Money blog: Domino's withdraws popular dips; 'we got our dream £30k kitchen for £1,000' (2024)

A priest has avoided jail after he was caught on CCTV stealing from his own church's donation pot.

Fortunato Pantisano, 44, took around £200 cash from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Fulham, west London, on 7 January.

He had been suspended from service at the time of the offence.

He was seen on footage entering an office at the church around lunchtime and taking two plates of money that had been donated, Westminster Magistrates Court heard.

Pantisano pleaded not guilty but was convicted following a trial last month.

He has continued to deny the offence. A pre-sentence report said it is likely he will not be able to practise as a Catholic church priest again.

Pantisano, of Harewood Avenue in Westminster, was sentenced to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for two years at the same court on Tuesday.

The judge said a suspended sentence was appropriate given the defendant had no previous convictions, presented no real risk to the public and had a "strong prospect of rehabilitation".

Amazon has told its office workers they may no longer work from home except in extenuating circumstances.

It comes as Jonathan Reynolds, the UK's business secretary, said flexible working contributes to productivity, employee resilience, and staff retention.

Workers need to be judged on outcomes and "not a culture of presenteeism," Mr Reynolds told The Times.

What is Amazon doing?

Amazon has described the policy change as returning to the way it worked before the COVID-19 pandemic - being in the office five days a week except for special circumstances.

A letter from Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said those situations included when staff or their children were sick, house emergencies, travelling for work or coding "in a more isolated environment".

Some staff who had been given exceptional permission to work remotely will remain able to do so.

The changes will take effect on 2 January next year as Mr Jassy said the company understands staff have "set up their personal lives in such a way that returning to the office consistently five days per week will require some adjustments".

Read the full story from our business reporter Sarah Taaffe-Maguire here:

Forget CPI for measuring inflation, as brat summer fades into a demure and mindful autumn, we bid farewell to iced coffees and hello to their spicy seasonal counterparts.

But even fan favourite, the Pumpkin Spice Latte, is not immune to inflationary pressures.

Card payment experts SumUp have analysed this year's autumnal menus from the four leading coffee shops (Starbucks, Costa, Greggs and Pret) to find out which offers the best value for money.

It may have started with Starbucks, but Greggs took the crown with the cheapest Pumpkin Spice Latte, bucking national trends and actually decreasing the cost by 20p since last year. Their offering is 53% cheaper than Pret and Starbucks.

Greggs has also added 10 new menu items - including Pumpkin Spice Latte doughnuts.

With the price for a regular Pumpkin Spice Latte now at £4.65, Pret a Manger had the largest increase year-on-year - with a 37% markup.

Costa has rejected the Pumpkin Spice Latte entirely, with the comparison instead looking at their Maple Hazel Latte.

However, this Pumpkin Spice alternative is still 6% more expensive than Starbucks and Pret a Manger’s offerings and a whole £1 more from last year's starting price - a 25% markup.

With the exception of Pret, the coffee giants began launching their autumn menus in August, despite starting in September just two years ago.

Why are seasonal drinks so expensive?

Bart Visser, from SumUp, says high operating costs, quality of ingredients and supply chain issues are to blame for rising coffee prices.

"Seasonal menus frequently see a markup in price due to their special ingredients and limited availability," he said.

"Customers are willing to pay a premium for these items, and seasonal menus often come with targeted marketing campaigns, themed decorations, and special promotions.

"These efforts can be costly, and businesses may recoup these costs through higher prices."

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

Regular Sky News readers will have had this morning's news yesterday.

Today Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, confirmed Mark Kleinman's story that it is buying the consumer operations of Playtech, the gambling technology group.

Flutter's share price was up 0.59% following the announcement.

The biggest riser on the UK's benchmark stock index (the FTSE 100 list of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange) was Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix.

The 6.3% increase in its share price is part of the overall FTSE 100 0.76% rise.

The more UK-based FTSE 250 index, of the 101st to 350th most valuable London-listed firms, rose 0.5%.

