Money blog: Major bank cuts mortgage rate below 4% (2024)

Barclays is making cuts to a selection of products across its residential purchase, remortgage and reward ranges from tomorrow.

The most notable rate change will be the bank's five-year fixed rate for home buyers with a 60% loan to value (LTV) ratio and a £899 product fee, which has been reduced to 3.84%.

The previous rate on the product was 4.04%.

Meanwhile, its 4.61% two-year fixed rate, will decrease to 4.43%.

The Bank of England base rate was cut last week from 5.25% to 5%, but lenders had already been slashing rates in the weeks leading up to the move.

Stephen Perkins, managing directorat Yellow Brick Mortgages, told Newspage that more lenders going sub 4% was "greatly welcomed".

"Barclays have made a real statement of intent here. It's game on in the mortgage market now," he said.

Meanwhile, Riz Malik, directorat R3 Mortgages, told the news outlet that the "post-base rate cut bonanza from Barclays will help drive confidence among borrowers and in the UK housing market".

The start of the week was rocked by turbulence on the global markets over fears that the US was heading for recession - but they have now rebounded slightly.

Trillions were wiped off US markets after figures showed fewer American jobs were created last month than Wall Street had predicted, combined with concerns the Federal Reserve had kept interest rates high for too long.

Now the US looks likely to avoid recession, according to bond giant PIMCO, which manages $1.9trn in assets.

Daniel Ivascyn, group chief investment officer, said the US was still on track for a soft landing - shifting to lower growth or flatlining without entering a recession - despite the probability of a recession increasing on Monday.

"We do think the market has probably gotten a little bit ahead of itself in terms of pricing in central bank cuts," Mr Ivascyn said.

"Barring some major geopolitical shock or some major issue with market functioning, central banks, the Fed in particular, will likely cut by 25 basis points in September and future meetings will be live."

The US fiscal picture is "dire" at the moment, but it remains manageable, Mr Ivascyn said.

Halifax predicts house prices will increase for the rest of the year.

Lower mortgage rates and potential base rate reductions will push up asking prices, said the bank's head of mortgages, Amanda Bryden.

The average price rose by £2,200 from June to July, Halifax found, following three relatively flat months and putting the average house at £291,268.

"Last week's Bank of England base rate cut, which follows recent reductions in mortgage rates, is encouraging for those looking to remortgage, purchase a first home or move along the housing ladder," said Ms Bryden.

Rates were lowered from 5.25% to 5% on Thursday - the first cut in more than four years.

"Against the backdrop of lower mortgage rates and potential further base rate reductions, we anticipate house prices to continue a modest upward trend throughout the remainder of this year," Ms Bryden said.

Holly Tomlinson, a financial planner at wealth manager Quilter, said she expected the autumn to be a busier period for the market, as indecisive sellers are encouraged by the direction in which rates are going.

Purplebricks chief executive Sam Mitchell agreed: "With lenders already slashing mortgage rates in response to last week’s decision, buyers are beginning to move ahead with purchasing decisions they have been putting off for months."

A supermarket cafe is giving away free crumpets - if you know the password.

Ask for "Ellen" at a Morrisons Cafe and you can get a free portion of Warburtons crumpets with a choice of six toppings.

The offer, named after Warburton's founder, Ellen Warburton, is available until 25 August or while stock lasts.

How to get your free crumpets

Just ask for "Ellen" at the till, and you'll receive two crumpets with either honey, banana, chocolate spread, jam and butter, marmalade, or maple-flavoured syrup.

Vegan spread is available on request, according to Warburtons, which has teamed up with Morrisons over the summer holidays.

There is no minimum spend and the freebie is available in all cafes - but customers can only get one portion per person each day.

Morrisons told Money Saving Expert that there are 100,000 portions available - which cost 99p before they were removed from its cafe menus.

A major bank has created a series of deepfake videos to warn customers how realistic they have become.

Santander has posted the videos, featuring its fraud lead Chris Ainsley and influencer Timi Merriman-Johnson, on social media to raise awareness of a method of fraud increasingly available to criminals.

Deepfakes can be videos, sounds or images of real people that have been digitally manipulated through artificial intelligence to convincingly misrepresent a person or organisation.

"Generative AI is developing at breakneck speed, and we know it's 'when' rather than 'if' we start to see an influx of scams with deepfakes lurking behind them," said Mr Ainsley.

"We already know fraudsters flood social media with fake investment opportunities and bogus love interests, and unfortunately, it's highly likely that deepfakes will begin to be used to create even more convincing scams of these types."

