Savings rates

Households with fossil fuel cars and gas boilers are shelling out £1,180 more on their annual bills compared with their electric counterparts, according to new analysis shared exclusively with Sky News. Amid high inflation, the saving for homes with electric cars, heat pumps and an energy efficiency band C rating - the government target level - has almost doubled from £620 a year ago, research by think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found. The number is set to to jump further still to £1,600 in October. "The question of upfront costs can be significant," acknowledged Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, ECIU's head of analysis. That is why, as low-income households particularly struggle with bills amid a cost of living crisis , "government support to help them get over that hurdle is increasingly important", he argued. Advertisement Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin welcomed the "noble and important" multi-billion pound support package from the … [Read more...] about Revealed: how much ‘electric households’ are saving on bills

LOVE Island star Paige Thorne's family have asked for someone to "save my gal from this hell" after Jacques O'Neill's heartrate soared for ex Gemma Owen. While the paramedic is in the ITV2 villa, her nearest and dearest have taken over her social media accounts to interact with fans. Last night, Paige, 24 , opted to stick with Jacques, 23 , in the re-coupling despite their nasty war of words on Tuesday night. The latest episode of Love Island saw the rugby star offer up a grovelling apology for his behaviour after the heart-rate challenge. A satisfied Paige then went on to couple up with Jacques, but her friends and family have revealed they are NOT impressed. They responded to fans on Twitter campaigning against the pairing, as they begged producers to "save her" from "hell". READ MORE ON LOVE ISLAND ALL BEDS ARE OFF Love Island fans convinced one couple had sex last night- did you spot it? 'payback' Love … [Read more...] about Love Island star Paige’s family and friends beg ‘save my gal from this hell’

Inflation is delivering a serious blow to real incomes and living standards. But is everyone suffering in this process? Or are there some winners who are benefiting at the expense of the losers? Inflation, pure and simple, is a process through which all money values that are free to move rise in lockstep. An inflation of this sort can have practically no real effects, beneficial or harmful. But the trouble is that inflation of this sort exists only in the textbooks. In particular, not all prices are free to rise. The consequence is often a substantial shift in relative prices and incomes. And the battle to preserve positions often leads to wrangling and disputes that waste resources and reduce production, thereby making the economic situation worse. This is exactly what is happening now with the current wave of industrial disputes. Moreover, the current bout of inflation originates partly from the sharp increases in external costs, principally energy . These increases reduce … [Read more...] about Public sector pensioners will be the winners from this inflation disaster

Millions of people will pay more tax on income this year, despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak lauding Wednesday’s increase to the National Insurance threshold as an effective “tax cut”. On July 6, the NI threshold will rise from £9,880 to £12,570, meaning 30 million people will pay less tax, while around 2.2 million will be taken out of paying NI entirely. However, people earning £50,000 or more will still pay more in NI contributions this year than in the 2021-22 tax year. Sean McCann, Chartered Financial Planner at NFU Mutual, said the increase to NI contributions will affect the “squeezed middle” who already have to contend with frozen income tax thresholds and the withdrawal of child benefit. Because of the Chancellor’s decision to keep tax thresholds frozen until 2026, workers earning £30,000 will fork out an extra £1,816 in income tax and NI over the next five years, investment platform Interactive Investor has calculated. The picture is even less rosy for … [Read more...] about Rishi Sunak’s ‘tax cut’ leaves millions paying more

T he American owners of Boots may revive plans for stock market float next year after scrapping the sale of Britain’s biggest chemist to a Wall Street buyout fund and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Walgreens, which merged with Boots in 2014 in a deal worth £9bn, said none of the offers for the “adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots and No7 Beauty Company”. The Illinois-headquartered company said bidders had struggled to arrange bank loans to buy Boots after financial markets “suffered unexpected and dramatic change”. Private equity fund Apollo and Mr Ambani had been in pole position to acquire Boots after Walgreens chairman Stefano Pessina put the business up for sale in January. But a £5bn approach — considerably lower than the £7bn Mr Pessina is said to have wanted — fell through. Ornella Barra, Boots operating chief, wrote to the company’s 56,000 staff saying she was “happy to confirm that it has been decided that Boots and No7 Beauty Company will … [Read more...] about Boots stock market float back on the table as £5bn sale collapses

