Rent rises in Britain are forecast to outpace wage growth, despite having already surged at the fastest pace on record after the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.more
Workers will see their National Insurance (NI) payments cut from Saturday but frozen thresholds mean many are paying more in income tax. The NI rate is falling from 10% to 8% for 27 million employees across the UK - the second such cut this year. It is worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.more
House prices fell in March for the first time in six months, according to the latest data from Halifax. The lender said prices dropped by 1% last month, with higher mortgage rates affecting affordability for prospective buyers.more
British Gas customers who wrongly argue their smart meter is faulty could be at risk of a penalty charge.
Customers who request an engineer callout over concerns their bills could be incorrect face a £175 bill if no fault is found, The Telegraph understands. If an error is identified, the meter will be replaced free of charge.more
The owner of Royal Mail has asked the industry regulator to let it reduce deliveries of second-class letters to just two or three days a week, cutting nearly 1,000 jobs and saving £300m a year in the process.more
Forbes magazine has announced a new list of billionaires. There are as many as 2 781 positions on it, 141 more than last year, the CBS television portal highlighted. Among those whose wealth is estimated to be at least one billion dollars, there are eight Poles, of whom the richest ranks 398th and the least wealthy 1 945th.more
The Ivory Coast, which is the world's largest producer of cocoa beans, will raise the price of cocoa beans by 50 per cent from today, from 1 000 to 1 500 CFA francs (from US$1.65 to US$2.47) per kilogram, the Abidjan portal reported yesterday, citing sources in export companies.more
The minimum wage set by the government, known as the National Living Wage, is increasing by more than £1 for the first time, providing a boost for 2.7 million low-paid workers. The main wage rate is rising from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour and will apply to workers over 21 rather than over 23.more
The average household energy bill is to fall to its lowest point in two years from next month after Ofgem lowered its price cap in response to wholesale prices.
In some long-awaited good news for energy customers, the regulator is dropping its price cap by 12.3% from the current £1,928 for a typical dual fuel household in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,690.more
Average prices of flats on the secondary market have increased between 19 and 41 per cent in individual cities. Compared to 2021, the availability of flats has worsened, according to the Metrohouse and Credipass Barometer report published on Wednesday.more
The minimum wage has driven up the pay of millions of Britain’s lowest earners by £6,000 a year, making it the single most successful economic policy in a generation, according to a leading thinktank.more
Pizza chain Papa Johns has said it will close nearly a tenth of its UK restaurants - all of which it says are "underperforming".
The closures follow a review of the business which identified sites that were "no longer financially viable".more
Almost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.more
Domestic energy prices could be capped based on the time of day that households use their appliances, the regulator Ofgem has said.
The watchdog said it has launched early discussions about a "dynamic" price cap that changes as consumers became more flexible.more
The British public donated a record £13.9bn to charity in 2023, with people in some of the country’s least affluent areas among the most generous, a report reveals.more
A basket of basic Easter shopping will be around 3 per cent more expensive on average compared to 2023. - predict the authors of the 'Retail Price Index' report. They reported that grocery additives will become more expensive, while the prices of fish, meat, cold cuts and dairy products will also be higher. Fruit, on the other hand, will become cheaper.more
None of the 121 governors of the Bank of England to date have stood trial for offences committed in connection with their office, although Humphrbank angliiy Morice, governor from 1727 to 1729, who committed large-scale financial embezzlement, came close to doing so.more
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reversed a decision to close its self-assessment telephone helpline for half of the year. The tax authority announced on Tuesday that the line would be closed between April and September, with taxpayers directed to online services instead.more
For most people, finding a £20 banknote lying unclaimed on the ground would be the highlight of their day.
But choosing to pocket cash you find in public is not nearly as innocent an act as you might think – and could see you hauled into court and prosecuted for theft.
That’s what happened to 23-year-old Nicole Bailey of Highfield Drive, Blurton, when she found a £20 note in a convenience store more
The UK's annual inflation rate stood at 3.4 per cent in February, down significantly from 4.0 per cent in January and the lowest level since September 2021, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported today.more
Mortgage deals are typically on offer for just 15 days before being pulled, despite homeowners and buyers having the widest choice for 16 years.
This is the shortest shelf-life in six months, according to financial information service Moneyfacts.
As a result, people have little time to decide when rates are volatile.more
A record 6.7 million people in Britain are in financial difficulty, a campaign group has claimed, as the cost of living crisis pushes more households into debt.
A survey for Debt Justice found that 13% of adults had missed three or more credit or bill payments in the last six months, a figure that rose to 29% among 18- to 24-year-olds and a quarter of 25- to 34-year-olds.more
Consumer rights’ group Which found that the cost of a day out to some of the capital’s most famous landmarks has soared exponentially since 1974, sometimes by several thousand percent.more