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HS2 boss admits project could cost up to £66.6bn

In 2013, HS2 was estimated to cost £37.5 billion (in 2009 prices) for the entire planned network, including now-scrapped extensions from Birmingham. The estimated cost of building HS2 between London and Birmingham has soared to as much as £66.6 billion, MPs heard. HS2 Ltd executive chairman Sir Jon Thompson told the Transport Select Committee that the estimated cost for Phase ...

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Baby formula price cut helps new parents

A leading food and drink company is cutting the price on most of its baby formula milk products. Manufacturing giant Danone is reducing prices on the majority of its Aptamil range to UK retailers by 7%, the BBC understands. Iceland supermarket said the cuts would be reflected in its stores. Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said formula prices ...

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Samsung warns of worse than expected profits fall

Technology giant Samsung Electronics says it is likely to see its profits for the last three months of 2023 fall by more than a third. The decline is much worse than analysts expected and comes as global demand for consumer electronics remains weak. South Korea-based Samsung is the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions. The company is ...

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Importers want zero L/C margin on 6 essentials ahead of Ramadan

Importers have requested the government to allow them the scope for importing six essentials including sugar and edible oil ahead of the coming Ramadan keeping zero margin on letters of credit (LCs). They made the request at a meeting with Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh held in the capital on Wednesday (January 3). The six essentials are onion, edible oil, ...

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National Insurance calculator: What will I pay and how is tax changing?

National Insurance payments are being cut for millions of employees from Saturday. However, other changes mean the amount of tax people pay overall is rising to record levels. How is National Insurance changing for employees? From 6 January, 27 million employees will pay 10% on earnings between £12,571 and £50,270. This replaces the previous National Insurance (NI) rate of 12%. ...

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Average mortgage rate lowest for nearly seven months

The average rate on a two-year fixed mortgage has fallen to its lowest level for nearly seven months as lenders compete for custom. Financial information service Moneyfacts said the average rate had fallen from 5.92% to 5.87% in a day. Major lenders, such as the Halifax and HSBC, have begun the year with rate cuts to keep hold of customers, ...

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India plans to lift ban on onion exports as prices drop, supplies rise

India plans to lift the ban on onion exports due to a significant drop in vegetable prices in the main producing regions, reports The Economic Times, quoting a senior official as saying. India, one of the biggest exporters of onions, banned shipments of the bulb vegetable on December 8, after domestic prices more than doubled in three months following a ...

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FTSE 100 bosses earn UK average salary in three days, says High Pay Centre

Bosses of Britain’s biggest companies will have made more money in 2024 by lunchtime on Thursday than the typical worker will all year, research claims. By 13:00 GMT, the pay of FTSE 100 chiefs will have overtaken the £34,963 annual median wage for full-time workers, the High Pay Centre says. Including pensions, top bosses’ average reward amounts to £3.81m per ...

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Borrowers’ pain eased as lenders cut mortgage rates

Mortgage lenders have started the year by cutting rates, taking some of the pain out of the cost of a new deal for homeowners. The UK’s biggest lender, the Halifax, has cut some interest rates by close to one percentage point, with brokers now expecting others to follow suit. HSBC has announced it will make cuts on Thursday, in what ...

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Remittance inflow sees 17.07pc growth in December

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$1,989.87 million remittances in December, 2023 which was 17.06 per cent higher than the corresponding month of the previous year. According to the central bank data, the country received US$1,699.70 million from overseas workers in December 2023. During the July to December in the current 2023-24 fiscal year, expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$10,798.29 million remittances against US$10,493.26 million ...

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