Money blog: Cadbury's reacts to calls to bring back 'greatest ever' chocolate bar (2024)

Basically, a will is a legal document that sets out what happens to your money and assets when you die.

How do you make one?

You can write a will yourself or have a solicitor draw one up.

It's generally advisable to use a solicitor because it is easy to make mistakes and they can help you make effective choices.

You are also protected if something goes wrong as solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What do you include and what does the process involve?

The main thing to consider is who you want to benefit from your estate and personal possessions when you die - be it your spouse, children or parents - and how you want them to benefit.

You can also give directions about your funeral and ask for funeral expenses to be paid from your estate.

Caroline Foulger, partner and head of private client at TWN Solicitors, told the Money blog that she first asks clients for a brief overview of their family and assets and then a meeting is set up.

After that, a fee is fixed and if the client agrees to the price a draft is written up.

Once everyone agrees to what is written, the witnessing process is carried out.

Are you too young for a will?

The legal minimum age to write a will is 18, but that's too young right?

It could be, but what's more important than age itself is where you are in your life - whether you have assets and your personal circ*mstances.

Sam Grice, founder of the end of life planning companyOctopus Legacy, says "procrastination is quite common" but there are "consequences with inaction".

Mr Grice, who created his company after his mother died in a car accident, says: "I'm a recent father and so a consideration for me is who looks after my child if something were to happen.

"My mum was 60 when she died. It was quick. I'm assuming if I'd asked her she would have thought she was young. People are always thinking they've got that extra 20-30 years but that is not always the case."

After his mother's death seven years ago, Mr Grice says, he wanted to help others through the process of losing loved ones and a "big part of that was allowing people to put plans in place ahead of time".

"It is the best thing you can do for your loved ones, it will help alleviate financial and emotional burdens following your death," he adds.

"It doesn't need to be fear-inducing, it's quite an easy process to get sorted."

Joanna Grewer, partner at Roythornes Solicitors, says "you are never really too young to have a will".

"Nobody thinks about it being important until they think they might be facing death but actually the earlier you plan, the easier your life becomes," she says.

When Ms Grewer she sits down with clients, she says, she looks at "what they are worth on paper".

"We are always worth more on paper than we are generally in life because we have death in service benefits and life policies which kick in after death and people don't think about how it will affect the value of their estate."

She also says a will isn't a document that should be created once but "something you should change as your life develops".

Penny Wright, a partner in the wills, probate and estate planning team at Gardner Leader, agrees: "It's one of those things that everyone knows they've got to do but you put off.

"There isn't a specific time people should do it but it is particularly important if you've had a change in your circ*mstances."

What happens without a will?

If you don't have a will, the so-called intestacy rules kick in - this is the government's view of how people should leave their estate.

If the person who died was married or in a civil partnership and has no children, all their estate will go to their partner.

But if they are survived by both a partner and children then the first £322,000 of their estate will go to their spouse or civil partner, along with any of their personal possessions, and anything over £322,000 will then be divided, with the partner receiving 50% of this and the children entitled to divide the other 50%.

Executors and beneficiaries - what are they?

Executors are the people who have the legal responsibility to make sure assets get to the right people under the wishes of the will.

The beneficiaries are those who are named as receiving something under the will.

But often a beneficiary will also be the executor - this is quite common.

How much can it cost?

It depends on the solicitor you use but you're looking at a range from £150 to £2,500.

Read other entries in our Basically series...

Morrisons has introduced new menopause-friendly sections in selected stores to bring visibility to products that support women going through this stage in their life.

The supermarket chain, which partnered with the menopause awareness initiative GenM in March, will display "menopause-friendly" products across an initial 45 stores.

The bays will be clearly signposted and stock a range of GenM-accredited and own-label products, including Canesten cream, Tena incontinence support and menopause vitamins.

Morrisons hopes to later expand the rollout to further stores.

GenM was launched in October 2021 to raise awareness about the menopause and the 48 symptoms that come with it.

The organisation states there are more than 15.5 million women in the UK and around onebillion globally going through the menopause.

Morrisons told Sky News: "The aim of our collaboration with GenM Collective, is to help our customers, who are either experiencing or will experience symptoms of menopause, to recognise their symptoms early and provide them with the relevant products to improve their personal experience."

They can get a bit of a bad rep, but in-flight meals aren't always that bad (if you're travelling with the right airline).

A new survey by MoneySuperMarketof 27,000 passenger reviews of meals across more than 100 airlines has found that Kuwait Airlines tops the list when it comes to the best plane food.

The airline, which offers a multi-course menu in economy and lobster, prawn and beef dishes in their "Royal Class" service, earned an average score of 8.6 out of 10 across all cabin classes.

Coming in second and third place were Oman Air and Middle East Airlines.

British Airways, the most popular meal-serving airline among Britons, comes in at 55 with an average score of 6.65.

Here are the top 20 best airlines for in-flight food:

1. Kuwait Airways

2. Oman Air

3. Middle East Airlines

4. Air Algerie

5. airBaltic

6. Aegean Airlines

7. JetBlue

8. Turkish Airlines

9. Air Mauritius

10. Swiss International Air Lines

11. Asiana Airlines

12. Belavia

13. Austrian Airlines

14. Qatar Airways

15. Emirates Air

16. JetBlue Mint

17. Eva Air

18. Etihad Airways

19. Ethiopian Airlines

20. TAROM

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

The markets in London are this morning up in early trading following yesterday's stock market falls around the world.

