News
- Interest rates likely to be 3.25% by end of year, major bank says
- State pensions have been underpaid by £800m - Britons urged to check balances
- Uber drivers go on strike
- Fuel costs should fall sharply - with two factors in play
Guides
- Savings: Best current rates
- Equity release: The pros and cons
- Fighting private parking tickets
- Buying a second-hand car
- Getting a better mobile deal: From perks to £8 rule
Money originals
- Top chef reveals why he wants customers to keep criticisms to themselves - and why it's ok to just order tap water
- 'My wife lost her job - do we need to tell mortgage provider?'
- New BA routes promise cheaper holiday options - but do they?
- The food industry has a dirty secret
Ask a question or make a comment
Robots coming to a supermarket near you
While robots have become an increasingly common sight in certain domestic settings (think automatic lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners), shoppers may need to prepare to start encountering them in the aisles of supermarkets.
Morrisons has announced it will begin a trial of robots designed to monitor how products are displayed on shelves.
It told The Grocer the "Tally" devices would roam the aisles of three of its stores - Wetherby, Redcar and Stockton - to "check that the products on the shelves are being displayed correctly and are legally compliant".
Katherine Allanach, Morrisons technology manager, told the outlet: "It is a crucial but time-consuming task and so Tally aims to allow more time for colleagues to focus on customer service."
It reports the chain is the first UK supermarket to use the Tally robot - made by US firm Simbe - which uses AI and computer vision to pass through aisles several times a day to collect data, capturing 15,000 to 30,000 products an hour.
The trade clause you've probably never heard of that is about to become a very big deal
The thing about trade, and the economics of trade, is that it is simultaneously desperately boring and desperately important.
For example, consider a little bit of legal small print no one spent all that much time thinking about until recently - a clause in most countries' customs arrangements known as "de minimis".
The idea behind de minimis is quite simple.
Collecting customs can be an expensive business. You need to employ lots of people to check goods, police the system and collect the relevant customs and tariffs.
In theory, you could fund that via the customs you're charging people to import goods into the country.
But what if the items you're imposing tariffs and charges on are so cheap that it makes no economic sense to actually impose those charges?
Consider a £5 T-shirt of the kind you might order from an online retailer such as Shein. In theory, that garment should face a 20% tariff when it arrives from China into the UK.
But since 20% of a small number is an even smaller number, most customs authorities, including those in the UK, have taken the stance of essentially excluding any cheap imports from paying customs. This is the "de minimis" rule...
And watch him run through the numbers here:
'Interesting' bank app launched to help customers get better returns
A bank has launched an app to help prevent customers missing out on interest by leaving moneylanguishing in current accounts.
Paragon bank says more than29 million "current account coasters" were currently doing so, but that its newSpringsavings app connected effortlessly to current accounts to bring significantly better returns.
It says the app can connect to an existing current account in seconds and provide a genuine easy access savings account, "enabling seamless transfers between accounts, while allowing customers to withdraw money when they need it".
The concept was praised by Anna Bowes, savings expert from The Private Office and Money regular: "This new app from Paragon, while not offering the top easy access rate on the market, is really interesting as it deals with a key reason that people say they leave too much in their current account - and that's access," she said.
"If this account can give savers the reassurance that they have immediate access to their cash as well as earning a competitive rate of interest, hopefully it will encourage people to make their cash work harder and stop the high street banks from reaping the benefits of our inertia.
"Some of the high street banks do offer higher paying linked savings accounts, although there's normally a fee involved - and the higher interest rate is usually on a smaller balance. But if you are already paying that fee to hold the current account, it's worth making the most of what is on offer."
Troops and veterans offered discount at Tesco on VE day
Tesco has announced an exclusive discount for troops and veterans this VE day.
The supermarket says it wants to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and recognise the armed forces community.
It says veterans, serving personnel and their families can receive a 10% discount on their shopping in store from 8-11 May.
Victory in Europe Day marks the allied forces' victory in Europe in the Second World War on 8 May 1945.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco chief commercial officer, said: "The armed forces make incredible sacrifices to keep us safe, and we hope this discount will help them celebrate such an important occasion with their families."
Will Britons like Trump more if his trade war boosts their finances?
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
Do you like Donald Trump?
A measure of recent polling compiled by Statista suggests only 16% of people in Britain do.
That was down from 34% after his return to the White House. Trade war? No thanks!
But that most recent number may have a chance of improving as evidence mounts that the president's protectionist policy war may actually be having a positive effect on the outlook for your personal finances and cut some business costs too.
I’ve written a piece to explain why - read that here.
The reasoning makes it clear why a growing numbers of experts are predicting a more intense policy response from the Bank of England, which could see the interest rate cut sharply by the year's end. One major bank has forecast it will fall to 3.25% by 2026 (see 12.20pm post).
M&S pauses all recruitment
Marks & Spencer has paused hiring as it continues to battle the effects of a devastating cyber-attack.
Problems were first noticed over the Easter weekend, and the attack stopped the supermarket from fulfilling online orders and affected food deliveries - leaving many stores with empty shelves.
Now the company has pulled all job adverts from its website and halted recruitment.
