Money blog: Avocados 'laser-tattooed' in supermarket trial; Netflix users warned of scam (2024)

Lasers are being used to "tattoo" barcodes onto extra large avocados to replace stickers at a UK supermarket.

High-powered beams will draw the Tesco logo by removing a tiny section of the top layer of the skin in a trial designed to be environmentally friendly.

The etching, directed by a computer program, takes a third of a second to mark an avocado, 70 million of which Tesco sells a year.

Customers at approximately 270Tescostores in southeast England will see the new avocados and – if feedback is positive – they will be rolled out across all stores.

Tescosaid it could save nearly a million plastic stickers on its loose extra-largeavocados, based on current sales information.

"We're really excited to hear customer feedback on our new laser-etchedavocados, avoiding the need for a barcode sticker that can easily be forgotten and left on when recycling through household food waste," said Tescoavocadobuyer Lisa Gilbey.

The trial also includes replacing the plastic tray packaging for two of its most popularavocadolines and moving to a cardboard container that is easier to recycle.

Westfalia Fruit, which suppliesavocadostoTesco, said this could save more than 20 million pieces of plastic tray packaging from the twin-packavocadoalone, increasing up to 25 million pieces across the pre-packed range.

The laser-etchedavocados will be in all stores taking part in the trial this weekend.

Income growth over the last 15 years has been the "worst in generations", according to a report.

Pay packets would be 24% higher for the average Briton if incomes had risen at the same rate since 2009-10 as they did prior, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found.

Real average earnings this year are expected to be 4% higher than in 2019–20, but disposable incomes will be broadly unchanged due to higher mortgage payments, tax rises and falling employment, the IFS said.

"Although there has been a widespread slowdown in growth internationally since the financial crisis, the UK has fallen from being one of the fastest growers prior to the Great Recession, to one of the weakest performers," saidTom Waters, an author of the report and an associate director at IFS.

UK income growth lagged behind comparable nations between 2007 and 2019, coming 10th out of 14 countries analysed by the IFS.

At 6% growth, the UK was performing half as well as the US, and well below the 30% that could be expected in a similar time period pre-recession.

Germany outstripped the UK by some margin at 16% growth, while only France, Spain and Greece recorded a lower rate.

Between 2019 and 2023, UK incomes fell by 0.5%, the third worst growth among 12 countries for which there was available data.

"Living standards have languished for more than a decade," saidMubin Haq, chief executive of the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.

"On a range of measures, UK performance has been weak, especially in comparison to other wealthy countries. The danger is that stagnation becomes the new normal.

"This is in no one's interests and stunts too many futures and too many lives."

Netflix subscribers are being urged to be wary of suspicious emails or texts claiming to be from the streaming giant.

Customers have reported being contacted by scammers claiming to be Netflix, asking for payments or stating there are problems with their account.

Under no circ*mstances should links be clicked on in any suspicious-looking messages, consumers have been warned.

Recent figures cited by Birmingham Live showed victims of scams lost £1,730 on average, with around half saying they were left feeling angry with themselves or "stupid".

Netflix issued a message to millions of its customers: "If you get an email or text message (SMS) asking for your Netflix account email, phone, password, or payment method it probably didn't come from Netflix.

"We'll never ask for payment through a third party vendor or website.

"If the text or email links to a URL that you don't recognise, don't tap or click it. If you did already, do not enter any information on the website that opened.

"Scammers can't get information from you unless you give it to them. So don't click any links in the messages or reply to them."

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

JD Sports is one of the big losers on the stock market this morning after its shares plunged more than 12% in early UK trading.

It comes after the sportswear retailer released its results for the year to January on Friday - and revealed it had suffered an 8% drop in pre-tax profits.

Revenues also dropped by 8.3% to £3.51bn over the 12 months - but its organic sales grew by 9%.

Despite the figures, the chain's chief executive Regis Schultz hailed the company's "strong" performance in what he described as a "challenging market".

In other markets news, the government has sold £1.24bn of its shares in NatWest.

The Treasury's stake in the high street staple has fallen by around 3.5 percentage points to 22.5% as a result of the move.

The bank received several multibillion-pound bailouts during the 2008/09 financial crisis and is being gradually returned to private ownership.

However, a public share sale planned for this summer has been postponed because of the upcoming general election - as Sky News revealed last week.

Overall, there's little change on the FTSE 100 this Friday morning.

It's down 0.3% as investors await inflation news in the US and Europe which could impact on potential interest rate cuts.

On the currency markets, £1 buys $1.27 US or €1.17 - similar to yesterday's rates.

