Welcome to the Money blog, Sky News’ consumer and personal finance hub. Today, the Bank of England will make its latest interest rate decision and is expected to hold at 4%. Markets think there could be a cut later this year – but there’s a catch if it happens.
Thursday 18 September 2025 06:35, UK
Sky News has launched a free Money newsletter, bringing the kind of content you enjoy here in the Money blog directly to your inbox.
Each Friday, subscribers get exclusive money-saving tips and features from the team behind our award-winning blog, which is read by millions of people every month.
Sign up today, and this week you’ll find the following in the newsletter:
We also outline the best deals available in five key areas for your household budget, including mortgages, savings rates and bank switch deals. 
So join our growing Money community – and thanks to the thousands of you who already have.
For this week’s guide, Anna Bowes, personal finance expert from The Private Office, takes a look at the inflation-busting savings account on the market…
Inflation is proving to be sticky at 3.8% and that doesn’t tend to work out positively for a lot of us. 
Retired people on fixed incomes are likely to be worse off as inflation cuts the real value of their pensions and other savings.
If your money is locked away in an account that pays less than that 3.8% rate, the value of your money has decreased. 
Essentially, £10 is now worth £9.62 – so if your interest rate hasn’t made up the difference, you’ve lost money.
Bowes explains that for basic rate taxpayers who have fully utilised their personal savings allowance, the interest they need to earn is even higher at 4.75% gross. 
For higher rate taxpayers, it’s even more difficult as they need to earn 6.33% on a taxable account to match inflation – an impossible task at the moment.
“Unfortunately, with inflation remaining sticky, this means that for taxpayers who are already using their PSA and ISA allowances, all you can do is to choose the best rates in order to at least mitigate the damaging effect of inflation on your savings,” she says. 
Here, Bowes takes a look at the savings accounts that are offering rates higher than inflation… 
Easy access accounts
The top three accounts have all remained the same over the last few weeks, but the average of the top five has dropped slightly as there have been a few withdrawals. 
Money app Snoop’s recently launched Easy Access account is paying a very competitive 4.35% AER. 
Chase is offering an account with 4.75% AER, but only for those who are prepared to open a current account with it, too. 
Santander has an Edge Saver account which pays 6% AER on balances of up to £4,000 – but only for 12 months and only if you also hold a Santander Edge Current Account, which comes with a monthly fee. 
Easy access cash ISAs
Cash ISAs can be helpful as any interest earned is tax-free. 
Plum has increased its rates once again – now paying 4.37% AER – just behind the Principality Online Bonus 5 Access Cash ISA Issue 5, which is still paying 4.40%. 
As the name suggests, this Principality account allows just five withdrawals a year, which includes closing the account. 
The Plum ISA is also restricted – it allows only three penalty-free withdrawals, after which the rate will drop to 3.04% for the remainder of the year.
The top unrestricted easy access cash ISA is with the Marsden Building Society. Its Online Cash ISA (Issue 6) is paying 4.3%. 
“That’s still half a percentage point higher than the current rate of CPI inflation, so worth consideration if you’re not sure how often you might want access to your money,” Bowes says. 
Fixed rate bonds
In the one-year table, the market-leading account comes from Chetwood Bank, offering 4.45%. 
Two-year fixed term bond rates remain steadier, with Birmingham Bank stepping into the top spot with a new bond paying 4.44%. 
And an increase from JN Bank from 4.41% to 4.43% means that the average of the top five is still 4.42%.
Birmingham Bank is also the main contender in the five-year table, actually producing a rate that is higher than the top rate a month ago.
“Once again, longer term bonds are paying more than shorter term, but unless you don’t pay tax on your savings interest, the net rate on even the top paying accounts will not keep up with the rising cost of living at its current level,” Bowes says. 
Fixed rate cash ISAs
The one-year and two-year top ISA rates have dipped slightly in the last couple of weeks, but the top three-year rate has remained the same at 4.23% and the best five-year rate is up slightly, from 4.25% to 4.26%.
“Although the top fixed term ISA rates are paying less than the before tax rates on the equivalent fixed term bonds, as all interest earned is tax-free, for those who are fully utilising their Personal Savings Allowance and therefore set to pay tax on their non ISA savings, cash ISAs should actually put more pounds in your pocket – and importantly help to keep up with inflation,” says Bowes. 
For example, the top fixed rate bond is paying 4.45% before tax, whilst the top 1-year ISA is paying 4.27%. 
A basic rate taxpayer with a deposit of £20,000 would take home £854 from the ISA, but just 3.56% net from the bond – so £712 over 12 months.
