Top news
- 'New normal' for mortgage rates won't be below 3.5%, lender boss says
- Free £25 Tesco voucher for energy supplier's customers
- Popular brand explains customer ban after angry backlash
Essential reads
- Savings Guide:What to look for with 5% rates still available on easy access accounts
- Women in Business: How accident in cafe and £400 turned into a genius business idea that's about to go global
- Money Problem:'I bought a new car but it's been back to dealership six times with same fault - what can I do?'
- The cheapest London musicals to see this summer
- Best of the Money blog - an archive
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27 areas where Aldi wants to open new stores as a 'priority'
Is your area crying out for a new supermarket to broaden your options and push prices down with a bit of competition?
Last month, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket - Aldi - asked shoppers to get in touch with their views on where it should open new stores.
The discount chain says it received thousands of replies, which it has used to hone its search for new store sites.
At the moment, Aldi has more than 1,020 stores. It says it wants more than 1,500 stores across the UK in the long run.
The 27 areas of priority to Aldi are:
- Woodford, London
- Surbiton, London
- South Croydon, London
- Notting Hill, London
- Walthamstow, London
- Beckenham, London
- Bromley, London
- Barnet, London
- Redhill, Surrey
- Aldershot, Hampshire
- Haywards Heath, West Sussex
- Burgess Hill, West Sussex
- Chatham, Kent
- Cheadle, Greater Manchester
- Chorlton, Manchester
- Formby, Liverpool
- Newark, Nottinghamshire
- Chesterfield, Derbyshire
- Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
- Rayleigh, Essex
- Brentwood, Essex
- Dorchester, Dorset
- Clarkston, Scotland
- Cathcart, Scotland
- Penzance, Cornwall
- Warwick, Warwickshire
- Bath, Somerset
Jonathan Neale, managing director of national real estate at Aldi UK, said: "We want to make high quality food accessible to all, but we can’t do that while there are still some towns and areas that either don’t have an Aldi or have capacity for additional stores.
"We recognise there is huge demand in certain regions for more stores, which is why we decided to get the public’s input on our latest list of priority locations."
Which?, the consumer website and magazine, has ranked Aldi as the cheapest supermarket in the UK consistently this year.
Using a typical list of popular items, Which? ranked Aldi as the cheapest place to shop from January to May - with rivals Lidl coming in second.
However, for a longer list of items and a bigger shop, Asda and Morrisons have typically been the top two for Which? this year.
Bank of England likely to cut rates in August, economist predicts
There could be good news on the horizon for borrowers, as an economist says the Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates in August.
Michael Saunders, a former member of the Monetary Police Committee (MPC), said the Bank has "clearly signalled" it wants to cut rates soon "if data are okay".
He told the Reuters Global Markets Forum that inflation and wage figures would need to align with the MPC's forecasts back in May.
"If so, I would expect the rest of the internal [members of the MPC] to move as a bloc to vote for a cut," he said, saying that markets had been given enough warning.
The BoEheld interest ratesat 5.25% for the seventh time in a row last weekdespite inflation falling to its target of 2%.
Mr Saunders predicted that the Bank would slash rates seven times in increments of 25 points by the end of next year, bringing the headline rate "close" to what he calls a neutral rate of 3.5%.
"I expect two to three cuts this year, the rest next year - again, depends a bit on the monthly data," he said.
Digital ID apps approved for age-restricted purchases
The government has accredited three new forms of ID for purchasing restricted goods and services.
Lloyds Bank Smart ID, Post Office EasyID and Yoti ID can now be used to watch age-restricted films in cinemas, enter gambling premises, or pay for tattoos and tanning salons.
They cannot be used to buy alcoholic drinks in pubs and shops, but are recognised when buying alcohol online, along with tobacco, vapes, lottery tickets and fireworks.
"More UK businesses can now accept our Digital IDs to reduce the risk of fake IDs, increase compliance and improve the customer experience," saidRobin Tombs, CEO of Yoti.
He said more than four million people have already downloaded a Digital ID app.
"This is a strong sign that people are ready to embrace reusable Digital IDs and want a more secure, private and convenient way to prove who they are."
Each of the Digital ID apps includes the approved PASS hologram.
Late drivers can park their worries about fines - for a few more minutes, at least
Most of us know the feeling of rushing back to your car when you realise your ticket is about to run out.
The good news is, new rules mean you won't have to race back quite as breathlessly in future.
Drivers are to get a 10-minute grace period when their time runs out at private car parks.
The changes are coming in after industry bodies the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) published a new code of conduct.
However, the AA said it still leaves room for drivers to be ripped off because it misses out "desperately needed" measures such as a cap on charges.
Read the full story below...
Tesla recalls thousands of Cybertruck vehicles over safety fault
The electric carmaker Tesla is recalling more than 11,000 of its new Cybertruck vehicles after safety regulators found a potentially dangerous fault with its giant windscreen wiper.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said a trim in the boot may be improperly attached.
"Excessive electrical current can cause the front windshield wiper motor controller to fail," the safety administration said in a recall acknowledgement letter.
Tesla said it would replace the wiper motor at no cost to owners.
It comes after nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks were recalled in April to fix an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose.
Mass production of the vehicle, which starts at a price of $79,990 (£63,130), is expected to start next year.
It's not yet known how many trucks have gone to consumers, but the Blade Runner-inspired car has been plagued by problems.
