Finanse

The British government yesterday announced an increase in the amount that people hosting Ukrainian refugees in their homes receive as a thank you from £350 to £500 a month, but this higher amount will only be paid after a year.more

Sadiq Khan has been given the green light by ministers to continue to use council tax to bail out Transport for London. In a statement, issued by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, the government has agreed to allow London’s Mayor to add an additional £20 to benchmark Band D council tax bills from next April to help TfL balance its day-to-day budget.more

Price growth in the UK has slowed, which gives hope that the peak of inflation is over. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today that the annual inflation rate was 10.7% in November, down from 11.1% in October.more

One in four children of working parents are planning to offer up their gift or pocket money to help their family cover the costs over Christmas, new research suggests.more

If in doubt, one should first of all check the regulations and contact details of the e-shop, writes today's Rzeczpospolita.more

As workers across the UK prepare for strike action over pay, it has emerged that 2022 has been the worst year for real wage growth in nearly half a century.more

Renters are being pummelled by the cost of living crisis, emerging as the household type most likely to be struggling to afford housing costs and energy bills.more

The government has announced what it describes as one of the biggest overhauls of financial regulation for more than three decades. It says the package of more than 30 reforms will "cut red tape" and "turbocharge growth".more

Energy provider Pinergy has on Friday announced a 14% hike in electricity prices which will add around €320 to a typical household’s annual bill.more

House prices fell at their fastest rate since the start of the financial crisis last month as the toxic fallout from Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-Budget sent the property market plunging.more

Talks have broken down between the union and Royal Mail, a spokesman said, adding that Royal Mail managers are "refusing to budge with their 'best and final' offer". more

Train passengers are to be told to only travel next week if it is absolutely necessary, even if rail worker strikes are called off at the last minute. Workers at the UK's biggest rail union, the RMT, will walk out on 13-14 and 16-17 December causing major disruption.more

The first coinage featuring King Charles III will appear on the 50p coin in circulation in post offices around the UK from Thursday.more

More than 3 million low-income UK households cannot afford to heat their homes, according to research, as a “dangerously cold” weather front arrived from the Arctic.more

Another scandal has erupted in the UK over personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Baroness Michelle Mone at the centre of it, who was alleged to have made £30m from public money as a result.more

More of us are dying all the time than before the pandemic. In 48 weeks this year, 408,000 people died in Poland. This is 30 thousand more than in 2019. - writes today's 'Dziennik Gazeta Prawna'.more

In 2022 and 2023, the purchasing power of the inhabitants of the Netherlands will be lower by 4%. - informs the Central Planning Bureau (CPB). Wage growth is not keeping pace with high inflation, the CPB estimates.more

Fresh rail strikes have been announced for Christmas Eve with the walkout threatening to hit celebrations and travel over the festive weekend.more

More than 100 employees of three companies in Brabant in the south of the Netherlands have received an unusual Christmas present: for the whole of December they will be able to do their grocery shopping at their employer's expense, reports the daily newspaper De Telegraaf.more

45 per cent of employers plan to give employees Christmas bonuses. No Christmas activities are envisaged by 14 per cent of companies, according to a survey by the Randstad Research Institute in cooperation with Gfk. Compared to 2021, the value of Christmas benefits per employee will increase.more

Households are switching from buying fresh food to cheaper frozen goods as the cost of living bites into budgets, the boss of Tesco has said.more

High inflation and the associated price shock are dampening the festive mood of Germans. According to a survey by pollster Insa for the daily Bild, 23 per cent of people will not buy any Christmas presents this year, and less than half would be able to pay for gifts from their current income.more

In the UK, there will not be a single day without some kind of strike until 24 December, with two or three professional groups going on strike at the same time for most of the three weeks remaining before Christmas.more

New York and Singapore topped the list of the most expensive cities in the world. The annual Worldwide Cost of Living Index report, prepared by ECA International, highlighted what we have been feeling so painfully for months - the average cost of living in the largest cities increased by an average of 8.1% in 2022. This is the largest increase in at least 20 years, the report notes.more

Here is a look at the rates PIP claimants will get in 2023-24 as well as details about who is eligible for the benefit.more