With the looming US interest rate cut tomorrow, the dollar has remained weak - good news for people heading to the US from the UK and for people paying for goods in dollars. A pound is back buying $1.32.

Against the euro, sterling buys €1.187.

Oil has remained around the $72 mark. A barrel of the benchmark Brent crude oil costs $72.50 - not much more than the $70 low that, until last week, was not seen since 2021.

Metro Bank is set to axe hundreds of jobs as it pushes ahead with an £80m cost-cutting plan, according to reports.

The beleaguered lender will announce 300 roles are going within the business operations, IT and support divisions, according to the Daily Mail.

It comes just months after the bank said it would axe 1,000 roles (equivalent to 22% of the workforce) and scrap seven-day trading in all its branches. These latest cuts come in addition.

The bank has been hit by a series of blunders, including accounting errors and leadership changes.

It has struggled to recover from a blunder in 2019 that saw £900m in loans misclassified, sparking an investor and deposit outflow at the time.

Since then, its share price has plunged from £287 down to £65.50 today, a dip of 77%.

In July it sold its £2.5bn residential mortgage book to NatWest after a deal with Barclays fell through last year.

The bank, which was founded in 2010, has about 2.7 million customers and 75 branches in the UK.

It has looked to capitalise on public anger over high street branch closures by mainstream banks since the financial crisis by focusing purely on branch services - opening seven days per week.

Primark is rolling out its click-and-collect service to more stores just in time for the peak Christmas shopping period.

The range available through the service will also now include menswear and homeware, alongside women's and children's clothing.

With the service being expanded to a further 54 stores, it will not be available in almost half of Primark stores nationwide. The company said it plans to have click-and-collect available in all of its shops by the end of next year (2025).

Among the stores getting the service is Derby, home to the first ever Primark in Great Britain (opened in September 1974), and Birmingham, home of the world's largest Primark.

This month marks 50 years since Primark joined the Great British high street.

You can see if your local Primark is included here.

Good news for mortgage holders and housing hopefuls - there is finally a two-year fixed-rate deal on the market below 4%.

Santander UK has become the first lender this year to make reductions across its two-year fixed-rate mortgages.

Examples of these reductions include...

• 60% LTV five-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 3.80%, down from 4.02%.
• 75% LTV five-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 4.09%, down from 4.30%.
  
• 60% LTV two-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 3.99%, down from 4.28%.
  
• 75% LTV two-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 4.19%, down from 4.40%.
• 60% LTV three-year fixed rate residential New Build Exclusive purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 3.94%, down from 4.17%.
• 75% LTV three-year fixed rate residential New Build Exclusive purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 4.14%, down from 4.36%.
• 85% LTV three-year fixed rate residential New Build Exclusive purchase mortgage with a £999 fee is now priced at 4.53%, down from 4.68%.

Graham Sellar, Head of Mortgage Development at Santander, said: "We know how hard people work to afford their home and as the property market continues to warm up, we are pleased to deliver this range of rate cuts, which should support more buyers in affording their home."

It comes as the number of mortgages approved reached a near two-year high at the end of August, according to Bank of England figures, as hopes of cheaper borrowing encouraged would-be buyers.

Since September 2022 borrowing rates have soared, kicked off by chaos in mortgage markets prompted by the Liz Truss mini-budget.

In early August this year, the first interest rate cut in four years was finally made.

Whether you're addicted to The Kardashians, The Simpsons or just want to watch the latest season of Only Murders in the Building, you can now get up to three months of Disney+ for £1.99 a month (there are just a few caveats).

The popular streaming platform is now offering new and returning subscribers three months of its "standard with ads" plan for £1.99 a month, as long as you sign up before midnight on Friday 27 September.

This plan normally costs £4.99 a month, so you'll save £9 and you can just sign up via the website or app.

What's the catch?

This deal is not available to people who already hold a subscription - but if you've had one in the past and since cancelled, you will qualify.

