Welcome to the Money blog, Sky News’s personal finance and consumer news hub. Today: we’ve got the latest entry in our Diary of a Buyer, a new switching deal from The Co-operative Bank and an update from the Financial Conduct Authority on contactless spending limits.
Wednesday 10 September 2025 11:35, UK
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By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk is to cut 9,000 jobs – about 11.5% of its workforce.
Shares in the Danish firm have plunged by 46% in the year to date as it battles stiff competition from “knock-off” drugs.
It has eroded market share, particularly for its Wegovy weight loss product.
The company’s move is driven by a desire to cut costs to invest more in new treatments.
The bulk of the losses, 5,000 of them, will be in its home market.
Novo, which is also known for its Ozempic diabetes treatment, is under particular pressure in the US where copycat treatments have capitalised on Wegovy shortages.
Shares were 2% up on news of the dramatic slimming of staff numbers.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the drugmaker’s performance was “already twice warned on profits for this year, and the restructuring will incur a one-off charge of around $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in the current quarter.”
She added that Novo depends on its weight loss products, which means there’s “little hiding place when market dynamics move in the wrong direction”.
“Uncertainty over American tariffs has also been a risk that continues to cast a shadow over the industry. By becoming a leaner machine, Novo hopes to redirect more funding to R&D to bolster its pipeline of products,” she said.
The Co-operative Bank is offering customers £175 for switching their current account.
The deal is available to new and existing customers who switch to a Standard Current Account, Current Account Plus, Privilege, Privilege Premier or Everyday Extra account.
You will get £100 in cash within 30 days of making the switch, followed by £25 a month for three months after that.
You’ll also get exclusive access to savings accounts, including its Regular Saver product, which offers 7% AER on up to £250 a month.
If you opt for the Everyday Extra account, you’ll be able to access travel insurance, breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance for free for three months.
This usually costs £18 a month. For the first three months, this amount will be debited from your account, but it will be given back to you.
Are you eligible?
To qualify for the deal, you need to deposit a minimum of £1,000 into the new account, have two direct debits set up and make a minimum of 10 card payments in the first 30 days.
You also need to register for online or mobile banking.
If you have received a switch incentive from the bank since 1 November 2022, you will not be eligible.
To get the £25 a month for three months, you need to continue to actively use your current account.
Each month, you need to deposit £1,000 or more, make 10 or more card payments and have two or more direct debits.
Be sure to check the full terms and conditions of the deal here before you switch.
Are there other switching deals available?
First Direct is also offering £175 for those who use the Current Account Switching Service to open an account.
Your new account needs to have at least two direct debits or standing orders, at least £1,000 in it within 30 days of opening, and you need to register for online banking.
Read the full terms and conditions here.
The £100 contactless card limit could be scrapped under plans set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The regulator has suggested allowing limits to exceed £100 to make contactless payments more convenient for customers.
It said the move would give card providers more flexibility to decide the right limit for them and their customers.
The contactless card limit has been raised in steps over the years, but many card providers already allow customers to adjust their personal limit or turn off the function on their card altogether.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was encouraging firms to continue to offer these choices.
“We’re seeing smarter payment technology and more well-established fraud controls, so it’s the right time to let firms tailor contactless payments to fit their customers’ needs and drive innovation,” said David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA.
“People are still protected; even with contactless, firms will refund your money if your card is used fraudulently.”
He noted that the regulator wouldn’t expect to see immediate changes to limits by firms.
Contactless card payments have the same protections as other card payments, meaning banks and payment firms must reimburse unauthorised fraud payments.
The move is one of around 50 measures that the regulator outlined in a letter to the government in January to help support economic growth.
The proposals are out for consultation until 15 October 2025.
By James Sillars, business and economic reporter
There’s much to digest this morning on global markets.
Russian drones over Poland and Israeli attacks against Hamas leaders in Qatar do nothing to help risk sentiment.
Brent crude oil’s up 1% at $67 a barrel this morning and trading a dollar higher than this time yesterday.
Safe haven gold prices remain at record levels.
Those shifts are not being reflected on the FTSE 100 as energy and precious metal mining shares have dragged on the index at the open.
It’s 0.2% up in early dealing, trading at 9,262. Industrial and healthcare stocks are leading the way.
Earlier, Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk revealed plans to cut 9,000 jobs, about 11.5% of its workforce.
The Danish firm, shares in which have plunged 46% in the year to date, says the bulk of the job losses will be in its home market.
It is looking to save money to invest more in treatments as its weight loss drug market share collapses.
The company, which is also known for its Ozempic diabetes treatment, is under particular pressure in the US where Wegovy copycat treatments have capitalised on shortages of the drug.
Shares in Primark’s owner ABF are down 9%.
It has forecast that like-for-like sales in the clothing business will be down around 2% in the second half of its financial year, which ends this week.
Plunging sales in Italy, France and Germany have proved a bigger drag than expected. ABF said it had offset an improved performance in the UK and Ireland.
Children can travel free on National Express buses until the end of the month thanks to an offer.
With coaches to hundreds of British cities, this might be a good chance for a September family day out.
What you need to know
For every paid adult ticket, you can get up to three free children’s tickets – with kids up to the age of 15.