Just 17% of people are confident they could easily identify a deepfake video, found an Opinium survey of 2,000 people for Santander in July.

Almost Six in 10 people said they are already more suspicious of what they see or hear because of deepfakes.

Here are Santander's top tips to spot a deepfake:

1. Deepfakes are likely to be used in investment scams and impersonation fraud, such as romance scams.
2. Look out for imperfections like blurring around the mouth, less blinking than normal, or odd reflections.
3. Context is important. Ask: Is this too good to be true? If this is real, why is everyone not doing this? If this is legitimate, why are they asking me to lie to my family or my bank?

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

The stock market in London is continuing to slowly recover this morning following Monday's global falls.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.9%, while the FTSE 250 has gained 0.7%.

Banks and financial institutions are among the top gainers, including NatWest, which is up 2.5%,Standard Chartered, which has risen 2.9%, and Lloyds Banking Group, which has increased by 2%.

Fallers include bottling company Coca-Cola HBC - which is a partner of the global drinks firm - down 2.4%.

It comes despite the company upgrading its profit and revenue forecast for the year.

Hotel giant IHG, which owns brands including Holiday Inn, is also down 1.8% despite positive second quarter results published yesterday.

Oil prices are also gradually creeping back up following falls last week.

A barrel of the benchmark Brent crude will currently set you back just over $76.5 (£60), a rise of 0.3%.

On the currency markets, £1 buys $1.27 US or €1.16 this morning.

Read more on what caused Monday's US recession fears here...

Many families rely on grandparents for childcare, and most are happy to oblige.

Their reward is often simply spending valuable time with their grandkids and making memories - but what if they actually got paid?

A new tool by SunLife, a financial services company used by people later in life, allows grandparents to input all the hours of "parenting" they do - from taxiing to cooking to days spent babysitting.

We had a go - answering each question in what we presumed could be a typical scenario. Our fictional grandparent did two hours each of taxiing, cooking and cleaning for their grandkids, and 18 hours (roughly two working days) of babysitting a week.

For this, SunLife estimates a salary of £15,864 would be appropriate.

SunLife recently polled more than 2,000 grandparents and found there has been a rise in the number being relied upon to look after grandchildren during the school holidays and on inset days.

More than four in 10 (43%) now provide "holiday" care and are giving up 18 hours a week on average - up from 16.54 hours last year and equivalent to almost three days a week.

BP will offer staff who are trapped in abusive relationships free emergency accommodation.

The oil and gas company will pay up to the value of £1,500 for those trying to escape an abusive partner as part of its new domestic abuse policy.

It will also provide employees with legal advice and 10 days extra paid leave for meeting with lawyers or visits to court.

In a document seen by The Telegraph, BP noted that employees in abusive relationships could be "subjected by perpetrators to economic abuse, controlling working hours, or demanding that salary is paid into a specific bank account".

It said this could affect productivity and also lead to unplanned absences.

The policy comes after allegations about former boss Bernard Looney's "personal relationships with colleagues".

Mr Looney left his role as chief executive of the British energy giant after he was said to have failed to fully disclose details of the relationships as required by the company.

BP said at the time last year that Mr Looney was standing down "with immediate effect" and that he accepted he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures.

"He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure," they said.

There is no suggestion that Mr Looney was ever involved in any abusive relationships.

Every Wednesday we ask Michelin chefs to pick their favourite Cheap Eats where they live and when they cook at home.This week we speak to award-winning Michael Wignall, of the one-star The Angel at Hetton, in Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales.

Hi Michael,can you tell us your favourite places in North Yorkshire where you can get a meal for two for less than £40?

If I ever go cycling with the kids on the mountain bikeYe Olde Naked Man, in Settle, is on one of our routes.

We go over the tops - it's 12 miles over the tops of the Yorkshire Dales - then drop into Settle.

I've always taken the kids there, whether that's for a hot chocolate and cake or sandwich.

It's so nice, really popular (for good reason), and right in the middle of Settle, a lovely little town.

If I'm on my own on the road bike and do a big cycle, say 30 to 50 miles, it's on the way home and just before a horrific climb in the area - 20% gradient - I stop at The Naked Man and psych myself up for it. Even my friends stop there for caffeine and a bite to eat before the last journey.

It's in a great location, opposite the market square and a traditional, old-school place that I love. The food is very reasonable, and the service is brilliant.

