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Brexit deal ‘stifling’ UK-EU trade; Microsoft announces huge $60bn share buyback – business live September 17, 2024
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK’s post-Brexit checks on fruit and vegetables delayed for a third timeShares in Intel are up 8% in after-hours trading after it secured a deal to make custom artificial intelligence chips for Amazon.CEO Pat Gelsinger announced the deal – under which Intel will produce an “artificial intelligence […]
Dear Airbnb: who is ‘Rachel’, and how has she taken over my booking? September 17, 2024
When I got a confirmation email addressed to the wrong name. I suspected an error and cancelled. Then £500 was taken from my accountEight months ago, I booked an Airbnb on my new iPhone. The confirmation congratulated someone called Rachel on the booking.I realised Airbnb tech had somehow logged me in to a stranger’s account […]
Ovo Energy to pay out nearly £2.4m over customer complaint failures September 17, 2024
Ofgem says 1,395 customers will receive compensation after lengthy delays in getting complaints addressedBusiness live – latest updatesThe energy supplier Ovo has agreed to pay £2.37m in compensation to customers and towards a redress scheme over failures in how it handled customer complaints.The sector regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, said 1,395 Ovo customers would receive […]
Tackling UK ill health is vital to economic growth, says IPPR September 17, 2024
Government must invest £15bn a year on a changes to improve wellbeing and prosperity, says thinktankTackling Britain’s growing ill-health crisis holds the key to increasing growth and the government needs to invest £15bn a year on a radical programme of reforms designed to improve wellbeing and national prosperity, a left-of-centre thinktank has said.The Institute for […]
Women in UK ‘will be worse off than in 2010 unless public spending rises’ September 17, 2024
Economists say living standards of poorest women will decline by 21% by 2027-28 if Labour sticks to Tory plansRachel Reeves should announce a significant uplift in public spending in next month’s budget, or risk women bearing the brunt of continuing austerity, a group of campaigning economists argue.Analysis by the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) suggests the […]
People are getting ‘stuck’ in insecure work for years, says UK thinktank September 17, 2024
Work Foundation says ‘juggling unpredictable pay and hours’ keeps staff from upskilling and finding new jobs‘I don’t do a monthly shop any more’: life with unpredictable working hoursInsecure work can often be a trap, rather than a stepping stone to a better life, according to new research that tracked the employment of 10,000 people across […]
The cement company that paid millions to Isis: was Lafarge complicit in crimes against humanity? September 17, 2024
The French cement giant started operating in Syria just before the civil war erupted. When Islamic State took over the region, Lafarge paid them protection money so it could keep trading. The consequences are still playing outAgain and again, Bruno Pescheux made one point to his colleagues: no one must know what their company was […]
UK’s smart meter targets leaving energy users short-changed, says Martin Lewis September 17, 2024
Consumer campaigner writes to Ed Miliband warning that installations are being prioritised over repairsEnergy customers are being short-changed by “perverse” government targets to install electronic smart meters in homes across the UK, according to the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis.Lewis, the founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE), has written to Ed Miliband, the secretary of state […]
Traffic to be banned from London’s Oxford Street under Sadiq Khan plan September 16, 2024
Mayor to be given power to overrule Westminster council, which blocked previous plan amid concerns over rerouting busesTraffic will be banned from London’s Oxford Street under plans announced by the mayor, Sadiq Khan, using new powers from Labour to push through long-thwarted pedestrianisation of the capital’s famous shopping strip.Khan said urgent action was needed so […]
Sky Betting & Gaming reprimanded for unlawfully sharing users’ personal data September 16, 2024
ICO says online gambling company passed customers’ information to advertising technology companiesThe online gambling company Sky Betting & Gaming has been reprimanded by the data regulator for unlawfully sharing customers’ information with advertising companies that could then target those users with personalised marketing.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had investigated Bonne Terre Ltd, trading […]