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Plans have been tabled to build the world’s biggest renewable energy hub in the Western Australian outback which will cost £54bn and cover an area of nearly 6,000 square miles.

Following a year of unprecedented peacetime borrowing, interest payments have soared to their highest level since records began in 1997, according to the Office for National Statistics.

As the owner of Burger King UK and Hobbycraft floated in London, 166 of its 310 employees sold shares worth £308m. Those same staff still hold a 56 per cent stake worth £2.1bn.

The Government’s borrowing requirement is the difference between two very big numbers. That is what the Treasury raises in taxes and Whitehall spends.

Philip Morris this month struck a deal to buy the Wiltshire-based firm – which specialises in respiratory drugs and is developing a treatment for Covid – for 150p a share or £1bn.

The contract will give the electric car maker, run by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, a guaranteed stream of the highly sought-after metal, which is used to make electric batteries.

The firm, which is behind titles including Four Four Two, Country Life and Horse & Hound, reported strong second half trading led by ‘robust’ growth in digital advertising.

The postal service said the number of packages sent in the UK during April, May and June was down by 7 per cent compared to last year. But against the same period in 2019, the figure was up by 35 per cent.

The index enjoyed another day of gains, brushing off fears that Tuesday’s rally – after bruising slides on Monday – was a one-off. It rose 1.7 per cent, or 117.15 points, to finish at 6998.28.

In an unscheuled update, the British retailer revealed trading had been ‘unexpectedly strong’ since May as shoppers splashed out on new summer wardrobes.

With all 1,311 Ferrari F40s built between 1987 and 1992 leaving the Maranello factory in Rosso Corsa red, it is rare to find one of the Italian brand’s iconic supercars in any other tone.

The US manufacturer confirmed in March that it has over 600 in the UK, with more than 100 being installed since last summer when it celebrated its 500th supercharge in Britain in June 2020.

Mortgage advisors are urging borrowers to think twice before using the convenient checkout option from brands such as Klarna after seeing clients rejected after using this type of credit.

While rates below 1% are not unusual for two year deals, Britain’s largest building society is offering this rate to those with a 40% deposit remortgaging or moving, fixed until 2026.

Brussels is consulting on a ban on smaller independent garages being able to fit cheaper components to vehicles, demanding that they use pricier manufacturer-branded parts instead.

A new study has revealed which car makers have issued the most recalls, with the brand that tops the charts having a total of 818 dating back 29 years.

The sun is shining (finally) and holidays are back on the agenda. But with Covid cases rising, testing chaos and ministers changing guidance at a moment’s notice, travelling overseas has never been trickier.

After restrictions were eased this week, the Government is expecting a surge in demands to self-isolate from the contact-tracing app, which has been downloaded more than 26 million times.

Until now surviving parents could only claim up to £9,800 across 18 months in Bereavement Support Payments if married or in a civil partnership at the time of their partner’s death.

HM Revenue & Customs yesterday confirmed that the minimum age at which a saver will be able to access their pension pot will rise from 55 to 57. The change will come into force in April 2028.

I wrote to NS&I on May 11 asking to cash in my mum’s Guaranteed Growth Bonds. I enclosed an original power of attorney, fully certified and registered with the Office of The Public Guardian.

Last week it emerged that inflation is rising at its fastest rate for nearly three years after hitting 2.5 per cent in June, following a surge in second hand car and food prices.

Lucy Stewart and husband James Cissel (pictured) thought they were the perfect buyers after selling their London flat and moving into Lucy’s parents’ house – but quickly found out this was not the case.

Easyjet chief exec Johan Lundgren (pictured) said ‘expensive and unnecessary testing’ for low-risk destinations ‘just doesn’t make sense’. The carrier lost £3.5m a day in the quarter to June.

US private equity firm Apollo Global Management revealed it is in talks to join Fortress Investment Group’s £6.3bn bid for Morrisons – which is led by chief executive David Potts (pictured).

The number of people choosing to buy groceries online in the past four weeks was 81,000 lower than the same period last year, according to retail analysts Kantar.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) said ministers have launched a consultation on how to address the sky-high prices paid by companies, including manufacturers and steelmakers.

In his March Budget, Rishi Sunak (pictured) calculated that the UK was set to borrow £234bn in the 2021-2022 financial year. The Institute for Fiscal Studies now thinks the total could be £203bn.

