Weekly Headline Roundup: 12-01-2024

Headline Update 12-01-2024 :

-> Customer demand is a top concern for two fifths of businesses

-> US consumer debt soared to new heights in the run-up to the holiday season

-> Post Office scandal furore is moment to change digital evidence rules

-> Real-Time Payments Put Spotlight on Small Businesses as New Year Begins

-> New data shows a 25% increase in people going for SIM-only mobile contracts

-> Over a fifth of consumers haven’t visited a bank branch in the past year

-> Families suffering ‘worst decline’ in living standards

-> ‘Everyone cites Covid and Brexit’: number of UK businesses going bust rises 52% in two years | Small business

-> Energy firms allowed to restart force-fitting meters

-> Average mortgage rate lowest for nearly seven months

-> Benefits calculators – GOV.UK

-> National Debtline findings show 4.7 million starting New Year feeling unable to cope due to money worries

-> Free childcare: When will the 15 hours for two-year-olds begin?

-> Energy bills in Great Britain rise by 5% as price cap increases | Energy bills

-> Number of UK first-time buyers in 2023 was lowest in a decade | First-time buyers