Processing of unwanted items has become increasing problem for retailers since Covid online boom
The fast fashion website Boohoo has become the latest online retailer to start charging shoppers to return items.
Boohoo customers will now have to pay £1.99 when they send unwanted goods back, and the cost will be deducted from the amount they are refunded.
Continue reading...‘Buy now, pay later’ firm, once Europe’s most valuable private tech company, valued at less than $7bn
Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” fintech darling that was once Europe’s most valuable private tech company, has seen its value slashed by 85% to less than $7bn in its latest round of fundraising.
The company, which enjoyed stellar growth while also being criticised for potentially leading shoppers into unsustainable debt, announced the valuation after the conclusion of a difficult $800m funding round as investors continued to question the true worth of many tech businesses.
Continue reading...The children’s commissioner for England urged MPs to take urgent steps to tackle child poverty
The children’s commissioner for England has called on the government to develop urgent plans to tackle child poverty, amid the cost of living crisis that is hitting the most vulnerable in society hardest.
Rachel de Souza said children were increasingly worried about the soaring price of basic essentials and the impact on their lives, telling MPs on the Commons education committee that urgent steps were required to tackle poverty ahead of a difficult autumn for families.
Continue reading...Analysis: longer mortgages would unlock the bind many renters find themselves in but could be expensive
A 50-year home loan might sound depressing to some, but perhaps not if the alternative is never being able to buy a property. Long-term fixed-rate mortgages are an emerging financial product that should in theory allow first-time buyers who are currently priced out of the market to get on the housing ladder.
By spreading the repayments over longer – the average for mortgages taken out this year is 29 years – buyers should be able to borrow up to eight times their income, rather than the current average of 3.2 times, say potential providers. The loans would be backed by borrowing from pension funds and insurance companies rather than against less stable consumer deposits, to satisfy the Bank of England’s prudential requirement.
Continue reading...Cautious welcome for idea to tackle housing crisis but experts warn of risks to those inheriting
Downing Street is exploring the idea of trying to tackle the housing crisis with ultra-long mortgages of up to 50 years that could pass between generations, allowing more people to build up equity rather than pay rent.
Mortgage experts said the idea could bring some benefits but flagged problems, including the potential to saddle children with debt, and the fact it would not tackle the fundamental issue of housing supply.
Continue reading...Weakening economy, cost-of-living squeeze and rising interest rates are cooling market, index shows
Annual house price gains across the UK have slowed for a third month as the weakening economy, cost of living squeeze and rising interest rates started to have an impact on the property market.
The average UK house price hit a new record high of £271,613, but there are “tentative signs of a slowdown,” Nationwide building society said.
Continue reading...Internet downtime for the city averages 70 hours a year, with 11m Britons losing almost two days a year
Almost 11 million consumers have suffered a broadband blackout lasting more than three hours over the last year, with Nottingham named Britain’s “outage capital”.
The average UK household lost a total of almost two days of internet time as a result of loss of service, power cuts and maintenance, figures show.
Continue reading...Sunak’s attempt to make a distinction between increases in pensions and wages fuels a sense of political favouritism
The government has got itself into a fine muddle on the triple lock pension guarantee, David Cameron’s gift-cum-bribe to older voters in 2010 that has ricocheted down the years. On the one hand, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak argue that awarding inflation-matching pay rises to public sector workers would risk an “inflationary spiral” and so should be avoided. On the other, the chancellor maintains that lifting the state pension by 10% – the figure likely to be produced by the triple lock formula – wouldn’t create inflationary pressures.
The position makes no sense. Income increases, whether delivered via pension payments or pay packets, all contribute to aggregate demand and spending capacity. Sunak’s attempt to make a distinction – “pensions are not an input cost into the cost of producing goods and services we all consume so they don’t add to inflation in the same way,” he said – only fuelled the sense of naked political favouritism. Teachers, to alight on the next bargaining battleground, aren’t manufacturing soap suds either.
Continue reading...Old-style notes must either be spent or deposited in a bank before end of September
People have just 100 days left to use the paper £20 and £50 banknotes remaining in circulation, the Bank of England has said.
The last day the notes will have legal tender status is 30 September.
Continue reading...Analysis finds 58% of rapeseed oil in Europe is burned for fuel despite soaring prices and climate impact
Europe and the UK are pouring 17,000 tons – or about 19 million bottles – of cooking oil into vehicle fuel tanks every day, even though it is up to two-and-a-half times more expensive than before 2021, according to new analysis.
