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Tuesday 10 June 2025 10:01, UK
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By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
The FTSE 100 is in with a chance of achieving a new record high today.
The closing high is 8,871 points - recorded on 3 March.
The index has not been immune to the trade war uncertainty created by Donald Trump since then. But the apparent easing of many hostilities has helped values recover over the past month.
It is now 8.5% up in the year to date, having opened 0.4% higher today at 8,869.
Housing and energy stocks are leading the way.
Also contributing is Marks and Spencer.
Its shares are 2% up on the news that online sales have been restored.
The retailer suspended them after the ransomware attack on the company in April, which the company says will cost it 拢300m.
Marks & Spencer has resumed some online clothes orders six weeks after a damaging cyberattack that the retailer says will cost it hundreds of millions.
"Select fashion ranges" are now available again for the first time in 46 days.
Hackers broke into its systems in April by tricking employees at a third-party contractor, skirting its digital defences, according to the company.
"We are bringing back online shopping this week," said John Lyttle, managing director of fashion, home and beauty.
"A selection of our best-selling fashion ranges will be available for home delivery to England, Scotland and Wales.
"More of our fashion, home and beauty products will be added every day and we will resume deliveries to Northern Ireland and Click and Collect in the coming weeks."
M&S stopped taking clothing and home orders through its website and app on 25 April.
Three days earlier, it said it was managing a "cyber incident", with problems for its contactless pay and click and collect services over the Easter holiday weekend.
Last month, M&S said it expected online disruption to continue into July and forecast the attack would cost it 拢300m.
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
UK unemployment rose to the highest level in four years in April while payrolled employment has fallen sharply since, according to official figures covering the period when budget tax hikes on businesses came into effect.
The Office for National Statistics said the new unemployment rate covering the three months to April was the highest since July 2021.
It had previously stood at 4.5%, a total of more than 1.6 million people.
At 4.6%, it is above the peak level predicted for this year, just in March, by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Figures from the taxman also highlighted by the ONS showed the number of people in payrolled employment during May fell by 109,000 - double April's revised figure of 55,000.
The ONS Labour Force Survey data was the first to cover April's rises in employer national insurance contributions and the national living wage - hikes to costs for businesses which lobby groups had warned would result in job losses, price rises and lower wage settlements.
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Every Tuesday, we get an expert to answer your financial problems or consumer disputes. WhatsApp us yours or email moneyblog@AG百家乐在线官网.uk. Today's problem is...
My dog Benji died last month at the age of 11. But when I went to cancel his insurance, they told me I was still liable for paying the remaining five months of his policy (at 拢138 a month). They took 拢691.75 out of my final claim. They told me this was standard because if you make a claim in the same year the pet dies, you are then liable for the remaining year's premiums. Is this right? I've had the policy with them since 2020.
Alex*
Our cost of living specialist Megan Harwood-Baynes tackled this one...
I鈥檓 so sorry to hear about your dog. You told me he died unexpectedly - he was going for tests and died before the results came back. It took you a couple of days to summon up the strength to call HealthyPets and cancel his insurance, but when you did, you were shocked to be told you were liable to pay the remaining 拢691.75 on your premium.
As someone who has also been stung by pet insurance (with a different insurer), I was sad but not surprised to find out this clause exists.
Your insurance policy says this: "Any claim resulting from the death/permanent loss (referred as Total Loss) of the insured animal will result in the immediate cancellation of the contract and no refund of the annual premium will be allowed."
So, unfortunately, it does seem to be the case that you had to pay the premium. And look, we are all guilty of not reading the small print, and even when we do, it's so dense it can be really difficult to take it all in.
When you have an older animal (usually over the ages of eight to ten), your policy changes significantly, as certain things stop being covered. For example, you can claim if your kitten dies, but not your 12-year-old cat.
If you stay with the same insurer, this can be particularly tricky to navigate because they rarely flag any policy changes from year to year. Personally, I'm not sure why not - it wouldn't be difficult to include a PDF highlighting what things have changed once your pet reaches a certain age.
My main advice to anyone with a pet over a certain age would be to read and reread the small print - and call the insurer before you need to claim to make sure you fully know what you are signing up for.
But is this policy fair?
That being said, you said what upset you the most was the way you were dealt with by HealthyPets - for an insurer that presumably deals with this situation every day, you said there was no acknowledgement of the shock or grief you were going through.
