News

Renting can swallow your pension so you're better off scrimping to buy a home, warn experts

Yesterday

People should be allowed to spend up to half their pension or borrow against it to buy a home and avoid a retirement rent trap, urges a report from Hymans Robertson.

Three in five homes listed since January are yet to sell, says property website Zoopla

Yesterday

Buyers have vanished amid higher mortgage rates and political turmoil, with homes sitting on the market and enquiries falling.

Learner drivers spend almost £1,000 to pass their tests

Yesterday

Learners are spending nearly £1000 to get on the road, once the cost of lessons, taking two tests and a theory test has been taken into account.

Housebuilding held back by high taxes and red tape, industry bosses warn

Yesterday

The Home Builders Federation said 'huge increases in taxes' and increased regulation have pushed up the cost of building a new home by, on average, £76,000.

Burnham's wishful thinking: Hitting home-owners with higher taxes won't boost housebuilding, says ALEX BRUMMER

Yesterday

The most refreshing aspect of the Andy Burnham economic prescription for Britain was his avoidance of ad nauseum attacks on Tory chaos.

North sea chief in call for energy 'policy reset' to boost domestic production

Yesterday

The boss of the Offshore Energies UK warned that the UK has suffered 50 years of industrial decline amid a growing dependence on imported energy.

BT and US mobile phone giant Verizon to merge international businesses in £3bn joint venture

Yesterday

BT has been aiming to spin off its struggling international business for some time as it looks to refocus on the group's domestic UK market.

Petrofac pays £569,000 fine for breaching Russia sanctions rules

Yesterday

Petrofac was investigated by HMRC after self-reporting breaches that occurred in 2022 and 2023, while it was winding down its Russian operations.

UK property market grinds to a standstill as higher borrowing costs and fears of a Burnham tax raid put off buyers

Yesterday

Figures from the Bank of England show just 56,205 mortgages were approved last month, which is down from 66,034 in April and the lowest number since December 2023.

Foreign bidders in record £150bn raid on UK firms so far this year

Yesterday

Offers for UK companies totalled £175bn in the first half of 2026, according to figures from the London Stock Exchange Group.

Sky owner Comcast to spin off the UK broadcaster with NBCUniversal into separate media business

Yesterday

Sky's owner Comcast wants the broadcaster, whose hit shows include House Of The Dragon (pictured), to form part of a publicly listed company.

Best cash Isa rates: Our pick of the five top deals

Yesterday

We pick our five favourite cash Isas for savers. This is essential reading to help you choose a top savings account for your money that can also protect you from tax.

Property market stumbles as homebuyer mortgages drop 15% in a month, Bank of England reveals

Yesterday

Mortgage approvals for house purchases dived 14.9 per cent to 56,205 in May, compared to the month before, according to Bank of England data.

Why has it become SO expensive to build a home? Red tape, council levies and design rules drive cost up £76k

Yesterday

It costs tens of thousands more to build a home than it did during the pandemic - and that cost is being passed on to buyers.

Top fund managers told me they tip these six underrated shares to soar: JEFF PRESTRIDGE

Yesterday

We asked these six investment gurus to tell us which fund holding outside their top-ten is exciting them the most in terms of investment opportunity and the potential to generate bumper returns.

Can a pasty office worker who's lost their job to AI in midlife really retrain as a bricklayer - and earn £90K? TOBY WALNE picks up his trowel to find out

Yesterday

Millions of jobs are at risk of being taken over by Artificial Intelligence but there are a handful of careers that are guaranteed to be safe - one of which is bricklaying.

British American Tobacco to cut 9,000 jobs as it turns to AI

Yesterday

BAT is making sweeping job cuts as it looks to slash costs and increase the use of artificial intelligence across its business.

Best fixed energy deals: Beat July's energy price cap rise

Yesterday

Fixed energy deals have been gradually returning to the market, so are there any that beat the current cap?

Britain's firms 'under pressure' as energy and tax hikes bite, CBI warns

Yesterday

According to latest findings from the Confederation of British Industry, firms across the private sector expect activity to fall in the three months to September.

Surge in demand for annuities as retirees look to swerve inheritance tax on their pension: Are they worth another look?

Yesterday

Britons are reconsidering annuities, however data still shows widespread misunderstanding about what they are and how they work.

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