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First-time buyers, people borrowing into retirement, and the self-employed could benefit from changes to mortgage rules, the Financial Conduct Authority says.

The regulator wants to hear feedback on what further changes are needed to support mortgage access for those who are self-employed or with volatile income.

It has launched a discussion paper on the potential benefits and risks that changing rules around the market could bring. 

The paper highlights parts of the market where changes could help support wider access to sustainable home ownership as well as economic growth, and where allowing more flexibility could make it easier for lenders to tailor their products to customers' needs. 

David Geale, executive director for payments and digital finance at the FCA, said: "We are particularly looking at some of the constraints we see around people who are self-employed, people with volatile or unpredictable incomes, people maybe in vulnerable circumstances, who may be a good mortgage risk from a lending perspective, but the rules may be too rigid to allow lenders to look at them a bit more holistically."

The FCA is looking at whether more can be done to help first-time buyers, people who are long-term renters with aspirations to get into the housing market, as well as people in later life who may have significant equity in their home but who "may be income-constrained".

"What we鈥檙e saying is we think there are perhaps better ways of assessing who is a good mortgage borrower," Geale said. 

"So, for example, if you鈥檝e been paying rent on a regular basis, had no problem paying your rent, and a mortgage would actually be cheaper, well, could we be more explicit about the ability to take that into account?"

Data shows 68% of first-time buyers borrowed for terms of 30 years or longer. 

The paper said: "Many people's patterns of employment in the UK are now very different to those of earlier generations. There is more use of short-term contracting, zero-hours contracts, and more people are self-employed."

High street retailer River Island has announced the locations of the 33 shops it is to shut.

It confirms Sky News reporting that the clothing chain, which trades from about 230 stores, is to close 33 shops in a restructuring plan which will be put to creditors in August.

Stores acrss the country are affected, from Dorset and Oxford, to Scotland Wales.

Click below to see the full list:

The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds will be cut from August, meaning fewer chances to win big sums of money.

The prize fund rate will reduce to 3.60% from the August draw, down from 3.80%.

The odds of winning will remain the same, at 22,000 to one.

The estimated number of 拢50,000 prizes will reduce to 151 in August, from 159 in June.

And the estimated number of 拢25,000 prizes will fall to 302 in August, from 317 in June.

There will be an estimated 754 prizes at 拢10,000 in August, down from 792 in June.

This means there will be 61 fewer prizes worth more than 拢10,000 available. 

The estimated number of 拢1m prizes will remain the same, at two.

How do Premium Bonds work

Premium Bonds are a savings product offered by NS&I but instead of earning interest, you have a chance to win tax-free cash prizes each month.

Each bond (拢1) is entered into a monthly draw, and prizes range from 拢25 to 拢1m. You can deposit up to 拢50,000, and the more bonds you hold, the greater your chance of winning is.

They are billed as an alternative to savings accounts and are backed by the Treasury.

Inspired by the viral Japanese fruit sando, M&S has launched a limited edition strawberries and creme sandwich just in time for Wimbledon.

The 拢2.80 lunchtime snack is filled with fruit and lightly whipped cream cheese on sweetened bread. 

M&S said: "Inspired by the Japanese sweet sandos, recently spotted popping up in London's trendiest Japanese patisseries, our product developers have long dreamed of creating a dessert sandwich."

M&S Food first sold freshly made sandwiches in the 1920s, and expanded sales with pre-packed sandwiches in the 1980s.

The retailer鈥檚 food halls have sold four billion sandwiches to date.

Three UK is suffering outages, the mobile network provider has confirmed.

While data services are "working normally", the firm has said there are issues affecting calls.

Network monitoring site Downdetector indicates a surge of reports over the past few hours, since 8am.

For its part, Three first flagged issues at around 9.30am this morning on social media.

Issues are still being reported.

In the meantime, it says calls can be made through third-party apps (such as WhatsApp, for example).

"We're really sorry for any inconvenience caused," the company said online.

In a statement to Sky News, Three added: "We are aware of an issue affecting voice services and are working hard to fix it."

