FCA warns car finance firms over ‘lost’ data amid £18bn compensation scheme

The City regulator has warned it will challenge lenders claiming to have lost customer records about mis-sold car loans to ensure they get their fair share of a potential £18bn compensation pot.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering whether to open its redress scheme to contracts dating back to 2007, but some lenders have complained that they do not have records stretching back that far.Speaking to MPs on the Treasury committee, , the FCA chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, said this would not be accepted as a blanket excuse. “Where a firm says to us that they don’t have the data, we’re not just going to take that at face value. We will look at that very forensically,” he said

Anglo American to merge with rival Teck in $53bn mining group

The London-listed miner Anglo American has agreed to merge with its Canadian rival Teck Resources, in a deal that will create a $53bn (£39bn) global copper group after both companies saw off takeover attempts.The merger to form one of the biggest copper producers in the world is expected to bring hundreds of job losses at Anglo’s London office as the company prepares to move its headquarters to Vancouver, Canada.The new company will retain Anglo’s primary listing on the London Stock Exchange – held since 1999 - with secondary listings in Johannesburg, Vancouver and New York. But Anglo Teck’s senior leadership team will be based in Vancouver after sweeping efforts by the Canadian government to protect the country’s minerals sector.Justin Trudeau’s administration warned last year that Canada’s government would only approve foreign takeovers of large Canadian mining companies involved in critical minerals production “in the most exceptional of circumstances” to protect its interests in the minerals and metals that are considered crucial in the global transition away from fossil fuels

Powering change: UK battery firms aim to unlock the way to net zero

Think of battery manufacturing and it may evoke images of Elon Musk and Tesla’s sprawling “gigafactories” around the globe, or China’s vast, hi-tech clean rooms churning out cells to go in anything from electric toothbrushes to mobile phones and cars. But at Invinity Energy Systems’s small factory in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, workers slotting parts together are hoping that Britain can also play a part in the battery revolution.These batteries, which rely on vanadium ions, are put in 6-metre (20ft), 25-tonne shipping containers. They will not go into cars, but the manufacturer hopes the technology can win a place in a global rush into storage to usher in the shift to net zero carbon grids.Renewable electricity is the future of the global energy system: cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuels

UK retail sales rise but stores fear tax worries could hit festive period

Record warm weather and a Bank of England interest rate cut lifted retail sales in August, according to the latest survey, but retailers fear that speculation about tax rises could weigh on consumers in the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.Retail sales increased 3.1% year on year as consumer spending on food and drink rose, and sales of computers and related equipment performed well as parents readied children for the new school year.However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which publishes the monthly figures in conjunction with KPMG, said the 4.7% boost in spending on food and drink was due to price rises as opposed to consumers buying more products

Pret a Manger to take on supermarkets by trialling meal deals

Pret a Manger is finally caving in to competition from supermarkets by launching meal deals, after the value of the chain was slashed by a third amid “intense strains” on the hospitality industry.The sandwich and coffee chain said it intends to test the meal deal format in the last quarter of this year, as a medium-term strategy to grow the Pret brand and return to sustainable profits. It did not say how much the meal deals will cost.In the UK, meal deals will be tested across two parts of the day – a croissant and coffee for breakfast; crisps and a bread-based sandwich; and also any lunch main, snack and a drink.In January Pret launched a meal deal in France, which is performing well

Reform UK would axe any high-speed northern rail schemes, says Richard Tice

A Reform government would axe any high-speed rail schemes earmarked for the north, the party’s deputy leader has warned.Richard Tice said companies considering bidding for contracts should “not bother” as the party would “spend the money instead on things the country needs more”.Labour is expected this month to announce it is reviving Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), with leading figures backing a new £17bn Liverpool-Manchester line as a first step in a full railway running across the north.The NPR scheme was originally backed by the previous government – but the line linking Liverpool and Manchester was due to share parts of the HS2 northern leg axed by Rishi Sunak in 2023.Labour has yet to confirm its plans but the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, hinted at news in her budget speech, and sources last month told the Guardian that the government would announce its commitment before the start of the party conference, shoring up northern support