Almost four in 10 people have to use credit cards to cover such costs, says Nationwide Inflation and rising bills mean UK households are spending 12% more on essentials than they were a year ago, with almost four in 10 people having to use credit cards to cover these costs, new data shows. Two days after it emerged that the UK’s annual inflation rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.4% in February, Nationwide said its figures showed that consumers spent 34% more on utility bills and 17% more on mortgage payments last month than they did in February 2022 ..read more

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One-fifth of UK population was in relative poverty after first year of pandemic, when support measures scrapped Families including 800,000 children were forced to turn to food banks to feed themselves as poverty levels started to rise again after the first year of the pandemic, the first official figures on UK food bank use show. The statistics came in official poverty data, which revealed that the reduction in relative poverty achieved during the first year of the Covid crisis in 2020-21 was temporary and was reversed after ministers scrapped support measures. In-work poverty remains high – h ..read more

TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, testified before US Congress on Thursday amid growing security concerns, with the Biden administration threatening to remove the app from the US entirely. During the hearing, Republican Kat Cammack showed Congress a TikTok video inciting violence towards the House Energy and Commerce Committee, with the chair of the committee named in the captions. The video was uploaded to the platform 41 days ago and was still circulating despite company guidelines assuring users it would take down threatening content. Shou Zi Chew was denied a chance to respond to Cammack's claims ..read more

They were designed to help first-time buyers, but lifetime Isas are so restrictive they risk turning into a financial trap for many young people Of all the counter-productive, demand-stimulating measures successive governments have introduced to try to palliate the effects of endlessly climbing house prices, the lifetime Isa may have the dubious honour of being the most perverse. Announced by George Osborne, although introduced under Philip Hammond’s chancellorship, it was designed as a vehicle to encourage long-term saving. To sweeten the pot, the government pays in £1 for every £4 saved a ye ..read more

How the new base rate of 4.25% might affect mortgages, house prices and credit cards Business live – latest updates Analysis: Is this the end of interest rate rises? Bank of England raises interest rates to 4.25% The Bank of England has yet again raised interest rates, this time by 0.25 percentage points, taking the base rate to 4.25% in the 11th rise since December 2021. So what does this mean for your finances ..read more

Video posted on social media shows traffic brought to a halt in Toulouse on the ninth day of demonstrations against planned changes to pensions. On Wednesday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said the legislation – which was pushed through parliament without a vote and includes an increase in the minimum general retirement age – would come into force by the end of the year despite widespread anger Emmanuel Macron says he will not back down over pension age rise ‘Anger is growing’: protests and strikes spread across France over pensions reform ..read more

We would like to know about the key product that has risen in price the most in your shopping basket over the last year The UK’s annual inflation rate rose to 10.4% in February as prices continue to rise for a wide range of goods and services. If you live in the UK, we would like to hear your personal inflation stories. Tell us about the one product you rely on that has risen the most in cost. Where do you buy it and how much has it gone up by? Why is it a negotiable on your shopping list ..read more

Cross-party cooperation is the key to facing down the doubters and delayers Sadiq Khan is the Labour mayor of London Chris Skidmore is the Conservative MP for Kingswood There is no greater challenge facing our capital, our country and our world than the climate crisis. The only way we can keep the hope of limiting global heating to 1.5C is if we commit to further and faster action as cities and countries. That’s why we must work together wherever possible – across the political divide – to help achieve net zero by cleaning up our rivers and air, insulating our homes, unlocking a revolution i ..read more

Energy regulator plans to tackle manoeuvre that has brought in millions of extra pounds for generators The energy regulator Ofgem is preparing to crack down on UK power firms to prevent them from “manipulating” the market with a manoeuvre that has bolstered their profits by millions of pounds. The practice, which does not break existing market rules, involves generators warning the electricity system operator that they are turning their power plants off at times of peak demand and subsequently offering to keep them running in exchange for a “balancing” payment ..read more