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
The United States got an interest rate cut last night but borrowers here in the UK are set to be disappointed.
The Bank of England, which announces its latest rate decision at midday, is in a real bind at the moment.
Inflation is running high, at almost double its 2% target rate and on course to rise further this month, according to Bank forecasts.
What does this all mean in simple terms? In short, inflation is far too hot and the Bank won’t want to risk stoking it further through a cut to borrowing costs today.
Many economic and financial market commentators do not see this view changing throughout the rest of 2025, and Bank governor Andrew Bailey has certainly hinted that the timing of the next rate reduction is more uncertain.
However, the Bank believes inflation is near its peak.
At the same time, meaningful, stable economic growth remains elusive, with businesses and consumers alike continuing to watch their pennies.
There is a chance that a growing number of policymakers at the Bank will see this weak activity as supportive of a view that a rate cut would not risk fanning the flames of inflation.
There are nerves among businesses in particular over what the looming budget may hold.
London Stock Exchange data shows that 98% of financial market participants expect no change to the Bank rate today.
It’s expected to remain at the 4% level it was reduced to in August.
But the prospects for one further reduction by the end of the year can not yet be fully ruled out.
The problem is that the economy will likely need to remain weak to achieve it.
Amazon employees are getting a 5.9% pay rise at the end of the month. 
Staff pay will rise to £14.30 an hour or to £15.30 an hour, depending on location.
Annual salaries for frontline employees will start at a minimum of £29,744 and up to £31,824, depending on location.
“Our UK frontline employees are essential to our success, which is why we’re proud to increase our minimum starting wage to £29,744 a year,” said Amazon’s UK country manager John Boumphrey. 
“Beyond this competitive wage, we offer industry-leading benefits from day one and meaningful career development opportunities for all our employees.”
Asda will be offering flu jabs for 60p next week as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations. 
The supermarket is offering the deal to the first 6,000 people who pre-book their appointment between 22 and 28 September. 
Once the deal has reached the maximum number of people, the price of the jab will return to £14.97. 
“Our 60p flu jab service is about removing barriers and making it easier than ever for people to protect themselves and those around them,” Asda said. 
“Asda has stood for great value over the last 60 years, and this is another way we’re helping families look after their health without the high price tag.” 
You can book your jab here. 
Wait, can’t I get the jab for free? 
The flu jab is available for free on the NHS for the following groups:
Most people are eligible for a free jab can get it from 1 October. 
Annual growth in house prices has been slowing, official figures show. 
House prices increased by 2.8% in the year to July – down from 3.6% the month before, the Office for National Statistics found. 
The rise means the average UK home costs £270,000. 
In England, the cost of a typical home rose by 2.7% to £292,000. 
Properties in Wales are cheaper at £209,000 (2.0%) in Wales, and £192,000 (3.3%) in Scotland.
The average house price in Northern Ireland was £185,000 in the second quarter of 2025, up by 5.5% annually.
Within England, the North East had the highest annual house price inflation, at 7.9%, in the 12 months to July, while it was lowest in London, at 0.7%.
Aldi already has an empire of 1,060 stores across the UK – but thanks to an £1.6bn expansion plan, it’s hoping to add 80 more in the next two years. 
The budget supermarket hopes the plan will create thousands of jobs and opportunities for British suppliers. 
Now it has earmarked the locations for 23 of the new stores. 
Here’s the list: 
“Shoppers are still finding things difficult and that’s why we’re staying laser-focused on doing what Aldi does best – offering customers great quality products at unbeatable prices,” said Giles Hurley, CEO for Aldi UK and Ireland. 
“Nobody else is making the same commitment to everyday low prices – no clubs, no gimmicks, no tricks – just prices our customers can trust, and quality they can depend on.” 
Aldi’s market share has accelerated this year, with the latest data showing it has a 10.8% share. 
Earlier this year, it overtook Asda to become the UK’s third-largest supermarket. 
Asda is heating up the supermarket meal deal competition by launching the cheapest one on the market. 
The retailer will offer a main, snack and drink for just £3.74 starting from today. 
The deal will replace the supermarket’s current 3 for 2 offer, and will be available to all customers. 
There will be 132 mains, 336 snacks and 222 drinks to choose from.
It told Money the biggest saving would be on this combination: 
This would cost £7.38 without the deal – so it works out as a 49.3% saving. 
How does it compare to the other supermarket meal deals? 
Tesco recently increased the price of its meal deal by 25p, taking it to £3.85 for Clubcard holders and £4.25 for other shoppers. 
Waitrose has the most expensive deal at £5. 