To claim the offer, you need to use the code KIDSFREE when buying your tickets on the National Express site or app.
The offer is in place for trips booked and taken before 30 September.
A booking fee will still apply for any free tickets, and the offer cannot be retrospectively applied to any existing orders.
It’s worth checking the company’s terms and conditions before you book.
Mortgage rates are high, house prices are rising again and saving for a deposit has become increasingly difficult. So what is the process of buying and selling a home really like in 2025? Over this year, we’ll find out with two people, a buyer and a seller, who are going through the process.
This week our buyer, Minreet Kaur, goes from riding the high of finding a great home to completely losing her mojo…
The mission
With a £650,000 budget, Minreet is looking for a three or four-bedroom property that suits all her family’s needs. Her mother suffers from incurable blood cancer, her dad needs enough space for his garden tools and a prayer room is also on the list for all of them to use.
She is looking in Windsor, Egham or Burnham, but she’s discovering anything in her price range isn’t much bigger than where she is now in Hayes, Middlesex.
‘We’ve lost our mojo’
Minreet has been searching for a home for months, with nothing on the market in her price range, so when a property finally appeared it was a moment of hope.
On for £650,000, it had four bedrooms, a good-sized garden and a garage, and was nestled in a lovely cul de sac in Windsor.
Minreet snapped up the chance to make an offer, going in at £625,000.
“It was rejected. The agent showed me the other offers, which I thought was strange… so I put in an offer of £635,000 which was also rejected,” she said.
She explained the estate agent revealed two other offers had been made, and one was by a friend.
“I knew from there that I was wasting my time. I knew it was going to turn into a game as any offer I put in, the friend would offer more,” she said.
She refused to go any higher, and lost out on the home, which was eventually sold.
“We have lost our mojo now as we really need the help from a trusted agent who isn’t out to make a profit but to help us find a home,” she said.
‘I’m feeling really desperate’
Feeling defeated, Minreet has been spurred on to continue her search due to her mum’s deteriorating health, but it’s easier said than done…
“I can’t find a way forward and feel stuck,” she said. “I’ve not found anything else I like. I’m feeling really desperate – we can’t go another winter in our house as a lot of things are falling apart.”
“Time doesn’t wait for anyone, we really need to find something soon but the houses now we have seen are just too expensive or not right for us.
“I’m very anxious, struggling to take a full breath because I feel stressed and it’s impacting my mental health. I just need to find something asap as my mum really can’t sleep on a sofa.”
Minreet has already got two more viewings in the pipeline. We hope her next update will come with much better news…
There’s already a lot happening in the world of business – so let’s get you up to speed on all the latest developments.
Mirror and Express publisher to axe 321 jobs
The owner of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express has announced plans to axe 321 journalism jobs as part of a major editorial overhaul.
Reach, which also owns the Daily Star and several regional titles, has put 600 editorial jobs at risk, in what it says is its biggest ever restructure.
The latest cull adds to around 40 redundancies across its sports editorial team, which were announced in July.
Staff affected by the cuts were informed on Monday.
Retail sales up 3.1% last month
Retail sales were up 3.1% in August, driven in part by good weather and an interest rate cut, new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show.
Computer and mobile phone sales performed well ahead of the return to school, with food sales also increasing.
New school clothing and footwear did not sell as well as expected as some families opted for second-hand alternatives, the BRC said.
But it warned that retail sales could dip in the following months.
“With the later-than-expected Budget falling just days before Black Friday, many are uneasy about how consumer confidence and spending could be impacted by tax rise speculation in the run-up to Christmas,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
Water firms hit with £86m fines
Two water firms have been hit with fines totalling more than £86m over failures linked to sewage spills.
Anglian Water will have to pay £62.5m and South West Water will pay £24m towards benefiting the environment and their customers, regulator Ofwat said.
Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: “These are serious breaches and are unacceptable.
“We are pleased both companies have accepted that they got things wrong and are now focusing on putting that right, and taking action to come back into compliance.”
The UK is badly exposed to illegal meat smuggling, according to a new parliamentary report.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee said that it was “by luck rather than design” that the UK had so far avoided a “major disease outbreak”.
It warned: “Alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported to Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale.
“”Criminal smuggling operations are largely responsible for this and are bringing in products of some of the greatest risk.”
It said prohibited products were entering the country by plane, boat, cars and in parcels.
In some cases, it said meat is arriving “stashed in plastic bags, suitcases and cardboard boxes”.
“This meat is finding its way to our high streets, farms, markets, restaurants and kitchen tables, demand driven by the cost-of-living crisis as well as cultural preferences,” it added.
The report said that there was no clear data showing the scale of the smuggling.
While it welcomed a government ban in April on most meat and dairy imports from the EU, it warned that the enforcement of it was “toothless”.
Our Money feature writer Brad Young recently explored how the UK would feed itself in a crisis, and found it was “criminally” unprepared…
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
The mobile banking app and internet banking are down at Britain’s biggest building society.
Nationwide’s online services have been offline since around 3pm.
It apologised “for any problems this may cause”.
“We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as we can,” it added.
Direct debits and standing orders are working normally, and customers can still use cards online and in shops, withdraw money from cash machines and receive payments.
Initially, Nationwide said some customers were unable to access the app or internet banking and told users to try again later.
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