The latest UK house price data from a leading index has been released this morning - which hints at a potential shift in the market.

Nationwide Building Society said the average UK house price rose slightly in May, bucking two months of falls amid signs of market "resilience".

UK property prices rose 0.4% month-on-month, following a similar sized fall of 0.4% in April, it said.

The increase leaves the average house price at £264,249 - with the annual rate of growth more than doubled to 1.3% in May, from 0.6% in April.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "The market appears to be showing signs of resilience in the face of ongoing affordability pressures following the rise in longer term interest rates in recent months.

"Consumer confidence has improved noticeably over the last few months, supported by solid wage gains and lower inflation."

Every Friday we get an overview of the mortgage market with the help of industry experts. This week the guys at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk are helping us focus on first-time buyers - and why building societies may provide the best option for them.

First, the broader mortgage market. Moneyfacts finance expert finance expert Rachel Springall said: "It has been a relatively quiet week for fixed-rate mortgage re-pricing, but there have been a couple of building societies tweaking rates as well as withdrawing selected deals. This includes a sub 5% five-year fixed rate mortgage from Saffron Building Society at 90% loan-to-value.

"Week on week, the overall average two-year fixed rate remained unchanged 5.92% but the five-year rate rose to 5.49%."

Honing in on first-time buyers, and Moneyfacts has issued advice that building societies can often be the best option for those starting out.

Rachel said: "First-time buyers comparing mortgages will find building societies on average price lower than the market averages (90% and 95% loan-to-value, for two- and five-year fixed mortgages)."

The big-seven bank (Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, RBS and Santander) average is actually lower, Moneyfacts says - but "the lowest rate deals might not be the best on a true cost basis".

"Mutuals have pioneered innovative products and initiatives for buyers, such as the Track Record mortgage from Skipton Building Society, the £5,000 deposit mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society and the partnership between Leeds Building Society and Experian to potentially help consumers to boost their credit score," Rachel says.

"In addition, Nationwide’s Helping Hand mortgage gives first-time buyers the option of borrowing a higher loan amount.

"Saving money on the upfront cost of a mortgage is incredibly important for first-time buyers who may have exhausted their cash on a deposit, legal fees and moving costs. Any borrower looking to get their foot on the property ladder would be wise to seek independent advice to ensure they find the right deal for them."

This week's lowest rates for first-time buyers are...

This week's Moneyfacts has the Best Buys - which look at the overall cost of the mortgage, not just the rate - as...

It can be hard to balance the demands of eating well without spending a lot.

In this series, we try to find the healthiest options in the supermarket for the best value - and have enlisted the help ofSunna Van Kampen, founder of Tonic Health, who went viral on social media for reviewing food in the search of healthier choices.

In this series we don't try to find the outright healthiest option, but help you get better nutritional value for as little money as possible.

Today we're looking at sweets.

"We all love a treat now and then, but making small changes in our choices can lead to big benefits without having to give up entirely," Sunna says.

The sugar hit

"It is important to put it into context just how impactful a bag of sweets can be," Sunna says.

The NHS daily recommendation for sugar intake is 30g a day for adults, 24g a day for seven to 10-year-olds and 19g a day for four to six-year-olds.

A typical bag 100g bag of sweets can contain anywhere from 40-70g of sugar - more than double your daily intake.

Skittles

It's safe to say Sunna is not a fan of one of the nation's favourite brands, pointing to their 74% sugar content.

"To put that into perspective, that's almost three-quarters of each Skittle being pure sugar, or 25 teaspoons in one 136g bag," he says.

That's three times the daily recommended intake according to the NHS.

"While they're undeniably tasty, this sugar content can wreak havoc on your health and they are also coloured with a multitude of artificial colours."

Sky News approached Skittles' parent company Mars Inc. for comment but did not receive a reply.

Haribo

"While none are healthy, there is an opportunity to cut your sugar intake in dramatically within the Haribo range," Sunna explains.

Here's the sugar breakdown:

• Supermix - 55% sugar content
• Tangfastics - 50% sugar content
• Starmix -47% sugar content
• Fruitilicious -34% sugar content
• Zingfest -32% sugar content (and Sunna's new favourite)

The difference becomes clear when you break that down into teaspoons of sugar.

"Supermix has 24 teaspoons of sugar in a 175g share bag while Zingfest has only 12 in a 150g share bag," Sunna says.

"That's a 50% reduction in your sugar content, albeit it on a slightly smaller bag size, but portion control is important because nobody is putting an open bag back in the cupboard."

