Financial news

• Keir Starmer pays tribute to Rishi Sunak at start of outgoing Tory leader's final PMQs – video

  30-10-2024 13:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Keir Starmer paid tribute to Rishi Sunak during their final clash across the dispatch box at PMQs. Starmer said Sunak's election as the first British Asian prime minister had been a significant moment in UK historyAutumn budget live Continue reading...
  
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• Housing, social care and universities: who lost out in the UK budget?

  31-10-2024 19:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Rachel Reeves made funding the NHS a priority but people working in other areas said they were disappointedRachel Reeves’s first budget emphasised raising taxes to help the NHS, as the health service tries to cope with huge waiting lists and an ageing population. Funding the NHS was a top priority but people in other sectors – from universities to social care – feel the budget was a missed opportunity to tackle impending crises or introduce desperately needed reforms in their a
  
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• This Labour budget is austerity by another name | Letters

  31-10-2024 19:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Politicians including Jeremy Corbyn and MPs from the Green party and Plaid Cymru respond to the chancellor’s plans. Plus a letter from Peter RiddleLabour’s first budget punishes the “working people” they claim to support. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves promised to deliver real change to the electorate, after 14 years of Tory rule. This week, they have broken that promise. This budget is austerity by another name.While we welcome the government’s decision to invest i
  
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• Beer, biscuits and … tools: 2024 Advent calendars – tried and tested

  31-10-2024 18:17 via theguardian.com
  
  From spices to seeds, coffee to candles, we opened the doors of some of this year’s more inventive countdown-to-Christmas offerings – with varying resultsAdvent calendars filled with everything from beauty products to chocolate, Lego to tea, are as much a staple in the run-up to Christmas as drinking too much and listening to Last Christmas for the 1,237th time.So, we’ve sniffed, tasted and drunk our way through 12 of them, rating them by their contents, value for money, sustai
  
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• ‘It has a political vision’: five viewpoints on Reeves’s first budget

  31-10-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A retiree, a young worker, a family, a single parent and a pension saver reflect on what the changes mean for themBudget 2024: key points at a glanceBudget 2024: what it means for youRichard Cox, 72, was one of millions of pensioners who lost out on the winter fuel allowance when the government announced changes to the payments in July. Continue reading...
  
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• Former miners celebrate ‘hard-fought’ win in pension scandal

  31-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Rachel Reeves’s budget ended arrangement whereby government took half surplus of pension schemeUK politics live: latest reaction to the budgetFormer miners have said they are delighted their “hard-fought campaign has finally paid off” after the government said it would end the pension scandal that left many of them “dying in abject poverty”.In her first budget on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves announced the £1.5bn mineworkers’ pension fund would be handed over
  
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• Could you be entitled to a payout after court ruling on car finance?

  31-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After ‘secret’ commissions paid to dealers by lenders were ruled unlawful, billions might be available in compensationUK lenders are scrambling to assess the fallout of last week’s landmark court of appeal ruling on car finance.The judgment on “secret” commission payments could have far-reaching implications for lenders, beyond those covered by an continuing investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The consumer champion Martin Lewis suggests the row &
  
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• At last, a government willing to spend – but this budget will expose it to two great dangers | Aditya Chakrabortty

  31-10-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The good news: more money is on the table. The problems lie around how it will be raised – and who doesn’t stand to benefitChange. That’s what Keir Starmer promised, isn’t it? In white letters against a bright red background, on the cover of his election manifesto, and in speech after speech. Yesterday’s budget was his once-in-a-government chance to show voters what he means by that, a heavy load borne by Rachel Reeves. Not only will she set the government’s d
  
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• Reeves accused of betraying small family firms with inheritance tax rises

  30-10-2024 20:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor also criticised for letting the very rich off the hook with a lower than expected rise in capital gains taxBudget 2024: key points at a glanceTax rises aimed at inherited wealth are at risk of backfiring, after the chancellor was accused of betraying small family businesses while letting private equity bosses off the hook.Labour’s first budget in 14 years included measures to close inheritance tax (IHT) loopholes and press ahead with scrapping the controversial non-dom tax statu
  
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• The Guardian view on Labour’s choices: emphasising a big state amid economic challenges | Editorial