Free £25 Tesco voucher for customers of energy supplier
Customers of both Tesco and OVO Energy are entitled to 2,500 free Clubcard points, the supermarket has announced.
The points can be redeemed as a £25 voucher or at double their value with Clubcard reward partners.
Customers can unlock the points by linking their accounts with both companies.
"The cost of living remains a key challenge for households and our partnership with Tesco is one of the many ways in which we are giving back to our customers with rewards that they can spend how they choose," saidMat Moakes, chief commercial officer at OVO.
New customers can link their Tesco Clubcard account when they sign up as an OVO customer, while existing OVO customers can log into their account, go to their profile, click "our partners", and select the Tesco Clubcard logo.
The cheapest London musicals to see this summer
Want to see a show in London this summer without breaking the bank?
You're in luck - as new data has revealed the most affordable musicals to see in the capital right now.
The data, collated by theatre ticket site SeatPlan, shows the most affordable musical to see in London right now is Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), with the average cheapest ticket price at £17.90.
The rom-com musical follows a British boy (Dougal), who lands in New York for his dad's second wedding.
At the airport, he meets the bride's sister, and a quirky, offbeat love story ensues.
Also in the top 10 are Marie Curie The Musical (£20), Guys And Dolls (£23.90) and Sister Act (£26.40).
Shows are ranked by the average price of the cheapest ticket, with the top ranked show having the lowest price.
On the flip side, the data also revealed the most expensive tickets, by analysing internal pricing data for musicals from SeatPlan.com.
Musicals including Cabaret (£85.10), Mean Girls (£64.60) and Starlight Express (£43.70) make up this list...
Mortgage costs to rise for three million homes - with jumps of more than 50% for 400,000
If you've been reassured by positive recent news on inflation and a widely anticipated cut in interest rates later this year, unfortunately the Bank of England has a worrying update for mortgage payers.
About three million UK households are still set to witness hikes in theirmortgagerepayments over the next two years, the Bank has said.
Its Financial Policy Committee (FPC) added there are likely to be "very large increases" of more than 50% for themortgagesof around 400,000 households.
But the central bank stressed that UK lenders are still in a strong position to support households and businesses, even if the economic backdrop worsens.
The concerning update is in the Bank's latest Financial Stability Report.
It also showed that most households have already had an increase in theirmortgagerates since borrowing costs began rising substantially in 2022.
Why is the outlook so bad if interest rates are expected to fall?
Interest rates are at a 16-year-high of 5.25%, with the central bank voting to maintain the figure for a seventh consecutive meeting earlier this month.
But many economists have predicted the base rate could be reduced at the Bank's next vote in August.
However, at the moment, around 35% of households withmortgages, or more than three million, are paying below 3% for a range of reasons - like existing deals which pre-dated the recent crisis - and are expected to see an increase between now and the end of 2026.
A typical household rolling off a fixed-ratemortgagebefore the end of 2026 is due to face a jump of around £180 a month, the report said.
It highlighted that an "increasing proportion" of households have been choosing to borrow over a longer period of time, reducing monthly repayments but leaving them with more debt to service over time.
Highermortgagerates have resulted in many households and renters reducing their savings, the Bank also found.
More backlash as PrettyLittleThing explains customer ban
PrettyLittleThing is facing more criticism after announcing it would issue refunds on delivery subscriptions for accounts it has banned for returning too many items.
The online fashion giant says it will refund outstanding gift cards and store credit, as well as £9.99 to closed accounts which had already purchased its royalty service entitling them to unlimited next day delivery for a year.
The company said: "We have noticed an extremely high returns rate from a small pool of customers who have demonstrated behaviours that were inconsistent with what we experience with the rest of our customer base.
"The actions taken are not designed to limit our customers who do need to return or deter them from returning, it was taken to address a small proportion of customers who have a high returns rate."
PrettyLittleThing added it does not plan to close any further accounts.
Some customers were not happy with the response, with one posting on X: "This is bullshit my last return was December 2023... and of course you turned off the comments."
Another wrote: "PrettyLittleThing expects us to order our clothes twice because their sizing is off and is closing people's accounts because of frequent returns. What a way to ruin your own business."
Mixed fortunes for Currys and Halfords as Amazon reaches massive new market milestone
ByJames Sillars, business reporter
Amazon was grabbing attention overnight.
It's become the fifth US company to reach a $2trn market value milestone.
Can you name the others? Answers below!
Analysts are crediting strong demand for technology-related stocks amid the rush for AI.
They also point to the growing hope among investors for a late summer/early autumn interest rate cut by the US central bank.
Amazon's shares ended the session on Wall St almost 4% up at $193 apiece.
The FTSE 100 has had a fairly muted start after falling almost 0.3% yesterday.
The index was one point up at 8,226 in early dealing.
In the wider market, Halfords stock was trading 6% lower.
The cycle sales and motor-focused retailer had earlier reported a fall in annual profits of almost a fifth and said that trading remained "soft".
The message to the market from Currys, the electricals chain, was more upbeat.
It revealed a 10% lift to its bottom line in the year to 27 April and said it was more confident about demand ahead.
Currys shares were 1% down, however, potentially reflecting concerns that its profit performance was not driven by higher sales.
Before I go... the answers to the $2trn+ club question above, as promised - the other members of this elite grouping are: Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Alphabet.
