Energy giant AGL disputes $25m fine for wrongly taking welfare money from hundreds as ‘excessive’

Energy giant AGL is disputing a “manifestly excessive” $25m fine for using the Centrepay debit system to wrongly take welfare money from hundreds of vulnerable Australians. It argues that a judge should not have used the massive financial penalty to try to “provoke some attention” from the company’s board and executive leadership.Late last year, the federal court imposed the hefty fine and excoriated AGL for wrongly taking money from 483 welfare recipients via Centrepay, the scandal-plagued, government-run system that allows automatic diversion of social security payments to essential services, like electricity bills and rent.A Guardian Australia investigation last year revealed deep flaws with the system, including that some of Australia’s biggest electricity retailers had used Centrepay to continue receiving welfare money from the pockets of departed customers long after they left.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailIn AGL’s case, the company used Centrepay to receive and retain an average of about $1,000 from the welfare payments of 483 former customers between early 2016 and late 2020

Consumers don’t have a debt problem. The US government does | Gene Marks

A recent report from the Federal Reserve warned that consumer debt is now more than $18tn and the people are worried. Americans’ “credit card and household debt reach all-time high”, reports Fox News. Consumers are “finding it harder and harder to pay off their debt”, claims CNN. A “third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings”, says Marketplace.Yes, consumer debt has ticked up this year

How UK and EU could find more money for defence without spooking the markets

Can Britain increase defence spending without cuts elsewhere?Rachel Reeves is constrained by fiscal rules that govern the extent of the UK’s debts and the annual spending deficit by the end of the parliament. Following lower than expected tax receipts and higher borrowing costs in the current financial year, it looks likely that the chancellor will need to make budget cuts when she makes her next financial statement on 26 March. Last week she said a rise in defence spending would mean making “difficult decisions across the board”.Reeves fears a backlash from financial markets in response to higher, unfunded spending, pushing the cost of borrowing up in a repeat of the Liz Truss mini-budget debacle. Most analysts believe a rise in borrowing is expected by international lenders

Do you want to buy a British kettle? Go whistle | Phillip Inman

Britons might never again get the chance to buy an electric kettle made in the UK. Even a £150 kettle from Dualit, the company most famous for making its celebrated toaster in Crawley, West Sussex, is produced by Chinese workers 5,000 miles away.Most consumers think the whereabouts of the factory or assembly plant riveting their latest purchase together is irrelevant, but those who do want it to be produced locally do not have a choice.There have been “buy British” campaigns in the past, and supermarkets, under pressure to show their support for UK farmers, continue to plaster domestic produce with union jack labels.These days it might seem a bit Trumpian to talk about fostering homegrown kettle making

BMW pauses £600m upgrade to Oxford Mini plant as electric car demand falls

BMW Group has paused a £600m investment into a Mini car assembly plant on the outskirts of Oxford, amid a declining demand for electric vehicles.In 2023, the German carmaker, which has owned Mini since 2000, announced the investment to upgrade its Cowley plant for electric production of the Mini. It was supported by government-backed investment, and was forecast to secure 4,000 jobs in electric vehicle production.BMW will now review the plans to manufacture battery-powered Minis at its Cowley site. “Given the multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry, the BMW Group is currently reviewing the timing for reintroducing battery-electric Mini production in Oxford,” the company confirmed in a statement

Far-right links and Putin praise: fears over £600m UK history theme park plan

French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building ‘Tsarland’ in annexed CrimeaWith its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world’s best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece Cinéscénie show, which depicts 700 years of French history, features more than 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks.Now the company has set its sights on bringing its brand of immersive history to the UK via a £600m investment to build its mock medieval castles, hotels and restaurants on farmland just off the M40 in Oxfordshire. It has asked the upmarket property firm Savills to help with its planning applications and is expected to look for British co-investors for a project that it says will create thousands of jobs.Some who live near the site, however, are dismayed at the lack of attention given to what they see as the French company’s dark underbelly, including ties to the far right and a past flirtation with Vladimir Putin