Sainsbury’s recently increased its price by 20p to £3.95, while their premium meal deal costs £5. 
Morrisons customers pay £4, unless they have a My Morrisons card, then it costs £3.50
The Co-op runs the same deal – £3.50 but £4 for non-members. 
So Asda’s deal can be beaten, but only with a loyalty scheme. 
When the price topped £9 at the height of the cost of living crisis, it became the centre of a media frenzy, with outraged shoppers sharing their disbelief and supermarkets putting security tags on tubs.
Though the price has fallen, Lurpak retains its reputation as the “luxury” spreadable butter – but how does it stand up against other brands and supermarket versions?
In the latest edition of Our Verdict, we pitted Lurpak against 12 competitors, trying each blind on bread and toast to give a score out of 10 for taste, texture and spreadability.
Two brands scored the same marks, placing them joint first – but they have a price difference of £1.20 a tub. 
Lurpak and M&S impressed our testers, scoring an average of nine out of 10 points. 
At the other end of the table was one of the most expensive options. Made from milk from Irish grass-fed cows, Kerrygold failed to impress our judges, scoring just three out of 10. 
Here are the full rankings – and you can read our summaries of each brand below… 
Joint first – Lurpak 
Price: £3.50 for 250g 
Average score: 9 
“Impressive”, “delicious” and “moreish” were some of the words used to describe this one. It scored highly for its creamy texture and rich flavour – especially its welcome salty aftertaste. 
Joint first: M&S 
Price: £2.30 for 250g
Average score: 9
Just how butter should taste, with enough saltiness and thickness for a good sandwich. It was easy to spread, and lasted a good amount of time before melting on a slice of toast. 
Second: Asda 
Price: £2.18 for 500g 
Average score: 8.1 
Not too far behind the top spot, this one was a much cheaper option, costing £1.38 less than Lurpak for double the amount of butter. It was rich, smooth and creamy, with a nice amount of salt, but some of our testers felt it was a bit too oily on toast. 
Third: Lidl 
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 7.3 
This one had our testers divided, with some finding it lacked any flavour and others thinking it was just salty enough. They all agreed that it was easy to spread, and had a nice texture and thickness to it. 
Joint fourth:  Yeo Valley 
Price:  £4.75 for 400g 
Average score: 7 
A guaranteed crowd pleaser – but nothing to make it outshine the competition. You can’t go wrong with it on your toast or in your sandwiches, but if you want something that stands out, this might not meet your expectations. 
Joint fourth: Aldi
Price: £2.18 for 500g 
Average score: 7 
Considering its ranking in the same position as Yeo Valley, you definitely get more bang for your buck with Aldi’s own-brand option. It melted well on toast, taking its time and not leaving a bad oily residue. 
It had a good level of salt, but it lacked any tingle and had a hint of margarine in its taste. `
Fifth: Anchor
Price: £4.45 for 400g 
Average score: 5.6
It had the look and feel of margarine, and despite a pleasing creaminess, it underwhelmed flavour-wise.
Sixth: Morrisons 
Price: £1.96 for 450g 
Average score: 5.5 
This one divided our testers – with a brighter yellow colour promising much. Some thought it was great, others felt it lacked taste. 
Seventh: Tesco 
Price: £2.18 for 500g 
Average score: 5.2 
Inoffensive – but our testers felt it tasted every bit the budget option and was more reminiscent of margarine than butter. 
Eighth: Countrylife
Price: £4.50 for 500g
Average score: 4.6 
Way too spreadable for faux-butter, so it felt oily. The colour was anaemic, but our tasters did like the salt levels.
Joint ninth: Sainsbury’s
Price: £2.18 for 500g
Average score: 3.6 
The strong buttery smell led our testers into a false sense of confidence in how this one would taste – but they ended up disappointed in raw, bread and toast tastings.
Joint ninth: Waitrose 
Price: £2.75 for 500g 
Average score: 3.6 
The first thing our testers noticed was its almost sour smell, which most found off-putting. It was quite bland in taste, but if you are a butter purist and don’t want saltiness, this might be for you. 
Last place: Kerrygold 
Price: £3.75 for 400g
Average score: 3 
It was a promising start with the golden look of a proper hunk of butter, but the flavour didn’t match. It had an almost bitter aftertaste, leaving some of our testers gasping for a drink. 
That’s all our inflation coverage for now, but stay tuned because we still have the rest of today’s consumer news to bring you. 
If you are looking for something specific on the inflation announcement, here are some of our key posts: 
Up next, the results of our spreadable butter taste test – and a household name has tied for first place with a supermarket-own brand that’s at least £1.20 cheaper. 
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free

source