Cost of living increases

[Smiffy]

British Gas tried to up my combined energy bill from £200pm to £370pm.

Told them where to stick it and switched to Octopus @ £220pm.

Still daylight robbery, but is what it is.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

The price of petrol and dirty oil at the pumps is still much too high and with substantial differences in price between garages.
Those on major roads such as A12 and A1 are really profiteering.

 

[Holy Joe]

Singapore airlines made record profits last year. Gave staff an 80% of salary bonus.

 

[GJShrimper]

The price of petrol and dirty oil at the pumps is still much too high and with substantial differences in price between garages.
Those on major roads such as A12 and A1 are really profiteering.

I got some fuel down the A120 from a BP as it's usually ahead of the pack in terms of price.
The problem was I had 50 miles left in tank and a 50 mile drive to work so I got some from there.
Turns out I paid 10p extra a litre. That's a lot when you're putting in 45L's.

 

[Target man]

British Gas tried to up my combined energy bill from £200pm to £370pm.

Told them where to stick it and switched to Octopus @ £220pm.

Still daylight robbery, but is what it is.

Interestingly mine was £270, now gone down to £195 with OVO!

 

[The General]

Interestingly mine was £270, now gone down to £195 with OVO!

I think I read July onwards prices should really plummet so don't get tied into anything now. My deal runs out at the end of the year which I signed upto 3 years back. It was good fortune but its certainly been lucky timing on my behalf. My mortgage run out last Sept and was worried at the time that it was bad timing but having seen another 3 or 4 rises since, I don't feel so bad now. That went up nearly 20% from my previous so I dread to think what it would be now!

 

[Tinks]

British Gas tried to up my combined energy bill from £200pm to £370pm.

Told them where to stick it and switched to Octopus @ £220pm.

Still daylight robbery, but is what it is.

My provider keeps trying to tie me in to a fixed amount and subsequently increased the price but, I remain in credit and I too have also heard that proces should be coming down around July - so have refused their "kind" offer

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Boring me!
I eat same muesli for breakfast, as I have for years.
Sainsbury own brand, no added salt or sugar etc.
Price has gone up from last years £2, to £2.05, then £2.15. Then £2.35, now a whopping £2.65!
As an inflation percentage that is about 33%

Still half price of brands such as Alpen.

And in line with supermarket profit increases too.

Grrrŕ.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

British Gas tried to up my combined energy bill from £200pm to £370pm.

Told them where to stick it and switched to Octopus @ £220pm.

Still daylight robbery, but is what it is.

I was £600 in credit with BG coming into the warmer months so took £200 back (after a long fight) and lower my DD. A day later I had them telling me they were increasing my DD, even though I'm £400 in credit still. I didn't let them in the end but just amazes me how quick they are to act when it's in their interest.

 

[The General]

Petrol and Diesel now only has a 3p diff at Tesco. 140.7 and 143.7!

 

[Gt Yarmouth Shrimper]

Petrol and Diesel now only has a 3p diff at Tesco. 140.7 and 143.7!

Petrol at a shell garage in town now under £1.40.

 

[Holy Joe]

A quite staggering 83% increase in the cost (per g) of the cherries for my summer porridge!

 

[Mad Cyril]

A quite staggering 83% increase in the cost (per g) of the cherries for my summer porridge!
View attachment 26581

Cherries would have been pretty extravagant even before the current period of food inflation.

That is why there is exactly one cherry in a tin of Fruit Cocktail.

 

[Holy Joe]

Cherries would have been pretty extravagant even before the current period of food inflation.

That is why there is exactly one cherry in a tin of Fruit Cocktail.

I'll remember I'm living like a king when I have my breakfast!

 

[Target man]

Looks a great snack.....


However, the reality without air ....

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Health insurance up about 12%, but I don't expect much sympathy.

Got a great mate (my age) in SOS who paid 1,500 quid privately for a combined hip & knee op.(not at the same time ).He's always had good negociating skills but I think I suprised him when I said I probably do the same if I needed too (which thank the lord I don't sir)d despite being a great believer in the NHS.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

Got a great mate (my age) in SOS who paid 1,500 quid privately for a combined hip & knee op.(not at the same time )

Good friend of mine ( 71 in Sept ) needs hip replacement big time. He says 2 years waiting list NHS, or £14k to have it done privately!.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Good friend of mine ( 71 in Sept ) needs hip replacement big time. He says 2 years waiting list NHS, or £14k to have it done privately!.

Had another UK mate (also my age) who had 2 hip ops done on the NHS (in Norfolk).A few years ago now but I think he only had to wait a year or so between ops.When I came over last year he was still in a bad way but fortunately much recovered when he was here in late March

 

[Holy Joe]

Whilst I'm 'happy' staff are benefitting - on the face of it, appears to be profiteering and how is corporation tax so low?

Trafigura Traders Share $3 Billion Payout on Record Profit (1)
2023-06-07 11:23:35.700 GMT


By Jack Farchy
(Bloomberg) -- Trafigura Group paid $3 billion to its top
traders and executives as the commodity trading giant notched up
a fresh record profit in the six months to March.
The payout — Trafigura’s highest ever — is the latest
evidence of how a small group of commodity traders have shared
an unprecedented bounty on the back of the energy crisis
triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Trafigura reported net profit of $5.5 billion in the six
months to March, up 108% from the same period a year earlier and
the third successive half year in which it has reported record
earnings. The results came even as the company, one of the
world’s largest commodity traders, was hit by a massive alleged
nickel fraud.
The dividend is shared among roughly 1,100 employees who
own Trafigura, meaning they received an average of about $2.7
million each.
Trafigura is not alone in reaping a bonanza from the energy
crisis. Rival Vitol Group made record profits of almost $15
billion last year, Bloomberg has reported, while the energy
trading divisions of oil majors BP Plc and Shell Plc have also
seen spectacular gains.
Still, Trafigura warned that the record earnings were
unlikely to be sustained in the remainder of the year as the
energy crisis that gripped Europe last year begins to ease.
“We do not expect the extraordinary conditions that have
characterized global commodity markets in 2022 and the first
half of 2023 to continue in the remainder of this year,” said
Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Weir. “The impact of tighter
monetary policy on the global economy, a less stressed
environment for commodity supply chains and seasonal factors
that affect demand for commodities such as gas, are all helping
to moderate volatile conditions and are likely to see the pace
of our growth slow compared to the previous 12 months.”
Trafigura’s record profits came with only a modest increase
to its tax bill: the company reported income tax costs of $627
million for the period, representing an effective tax rate of
just over 10%. Although it owns assets ranging from zinc
smelters in Belgium and the Netherlands to fuel stations in
Africa, much of Trafigura’s profit is made by traders sitting in
low-tax hubs such as Switzerland and Singapore.
Trafigura took a $590 million charge in relation to the
alleged nickel fraud — up slightly from the $577 million loss it
announced in February — meaning that the overwhelming majority
of the company’s profit was delivered by its energy division.
The metals and minerals segment represented just 10% of
Trafigura’s overall operating profit before depreciation and
amortization for the period, which the company described as
“robust performance overall in challenging market conditions.”

 

[RHB]

EON Next are offering me a 12 month dual fuel deal with monthly payments of £178. I'm currently on their flexi contract which is costing me £249 a month. EON reckon this will reduce soon as they bring down their prices per unit. So does a 12 month fixed cost deal sound attractive in the current climate? For some reason, as yet not clear to me, I'm not sure whether to go for the new deal.