A former senior executive at Barclaysgave “false and misleading” answers twice to regulators over the bank’s secret payment of £332 million in sweeteners to Qatar in the depths of the financial crisis. Tom Kalaris, a former chief executive of the bank’s wealth division, has been banned from holding a senior position in UK financial services…
Every year more than one million tonnes of fishing equipment is discarded or lost in the world’s oceans, killing marine life and damaging coral reefs. Millions more fishing nets are burnt or thrown into landfill. Most are made from non-recycled nylon and producing this plastic generates two million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year….
My home insurer Direct Line has left my family and me in upheaval for ten months after I made a claim to repair a leak in our kitchen. We discovered the leak last July after noticing water coming up through the floor. A quick bit of detective work revealed the source was our mains water…
The American economy grew more rapidly than expected in the second quarter, regaining its position as the best-performing country in the G7 group of the world’s seven largest economies and casting doubt over the need for big interest rate cuts this year. Official figures showed the economy had expanded at an annualised rate of 3…
The Serious Fraud Office should be scrapped and replaced with a body that places a greater emphasis on the prevention of economic crime, a free-market think tank has said. The Institute of Economic Affairs said that the SFO had been “plagued by a series of high-profile failures, including ethical misconduct and incompetence” and that its…
The owner of Britain’s biggest power station has failed accurately to report sustainability data about the sourcing of wood pellets it burns to generate electricity. The energy regulator has found that Drax failed to provide sufficient evidence over the profile of its woody biomass consignments imported from Canada between April 2021 and March 2022. Drax…
Doug and Dame Mary Perkins, who founded Specsavers 40 years ago and still own the company, could be forgiven for resting on their laurels. But Doug, 81, and Mary, 80, still put in a full shift at Specsavers’ Guernsey headquarters — and their commitment to the business, and the enjoyment they get from running it,…
Barclays has closed our community bank account but £543 is still locked inside it, despite many attempts to get our money back. The Manchester branch of the Submariners Association has banked with Barclays for 15 years without any trouble until a letter arrived in the post in November 2022. “Some of your account information needs…
Millions of pensioners were dealt a blow as the chancellor confirmed that only the poorest would get help covering the cost of their energy bills this winter. Winter fuel payments, which are worth up to £300, will now only be available for those on pension credit or other benefits, Rachel Reeves said yesterday. It means…