Chris Carr’s family building company is facing the worst conditions he has ever witnessed. Set up by his grandparents more than 100 years ago, Grimsby-based Carr & Carr has survived multiple economic cycles and major global events including the 2008 financial crash and the Second World War. But current conditions of surging material costs and availability – combined with staff shortages – are unlike anything previously experienced. “I’ve never known a time like this – it’s the perfect storm,” says Carr, who has been a developer for almost forty years. “The worst thing at the moment is the materials shortages, and we’re seeing double-digit increases in prices as well. “It’s difficult to determine a price for a job and tell someone when it will be completed, because you don’t know how much the materials are going to cost and you don’t know when you’re going to get them.” Carr, however, could be one of the luckier ones. The industry-wide problems have forced hundreds of … [Read more...] about ‘We survived the 2008 financial crash and the Second World War – but I’ve never known a time like this’

U.S. producer prices surged 10.8% in May from a year earlier, underscoring the ongoing threat to the economy from inflation that shows no sign of slowing. Tuesday's report from the Labor Department showed that the producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose at slightly slower pace last month than in April, when it jumped 10.9% from a year earlier, and is down from an 11.5% yearly gain in March. On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 0.8% in May from April, above the previous month, when they increased 0.4%. Energy prices, led by gas, rose 5% just in May from April. Another big driver of the price gains last month was a sharp 2.9% increase in the cost of truck freight hauling, a sign that supply chain problems still aren't fully resolved. Food costs were unchanged. The figures indicate that rising prices will continue to erode Americans' paychecks and wreak havoc on household budgets in the coming months. Inflation has … [Read more...] about US producer prices soar 10.8% in May as energy costs spike

Fifteen years of stagnant incomes have left families "brutally exposed" to the cost of living crisis, a report has found. Many families have been unable to build up the savings needed to cope with growing prices this year, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank. In the 15 years leading up to the COVID pandemic , the average income of working-age families grew by only 0.7% a year - far slower than in previous decades. Fuel price protesters filmed on motorway - live updates From 1961 to 2005, typical household incomes rose by 2.3% per year on average, or 25% each decade. Advertisement More than one in four families have less than a month's worth of a financial buffer in savings and face a weak social safety net to fall back on, with basic unemployment support now down to its lowest level on record at 13% of average pay, the analysis found. The typical incomes of the poorest fifth of the population did not increase between 2005 … [Read more...] about British families ‘brutally exposed’ to cost of living crisis due to 15 years of stagnant wages, report finds

An incredible fans’ view of Zhou Guanyu’s horrifying British Grand Prix smash has emerged on social media. The Chinese driver was involved in one of the most spectacular shunts in recent F1 history at Silverstone. Following a rapid getaway, Zhou was tagged by the slow-starting Mercedes of George Russell and immediately flipped upside-down. His Alfa Romeo then skated off the circuit and across the gravel trap at high speed. Just before he reached the tyre wall, the car dug in and flipped over, slamming bottom first into the security fence, just metres from shocked fans as marshals and photographers dived for cover. Footage of the crash was filmed by fans in the stand nearby and demonstrated how lucky he was to escape serious injury. Zhou was trapped in his car for several minutes, prompting fears he was seriously injured or worse. But thankfully, he was extracted from the car conscious and taken to the medical centre to be assessed. He was soon declared fit and well and was … [Read more...] about Fan footage just yards away from shocking upside-down British GP crash emerges

By Rebecca Wearn Published 6 June Share close Share page Copy link About sharing People hoping to find a property to rent are going to ever greater lengths to secure a home. As well as having to put up more cash in advance, they're offering landlords CVs for their children and photos of their well-behaved dogs. That's because a shortage of available homes is pushing up monthly rents, deposits and leading to bidding wars. Industry body Propertymark says the number of rentals on the books of lettings agencies has fallen sharply. Propertymark surveyed over 440 letting agency businesses, spread across 4,000 branches UK-wide and found that on average, letting agents have seen the number of available rentals on their books halve, from over 30 to just 15. One is agent Adam Kingswood, who says he's never known the market behave like this in two decades in the business. "We … [Read more...] about Shortage of homes to rent leads to tenant bidding wars