You will have access to everything on the site, but you will have to watch ads. Disney+ says this is typically up to four minutes per hour and at the start of movies.

You can stream on two devices, but you can't download content (so if you're looking to stock up on movies ahead of a long flight, this may not be the plan for you).

And worth noting, you will be auto-enrolled to the full-price £4.99 plan at the end of your three months. If you don't want to pay this, make sure to set a reminder in your calendar to cancel before the promotional period ends.

The boss of Deliveroo has sold nearly £15m in shares, just a month after the takeaway delivery firm revealed its first profit.

Will Shu sold 9.4 million shares worth £14.8m between 12 and 16 September to "cover personal property investments".

Mr Shu co-founded the firm in 2013 and it now operates in 10 countries, working with 140,000 riders around the world.

He retains 95.8 million shares following the sale.

Just last month, Deliveroo posted its maiden profit, notching up a pre-profit of £1.3m for the first half of 2024, a sharp change from its loss of £82.9m a year ago.

It comes as Deliveroo continues to branch out from takeaway food to focus on grocery and retail deliveries as well. The number of orders placed over the half-year increased by 2% to a total of 147 million.

But it has not been totally smooth sailing for the food firm. Riders strikes and other protests have called on the delivery industry as a whole to improve pay for workers, who are often classified as self-employed.

The UK Supreme Court ruled last year that Deliveroo riders could not legally be considered employees of the company, partly because they did not have specified hours and could also work for rival firms.

ByMegan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist

Replacing your kitchen can be one of the biggest costs when renovating your home - but one savvy shopper managed to snag hers for a mere fraction of the initial £30,000 quote.

Becky Lane, from Surrey, said the family had plunged "all their savings" into renovating their new home.

The former bungalow had been almost entirely "knocked down", with "just three walls left in the house".

"It was an old bungalow and was in desperate need of repair. It had holes in the walls, it was full of wasp nests there was no hot water," Becky told Sky News.

They had initially planned to do it in two stages, but the stress of the build convinced them to get it done in one go, overstretching their savings.

But when it came to the kitchen, their dream plan came with a hefty price tag: £30,000.

"I started looking on eBay and Facebook Marketplace," Becky said.

"I was close to buying a DIY kitchen and then the morning of my brother-in-law's wedding, this kitchen appeared on Facebook."

With a listing price of £1,000, Becky raced around to the seller's home at 7am - beating out other buyers, and paying a deposit to secure the high-end kitchen.

It also included aMiele double oven, induction hob and extractor fan, and two Villeroy & Boch sinks (which alone retail for £500+ each).

The units had already been pulled out, so Becky had to estimate if it would be enough for their home.

"When I went round, the builders were ripping out the kitchen and they said, 'I've got no idea why he's getting rid of it' because it had originally been flown in from Germany. It had made-to-order sinks and was a bespoke wood, with quartz countertops, painted in Farrow & Ball."

"£1,000 is a gamble when you don't have that type of money, but I thought it could be worth it," Becky said, reasoning she could always resell it if it didn't work.

And there ended up being so many extra units that Becky managed to sell some on, recouping £200 of her money.

Additional extras the couple paid for did include £250 to transport the kitchen to their home, £150 to a handyman to help with some of the fittings and £600 for a specialist to install the quartz countertops (as well as some tiling, taps and handles).

But what she thought might work as a cheap stop-gap turned out to be her dream kitchen: "I'm never taking it out."

Money-savvy Becky shares her bargain hacks on a TikTok account, although her full-time job is running a silk-flower rental company, offering a cheaper alternative to people planning their weddings.

"There's just so much being manufactured, and if we don't reuse stuff, it's going to end up in landfill, and that's no good for anyone," she said, encouraging others to turn to secondhand, even for big purchases.

When it comes to finding a big bargain like this online, Becky says persistence and patience are key.

"I just have an idea of what I want and I refresh Marketplace every few days," she said.