Financial news

• Mr Kipling maker's shares in exceedingly sharp fall as profits sliced

  18-01-2017 17:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Premier Foods, which also owns Ambrosia and Oxo, blames post-Brexit-vote slide in pound and rising commodity prices Shares in Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling cakes, Ambrosia rice pudding and Oxo stock cubes, have fallen sharply after it warned profits would be hit by rising costs linked to the fall in the pound since the Brexit vote. After a tough quarter in the run-up to Christmas, Premier said annual trading profits would be 10% lower than previously expected. City analysts had pencille
  
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• Full list of new smart meter rules as households get £40 payments from Monday

  16-02-2026 14:55 via express.co.uk
  It's hoped that the new rules will set clear expectations of suppliers and push them to improve their smart meter standards.
  
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• HMRC says boost State Pension payments with £26 a week claim

  16-02-2026 14:41 via express.co.uk
  Payment rates are due to rise from April to give claimants £27.05 per week.
  
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• Martin Lewis explains key age limit that applies to pensioners

  16-02-2026 14:16 via express.co.uk
  He said you can save hundreds of pounds with some deals
  
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• Lloyds Bank to close 14 UK branches in March – full list

  16-02-2026 13:47 via express.co.uk
  Branches are due to close in Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Glossop, among others.
  
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• Morrisons makes major change in 343 supermarket cafes in 2026

  16-02-2026 13:22 via express.co.uk
  The change announced today will benefit millions of families across the UK.
  
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• Tesco Clubcard launches new £1 rule - customers will be happy

  16-02-2026 13:15 via express.co.uk
  Tesco has just made a major new announcement that's set to delight many of its customers.
  
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• HMRC sending new tax codes to state pensioners to take winter fuel payment back

  16-02-2026 12:52 via express.co.uk
  HMRC is sending new tax codes out to state pensioners to take their winter fuel payment back if they go over the £35,000 threshold.
  
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• Three groups could miss out on full State Pension payments - check if you're affected

  16-02-2026 12:35 via express.co.uk
  You could be missing out on a full State Pension due to National Insurance gaps, historic childcare rules and contracted-out schemes.
  
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• Rachel Reeves' cash ISA limit cut sparks warning

  16-02-2026 12:26 via express.co.uk
  Rachel Reeves announced in November that the annual cash ISA limit would be cut from £20,000 to £12,000
  
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• American in London shocked by Tesco as she praises UK as grocery 'paradise'

  16-02-2026 11:49 via express.co.uk
  An American who moved from a place where it's "normal to spend senselessly on food" to the UK was shocked by the prices in Waitrose, but then they "went to Tesco"
  
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• Why did I get a £100 parking fine when charging my electric car?

  16-02-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The charger firm claimed the site operated 24 hours a day, but the parking operator had different ideasI charged my electric car at the 24-hour Mer EV charging station in my local B&Q car park.I then received a £100 parking charge notice (PCN) from the car park operator, Ocean Parking. It said no parking is allowed on the site between 9pm and 6am. Continue reading...
  
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• Rural drivers to face steepest bills under UK’s mileage-based electric vehicle tax

  16-02-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Analysis reveals big regional disparities as critics say Labour’s proposed levy could slow uptake of EVsDrivers in the south-west of England would pay nearly four times as much as those in London as a result of Labour’s mileage-based tax on electric cars, according to analysis of official data.The 3p-a-mile road charge, announced in the autumn budget and due to take effect in 2028, is expected to raise £1.1bn a year, partly offsetting the loss of fuel duty revenues as drivers s
  
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• Bank of England should cut rates to boost consumer spending, says TUC

  16-02-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Union analysis finds consumers lag behind international peers as some rate-setters remain anxious about inflationThe Trades Union Congress is urging the Bank of England to cut interest rates and rekindle economic growth, pointing to analysis showing that cash-strapped consumers are lagging their international peers.The Bank’s monetary policy committee voted 5-4 to leave borrowing costs unchanged this month, after six cuts since mid-2024. Continue reading...
  
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• What technology takes from us – and how to take it back – podcast

  16-02-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it’s going to take collective effortBy Rebecca Solnit. Read by Laurel Lefkow Continue reading...
  
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• Makers of AI chatbots that put children at risk face big fines or UK ban

  15-02-2026 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Starmer to announce ‘crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI’ after scandal involving Elon Musk’s Grok toolMakers of AI chatbots that put children at risk will face massive fines or even see their services blocked in the UK under law changes to be announced by Keir Starmer on Monday.Emboldened by Elon Musk’s X stopping its Grok AI tool from creating sexualised images of real people in the UK after public outrage last month, ministers are planning a “crackdow
  
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• The Guardian view on AI: safety staff departures raise worries about industry pursuing profit at all costs | Editorial

  15-02-2026 18:25 via theguardian.com
  Cash-hungry Silicon Valley firms are scrambling for revenue. Regulate them now before the tech becomes too big to failHardly a month passes without an AI grandee cautioning that the technology poses an existential threat to humanity. Many of these warnings might be hazy or naive. Others may be self-interested. Calm, level-headed scrutiny is needed. Some warnings, though, are worth taking seriously.Last week, some notable ground-level AI safety researchers quit, warning that firms chasing profits
  
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• Welsh munitions factory seen as crucial to boosting UK stockpiles and aiding Ukraine is yet to open

  15-02-2026 16:16 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Delay at Glascoed is latest setback for armed forces and for UK’s capacity to supply shells to UkraineA new factory in Wales seen as crucial to boosting UK munitions production remains unopened more than six months after its planned launch, adding to a string of delays dogging the armed forces.The explosives facility at Glascoed, south Wales, was expected to bring a 16-fold increase in Britain’s capacity to make artillery shells, replenishing dwindling stock and increasing
  
