playing the original Red and Blue games, or trading cards in the playground for that elusive shiny Charizard (if your school didn’t ban them). The franchise has only grown since then – but, where the trading cards are concerned, things have taken an unexpected and unfortunate turn. It
  
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• 25 Rachel Reeves deceptions that will make your blood boil – she’s destroying UK

  08-12-2025 11:00 via express.co.uk
  The Chancellor is dishonest and economically illiterate. We will all pay a dreadful price.
  
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• Huge blow to Rachel Reeves as £150 cut to energy bills wiped out

  08-12-2025 10:51 via express.co.uk
  The cost of Sizewell C means households won't see the £150 saving promised by the Chancellor, an entrepreneur says.
  
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• Extracting hangovers from beer: inside Budweiser owner’s ‘nolo’ brewery in south Wales

  08-12-2025 09:27
  AB InBev unveils its ‘de-alcoholisation’ annex at Magor site as demand for once ‘lousy’ low- or no-alcohol beer rises A “de-alcoholisation facility” sounds like somewhere to check in after a boozy Christmas, but in the new annexe of a brewery in south Wales they are extracting hangovers from beer.With demand for no-alcohol and low-alcohol (“nolo”) beer taking off in the UK, the hi-tech brewing apparatus enables the plant at Magor, which produces mo
  
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• Britain is stuck with a failed Brexit that neither citizens nor leaders want. Here are three ways to fix that | Stella Creasy

  08-12-2025 09:00
  While those who defend the status quo and those who say ‘simply rejoin’ the EU are both wrong, there is a new mood and a clear opportunityBeing right that Brexit was a bad idea is no substitute for knowing what to do next. Our chance of salvaging something from the mess it created is being undermined by those selling false hope – either that Brexit can work, or that it can be easily undone. For the 16,000 businesses that have now given up trading with Europe because of paperwor
  
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• Huge update in free bus passes for over 60s in England as date set for MP showdown

  08-12-2025 08:36 via express.co.uk
  A massive campaign to get the same for over 60s in England as in Scotland, Wales and NI will see a key debate
  
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