Page 149 - Round Up News Today

More than a quarter of adults in the UK will use buy now, pay later to help with festive spending, research suggests, with the proportion rising to more than half of parents with young children. The survey for Citizens Advice also found 11% of respondents used such credit schemes to pay for groceries, a proportion that rose to 35% for regular BNPL users. – Guardian

A Tory MP who accused the gambling regulator of being too “heavy handed” has received more than £8,000 in hospitality and payments from the betting industry this year, including tickets to see Madonna. Craig Whittaker, the MP for Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, criticised the Gambling Commission in an article for the Conservative Home website last week. – Guardian

Release windows for Inazuma, Fantasy Life, Layton and more - Level-5 is back with its second-ever Vision Showcase, providi...

Fast fashion giant Shein has reportedly lodged confidential paperwork with US securities regulators, informing them of an intention to go public in the US. The listing would likely be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in years. – Guardian

The Bank of England’s reliance on “inadequate” forecasting models and a lack of intellectual diversity within its most senior ranks contributed to inflation sticking at among the highest levels in decades, a Lords report has found. In a report critical of Threadneedle Street, the powerful Lords economic affairs committee said the central bank had made “errors” in its handling of the inflation shock triggered after the Covid pandemic and Russia&am...

P&O Cruises and fellow cruise firm Cunard have made provision to fire and rehire more than 900 UK-based crew unless they accept salary cuts and more flexible working arrangements. The affected crew include officers on the British flagship, the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary 2, and nine other ships operated under Carnival UK, which is part of the $18bn-listed Carnival group. – Guardian

Households will begin the new year with a 5% increase in energy bills after the regulator raised the price cap to an average of £1,928 a year for the typical gas and electricity bill. Ofgem raised the maximum price that energy suppliers can charge their customers from £1,834 a year for the typical household between October to December, after a rise in global gas market prices after the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month. – Guardian

PENDLETON, Ore. - The Pendleton Round-Up has named a new president, marking a milestone in the process.

The Prime Minister and his Chancellor are mulling last minute reductions to income taxes or the inheritance tax in a bid to boost economic output, as well as their party's odds at the next elections. The tax cuts would be aimed at low and middle income earners with the impact on inflation to be offset by a decrease on welfare payments or other cuts. Postponing a widely anticipated cut to the inheritance tax is also being looked into, as halving the 40% rate has seen accusations of a hand ou...

Jeremy Hunt has played down the prospect of immediate income tax cuts, pledging not to do anything in this week’s autumn statement that will fuel inflation. Although some Conservative backbenchers are eager for measures that would be quickly felt by households, the chancellor on Sunday sought to emphasise the need to promote growth and indicated that tax cuts were “not going to happen overnight”. – Guardian