M&S told Money: "While we proactively manage the cyber incident, we are temporarily pausing some of our normal processes so we can continue to work hard on offering the best M&S for our customers and colleagues. Job adverts will be up again in due course."
The Telegraph reported that last week the same site had 232 vacancies listed.
Experts working with M&S to resolve the issues have called it a ransomware attack - where criminals infiltrate a victim's computer systems and lock them out with a virus.
Those liable will then ask for payment to unlock them again.
Watch:Why is M&S cyber attack so bad?
The National Cyber Security Centre says companies shouldn't pay the ransoms, as there's no guarantee that this will resolve the issues.
Tech specialist site BleepingComputer reported that hacking group Scattered Spider stole data in February which could gain them access to M&S systems - and they've now been widely blamed for the attack.
Pubs get permission to extend opening hours for VE Day anniversary
Pubs and bars have been given permission to extend their opening hour on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Venues in England and Wales that normally close at 11pm will be allowed to keep serving for an extra two hours next Thursday to celebrate.
Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson said the move represented the government's commitment to remembering Britain's "finest hour".
Sir Keir Starmer said earlier that extending the opening hours "will give people the opportunity to join in celebrations and raise a glass to all of the men and women who served their country".
Pub hours have been relaxed before for occasions of "exceptional national significance", such as the Euro 2024 final and major royal celebrations.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Dame Diana said: "The government considers the 80th anniversary of VE Day to be an occasion of national significance and, as such, worthy of the proposed extension before the House today.
"Turning to the practical details, this order makes provision to relax licensing arrangements in England and Wales and allow licensed premises to extend their opening hours on Thursday 8 May for a further two hours from 11pm until 1am the following morning.
"As well as enabling celebrations, the extension has the added potential benefit of providing a welcome boost to the hospitality sector.
"This extension reflects our commitment to remembering what was a truly momentous event, our finest hour, to celebrate those who defended our country, liberated Europe and secured peace," she added.
VE Day commemorations will start on the May bank holiday on Monday 5 May.
Best dates to fly this summer - and 10 most popular destinations in UK and abroad
Travel website giant Expedia has released a tranche of holiday data - just as many of us might be looking to get our summer break plans locked down.
Here are some of the key findings,according to the company's Summer Travel Outlook report:
Best dates to fly this summer
Cheapest: 8 and 12 June
Least busy: 27 and 31 August
Worst dates to fly this summer
Most expensive: 19 and 26 July
Busiest: 20 June and 25 July
Most popular destinations abroad
1. Paris
2. Mallorca
3. New York
4. Barcelona
5. Amsterdam
6. Ibiza
7. Rome
8. Orlando
9. Tokyo
10. Dublin
Most popular destinations in the UK
1. London
2. Edinburgh
3. Manchester
4. Birmingham
5. Cornwall
6. Liverpool
7. Cardiff
8. Hampshire
9. Brighton
10. Scotland
Trending UK destinations
Birmingham (+105%), Norfolk (+90%), and Dundee (+75%) are among the fastest-growing domestic destinations.
"Birmingham's evolving food and cultural scene is drawing more weekend visitors, while Norfolk's coastline and countryside make it a top pick for summer retreats," Expedia said.
"Dundee, with its waterfront regeneration and growing arts scene, is quickly becoming a must-visit Scottish city."
Interest rates likely to be 3.25% by end of year, major bank says
The UK base rate will be as low as 3.25% by the end of the year and drop to 2.75% in the first half of 2026, Morgan Stanley has said.
The Wall Street bank made the forecasts as Donald Trump's tariffs threaten a "possible large-scale global growth hit".
Markets think a cut from 4.5% to 4.25% next Thursday is a certainty - and Morgan Stanley expects consecutive cuts all the way to November.
And "more adverse global growth scenarios" could even compel the Bank of England to slash rates closer to 2%.
Morgan Stanley analyst Bruna Skarica expects the terms "gradual and careful" to be culled from the BoE's guidance.
Barclays has also issued fresh forecasts amid global economic uncertainty.
It expects the base rate to drop to 3.5% this year - in line with market forecasts.
More than 300,000 homes 'could be left with no hot water or heating from end of June'
More than 300,000 households across the UK are estimated to still have Radio Teleswitching System (RTS) electricity meters - which are due to be switched off on 30 June.
And campaigners are warning that all those homes risk losing hot water or heating when the old technology stops working - or being unable to turn it off.
The RTS meters are due to be replaced by smart meters, but energy firms have warned it will be "very, very difficult" before the end of June.
The majority of homes across the UK have standard meters, so will not be affected.
Energy UK, which represents energy companies, said there were still 430,000 households using RTS meters by the end of March but that more than 1,000 were being replaced each day.
To meet the 30 June deadline, around 5,000 would need to be replaced daily.
Simon Francis, from campaign group the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said the Energy UK figures indicated more than 300,000 households could be left with a meter that didn't work from 1 July.
He told the BBC: "With pressures on the replacement programme growing and with limited engineer availability, especially in rural areas, there's a real risk of prolonged disruption, particularly for vulnerable households."