Overall, you felt the approach was rather blunt and cold, especially given you'd been with them for four years (and presumably paid them thousands of pounds) and not claimed for Benji in that time. You felt it could have chosen to be more courteous to you or show some discretion with this clause.
I reached out to HealthyPets to ask if it felt it was fair for you to pay premiums on a deceased animal. To me, it seems a particularly cruel clause, designed to hit just when you're grieving your pet.
The official reply was this: "We would like to express our deepest condolences to Alex for the loss of Benji as we fully recognise the pain and stress the loss of a pet can cause. Thank you for bringing her complaint to our attention. We have reached out to her directly to discuss her concerns."
So, it was not the most helpful reply, but the next day, HealthyPets phoned you to say a formal complaint had been raised on your behalf. You said what mattered most is that in that phone call, the company apologised to you and expressed condolences for Benji's death.
A few days later, you had a final response to your complaint. HealthyPets apologised for the fact that its service had not met expectations. It said it tried to make policy wording as clear as possible (I'll let you decide if you agree that is the case鈥�) and explained exactly why, in accordance with their terms, the premium was due to be paid.
But it concluded by saying that while it couldn't change the terms of your policy, it arranged for a goodwill payment of 拢450 in recognition of the distress and disappointment caused by the situation.
You told me you were pleased with the outcome - you genuinely weren't expecting any money, but the acknowledgement and apology were what you had hoped for.
How to complain about an insurer
If you also feel unhappy with how you've been dealt with by an insurer, the first thing you need to do is raise a formal complaint directly with them. They should issue you a final response within a couple of months.
If you don't agree with their final decision, you can then go to the Financial Ombudsman - they will make a final decision, which is then binding. If you are still not happy, you can then take your insurer to court, but this should be an absolute last resort.
You can find out more about making a complaint on the .
*Names have been changed
This feature is not intended as financial advice - the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:
By Mark Kleinman, City editor
Half of Britain鈥檚 2,500 remaining smaller housebuilders could crash into insolvency by the end of this parliament as a consequence of the cost of industry regulations, a report will warn this week.
Sky News has seen a document to be published on Tuesday - ahead of the government's spending review - which will refer to "a perfect storm of costs" that threatens to wipe out the profits of SME housebuilders.
The bleak forecast is the principal conclusion of a report produced jointly by the public affairs firm WPI Strategy and ChamberlainWalker, an economics consultancy specialising in housing and planning.
It casts a fresh shadow over the government's target of building 1.5 million homes during the course of this parliament - one of its most important manifesto commitments ahead of last year's landslide victory.
Northumbrian Water has agreed to pay out 拢15.7m after failures in the maintenance and operations of its sewage and water network.
Water sector regulator Ofwat said its failures led to "excessive spills from storm overflows".
The water company will pay out the "enforcement package" to local environmental causes and improvements to the region's water infrastructure.
Ofwat also said the package agreed with the company means it will be spent on local improvements for customers, rather than being directed to the Treasury's consolidated fund.
News of the payout last week came after Thames Water was fined a record 拢122.7m. It was found to have broken rules over sewage treatment and paying out dividends.
Waitrose shoppers will be allowed to "borrow" a reusable cup in order to redeem their free coffee.
Those using the supermarket's loyalty scheme will be able to take a cup from a dispenser by tapping their card.
They can then use the cup for seven days before returning it to the store, or they will be charged 拢3.
The concept has been rolled out across nine stores as part of a trial so far.
Money understands the stores involved are:
"It kicked off last week and is available for My Waitrose members to use when redeeming their free coffee, or for our cafe customers to use if purchasing one," a spokesperson said.
Waitrose brought back its free hot drink offer in 2022 after scrapping it during the pandemic to reduce costs.
A special investigations team at HMRC has doubled its tax haul in a crackdown on wealthy people.
The unit, which focuses on people who earn more than 拢200,000 a year or have assets above 拢2m, yielded more than 拢1.5bn in the 2023/24 tax year, figures obtained from HMRC by law firm Pinsent Masons showed.
That's up from 拢713m raised in the previous year.
The overall amount collected across HMRC from wealthy taxpayers increased to 拢5.2bn 鈥� up from 拢4bn.
"HMRC have been set some very hard targets for extra tax collection by the chancellor. It is hard to see how they can achieve those targets without a sharp rise into tax investigations into the wealthy," Ian Robotham, one of the legal directors at Pinsent Masons, said.
"The scale of specialist investigations into wealthy taxpayers shows HMRC has already been clamping down much harder on those suspected of underpaying tax."
