Equity release interest rates

N orway has drawn up plans to ration electricity exports in a move that has heightened fears of energy shortages in the UK and Europe this winter. The government in Oslo on Monday announced new rules limiting the sale of power to foreign countries as heatwaves threaten Norway’s hydroelectric power generation. Experts said the restrictions threatened the UK’s plan to draw power from Norway this winter via the North Sea Link - leaving electricity supplies more stretched and risking even higher bills for consumers. The National Grid has already revealed that the UK is set to be more dependent than ever on the Continent for power, with interconnectors expected to provide up to 5.7 gigawatts of electricity at peak times. About one quarter of that total – or 1.4 gigawatts – is set to come from Norway. Kathryn Porter, an energy consultant at Watt-Logic, said the proposed restrictions “put at risk the ability of Britain to import from Norway this winter”. “National Grid ESO needs to … [Read more...] about Norway threatens to ration electricity in fresh blow for UK and European energy supplies

Kudos to Gordon Brown. The former Labour Prime Minister and Chancellor is at least coming up with bold ideas to tackle soaring energy bills . Unfortunately these ideas are not new, and they are not good ones either. Brown’s starting point is that the energy price cap should be "suspended" before the results of the latest review are announced on 26 August, which presumably means that the cap would be frozen at the current level. Ed Davey, speaking for the Liberal Democrats, has also called for the rise in the cap to be scrapped. This would obviously be popular, but it would still be poor economics. Global energy prices have jumped because supply and demand are out of balance. Market signals need to be allowed to work properly, increasing the incentives for producers to raise output and for consumers to economise, where they can. Of course, many households are already struggling to pay their bills and the pressure on their budgets will only increase. Nonetheless, … [Read more...] about Don’t listen to Gordon Brown — nationalised energy companies would be a disaster

Several Republican state attorneys general informed asset manager BlackRock last week that its shareholder activism efforts “may violate multiple state laws.” The officials’ letter , written in response to a communication from BlackRock Chief Client Officer Mark McCombe claiming that the firm is agnostic on the question of renewable energy , contended that BlackRock’s efforts to promote climate policy shows that they act with “mixed motives” beyond the pursuit of profits. “Rather than being a spectator betting on the game, BlackRock appears to have put on a quarterback jersey and actively taken the field,” the letter said. The officials pointed to BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship Report , which announced that the firm “took voting action on climate issues” against 53 of its portfolio companies in 2020 while putting 191 others “on watch.” Likewise, the attorneys general noted that BlackRock has aligned itself with groups such as the Net Zero Managers Alliance and … [Read more...] about BlackRock May Have Broken The Law With Its Woke Investing Schemes, Republicans Argue | The Daily Wire

THE odds are stacked against solo first-time buyers as house prices reach eye-watering highs. It's one of the main reasons why Zahraa Al-Afadi ditched plans to buy alone and bought a £426,000 flat in Brighton with her mum instead. Property prices have rocketed since the Covid crisis and the average home now costs an average of £283,496 - 12.8% higher since last year, according to latest Land Registry figures. A lack of houses on the market, the stamp duty holiday and high demand have fuelled growth over the past couple of years. Heftier price tags means bigger deposits - and single buyers can often struggle to afford getting on the ladder. Pharmacist Zahraa, 25, found she was priced out of the sort of home she wanted on her budget. Read more in Money ISA ISA BABY I lost £1,000 due to Isa loophole - how you can avoid it DRIVE ON We sold our car to help save up £20,000 deposit to buy our first home … [Read more...] about I’m 25 – astronomical house prices meant I had to buy my £426,000 first home with my MUM

STUFF John Tamihere would scrap light rail plans "Enough of the politics" is the parting plea from Auckland councillor Penny Hulse to those who will lead the city after her 27 years in local government ends next month . "Stop the point-scoring, the internal focus, and focus back on your community," Hulse told Stuff on the eve of her final council meeting. Hulse played a critical role as deputy mayor to Len Brown in the first two terms of the post-amalgamation Auckland Council, but in reflecting on her time in office, mixed pride with weariness over the "Trumpification" of politics, and the rising role of social media nastiness. Both the councillors and the unique structure of Auckland's "super-city" model needed change when the fourth council assembled in November, she said. READ MORE: Auckland politician Penny Hulse: 'You've got to go when you're loving it' Climate change: Call to tackle future risk to Auckland's poorest communities now Brown 'not a … [Read more...] about Political veteran Penny Hulse’s last call: Stop the politics