The chairmen of two parliamentary committees say private equity firms accused of asset stripping Debenhams should be quizzed about the fate of the department store’s pensioners.

Bitcoin slid to $29,785 as it failed to recover from a sell-off that struck most financial markets on Monday. The dip means bitcoin’s gains so far this year have been all but wiped out.

Rather than engage in the indignity and expense of a bidding war for Morrisons, tainted Apollo has laid down its weapons and is ready to form a common front with Softbank-backed predator Fortress.

After months of crippling lockdown measures, the beleaguered hospitality sector is showing signs of bouncing back as rules are eased and hot weather drives punters outdoors.

A Dutch court ruled in May that by 2030 the energy supermajor must reduce its net carbon emissions by 45 per cent compared with 2019 levels. Shell had vowed to reach net zero by 2050.

Better than expected economic data is finally starting to breathe signs of life into the big banks. Lloyds and NatWest are up 30 per cent and 28 per cent since January, with Barclays up 15 per cent.

While none of the new deals can match the rate of inflation, which leapt to 2.5 per cent in June, they offer a much better chance of shielding your money than the 0.01 per cent paid by High Street banks.

Jerusalem-based drama Shtisel (pictured) has been a hit show for streaming giant Netflix and while the US tech giant is still gaining paying customers it is doing so at a far slower rate.

Could it really be true that fraud cases are spiralling because we are too polite to hang up on cold callers? Two major banks – Santander and Marcus by Goldman Sachs – certainly think so.

Swapfiets (Swap Bikes in Dutch) is a bicycle hire firm where customers can rent bikes from £12.90 per month, rising to £14.90 for a more luxurious model and £75-a-month for an ebike.

Women Against State Pension Inequality said the findings reinforced what it unfortunately knew all along. and has renewed calls for compensation to women who were affected.

The couple were duped by a fake bonus offer from a scammer pretending to work for Coinbase, shortly before the crypto platform went public in New York.

Mobile phone users in Britain are being left out of pocket each month with 71% using less data than they actually purchase, new research has revealed.

Finding affordable things to do as well as reducing the cost of extortionate childcare costs can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Here’s 14 tips to ensure you don’t break the bank this summer

‘We have ambitious plans to meet the increasing needs of older people in a sustainable way,’ chief financial officer Sarah Jones said.

The Government in March slashed the Plug-in Car Grant, reducing both the subsidy amount by £500 to £2,500 and eligibility for models up to £35,000. The move was lambasted by industry insiders.

Average fixed rates rose monthly for the first time since October 2020, according to Moneyfacts, while choice grew to the highest number seen this year.

Spire’s Australian rival Ramsay Health Care had tabled a 250p-per-share bid for the mid-cap hospital group. But two of Spire’s biggest shareholders – Fidelity and Toscafund – rebelled.

The UK’s leading share index fell 2.3 per cent. The plunge followed steep drops overnight in Asia and in Paris and Frankfurt the Cac 40 and the Dax were both down by more than 2 per cent.

As the biggest outside investor in Sheffield-based gaming group Sumo, the £920m bid by Hong Kong-quoted Tencent cannot be regarded as a total surprise.

Zegna will go public in a £2.3bn Spac deal in New York later this year. Private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH, has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in Etro (worn by model, pictured).

Sir Martin Sorrell’s outfit S4 Capital said in a trading update that sales and profits had surpassed expectations this summer. Sorrell (pictured) set up S4 just months after leaving WPP in 2018.

Buyout firms with links to Beijing have been quietly swooping on a string of science, technology and engineering firms. MPs claim some of the firms effectively act as proxies for China.

Tencent, founded by Chinese billionaire Pony Ma (pictured), swooped on Sumo Group with a £920m takeover bid, which was was backed by the British video games studio’s management .

According to Scottish Mortgage, the stake in Tencent was valued at £1bn at the end of May. The £16bn investment trust’s holding in Tencent’s rival Alibaba was worth another £723m.

It fell 2.3 per cent to 6,844.4p on Monday as the overwhelming majority of firms registered on the blue-chip index saw their share price decline, with the biggest faller being Rolls-Royce Holdings.

A third of people think their parents will need to pay for care later in life but many fear they lack the means to afford it.

Victoria Joyce, a clinical tutor at Liverpool Hope University, says drivers can adopt poor positions – such as having the seat too far back or gripping the wheel incorrectly – that our bodies hate.

