Top news
- Trump threatens 200% tariffs on all alcoholic drinks from EU
- Tesco to give shoppers free food in update to 'yellow sticker' prices
- Massive rise in income tax revenues laid bare - as Treasury becomes more reliant on pensioners paying tax
Money essential reads
- Cheap Eats: Top chef reveals one thing customers should know about their bill
- Money Problem: 'I was kicked off plane for my nut allergy'
- £1,000 a day, fighting pirates and drunk clients: Life as a bodyguard
- Overpaying your mortgage - the dos, don'ts and why
No cash ISA reforms expected in spring statement - but Reeves still considering changes
Rumoured changes that would limit tax breaks on Cash ISAs have reportedly been shelved ahead of the government's spring statement - but they could return later this year.
It comes after a row broke outover whether tax breaks should be scaled back on the popular savings accounts to help encourage a shift from cash into stock market-based investments.
The government is being lobbied by some fund managers to put more focus on the riskier practice of investing in the stock market as a way of boosting UK economic growth.
The interest on savings held in Cash ISAs is currently tax-free, and adults can contribute as much as £20,000 annually if they wish, though some proposals want to see this cut to £4,000.
More than 18 million people have a Cash ISA, and there is almost £300bn sitting in them.
Rachel Reeves is said to be determined to retain incentives in the ISA system for tax-free cash savings but is also looking at potential changes to ensure that investors have the "right balance between cash and equities".
Beef shortage pushing up prices of red meat
A shortage of cattle and increased demand for steak is pushing up the price of red meat.
According to The Grocer, 314 supermarket beef products have increased in price since the start of the year.
It found the biggest increase was for a Birchwood British 30 day matured XXL beef roasting joint in Lidl, which rose40.4% to £7.99.
Restaurants have also been feeling the effect, with the founder of Hawksmoor steakhouse group telling The Times that demand for British steaks is at an "all-time high", while cattle herd sizes were down.
Last month, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board said reduced domestic cattle supply was expected "to contribute to lower beef production levels in 2025".
Driving test scams increase by 92%
Offers of cheap driving lessons, "guarantees" of early test slots, requests for cash to be paid up-front and "no show" driving instructors are examples of test scams which, overall, have seen a 92% rise, according to Lloyds Bank.
It said it victims are reporting an average loss of £244.
The scams often start on social media, with fraudsters posting adverts which claim to offer discounted driving lessons and make false claims about being linked to reputable driving schools.
In some cases, victims are persuaded to contact scammers via WhatsApp communications, Lloyds said.
More US nationals are moving to the UK than before - and they're buying houses in London
The UK is seeing more Americans applying for British citizenship and purchase property in prime central London.
Home Office figures show more than 6,100 US citizens applied to call Britain home in 2024, more than double the number of applications submitted in 2004, which is as far back as public records show.
The polarising effect of Donald Trump's presidential election win has "undoubtedly played a part" in this, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Its own data shows US nationals accounted for 11.6% of overseas buyers in prime central London (PCL) in the final quarter of 2024, which was the largest group ahead of the Chinese (8.1%).
Americans also overtook the Chinese to become the largest group last year in PCL, accounting for 9.3% of sales to overseas buyers compared to 5.6% in 2019.
Knight Frank adds that the UK could benefit as a location for overseas investment if it avoids getting caught in the crossfire of a trade war between the US and the EU.
This means there is a feeling of "unfortunate timing" surrounding the government's decision to replace the country's non dom tax regime with something less competitive.
"Demand for prime London property comes from a broader base of buyers than non doms, but the UK is arguably sending the wrong message to the rest of the world at the wrong time," it says.
Save more than £160 by renewing your car insurance early
Renewing car insurance almost a month before it runs out can save drivers more than £160 - compared with doing it on the final day.
A study of purchases made through Go.Compare last year shows that renewing 26 days before motor insurance expires is the optimum time.
The average price then was £390 - £164 less than buying it at the last minute.
Purchasing on the last day before your policy expires can hike it to £554.
The best period is between 21 and 28 days before renewal, while the 26-day point was shown to provide the largest savings.
Renew earlier than that and the price is likely to be higher, research suggests.
"Drivers who leave it until the last minute are often perceived as higher risk, which can result in higher premiums," explained Tom Banks, car insurance spokesperson for Go.Compare.
"On the other hand, purchasing in advance signals that you're organised and responsible—traits that insurers reward with lower prices."
Incentives needed to convert 'electric sceptics', ministers warned
ByJames Sillars, business and economics reporter
Are you an electric sceptic?
If so, you are not alone as only one-in-eight new car buyers are actively planning to make the switch, according to a new survey for the UK car industry.
The SMMT lobby group's findings suggest that it's proving hard to convince people beyond those already converted.
