Cost of living - latest: Economists predict this week's interest rates decision - as average mortgage rates near 7% (2023)

The duty on a bottle of wine is rising by 44p tomorrow - something announced a few months ago in the budget.

When combined with a resulting rise in VAT, the real increase per bottle will be 53p, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) said.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in March that a freeze on alcohol duty would end on 1 August and increase in line with the Retail Price Index measure of inflation - which was 10.7% last month.

All types of tipple are therefore affected.

Duty on an 18% cream sherry will go up from £2.98 to £3.85.

Combined with the rise in VAT, it adds up to an increase of more than £1 a bottle, while a bottle of port will go up by more than £1.50.

The total tax on a bottle of gin or vodka will rise by about 90p.

For beer drinkers, Mr Hunt is cutting the duty ondraught pints across the UK by 11p.

It is seen as a measure designed to boost pubs, many of which have been closing.

However, the British Beer and Pub Association said brewers will pay 10.1% more tax on bottles and cans of beer from Tuesday.

It means duty will make up about 30% of the cost of a 500ml bottle.

We've just reported an end to strikes in one sector, but disruption is set to continue on the railways.

Train drivers are staging a week-long overtime ban in a dispute over pay, threatening more disruption to rail services.

Members of Aslef at 15 train companies in England will refuse to work overtime from today until Saturday and again from 7-12 August.

The services affected include Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Island Line, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.

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Teachers who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) have voted to accept the government's recent pay offer and end the waves of strikes.

The ballot of members saw 85% vote in favour and 15% against, with a turnout of 46%.

Earlier this month, Rishi Sunak announced the government was accepting the pay rise recommended by the independent pay review, which was:

• A 6.5% pay rise from 1 September;
• A funding increase for schools of £900m to pay for it;
• A guarantee that the money will not come from frontline services;
• A commitment to take measures to reduce the workload on teachers.

The NEU recommended that members accept the pay rise and bring to an end weeks of strikes that saw teachers on picket lines and education disrupted.

In a statement, joint general secretaries of the NEU, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, said that their members "have spoken very clearly and in great numbers" and praised the strike action for having "shifted the dial".

They aded: "The government should be in no doubt that we will hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding and continue to represent the profession in future STRB (pay review) consultations.

"It remains the view of the NEU that school and college funding is far from adequate. It remains a commitment of the NEU to campaign for further increases in teacher pay."

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When you're on a foreign holiday, do you use your mobile in the same way that you do at home?

If so, it's worth thinking again.

Some 49% of Britons are unaware that their network provider may be imposing roaming charges, a survey has found.

When travelling to EU countries, this can amount to £2.29 a day, Uswitch Mobiles said.

On average, people who've been caught out were charged an extra £44 for roaming add-ons, it said.

Using your phone while travelling further afield than the EU may incur more significant sums - charges could be as high as £6 per MB of data used.

Almost a third (32%) of those questioned said they'd been hit with roaming charges, with 35 to 44-year-olds being affected the most.

Consumer lending jumped to a five-year high last month as people appeared to rely on loans to pay bills, new data shows.

Net borrowing of consumer credit rose to £1.7bn in June, the highest level since April 2018, according to the Bank of England's Money and Credit report.

Analysts had been expecting it to be almost half a billion pounds lower, at £1.3bn for the month, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics UK.

Borrowing on credit cards remained stable at £600m.

However, other forms of credit, including personal loans and car dealership finance, doubled from £500m in May to £1bn in June, the data reveals.

On a different note, households deposited more cash last month after savings rates went up.

They put an additional £3.4bn into banks and building societies, having withdrawn a net £3.1bn in May.

Mortgage approvals also ticked up unexpectedly in June despite borrowing costs continuing to rise.

Fancy living in one of the leafier parts of London but don't really have the finances?

Well now, with a guide price of just £20,000, you could own a "property" in Twickenham, close to the River Thames and not far from the famous rugby stadium.

A stairwell at the back of some shops is going up for auction tomorrow in the posh-ish part of southwest London.

One bedroom flats are on the market there for £500,000.

Estate agent Barnard Marcus says the stairwell has a long leasehold, "development potential" and "full vacant possession".

There is also the "right to lay and maintain utility services over the adjoining rear car park".

There would not be much privacy, however, because the property is clad in glass.

And were we to get a heatwave this summer, it would be like living in a greenhouse.

Today is your last chance to use stamps without a barcode - with any missing last post this evening set to incur a fee for the recipient.

From 1 August, any item with an old-style stamp will be treated as having insufficient postage and liable for a £1.10 charge.

The changes affect any non-barcoded stamps featuring the late Queen's profile on a plain background.

Any special stamps with a picture on, or Christmas-themed stamps, can still be used even if they don't have a barcode.

For those who have a stash lurking in the kitchen drawer, there's a Royal Mail exchange scheme.

A form needs to be printed from its website - or picked up from a delivery office or Post Office - and the stamps sent to: Freepost SWAP OUT.

There's currently no deadline on the scheme, but it's important to note that Post Offices can't swap the stamps themselves.

Barcoded stamps wereintroduced in February 2022and allow people to watch videos, read messages and view other information from senders.

Royal Mail says they also improve efficiency and allow "added security features".

Average mortgage rates have been on an upward trajectory for months and show no signs of easing.

The average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate is currently 6.81%, Moneyfacts has said.

If you are looking to fix your payments for five years, the rate is almost half a percent lower, at 6.34%.

There is plenty of choice, with 5,029 residential mortgage products currently available, the financial information company said.

If you are interested in a tracker, it puts the average two-year rate at 6.02%.

The average two-year buy-to-let residential mortgage rate is at 6.89%, with the five-year one at 6.73%.

What about savers?

If you are prepared to lock in some money for a year, Moneyfacts puts the average savings rate at 5.19%.

For easy access accounts, it is 2.78%.

Turning to ISAs, the average one-year fixed is at 4.98%, with the easy access ISA rate at 2.84%.

Energy market analyst Cornwall Insight is suggesting the Ofgem price cap could fall further than previous predictions have suggested when it is revised in October.

The cap is adjusted every quarter to reflect changes in wholesale prices.

In early July, Cornwall said the cap, which is currently £2,074 a year for households with typical consumption, would fall to £1,878 for the fourth quarter.

It now says it will drop to £1,861.

The first quarter of next year could see a rise, however, with Cornwall upping its estimate from £1,917 to £1,959.

The same has happened for its estimate for April, which has risen from £1,888 to £1,917.

Discount supermarket Aldi is to remove use by dates from its fresh milk and urge customers to use a "sniff test" instead.

The German grocer will add best before dates to its packaging at stores in England and Wales instead by the end of the year.

It's part of an attempt to halve its food waste by 2030.

Almost 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted by UK households each year because it has not been drunk by the use by date, according to waste reduction charity WRAP.

"We hope shoppers embrace this change and look, smell, and taste their milk to see if it's still fine to use, so together we can reduce the effect food waste has on the environment," said Liz Fox, Aldi's sustainability director.

Last year, the company joined Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S in removing best before dates on more than 60 fresh fruit and vegetables.