‘We underperformed during the first quarter because investors were chasing beaten-up UK value and recovery stocks – which we do not own,’ said Train.

Matteo Ferrari and Nick Croft-Simon launched their gluten free vegan pizza brand White Rabbit in 2015 and it now sells in Sainsburys and Waitrose.

Lords’ London Stock Exchange float is expected to value the business at £150million. Crucially, it will provide management with £30million of cash.

The figures, uncovered by the AA, are revealed just months before ULEZ expands from the current small central zone to cover a huge swathe of residential London.

The growing presence of AI in our everyday lives is apparent everywhere from healthcare to online shopping and this fund aims to tap into it.

Midas recommended Tate & Lyle in 2015, when the shares were £6.08. Today, the shares are £7.29. Existing shareholders should retain their stock. New investors could pick shares at current levels.

Clean hydrogen is one of the fastest-growing sectors within green energy. HydrogenOne is starting small but hopes to scale up rapidly,

Providers that have failed in recent years include Tonik, Toto Energy, Solarplicity, Our Power, GnERGY and Go Effortless.

Surveyors and conveyancing solicitors have been under huge pressure to complete sales – and experts predict a rise in homeowners making legal claims after they discover mistakes.

Nick Jones (pictured), the founder and chief exec of the Soho House chain of private members clubs, describes its upcoming listing as ‘nerve-wracking and exciting in the same measure.’

The under-representation of women is important. It affects what questions economists ask and address, and the nature of the advice they give on public policy and to companies.

Consumer price inflation surged to 2.5 per cent in June, leading to concerns at the Bank of England that monetary policy may have to be tightened as soon as August 5.

A total of 23 per cent of households with an income of £100,000 a year could not pay a large unexpected bill or cover their essential outgoings for three months using their savings.

The catalytic converters are part of a vehicle’s exhaust and are designed to filter out harmful emissions. Thieves target them because they contain precious metals.

It does not feel logical to reduce my personal allowance to get the taxes in one instance and then charge me tax on the state pension again in my return.

Only 32 listed firms said their earnings were set to be worse than forecast in the second quarter, EY-Parthenon research found, indicating businesses are bouncing back from Covid.

And sales are set to boom, according to leading make-up brand No 7. There was a 61 per cent surge in the number of lipsticks sold between April and June compared with the first quarter, it said.

Bentley will receive up to £5.7m if he reaches certain performance targets over the next three years. If he received the full amount, it would amount to 640 per cent of his £900,000 salary.

You may not yet have heard of Revolution Beauty and even less so its co-founder and creative heart Adam Minto. But, if he has his way, that will soon change.

This is a OneBanks outlet, where customers of any bank can take out and deposit money and carry out transactions. There is always someone on hand to help visitors – and teach them online banking skills.

Green mortgages are deals with special rates that are only available on properties with high levels of energy efficiency. They incentivise people to buy an efficient home or to refurbish a draughty one.

The TV presenter says the biggest money mistake she ever made was buying a Grade II-listed apartment. She is attempting to hula-hoop for 500 minutes as part of the ‘Do It 4 Youth’ challenge.

In a house swap, you look after their home, knowing they are doing the same for yours. Simon and Jane Perkin have planned four free holidays this year – thanks to house swaps.

Industry sources said London-based Zetland Capital, led by dealmaker Ahmed Hamdani, has secretly snapped up a majority shareholding in Typhoo Tea.

Advent bought the firm in 2020 after an 18-month tussle with the founding family. It then began a dismantling of the group. Accounts show Cobham will pay a £42.2million dividend for 2020.

Diamond is pushing for a change to measures created to stop banks ploughing ordinary savers’ cash into risky securities.

The longer we wait until scams are taken seriously, the more brazen scammers will become. After all, why hide when there is little chance of getting caught?

The Olympic Games have produced some of the finest sports memorabilia over the decades. Some objects aren’t worth a great deal, but others can fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The grocery giant – which is currently at the centre of a takeover battle – has been secretly working on the plan for more than a year and is likely to launch a pilot store to the public ‘within months’.

In normal times, a buzz might provide a nice economic boost to the Olympic’s host country, but that won’t be the case this time. Nonetheless, opportunities abound.

We should welcome that change of view. They know that if inflation does not subside soon not only will they have to tighten policy; they will be blamed for not tightening earlier.