Worries include poor provision of public charging points, vehicle ranges and higher prices when compared to petrol or diesel alternatives.
The SMMT is again calling on the government to provide "purchase incentives" - and fast - as steep discounting to attract buyers is unsustainable.
The study showed that 23.1% of would-be new car buyers plan to go electric between now and 2028.
Such a percentage figure is far short of current government targets for 28% of new vehicles sold to be electric this year alone.
The SMMT says incentives, such as scrappage schemes or grants, would raise demand and help the planet at the same time.
Massive rise in income tax revenues laid bare - as Treasury becomes more reliant on pensioners paying tax
More retired baby boomers are paying income tax than Gen Z workers, new HMRC data shows - in a significant shift since the pre-COVID period.
Some 5.45 million Britons aged over 70 paid income tax in the 2022-23 financial year (the latest figures we have), compared with 5.23 million aged under 30.
Over 70s paid £19.1bn in income tax, compared with £18.3bn by under 30s, as Britain becomes increasingly reliant on its retirees.
Baby boomers have seen their tax bills rise, as many with even modest private pensions have been dragged into the income tax net because of the triple lock. The thresholds at which people start paying income tax have also been frozen since 2021 - rather than going up in line with inflation.
With this freeze due to last until 2028, the amount of income tax being paid across all age groups is only set to rise.
The HMRC data dump also revealed the number of higher rate taxpayers (40p) increased by 680,000 to 5.1 million people in 2022-23 - another consequence of frozen thresholds. The number oftop rate (45p) taxpayersrose by 10% to 600,000.
The figures show that while roughly 80% of the workforce pay the basic rate of income tax, they account for only around 33% - or £75.6bn - of total tax revenues.
The five million taxpayers on the higher rate account for another third of tax revenues (£85.1bn).
Those paying the 45p rate account for a further third (£83.4bn) despite only representing 2% of the workforce.
We thought it would be interesting to see how all this compares with pre-COVID, so we looked back at the 2019-20 data...
You can see income tax revenues have increased massively - and how back then, more under-30s were paying income tax than retirees.
Trump threatens 200% tariffs on all alcoholic drinks from EU
The US president has threatened200% tariffs on all French wines, champagnes, and other alcoholic beverages exported from the European Union.
Donald Trump said it was in response to the EU placing a50% tariff on whisky.
He will take action if that tax is not removed "immediately", he added.
Trump said his threatened tariff would be "great for the wine and champagne businesses in the US".
While there are some American sparkling wines that are produced in the same way as champagne, the word refers to a region of France.
The USA does not, therefore, make any champagne.
Writing on his Truth Social programme, Trump described the EU as "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world".
He also claimed it was "formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States".
'90s R&B star reveals she's been living in her car for three years - and doesn't regret a thing
Grammy-nominated singer Dawn Robinson, who rose to fame with the girl group En Vogue in the 1990s, has opened up about how she's been living out of her car for years.
In a candid YouTube video released on Monday, the 58-year-old explained how she's become devoted to the lifestyle that was previously a necessity.
"You guys, for the past three, almost three years, I have been living in my car," she told viewers.
"I said it. Oh my god, it's out. I've been living in my car. Oh my gosh."
Robinson explained she had moved in with her parents near the start of the pandemic but after falling out with her mother, moved out and slept in her car for around a month.
She then accepted an offer to stay with her then manager in LA, but after it transpired there was no place for her, she stayed in a hotel for eight months, which he paid for.
She said she felt constantly stressed over whether he could pay the bill and began researching communities of people who live in their cars and RVs, telling her assistant that she was going to give it a go.
"I just thought, 'Wow, these people. I could do this, I think,'" she said. "And I ended up in my car, and it's been, like I said, three years."
Robinson said the first night was "scary" but she quickly adapted to her new life and is now glad to have made the choice.
"I was so free, I felt like I was on a camping trip. It was the right thing to do, I didn't regret it."
Robinson rose to fame in the 1990s alongside original En Vogue members Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones.
They sold millions of records and achieved a number of hit songs, including No 2 records Hold On and My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It).
She later formed part of R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl alongside Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who released their critically acclaimed eponymous album in 2000
Would you spend £4,000 on this Lamborghini pram?
Ergonomic support, Italian leather details and precision engineering... sounds like the next supercar.
But this "hybrid of high-performance detailing and meticulous engineering" is a pram created by Lamborghini and baby product company Silver Cross.
Costing £4,000, the Reef Al Arancio will set you back almost 10 times as much as the average pram.
It comes with a carry cot, a car-inspired seat, a foot muff, cupholder, sun sail and mosquito net and only 500 have been made worldwide.
It claims to be "the new era of super stroller", with its tagline being "born to perform", and has taken two years to bring to market.
Other Silver Cross prams range in price from around £170 to £695.
