UK lenders paid car dealers cash upfront that may have led to costlier loans

UK lenders paid “advance commissions” to car dealers that may have encouraged them to push costlier loans on to consumers, legal filings linked to the motor finance scandal reveal.Court documents seen by the Guardian show that lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group, have paid commission to individual dealerships in lump sums upfront, which campaigners say total millions of pounds.The filings claim that the practice encouraged sales staff to funnel contracts to those specific loan providers, regardless of whether it resulted in more expensive payments for the buyer.These advance commission arrangements were not explicitly disclosed to borrowers and “created stark conflicts of interest” that stood to harm customers, the filings claim.Failing to sell enough loans to earn all the pre-paid commission resulted in negative consequences for the dealers, it is alleged, such as problems with profitability, cashflow or the relationship with the lender

Britain lost 100 breweries last year, says ‘indie beer’ trade body

The number of independent breweries in Britain declined at its fastest rate in 2024, figures from the “indie beer” trade body suggest.The UK had 1,715 breweries at the end of 2024, 100 fewer than at the start of the year, according to the data released by Siba, which represents independent brewing companies. The overall fall the previous year was just eight.While Siba’s UK brewery tracker is only in its third year, the data it uses is comparable to figures from the real ale group Camra, because they both count only companies that are actually producing beer.Although the rate of closures slowed during the year, the drop recorded in 2024 is larger than any single-year decline recorded by either Siba or Camra

UK hiring on the rise as confidence lifts, research suggests

Companies have ramped up hiring in recent weeks while consumer confidence has started to rise, research suggests, in a boost for Rachel Reeves as the government looks for signs of economic growth.The chancellor has received a fillip after the market research company GfK’s consumer index improved from -22 in January to -20 in February as households said they were more optimistic about their personal finances and the economic outlook.A separate survey of employers by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found that companies had increased hiring in January for the first time since last June.The studies are in contrast to recent official figures and gloomy reports from business groups that showed the job market worsening.Businesses have complained that increases in employers’ national insurance and the national minimum wage – due in April – together with planned improvements to workers’ employment rights have forced many firms and charities to consider layoffs and hiring freezes

Rachel Reeves should rewrite the rulebook on GDP growth | Letters

Re your editorial (The Guardian view on Britain’s broken economy: ‘That’s your bloody GDP, not ours’, 13 February), we are frequently reminded of the inadequacy of GDP growth as an objective, given that it includes the money spent on dealing with pollution, sickness, crime etc. But nobody gets out of bed thinking, “I have to grow GDP today”. We’re thinking about how to earn a living and pay the rent. Nobody, that is, except the chancellor, for whom “growth is the No 1 mission” that “underpins everything else” – schools, hospitals, net zero.Yet decades of growth since the 1960s have left us with thousands of food banks and facing an environmental abyss

Gold hits record high amid geopolitical worries; Amazon takes creative control of James Bond – as it happened

The gold price has hit a new all time high today, putting the $3,000 per ounce level within sight.Spot gold has gained 0.7% today to $2,954 per ounce, meaning it has risen by over 12% so far this year.Goldd is benefitting from rising trade tensions stirred up by Donald Trump, and by recent signs that inflationary pressures are rising.✨ Gold Hits Record High Amid Uncertainty ✨Spot Gold surged to a new all-time high of $2,954

Delta offers $30,000 to passengers in Canada plane flip – ‘no strings attached’

Delta Air Lines is offering passengers of a jet that caught fire and flipped over on a Toronto runway $30,000 each – “no strings attached”.Flight 4819 crashed after touching down at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Monday afternoon. Videos of the crash were captured by witnesses and then passengers inside the plane.Twenty-one of the plane’s 80 passengers and crew were initially transported to the hospital after the incident. All were released by Thursday, according to a statement from Delta