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• Even amid rising economic uncertainty, now is not the time to hug your job | Gene Marks

  15-02-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  In a rapidly changing job market, it’s not necessarily good for workers to cling to their current employmentAfter all the employee protests over the past few years – the “great resignations”, the “quiet quittings”, the “bare-minimum Mondays” and “coffee badgings” – we have finally arrived at “job hugging”.Amid all the economic uncertainty and the rising costs of everything, people aren’t feeling as confident as t
  
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• Starmer has chance to put overseas aid and debt relief on G20 agenda | Heather Stewart

  15-02-2026 14:16 via theguardian.com
  Reclaiming Labour’s internationalist heart could also stop disillusioned voters drifting towards Lib Dems and GreensIf Keir Starmer wants to win back disillusioned voters deserting his party for the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, he could do worse than rediscover Labour’s longstanding moral commitment to international development.Since cutting the overseas aid budget to fund higher defence spending – losing the excellent Anneliese Dodds in the process – Labour has had l
  
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• Trump touts climate savings but new rule set to push up US prices

  15-02-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Critics accuse administration of ‘cooking the books’ by claiming US would save $1.3tn from climate finding reversalThe Trump administration claims its latest move to gut climate regulations and end all greenhouse gas standards for vehicles will save Americans money. But its own analysis indicates that the new rule will push up gas prices, and that the benefits of the rollback are unlikely to outweigh the costs.On Thursday, the president and his environmental secretary, Lee Zeldin, an
  
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• Weight-loss race: how switch from injections to pills is expanding big pharma’s hopes

  15-02-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Tablets could make treatment more mainstream, with sector predicted to be worth $200bn by end of the decade“I just felt slow: I want to be able to do anything my kids want to do and not have weight be a factor. Even a ride or a water park – things have weight limits,” says Melody Ewert, 44, from Minnesota.Ewert has just switched from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound weekly injection to Novo Nordisk’s new daily Wegovy pill. Analysts believe the arrival of easy-to-take tablets co
  
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• UK’s gender pay gap ‘won’t close for 30 years’ at current rates

  15-02-2026 12:42 via theguardian.com
  Trades Union Congress says women have worked a month and a half for nothing this year and legislation is neededWomen in the UK will not be paid the same as men until 2056 at the current rate of progress, according to a Trades Union Congress report.The gender pay gap, which stands at £2,548 a year, means that women have in effect worked for nothing so far this year, the TUC said. Continue reading...
  
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• Firm that went bust owing £650k to HMRC offers staff Las Vegas trip after being bought by ex-owner

  15-02-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Acquisition by Premier Group Recruitment boss Andrew Woosnam appears to be example of ‘phoenixism’A recruitment business that went bust owing the tax authorities and other creditors almost £3m has promised to send its staff on an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas after being repurchased by its former owner for an initial £10,000.Premier Group Recruitment went into administration in September with debts of £2.9m – including £647,000 owed to HM Revenue a
  
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• Shattered dreams: Why the battle for Sunderland’s glass centre has turned into a political flashpoint

  15-02-2026 08:28 via theguardian.com
  Custodian University of Sunderland says renovation costs of £45m are too high and building must be pulled down. Not without a fight, say locals, who believe they’re being taken for foolsThe “little pieces of Sunderland” produced by the city’s glassmaking factory for more than a century can be traced back to an even older story that began in the seventh century, when English glassmaking began at a monastery beside the River Wear, run by abbott and later saint Benedic
  
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• ‘It makes no sense’: the battle over plans for a windfarm by the Yorkshire Dales

  15-02-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The fight for Hope Moor is set to be repeated across the UK as the government aims to hit its renewable energy targetsInstead of a slingshot, the Davids are brandishing a sculpture and a coffee table book. Their Goliaths are a Norwegian energy company and a UK energy secretary with renewable targets to meet.A fierce battle has begun over one of England’s tallest windfarms, proposed for deep peat moorland overlooking the Yorkshire Dales national park, in what residents say will mark the irr
  
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• Brushing fraud: Britons told to beware of mystery parcels as new scam soars

  15-02-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Fraudsters use stolen personal details to send out products, then post a fake verified and positive online reviewA package arrives but you can’t remember ordering anything.When you open it, you find some cheap, flimsy jewellery. Continue reading...
  
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• BrewDog could be broken up as craft beer business put up for sale

  14-02-2026 21:58 via theguardian.com
  Brewer last month said it was closing its distilling brands, prompting concerns for jobs at its Scottish facilityThe beer-maker BrewDog could be broken up after consultants were called in to help find new investors.The Scotland-based brewer, which makes craft beer such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has appointed consultants AlixPartners to oversee the sale process. Continue reading...
  
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• US military used Anthropic’s AI model Claude in Venezuela raid, report says

  14-02-2026 17:15 via theguardian.com
  Wall Street Journal says Claude used in operation via Anthropic’s partnership with Palantir TechnologiesClaude, the AI model developed by Anthropic, was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday, a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations.The US raid on Venezuela involved bombing across the capital, Caracas, and the killing of 83 pe
  
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• Record 1,000 UK taxpayers under 30 earned more than £1m last year

  14-02-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  HMRC figures show 11% rise in young million-pound earners, with influencers and tech pay cited as keyTheir generation is often derided for being work-shy, self-centred and overly sensitive. But when it comes to making money, people under 30 are proving they are something else entirely: successful.A record 1,000 taxpayers under 30 earned more than £1m last year, an 11% increase on the year before, HMRC records show. Continue reading...
  
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