A sweet alternative

Sunna recommends Rowntree's Berry Hearts if you're looking for something to try.

"These little heart-shaped gummies do my favourite thing - remove all the yellows and oranges in favour of a bag full of reds and purples - but also only contain 35% sugar.

"That's less than half the sugar content of Skittles - and they use black carrot, carrot and hibiscus as colours in place of artificial sweeteners."

A bag of Skittles every week would lead to more than 5.2kg of sugar a year.

"Swapping to Berry Hearts would be 2.1kg a year - a saving of over 3kg of sugar. That's a massive reduction," Sunna says.

This shows that, even when indulging in sweets, picking ones with lower sugar content can make a big difference.

"Reducing sugar not only helps with weight management but also lowers the risk of chronic diseases and improves overall well-being."

The nutritionist's view - fromNichola Ludlam-Raine, dietitian atnicsnutrition.com...

"Sweets and candy are undeniably a treat that many of us enjoy, but it's important to be mindful of their sugar content, especially with the significant variations between different types, in addition to the portion size and frequency in which we are consuming them.

"Grab bags and share bags can lead us to eating more, and may distort what is a healthy portion size.

"In addition, most of us would look on in horror if we actually saw the amount of sugar that was being added to these sweet treats.

"Choosing options with a lower sugar content, like Rowntree's Berry Hearts, can help satisfy a sweet tooth while helping us to keep below the daily free-sugar limits (free-sugar includes added sugar, and the sugar naturally occurring in honey and fruit juice too), but we mustn't be misled by these 'health halos' either - sugar is sugar, and it can easily add up if it's consumed too regularly throughout the day.

"Reducing our free-sugar intake should be a goal for many of us, and is crucial not just for weight management but for overall health, including reducing the risk of dental caries (although sugary drinks tend to take the biscuit here).

"Remember, making small, smarter choices can lead to substantial health benefits over time.

"Enjoy your treats, but have them in moderation (ie, not on a daily basis), choose wisely and try not to graze on sugary sweets throughout the day as your teeth won't thank you."

Read more from this series...

UK house prices could rise slightly this year and outpace inflation over the next two years, according to a poll.

Housing market specialists surveyed by Reuters predict a 1.8% overall increase in prices for 2024, with wage growth expected to outstrip this.

A predicted drop in mortgage rates will also improve affordability for first-time buyers, they said.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at estate agency Hamptons, said: "Stable house prices combined with real income growth should aid affordability this year."

Following a more modest rise this year, prices will grow by 3.1% in 2025 and 4% in 2026, according to the poll carried over four weeks in May.

Specialist forecasts for 2024 ranged from a 4% drop to a 4% increase.

But despite the predicted rise, a lack of supply could prove a hurdle for househunters - especially those getting on the ladder for the first time.

Seventeen specialists polled said supply was likely to fall short of demand in the coming two to three years.

"Construction is throttled by a lack of positive sentimentamong developers. They will only build again when there are suresigns of market and political stability," said propertyconsultant Russell Quirk.

A separate Reuters poll found that the Bank of England's base rate, which has been at 5.25% since August 2023, could drop to 4.5% by the end of the year and 3.5% by the end of 2025 - still far above the record low 0.1% during the pandemic.

Leon has launched its own coffee subscription scheme in a move to rival fellow high street brand Pret A Manger.

The fast food chain's £25-a-month "Roast Rewards" deal offers five barista-made drinks per day as well as 20% off the breakfast and all-day food menu.

It undercuts Pret's £30 a month offer, which also allows for up to five drinks a day and 20% off food.

Customers will also be given bonus "loyalty points" when they subscribe and each time they renew. The scheme launches on 30 May through the Leon Club App.

Leon managing director Mac Plumpton said the company was "so excited to unveil the UK's most affordable coffee subscription".

Pret increased the price of its "Club Pret" subscription service by 20% to £30 a month in 2023, citing increased costs.

Energy prices are expected to rise again in the autumn and last week's announcement of a cut in the cap from July should not be taken as a "sign of stability", the head of the Energy Saving Trust has said.

"Confirmation that energy prices are coming down for the next quarter is very welcome," Mike Thornton said.

"However, no one should take this lower price cap as a sign of stability."

He added: "Forecasts show that energy prices are set to rise again this autumn and will be staying high overall for the next decade."

He urged the next UK government - to be decided in the general election on 4 July - to focus on policies that "support people to use less energy and install cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in their homes".

The cap will fall to £1,568 a year from 1 July - a drop of £122 from the previous quarter.