  30-10-2024 20:14 via theguardian.com
  
  The budget favours increased public spending and taxation, contrasting with Tory austerity. However, there were missed opportunities to address poverty and inequalityThe 1970s are making a notable comeback – not necessarily in reputation, but certainly as an object of interest. Rachel Reeves’ budget is poised to become part of that “decadology”, primarily because her tax changes mark the biggest shift since Margaret Thatcher slammed Labour for its “genuine socialist
  
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• Carers’ earnings limit to rise by £45 a week after allowance scandal

  30-10-2024 19:55 via theguardian.com
  Guardian investigation revealed scale of penalties for unwitting breaches of carer’s allowance earnings limitsBudget 2024: key points at a glanceThe earnings limit placed on people who claim government support for taking care of disabled, sick and elderly loved ones will rise by £45 a week, the chancellor has announced, after a six-month Guardian investigation into the carer’s allowance scandal.The changes will enable full-time unpaid carers who provide care for at least 35 hou
  
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• Budget 2024: what it means for you

  30-10-2024 19:43 via theguardian.com
  
  How the chancellor’s changes to tax, benefits and pensions will affect your personal financesWhat the budget means for your financesBudget 2024: key points at a glanceThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has pressed the button tax and benefits changes that will have an impact on the pound in your pocket. Through a range of scenarios we explore what it means in financial terms.Some figures rounded up to the nearest pound. In some cases different rates apply in Scotland. Continue reading...
  
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• Regulated rail fares in England to rise by inflation-busting 4.6% in 2025

  30-10-2024 17:56 via theguardian.com
  
  ​L​abour announces only​ the second RPI-plus ​r​ise ​since 2013, though​ stresses it is ‘lowest absolute increase in three years’Rail fares will go up by 4.6% next March, the government disclosed alongside the budget – meaning they will rise above inflation for only the second time in 12 years.Meanwhile, the cost of most railcards will rise by £5, or almost 17%. Continue reading...
  
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• Is this the budget Britain needs? Our panel responds | Frances Ryan and others

  30-10-2024 16:31 via theguardian.com
  
  In Labour’s first budget for almost 15 years, Rachel Reeves has unveiled tax rises and promises of investment in public servicesHere comes Labour defining itself at last with the biggest tax-raising budget in a lifetime: the £70bn in new spending – with £40bn coming from raised taxation – is big enough to see from space. This should lift the public mood, after the chancellor committed to economic change with her “invest, invest, invest” message. She demo
  
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• Ghost jobs: why do 40% of companies advertise positions that don’t exist?

  30-10-2024 15:41 via theguardian.com
  
  A survey has revealed that the practice is widespread, with many companies going as far as fake-interviewing tooName: Ghost jobs.Age: Old, but increasingly common. Continue reading...
  
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• Autumn budget live: Rachel Reeves says taxes will rise by £40bn as she delivers budget

  30-10-2024 14:18 via theguardian.com
  
  The chancellor is setting out the government’s tax and spending plansBudget 2024: key points at a glanceGeorge Osborne is credited with popularising the baseline theory of economic policy, which says the government always has the advantage in politics because, at budgets, it sets the baseline, and so if the opposition wants to do anything different, it has to explain what spending it is going to cut (if it wants to reduce taxes), or what taxes it is going to raise (if it wants to increase
  
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• Nuclear submarine shipyard fire at Barrow-in-Furness leaves two in hospital

  30-10-2024 14:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents told to stay indoors but police say there is no nuclear risk from blaze at BAE Systems complexTwo people have been taken to hospital after a “significant” fire broke out at BAE Systems’ nuclear submarine shipyard in Cumbria.Residents said they saw huge flames and smoke billowing from the giant complex in Barrow-in-Furness, where the UK’s new multi-billion-pound Dreadnought submarines are being built. Continue reading...
  
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• The post-Roe rebranding of birth control: ‘a little bit Glossier’, a lot more lucrative?