The equivalent of another 14 million bottles a day of palm and soy oil – mostly from Indonesia and South America – is also burned for fuel, the research says.
Continue reading...New forecasts suggest household bills could rise more than £1,000 after another spike in wholesale prices
The energy price cap could reach nearly £3,000 in the Britain at the beginning of October, with the planned increase possibly being more than £1,000 according to a new forecast.
It is expected to rise to £2,980.63 for the next period, which runs between October and December, after another spike in wholesale demand prices last week.
Continue reading...Ukraine war, China lockdowns and Brexit help push up inflation, with products that rely on wheat worst hit
Food price rises in the UK could hit 15% this summer – the highest level in more than 20 years – with inflation lasting into the middle of next year, according to a report.
Meat, cereals, dairy, fruit and vegetables are likely to be the worst affected as the war in Ukraine combines with production lockdowns in China and export bans on key food stuffs such as palm oil from Indonesia and wheat from India, the grocery trade body IGD warns.
Continue reading...Shoppers air frustration at UK fast-fashion retailer’s failure to honour refunds after falling into insolvency
Customers of the collapsed fast fashion retailer Missguided will not receive refunds for returns, administrators of the business have confirmed.
It comes after the Manchester-based company fell into insolvency last month after racking up millions of pounds in outstanding payments to creditors.
Continue reading...Inflation and soaring energy bills cause squeeze on living standards, as unemployment rises slightly
Average wages in the UK are falling at the fastest rate for more than a decade as annual pay growth fails to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in regular pay, excluding bonuses, fell by 2.2% in the three months to April after adjusting for its preferred measure of inflation – the biggest fall since November 2011.
Continue reading...Cartel members given jail sentences in Australian first after colluding to fix dollar and Vietnamese dong exchange rate
An Australian court has fined a money transfer business $1m and imposed jail sentences on members of a cartel that fixed the Australian dollar and Vietnamese dong exchange rate.
It was the first time an Australian court had imposed jail time for such a crime, however federal court judge Wendy Abraham immediately released the four people – Van Ngoc Le, his son, Tony Le, Thi Huong Nguyen and Khai Van Tran – on good behaviour bonds.
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Continue reading...OECD singles out cost of living crisis as a cause of Britain’s slide down growth league table
Boris Johnson’s attempt to reset his troubled premiership has received a double blow after petrol prices had their biggest daily rise in 17 years and a leading international thinktank said the UK economy would slow to a standstill next year.
Fears that Britain is heading for a prolonged period of 1970s-style stagflation intensified amid fresh evidence of the damaging impact of the war in Ukraine on the cost of living and growth.
Continue reading...Centrica boss also defends Amber Rudd’s appointment to its board as a non-executive
The British Gas owner, Centrica, has warned that Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax will “damage investor confidence” as Britain attempts to build up green energy supplies.
The Centrica chairman, Scott Wheway, and its chief executive, Chris O’Shea, hit out at the chancellor’s 25% levy on oil and gas operators’ excess profits, which will be used to pay for measures to reduce soaring energy bills.
Continue reading...Former PM joins panel discussion of pandemic’s effect on workplace gender equality and urges bosses not to overlook women
Former prime minister Julia Gillard says women risk becoming “invisible behind the screen” during the Covid-led transition to remote working and has urged bosses to ensure female employees working from home aren’t overlooked for promotion.
Australia’s first female prime minister on Wednesday also welcomed the record number of women in Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, calling it “very important” as the Labor ministry was sworn in.
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Continue reading...Half worry rocketing prices will cut spending, while three in four fear long-term damage to businesses
Three-quarters of small and medium-sized companies are worried about the long-term impact the cost of living crisis, soaring energy bills and rising inflation will have on their business, a survey has found.
Just over half (51%) of SMEs said they were concerned that rocketing prices would dent consumer spending, in response to Barclays’ SME Barometer, a quarterly survey of business sentiment conducted for the bank.
Continue reading...One-off levy to fund support package amid cost of living crisis which could include increase in benefits
Rishi Sunak will push the button on a controversial windfall tax on energy companies on Thursday, as he lays out measures to ease the pain of rising household bills.
The chancellor has confirmed speculation he will announce fresh support for Britons struggling with the cost of living crisis. The measures are expected to help the poorest households as rampant inflation pushes up the price of everything from food to fuel.
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