Financial news

• Martin Lewis says get £1,000 a year back with ‘forgotten' bill

  31-12-2025 16:23 via express.co.uk
  Martin Lewis says looking at your water bills, the 'forgotten utility', could be worth up to £1,000 a year.
  
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• ‘A sign to change your technique’: how to make your toothbrush last longer – and keep it out of landfill

  07-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  They may be small, but toothbrushes can create mountains of waste. Experts reveal how to clean and care for them and extend their life• The best electric toothbrushes, testedIf toothbrushes were sentient, they’d complain about their lot in life. Their thankless existence involves repeatedly cleaning one of the grimmest parts of the body, then being thrown out once their bristles are insufficiently effective. Or, in the case of electric toothbrushes, decapitated before resuming their d
  
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• Government signals tougher motoring rules to reduce casualties on Britain’s roads

  06-01-2026 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Eye-tests for older drivers, compulsory braking technology in new cars and a crackdown on drink-driving among new proposals‘Bigger than me’: road safety campaigner whose son died in collision welcomes new UK rulesTougher rules on drink-driving, eye tests for older motorists and automatic emergency braking in new cars will be mandated by the government in an attempt to significantly reduce casualties on Britain’s roads.The first road safety strategy in more than a decade aims to
  
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• Little-known DWP deadline that could cost you £2,472 per year

  06-01-2026 18:01 via express.co.uk
  The government is making a benefit change that will affect payments this year.
  
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• The Crusader: System delays make a SORN appeal a hard fight for motorist

  06-01-2026 17:02 via express.co.uk
  A car owner's wretched experience began two years ago when his untaxed vehicle had to be moved urgently on to the public pavement just outside his home.
  
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• Lloyds launches mega £250 current account bank switch deal

  06-01-2026 16:51 via express.co.uk
  The offer is only available for a limited time.
  
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• Households face £300 fine over log burner mistake after law change

  06-01-2026 16:20 via express.co.uk
  Households could be landed with hefty fines this winter for breaking log burner rules.
  
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• Angela Rayner isn’t even in the cabinet – but she’s about to inflict ruin on Britain

  06-01-2026 16:00 via express.co.uk
  Red Ange was kicked out of government months ago but in many ways she's never left.
  
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• Kent water failure was foreseen and could have been stopped, regulator says

  06-01-2026 15:48 via theguardian.com
  Problem at water treatment centre left 24,000 Tunbridge Wells homes without drinking water for two weeksA failure at a water treatment centre that left tens of thousands of Kent households without water was foreseen weeks before it happened and could have been stopped, the regulator has said.Twenty-four thousand homes in the Tunbridge Wells area were without drinking water for two weeks from 30 November last year due to a failure at the Pembury water treatment centre. Continue reading...
  
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• Anyone with multiple pension pots issued key update by money expert

  06-01-2026 15:26 via express.co.uk
  New research shows 32% of people in the UK hold at least two pensions, with one in four having three or more retirement pots
  
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• Tax threshold freeze lands 1.3m with surprise demands from HMRC

  06-01-2026 15:15 via express.co.uk
  Simple assessments are issued when tax cannot be collected automatically through PAYE
  
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• Iconic UK bars and restaurant chain 'shutting 20 outlets' full list of at risk venues

  06-01-2026 15:13 via express.co.uk
  The burger and cocktail restaurants have been trading since 1986 but has plunged into administration
  
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• Ed Miliband gives '£30 levy' update affecting every home with a boiler

  06-01-2026 15:00 via express.co.uk
  Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has he promised the warm homes plan 'soon'
  
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• Donald Trump's Venezuela strike should have investors hawk-eyed on markets

  06-01-2026 14:51 via express.co.uk
  Do not mistake the absence of an immediate shock for the absence of risk going forward.
  
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• How illegal HMO properties are risking lives (and how Guardian readers can help) – video

  06-01-2026 10:56 via theguardian.com
  Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are often promoted as a quick money-making opportunity, but at least one in four in England are operating illegally, often leading to vulnerable people living in squalid and cramped conditions. Poor housing is not just a housing issue; it is a public health emergency. The NHS spends an estimated £1.4bn a year treating conditions caused or worsened by poor housing. It's a crisis that is exacerbated by a chronic lack of affordable housing nationwide. Jos
  
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• I can’t access my father’s legacy after solicitors closed down

  06-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The firm that is holding the files has gone out of business, and complaining may take monthsMy dad died in July in harrowing circumstances. Our probate application was close to being finalised by our solicitor.Then this month we received an email from the solicitor, Samuel Phillips Law, to say it had ceased trading. No explanation was given. Continue reading...
  
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• How long will it take you to reach your savings goals for the new year? – calculator

  06-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  See how quickly giving up treats will help you hit a target – and a trick that can speed it upNew year money: 26 tools and apps to help you sort your finances in 2026
  As Tuesday marks the official end of the Christmas season, it is time to start thinking about those new year resolutions in earnest.Savings are at the heart of many people’s pledges – whether it’s building up an emergency fund to cover disasters, or putting money aside for a short- or long-term goal. Cutting
  
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• UK credit card borrowing rises at fastest annual rate in almost two years

  06-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Bank of England says individuals borrowed extra £2.1bn in consumer credit in NovemberCredit card borrowing rose at the fastest annual rate for almost two years in November, according to the Bank of England, as households took on debt to finance the rising cost of Christmas.In a snapshot covering the month of Rachel Reeves’s highly anticipated autumn budget, the central bank said individuals borrowed an additional £2.1bn in consumer credit, up from a £1.7bn increase in Oct
  
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• UK car sales top 2m in 2025 as Chinese brands boom