Paradise Food, at Daleside Nurseries, is another option.The chef here is lovely, and we go back a long way. It started as a pop-up at a garden centre, and is now a full-time restaurant.

They've had a really colourful career, a great chef, which is reflected at Paradise. They're hard working and have core values that I really respect, and I just love coming here for a great meal. It is super popular.

Rind, at Courtyard Dairy,is just over the tops, out of Settle and towards the Lake District.

They are very famous and do our cheese for us. The team is super passionate, and a few years ago extended the cheese shop and built a pizzeria (among other things, like a museum). It is so good here, very cool and the views are just stunning.

Our restaurant manager is Italian, and even she raves about it! That's when you know it's good.

The toppings are a bit different, and it's only 15 minutes away so we do visit often.

What is your go-to cheap eat to cook at home when you have a night in?

A green curry is my "go-to".

Here are my recipe tips:

• Keep lemongrass in the freezer so you always have it on hand; buy a fresh bunch of it to start and then put any left-over in the freezer;
• When cooking rice - use a quality rice and don't skimp on it. Wash it thoroughly at least 10 times until clear;
• Use a good quality coconut milk/coconut block. I use a whole tin of milk and then about a quarter of a block of coconut cream;
• Use a good quality fresh lime in the last few minutes. Grate the zest and squeeze the juice in. Doing it last will mean you don't split the milk;
• Use fresh chillies, not dried. They aren't expensive and not processed and give a much better flavour;
• Like with the lemongrass, use fresh Kaffir lime leaf and keep it in the freezer. It is a bit expensive but makes all the difference.

In short - buy good quality, fresh ingredients!

We've spoken to lots of top chefs - check out their cheap eats from around the country here...

By Jenness Mitchell, Scotland reporter

Edinburgh Festival Fringe is officially under way - one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture, and increasingly one of the most expensive to enjoy.

Earlier this year, comedian Jason Manford branded the city's accommodation prices an "absolute joke".

He posted on X in April: "No idea how anyone starting out is managing to get up there and showcase their talents!"

Manford called it "pure greed".

Though I'm not from Edinburgh, I try to go every year - like many Scots, I'll go for the day, so don't incur accommodation costs.

But even then, is it still as affordable as I remember it from years ago?

The Money team gave me a budget of £20 to see if I could eat, get a drink and take in a show.Could it be done?

Drink

I thought I'd get the easiest bit out of the way first - a drink. I set myself a £2 budget.

I searched high and low for a drink from a vendor to meet my budget - most coffees started at £3, the cheapest beer I spotted was £6, and the best co*cktail offer was breaking £10.

I had two options - something bog standard from a local store or supermarket, or try my luck getting a bartender to whip up something in exchange for my final two coins.

Happily, the staff working at the pop-up Bar Bados near to the Underbelly George Square venue were in the festival mood and delivered a dream of a drink.

I don't really know what it was but it didn't have alcohol and still tasted of sunshine.

Disclaimer: Had I not been a Sky News journalist with my press pass, I most likely would have had to buy a cheaper drink from a local shop.

Food

With food trucks on every corner as well as restaurants, cafes and gastro pubs, you're spoiled for choice when it comes to what you want to eat in Edinburgh.

The city has a vibrant local food and drink culture which attracts visitors from around the globe.

During the Fringe, Innis & Gunn is taking over The Mound with a one-stop hub featuring music, comedy, food and drink.

Fancy a pizza? Wanderers Kneaded will take care of you. Want something that tastes like summer? Fred's Backyard BBQ will have the grill fired up. You can even wash your food down with a pint of Innis & Gunn or a G&T from Edinburgh Gin.

But, I opted for The Tap on the corner of the Novotel building on Lauriston Place. I ordered the avocado toast for £7.

To be fair, I had chalked up around 20,000 steps around the city by that point - so any meal would have been a winner, but it was delicious.

A show

I had £11 left and I admit that seeing something memorable on this budget is tricky but it was enough to get me into I Wish You Well - The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski-Trial Musical.

It tells the "mostly" true story of the high-profile civil court case in which the Oscar-winning actress was accused of crashing into a man while skiing - and, no lies, it was one of the best things I've ever seen at the Fringe.

The production has been choreographed by Dame Arlene Phillips of Strictly Come Dancing fame, and former The X Factor star Diana Vickers captivated the crowd in the lead role.

Overall

I didn't have any change, and maybe have enjoyed the day slightly less with a Ribena instead of my made-just-for-me mocktail, but it can be done.