The Bank of England announced this week that it is removing the remaining ‘guardrails’ that barred banks from giving investors a divi. Yet these payouts from companies have become politicised.

In a sign of the inflationary times, the cost of renting a car has rocketed to about three times the price of last year and it’s being blamed on the semiconductor shortage.

The supermarket’s retail director said she was among those who ‘don’t particularly like wearing a mask’ and recognised encouraging people to do so ‘won’t be welcomed by some’.

Mahmud Kamani and Matt Moulding are both understood to have invested millions of pounds in the online beauty retailer which is due to float on the London Stock Exchange, sources said.

The bleak review comes after the spectacular downfall of Greensill Capital, which counted David Cameron as an adviser until it filed for administration in March.

The financial ‘super app’ last week fetched a blockbuster valuation of $33billion (£24billion), bigger than NatWest, after an $800million fundraising from private equity giants Softbank and Tiger Global.

In January, Entain rejected an £8billion all-share offer from MGM Resorts International. Under Takeover Panel rules it was prevented from returning with a fresh bid for six months.

City veterans said the soaring number of coronavirus cases has hit consumer confidence, and ‘confused’ guidance on returning to work could stall economic growth.

Warner Music UK – home to Dua Lipa and Liam Gallagher – saw profits plunge 46 per cent to £25million in the year to September 25, new accounts reveal.

The average amount forked out on auction-sold classics last was £38,984 – in the first six months of 2021, the average outlay is £45,648. We reveal the cars sold for the highest prices in 2021 so far.

Rising inflation means cash savings are being eroded at an alarming rate at present, and the Bank of England could be forced to act sooner rather than later to quash the problem.

At first glance, the Citroen C3 Aircross SUV looks a bundle of fun. It certainly stands out. The range itself starts at £17,320 for the Puretech 110 six-speed manual.

Unilever is a company with which we will all have some connection, from consuming their products such as Magnum, Marmite and margarine, though to your pension pot, where it will very likely be present.

Morrisons’s independent directors have been labelled ‘stooges’ for supporting Fortress’s £6.3bn bid. The capitulation has sparked outrage from across Westminster and the City.

Blackstone has teamed up with Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management to buy GCP Student Living. GCP has accepted the deal and has urged shareholders to get behind it too.

The amount of the key metal the FTSE 100 group shipped fell by 12 per cent in the three months to June compared with last year. This translated to around 76m tonnes.

Gnodde, the head of Goldman Sachs International, estimates around 70 per cent of staff will return to work over the next few weeks after Covid restrictions are relaxed in England on Monday.

Fintech is the great new hope for the post-Brexit City. It is terrific that in recent weeks the profitable payments specialist Wise made a strong debut on the London Stock Exchange.

Less than a month after announcing plans to split the business in two, boss Emma Walmsley (pictured) has unveiled plans to build one of Europe’s largest biotechnology campuses in Stevenage.

When she couldn’t find suitable holiday accommodation for her disabled daughter Becky Hamilton set up her own travel company.

Many travelling to Europe this summer will be preoccupied with the new Covid restrictions, but holidaymakers are being warned not to forget the new travel rules introduced under Brexit.

Some 12million households could face broadband price hikes later this year as suppliers look to cover the rising costs of full fibre rollout, new research has claimed.

Customers are now able to lease the latest smartphones instead of buying – meaning they can be sent back and reused after two years rather than left languishing in a drawer.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.06 per cent or 3.93 points at 7,008.09 this afternoon, and sterling is at $1.38 against the US dollar.

Blame for the scandal, uncovered by former minister Steve Webb and This is Money, is laid on ‘process and control issues including poor staff training, instructions and quality review’.

A ‘woefully’ out of date calculation used by the taxman allows people with final salary pensions to retire on much higher incomes without being hit by charges.

The average British household would only invest in making their home greener if energy bills jumped by £56 a month, new research has revealed.

From the first horseless carriages to the latest electric conversion VW Beetle (pictured) Autocar magazine has charted the roller-coaster development of the motor car.

The banking app earned the accolade after successfully closing a £577m funding round with Japanese investment giant Softbank and Tiger Global Management.

The AA says a litre of petrol is now almost 20p more than it was when the weekly rise began at the end of November 2020 and at the highest it has been for almost 8 years.

More women than ever are becoming landlords, as their interest in property continues to outpace other investments such as stocks and shares and cryptocurrency.

Flights to amber list countries are available from just £15 with seven night package holidays also selling for as little as £146, new research has revealed.