 Thousands of Eurostar passengers face severe delays and last-minute cancellations due to cable theft in northern France (see our previous post).

If you are affected, or fear you may be, we've got your options covered here:

Train delay

If your train is delayed after you've already set off, you may claim compensation as long as you apply within three months.

The amount you can claw back depends on the length of delay, and will only apply to the affected leg of the trip.

Here's a quick breakdown:

• 60-119 minutes - 25% of the cost in cash, or 30% as e-voucher;
• 120-179 minutes - 50% of the cost in cash or 60% as e-voucher;
• 180+ minutes - 50% of the cost in cash or 75% as e-voucher.

Cancellation

But if your train is cancelled or delayed by more than 60 minutes before departure - and you choose not to go ahead - you may opt for the following options:

• exchange your unused ticket for free to any other time (subject to availability);
• claim an e-voucher for your unused ticket, valid for 12 months;
• request a refund for the unused ticket (minus any booking fees).

If you cannot continue

If the impact is so bad that you cannot continue on the day of travel, Eurostar will have to consider reimbursing you for the following:

• overnight accommodation;
• food;
• transport between the station and your accommodation;
• the cost of calling anyone who was waiting for you at your destination.

One thing to be careful of - Eurostar will not cover you if you arrange alternative transport (say, by rail, coach or ferry, for example) if they told you your options within 100 minutes of your scheduled departure and you didn't wait for the next available train.

A developing news story to bring you now, which is scuppering lots of summer getaway plans today.

Eurostar is advising its customers to abandon or put off their planned trips, after a double whammy of delays.

The alert comes after 600 metres of copper cables were stolen overnight in the city of Lille in northern France, according to reports in the country.

Eurostar said this was forcing it to run services on alternative routes, causing extended journey times.

Its services were already disrupted because many trains and staff members were out of position after two fatalities on rail lines in France on Tuesday.

In a post on X, Eurostar said the cable theft meant trains were likely to be "subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations", adding: "We advise you to cancel or postpone your trip."

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Sterling is at a more than three-year high as the value of the dollar fell to similar lows. 

The US dollar index against a basket of currencies such as the euro, pound and Japanese yen is at a low not seen since February 2022. 

The highest point reached was yesterday afternoon, when a pound was equal to $1.3646.

What it could mean for you 

It means Britons travelling to the US will see their pound go further than it has in the past three years and four months.

Consumers may benefit in general if the rate remains good for sterling, as the price of importing goods priced in dollars could come down. 

Should costs remain lower for importers, the savings could be passed on to shoppers. 

Goods such as oil are priced in dollars.

Homeowners may be able to get thousands of pounds more for their property if they have certain features, but it depends on what time of year they are trying to sell, experts have said.

A study, commissioned by Zoopla, also found buyers may be able to bag a bargain by purchasing a home with particular features 鈥渙ut of season鈥�.

The estimates were based on a three-bedroom property with an average UK asking price of 拢324,000.

Hover over the cards below to see how much each feature could add to your home...

How much a feature could add to a property鈥檚 value will depend on individual circumstances, such as where it is located in the UK, how popular the local area is with buyers, and the desirability of other features in the house.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Three UK airports need to improve their special assistance services, according to the aviation regulator.

Heathrow, Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick were rated "needs improvement" in the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) airport accessibility report. 

It covered 2024, a year which saw more requests for assistance than ever before.

The CAA found "generally good" service at Heathrow's terminals 2, 4 and 5 but said it wasn't clear that waiting time standards were met at terminal 3.

At Edinburgh Airport, standards weren't met "in a timely manner primarily due to operational issues caused by a change of contractor", an issue which the CAA added "appears to be resolved".

Glasgow Prestwick "failed" to meet the standards to consult with disabled groups and individuals, the regulator said. It has since committed to putting in place an "access forum", the CAA added. 

The report rated performance assisting disabled and less mobile passengers in the UK's 28 airports with more than 150,000 passengers. 

None of the 28 were rated "poor", 14 were classed as "good", and 11 were said to be "very good".