  30-10-2024 14:00 via theguardian.com
  A host of slickly marketed women’s health companies are changing the way life-altering medication is accessed – and commodifying it at the same timeKarley Sciortino, a sex influencer, former Vice columnist and the founder of the blog Slutever, is known for her unfiltered writing on kink and dating (a sample advice column is titled “Should I Be Double-Teamed by a Couple Twice My Age?”) . On Instagram, she occasionally posts sponsored content promoting personal lubricants a
  
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• US economic growth slows, as Germany avoids recession and France gets Olympics boost – business live

  30-10-2024 13:48 via theguardian.com
  Eurozone GDP grew by 0.4% in the last quarter, faster than expected, as Germany’s economy avoids second contraction in a rowAutumn budget live: major tax rises expected as Rachel Reeves prepares to set out first Labour budget in 15 yearsFrom capital gains to NICs: tax changes to look out for in autumn 2024 budgetFive key charts: what will underpin 2024 budget statement by Rachel Reeves?Newsflash: Germany has avoided falling into recession, in a welcome sign for Europe’s largest econo
  
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• Never dry clothes on radiators – it causes big problem

  30-10-2024 13:37 via express.co.uk
  
  Brits have been warned against drying their clothes on radiators as it can be damaging to your home and health. It can even lead to a fire hazard.
  
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• Rachel Reeves appears with red box at Downing Street before budget – video

  30-10-2024 12:58 via theguardian.com
  
  The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, holds up her ministerial red box before the press at Downing Street before delivering her budget statement in the House of Commons. Reeves, the first woman to hold the post of chancellor of the exchequer in the UK, will set out Labour's first budget in 15 yearsAutumn budget live Continue reading...
  
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• DWP sent urgent WASPI warning over compensation as minister issues date apology

  30-10-2024 12:36 via express.co.uk
  
  A final report was published on March 21, yet 'all that successive ministers have done is kick the can down the road'
  
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• Trump’s mass deportation plan would be ‘economic disaster’ for US

  30-10-2024 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Loss of migrant workers would trigger productivity losses and a new round of inflationary pricing pressureIf elected, Donald Trump plans to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history”. After pushback on Joe Biden’s border policies, Kamala Harris has embraced border restrictions and the need to maintain limits on asylum seekers. But neither candidate captures the realities of US immigration.US consumers are accustomed to cheap goods and services, and the ec
  
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• The truth about immigration? As Elon Musk shows, borders are always open for the rich | Arwa Mahdawi

  30-10-2024 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The South African-born multibillionaire almost certainly worked in the US without correct authorisation – just another ‘enterprising expat’ operating in a ‘legal grey area’When is an illegal immigrant not an illegal immigrant? When they’re a privileged white person, of course. In that case the correct classification is “enterprising expat” operating in a “legal grey area”.No prizes for guessing who I’m referencing here. Yep, it&rs
  
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• Sweden and Norway rethink cashless society plans over Russia security fears

  30-10-2024 11:50 via theguardian.com
  Rise in hybrid warfare and cyber-attacks blamed on pro-Russia groups prompt Nordic neighbours to backpedal Sweden and Norway are backpedalling on plans for cashless societies over fears that fully digital payment systems would leave them vulnerable to Russian security threats, and concern for those unable to use them.A combination of good high-speed internet coverage, high digital literacy rates, large rural populations and fast-growing fintech industries had put the Nordic neighbours on a fast
  
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• Households told hack could save £165 a year off energy bills as Martin Lewis urges act now

  30-10-2024 11:42 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis told viewers of his popular ITV show there are a few simple steps to help them save on their energy bills.
  
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• Thousands of UK households could get £400 a year to cut energy bills

  30-10-2024 11:31 via express.co.uk
  
  The Great British Insulation Scheme could save low-income households up to £400 annually on fuel bills through new energy efficiency upgrades
  
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• Martin Lewis says Budget will see DWP benefit rule change that will boost 1.4m Brits

  30-10-2024 11:16 via express.co.uk
  
  Finance expert Martin Lewis announced the "good news" in the run-up to today's Budget.
  
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• Young buyers to get £20,000 towards first home - plus 25% tax-free bonus worth up to £1k

  30-10-2024 11:03 via express.co.uk
  
  More than eight million over 50s are planning to help younger family members get on the property ladder by gifting a generous £20,728 each on average.
  
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• Pensioners warned 'act now' over little-known benefit that could protect your pot

  30-10-2024 11:03 via express.co.uk
  
  The Chancellor has admitted some of the changes will be "painful" while speculation about the proposals has triggered anxiety over just what they will mean
  
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