A report commissioned by former Iceland chief executive Bill Grimsey warned of ‘a significant number of business failures’ as government support is withdrawn.

Central bank official Michael Saunders said inflation could hit 4 per cent later this year. He warned action might be required as soon as next month to put a lid on the cost of living.

The FTSE 100 cyber-security group said it was locked in ‘advanced’ discussions with Norton antivirus software owner Norton Life Lock, which is considering making an offer for the firm.

In the UK, orders rose by a staggering 733 per cent in the first six months of the year compared with 2020, as Britons cooped up by a third lockdown and a soggy spring kept coming back for more takeaways.

Andrew Bailey’s job as Bank of England governor was always going to become most difficult when the task of preserving financial stability clashed with the core responsibility of taming inflation.

Soho House, founded by Nick Jones, (pictured), saw parent company The Membership Collective Group’s Initial Public Offering priced at $14 a share, valuing the firm at $2.8bn (£2bn).

The board of the Chippenham-based inhaler specialist, which is developing a Covid treatment, last week backed a 150p a share offer from Philip Morris International (PMI).

Bosses at the Financial Conduct Authority said £120m will be invested in improving its data capabilities over the next three years to crack down on fraud and misconduct.

Industry insiders say the price spike is due to rental firms reducing fleets and now struggling to increase them at short notice in-line with holidaymaker demand.

The FTSE 100 closed down 79.17 points at 7012.02 and the pound was at $1.38 against the dollar.

Our readers are enthusiastic to see the commitment fulfilled, voting nine to one in favour in our ongoing poll, and pensioners point out that they struggle to make ends meet in retirement.

Aston Martin has gone back to the drawing board to rework the 2019 prototype hybrid supercar to ensure it could become a production reality that also makes money.

Latest official statistics show £23,000 house price increase in year to May as Britons went on ‘final buying frenzy’ ahead of stamp duty holiday tapering down in June.

The banking app, which also allows users to buy and trade cryptocurrency, is now Britain’s most valuable fintech firm.

With many bricks-and-mortar stores only just starting to reopening over the period, Asos was able to capitalise on the shutdown and added 1.2million customers to its site.

In my mind a bag of crisps still costs about 40p, yet whenever I buy them they seem to cost roughly double that. Their steady rise in price shows how inflation eats our savings.

Specialist investment trusts allow everyday investors the opportunity to invest in a good cause while providing a steady income.

The rising cap is mainly due to the wholesale energy market, where gas prices have increased by 55 per cent since January. They are now at their highest level since 2005 and continue to rise.

There can be a lot of confusion around paying CGT, how it is calculated and when it applies. Here, we explain some answers to the most frequently asked questions about it.

I have missed some Dartford Crossing payments and now the debt has reached over £3,000 – despite me owing just £135. How is this fair?

The proposals is for a 5.7m square foot site for both battery production and recycling that is estimated to add £434m to the local economy each year, as well as create 6,000 new jobs.

The fresh analysis comes as private equity giants swoop on financially sound companies whose value has been depressed by the coronavirus crisis, in an attempt to buy them on the cheap.

Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot (pictured) has pitched the deal as a way for the Covid vaccine maker to gain a foothold in potentially lucrative treatments for rare diseases,

Customers stocked up on cushions and bedding – proving that after more than a year of staying at home, Britons are still keen to make their abodes as comfortable and cosy as possible.

Despite the rise in online investment scams, during a time when criminals took advantage of savers stuck at home, the Government has so far refused to include financial harm in its Online Safety Bill.

The fast fashion specialist, known for its £3 T-shirts and dresses, announced it will extend Debenhams’ franchise agreement with Alshaya, putting Boohoo products in permanent stores for the first time.

There is no escaping the fact that the FTSE350 has become a happy hunting ground for the private equity barons. The main explanation for this happening is that London stock prices are cheap.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.47 per cent or 33.53 points to 7,091.19 this afternoon.

Alarm bells will be sounding for savers today following news that inflation surged for the fourth consecutive month to its highest rate for almost three years.

Around 280,000 customers of its closed doorstep lending arm will receive emails directing them towards the UK’s 250 credit unions, and a group of nearly 50 affordable credit providers.

London has been named as the car crime hotspot of the UK with Lambeth having the highest number of thefts, holding a 12.32 per cent frequency rate, new research has revealed.