Huawei is a massive tech company with a long history of making great products at affordable prices. They have a huge catalog of devices ranging from mobile phones, laptops, televisions, and even glasses. But what might be unknown to some is that Huawei has a long-lasting relationship with health and fitness, releasing a wide array of smartwatches and apps. A lot of these products are multi-purpose but Huawei released a dedicated health smartwatch in 2020 called the Watch Fit. This specialised watch was praised for being stylish, user-friendly, and great value for money. Now two years later Huawei has launched its successor, the Watch Fit 2 to build upon the predecessor's success. The Watch Fit 2 features a similar design to the original but it is less rectangular and more square, making it much more compact and slicker than before. Huawei Watch Fit 2 is the company's latest flagship product ( Image: Huawei) It has a 46mm polymer casing that is 10.8mm thick and … [Read more...] about Huawei Watch Fit 2 review: A stylish and versatile wellbeing companion that will elevate your fitness routine

The creators of 90s classic Theme Hospital return with a spiritual sequel that mixes fake illnesses with real management decisions. GTA 6 having a female protagonist is great but I’m afraid of the toxic blacklash As noble a career as doctor or nurse may be we don’t think many people grow up wishing they could be a hospital manager. But if they do it’s probably because they used to play Theme Hospital as a kid. That would give them a dangerously unrealistic view of the job, and the sort of ailments the average A&E has to deal with, but at least it’d make them passionate about helping people. And now a new generation can learn the joys of virtual healthcare. Theme Hospital was released in 1997 and was arguably the last great game from beloved British studio Bullfrog Productions. The developer had been bought by EA some time earlier but following the departure of Peter Molyneux the same year it quickly went into decline and was eventually absorbed into the EA … [Read more...] about Two Point Hospital review – healthy obsession

FOR MORE THAN 350 years, men have been going to Georges Bank, 150 miles out on the continental shelf east of Cape Cod, to fish for cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder, scallops, lobsters. They have decimated stocks more than once, but the fisheries are still there. Back in the early seventies, when catches were unsustainably high, the harvest was, acre-for-acre, the largest in the world. Now other men are heading out to Georges to hunt—through holes inches wide and miles deep—for oil and gas. There won’t be many men at first, perhaps a few hundred aboard a handful of exploratory rigs. But that is enough to signal the fact that along the great submerged thumb stretching from Nantucket Shoals toward Nova Scotia, competition for resources has begun in earnest. The conflict involves two resources in one place, both of importance to the modern world. Oil from Georges would reduce our dependence on foreign supplies, if only slightly. Fish—a resource capable of providing half our minimum … [Read more...] about Resources: Oil, Fish, and Georges Bank

FOR MORE THAN 350 years, men have been going to Georges Bank, 150 miles out on the continental shelf east of Cape Cod, to fish for cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder, scallops, lobsters. They have decimated stocks more than once, but the fisheries are still there. Back in the early seventies, when catches were unsustainably high, the harvest was, acre-foracre, the largest in the world. Now other men are heading out to Georges to hunt—through holes inches wide and miles deep-for oil and gas. There won't be many men at first, perhaps a few hundred aboard a handful of exploratory rigs. But that is enough to signal the fact that along the great submerged thumb stretching from Nantucket Shoals toward Nova Scotia, competition for resources has begun in earnest. The conflict involves two resources in one place, both of importance to the modern world. Oil from Georges would reduce our dependence on foreign supplies, if only slightly. Fish—a resource capable of providing half our minimum … [Read more...] about Oil, Fish, and Georges Bank

The next update for Riot Games' Valorant free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter is live and adjusts one weapon and makes it easier to surrender. Valorant developers made adjustments in the Version 1.03 smaller than past updates as to make the meta form naturally. However, the Guardian had its price reduced and rate of fire reduced to help the weapon carve out its own niche in the current Valorant meta as an economic long-range option for players. As for being able to surrender easier, before this update it took all players on your team to agree to quit in Unrated matches. Now, it'll take 80 percent of your team to agree to surrender. Here are the complete patch notes for Valorant version 1.03: VALORANT VERSION 1.03 PATCH NOTES WEAPON UPDATES Guardian Price reduced from 2700 >>> 2500 Rate of Fire reduced from 6.5 >>> 4.75 Penetration power increased from Medium >>> Heavy Input queue updated from 0.083 >>> 0.1175 … [Read more...] about “Valorant” version 1.03 update makes it easier to surrender – patch notes