  06-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMTA rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the
  
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• The Guardian view on the junk food advertising ban: shaping tastes is a job for government | Editorial

  05-01-2026 20:04 via theguardian.com
  Weight-loss drugs cannot solve the problem of poor diet. Ministers are right to demand healthier food and promotionsAfter years of wrangling, from this week new rules shield children in the UK from junk food advertisements. Those featuring processed food and drink products in 13 categories – including soft drinks with added sugar, crisps, chocolate and sweets – are now banned online, and can only be shown on broadcast TV after 9pm. In a month already strongly associated with the givi
  
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• Grok AI still being used to digitally undress women and children despite suspension pledge

  05-01-2026 19:45 via theguardian.com
  Degrading pictures being posted on Elon Musk’s site despite the platform pledging to suspend people who generate themDegrading images of children and women with their clothes digitally removed by Grok AI continue to be shared on Elon Musk’s X, despite the platform’s commitment to suspend users who generate them.After days of concern over use of the chatbot to alter photographs to create sexualised pictures of real women and children stripped to their underwear without their con
  
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• Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop near collapse, putting 2,550 jobs at risk

  05-01-2026 19:18 via theguardian.com
  Owner Modella starts insolvency proceedings for both chains, saying trading is ‘extremely challenging’The retailers Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop are on the brink of administration, putting 2,550 jobs at risk.Both chains are owned by Modella Capital, a private equity firm, which recently bought the high street arm of WH Smith – renamed TG Jones. Modella said in a statement that the climate on UK high streets was “extremely challenging” and data sugges
  
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• Crude appeal: why Trump wants Venezuela’s oil – podcast

  05-01-2026 18:57 via theguardian.com
  The US capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday left many people wondering why? Donald Trump hinted at an answer when he claimed the Venezuelan regime had stolen US oil rights and that American oil companies would help to run Venezuela going forward.Jillian Ambrose, the Guardian energy correspondent, explains to Ian Sample the appeal of Venezuelan oil to the US, how easy it is to extract and what the latest action tells us about Trump’s energy strategyClips:
  
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• Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war

  05-01-2026 17:33 via theguardian.com
  First and only GLP-1 pill on the market costs significantly less than injectable versionsThe first pill version of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs has been launched in the US by Novo Nordisk at a lower cost than jab varieties, accelerating a price war in the sector.The Danish pharmaceutical company said on Monday that its once-a-day Wegovy pill, which received approval from the US regulator just before Christmas, was now available in the country. Continue reading...
  
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• Dense, sticky and heavy: why Venezuelan crude oil appeals to US refineries

  05-01-2026 17:27 via theguardian.com
  South American nation’s tar-like oil is what many Gulf coast facilities were built for but ramping up production to 3m barrels a day will be a long gameClustered along the US Gulf coast are some of the largest and most complex heavy-oil refineries in the world. These sprawling industrial hubs, owned by major US oil companies, stand ready to emerge as some of the major victors of Donald Trump’s swoop on Venezuela.In some ways, these refineries are a relic of another time; built to pro
  
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• Prax Lindsey oil refinery bought out of administration by US rival

  05-01-2026 16:24 via theguardian.com
  Insolvency Service says 250 staff remaining at Lincolnshire site will be guaranteed jobs until the end of MarchBusiness live – latest updatesThe Prax Lindsey oil refinery in north Lincolnshire is to merge with a neighbouring former rival after the US energy company Phillips 66 bought the site, which collapsed into administration last summer.The US company plans to integrate the Prax operations with the nearby Humber refinery, which it already owns. It said it would not restart “stand
  
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• US energy stocks rise as Trump vows to unlock Venezuela’s oil

  05-01-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Oil price rises despite fears US president’s pledge could deepen global supply glutBig oil will be wary of rushing back to VenezuelaVenezuela crisis – latest updatesUS energy stocks rose on Monday, briefly hitting an all-time high, after Donald Trump promised to unlock Venezuela’s vast crude oil reserves following the US capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.Shares in Chevron, which already operates in Venezuela under a special licence provided by the
  
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• Aldi reports record Christmas sales after shoppers moved to cut festive grocery bills

  05-01-2026 11:16 via theguardian.com
  UK’s fourth-largest supermarket’s sales rose 3% with 5.5m bottles of fizz and 500,000 turkeys soldBusiness live – latest updatesAldi has reported record Christmas sales as cost-conscious shoppers aimed to cut their festive grocery spending.The UK arm of the German discounter said sales rose by 3% year-on-year in the four weeks to 24 December to £1.65bn, with a 5% surge of £500m in the final week. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Our minerals could be used to annex us’: why Canada doesn’t want US mining

  05-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Opposition to a controversial graphite mine in Quebec strengthened once the Pentagon became involvedThe Outaouais region on the western edge of Quebec is home to thousands of lakes, vast forests and extensive wetlands. It is also the setting of a swathe of wooded land known as La Petite-Nation, which, although not far from the cities of Montreal and Ottawa, remains relatively untouched.That, however, is to change with the arrival of a controversial graphite mine with financing from the Pentagon.
  
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• From tourism to wine, Syrian businesses flounder in post-Assad cultural flux

  05-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Shop owners report fewer travellers while bars and wineries hope for legal clarity on alcohol saleAbu Ali spent the first hours after the toppling of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad boxing up his merchandise. Old-regime bumper stickers, mugs with Assad’s face, T-shirts on which Russian and Syrian flags faded into each other – it all had to go.A year later, the weathered tourist shop on the boardwalk of the Syrian coastal city of Tartous has entirely new products. The shelves are
  
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