A major new study has confirmed what many of us already suspected – that our basic financial skills are in tatters. One in three adults in England and Northern Ireland (NI) can’t work out the correct change from a shopping trip and four in 10 are unable to apply a simple discount on products […]
Spring Statement: What it DIDN’T mean for your money
Squint hard and you could almost see them whizzing by – the chances the Chancellor of the Exchequer had this week to set a few things right, to make everyday life simpler, easier, more affordable. Busy comparing himself with a fictional plaything, Mr Hammond didn’t even give them a wistful backwards glance as he […]
British consumers losing interest in buying new cars on finance
The march of the brand new car once seemed unstoppable. Cheap finance and personal contract plans (PCPs) fuelled a boom in new cars, accounting for more than 80 per cent of all new car registrations. A fall at the start of 2017 was blamed on a collapse in consumer confidence in diesel vehicles and […]
Mother’s Day 2018: Parents get no reprieve as families fight off financial crises
In years gone by every Mother’s Day would be heralded not simply by flowers and a lie-in, but a slew of financial companies trying to bag themselves a few column inches by giving them each a monetary value. The marginally more PC among them even occasionally acknowledged the value of a “parent” instead. The […]
White House accuses Russia of killing civilians in Syria
The White House has accused Russia of killing Syrian civilians in one of its most direct condemnations of Moscow’s wartime conduct. Defying a 30-day United Nations ceasefire agreement, Russia went on to “kill innocent civilians under the false auspices of counterterrorism operations”, the White House said in a statement. “This is the same combination […]
Quebec village residents celebrate victory over oil and gas giant in legal battle against drilling
Residents of a Quebec village have defeated an oil-and-gas giant in a fight to protect their water, in a David-and-Goliath-style battle. After a four-year legal wrangle over a $1m lawsuit, a judge has finally ruled in favour of the town of Ristigouche-Sud-Est and its population of just 157. Half of the residents’ legal fees […]
Alec Baldwin hits back at Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live amid Twitter spat between the pair
Alec Baldwin has hit back at Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live (SNL) after the President tweeted that the actor’s “dying mediocre career was saved by his terrible impersonation”. Baldwin had initially said that every time he plays Mr Trump it was “like agony” and that it was time to “get rid of him”. […]
Trump's 'trade war' sparks confusion in White House with possibility some countries will be exempt from new steel tariffs
Trump administration officials sent mixed signals on whether some countries could be exempt from new US tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. In an interview with Fox, Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro said the President would not give some countries different treatment in applying the newly announced levies of 10 […]
Vladimir Putin says Russians accused of hacking US election 'do not represent' the country
Vladimir Putin has denied his government had any connection to Russian nationals charged with interfering in the US election. As part of his investigation into potential Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest, Special Counsel Robert Mueller last month charged 13 Russian nationals and three organisations in connection with what an indictment described as […]
Citizens Advice urges UK Government to strengthen consumer complaints process
Citizens Advice has called on the Government to strengthen the complaints process for consumers after finding that poor services and faulty goods affected the lives of millions in the last year. Some 14 million people suffered the knock-on effects of consumer problems in 2017 alone that affected their lives, finances or health, a survey […]