Furlough scheme extended

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Furlough til April

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme for an extra month - so it’ll now pay out until the end of April. The government will continue to pay up to 80% of the wages of workers who are furloughed. The government-backed business loan scheme will also be extended to the end of March.

Mini-bond failing

The Financial Conduct Authority failed to properly supervise the mini-bond company London Capital & Finance ahead of its collapse in January last year. That’s the verdict of an independent inquiry into the scandal, which affected 11,000 people who’d invested £237 million. Mini-bonds are non-transferable assets that let retail investors invest in a company - and they can be very risky.

SpareRoom ads discriminate

Property sites SpareRoom and OpenRent have been discriminating against tenants who are claim benefits. An investigation analysed 59,000 listings and found that 80% were excluding benefits claimants - after a judge ruled in July that such a ban is unlawful. The sites say they’re now working on the problem.