The FTSE 100 has gained around 0.3%, while the FTSE 250 is up more than 1%.

However, the gains have so far not been enough to make up the 2.04% loss in the FTSE 100 yesterday and the 2.83% fall in the FTSE 250.

It comes after stock markets in Asia rebounded earlier today following sharp falls yesterday amid fears the US could be heading for a recession.

Top FTSE gainers on Monday included hotel giant IHG, which owns brands such as Holiday Inn.

Its shares were up more than 2% after it reported a 3.2% rise in revenue per available room in the second quarter.

FTSE 250 firm Domino's Pizza Group is up 5% despite a new forecast that its annual profit is likely to be at the lower end of market expectations.

Meanwhile, oil prices have also rebounded slightly following sharp falls in recent days.

A barrel of Brent crude is priced at just over $77 (£60) this morning, a gain of more than 1%.

On the currency markets, £1 buys $1.27 US or €1.16.

After the revivalof popular Cadbury's chocolate bar Top Deck earlier this year, we asked you which discontinued treat you would like to see brought back - and we got so many responses that we've decided to make a weekly feature of it calledBring It Back.

Every Tuesday, we'll pick one from our comments box and look at why it was so beloved and, crucially,find out whether the companies in question might consider reintroducing them.

This week we are looking at one of the products that prompted the most messages - Cadbury's Spira.

Apparently the result of a new production process that allowed chocolate to be produced in different shapes and textures without the need for moulds, it was introduced in 1989.

As the name suggests, the twin bars in each pack were formed into a spiral shape, with six hollow tubes running through each one.

And as dozens of readers have longingly recalled, this design allowed them to be employed in a very specific way when consumed along with hot drinks.

Among the many readers to describe the practice was one calling themselves Oompahlumpa, who said: "Cadbury Spira was and remains the best chocolate bar ever.

"With experience, you can drink your hot drink through this chocolate straw, melt the inside perfectly and the outside will still be intact. It needs skill but it can only be achieved with the Spira."

Janette said: "I'd just love to see a Cadbury's Spira back on the shelves. Great to eat, but also great to use as a drinking straw!"

Reflecting the sentiments of countless other readers who got in touch, Jannic told us: "Cadbury's really NEED to bring back Spira bars! There's nothing else needing brought back other than this chocolate bar!!!"

Indeed, such is the affection for Spiras that they have spawned multiple petitions demanding their return and a Facebook page - with more than 35,000 followers.

Despite the apparent popularity of the bar, Cadbury's ceased production in 2005 - and suggested in response to a customer query on X in January that there were "no plans to bring back Spira".

However, Sky News contacted the confectionary firm in the wake of the deluge of messages calling for its return - and received the following statement.

"We continuously adapt our product range to ensure it meets changing tastes whilst supporting growth for our customers and our business," a spokesperson said.

"Our Spira bars were discontinued several years ago but we still have plenty of other delicious sharing bags for consumers to choose from!"

So, certainly not a commitment to a Spira relaunch - although its army of fans may take some consolation from the fact it is not a definitive refusal.

Those determined to convince the company to reconsider will undoubtedly continue their campaign - and we will be keeping an eye out for any further developments!

Which currently discontinued chocolate bar, crisps, sweets - or any other food product - would you like to see brought back, and why? Let us know in the comment box at the top!

Two-bedroom terraced homes are the fastest selling properties across England and Wales, according to Zoopla.

On average, it takes around 27 days for this property type to be snapped up - compared with the typical 32 days.

The property website calculates its selling time by counting the number of days between a house being listed for sale and a buyer and seller agreeing a sale subject to contract.

It takes several more months for sales to complete.

Two-bed terraced homes have been the fastest-selling in more expensive regions such as London and the East of England for at least six years.

But they are now also the fastest-selling property type in some more affordable regions, signalling a shift in buyer requirements amid higher borrowing costs, Zoopla said.

This property type is selling fastest in Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands.

Zoopla found two-bed terraces are shifting particularly quickly in Wigan, at just 17 days on average.

A similar situation has been seen in Manchester and Bristol, where the typical time to sell is 19 days.

Despite this, two bedroom terraced homes have made up only 7% of property listings generally over the past three months, with the average asking price sitting at £200,000, Zoopla said.

Four-plus bed detached houses are currently the slowest-selling property type at a national level.

And, although flats typically take longer to sell than houses, these are the fastest-selling property type in the North West, including in urban areas like Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington.

More than 50 organisations have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves after she scrapped the Winter Fuel Payment for most pensioners.

They say the move - impacting pensioners not on means-tested benefits - will contribute to pensioners' energy bills increasing by 15% this winter.

"The decision to remove the payment to all but a small minority of pensioners will see millions more older people face the prospect of spending this winter in cold, damp homes," the letter from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said.

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the group, called for the government to offer more support to households of all ages.

What is the Winter Fuel Payment?

The benefit was previously available to almost everyone in the UK who was born before 25 September 1957 to help them cover their heating costs.

The one-off payment is worth between £100 and £300.

Those who are able to claim it should get a letter in October or November stating how much money they are entitled to, according to the government website.

Good morning.

Markets in Asia have rallied after worldwide plunges on Monday amid fears the US may be heading for recession.

Taiwan's stock exchange jumped following a record drop on Monday, but shed some of the gains later in the morning amid lingering concerns over the outlook for the US economy and tech companies.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 share index soared nearly 11% after it plunged a near record 12.4% yesterday - its biggest fall since "Black Monday" in October 1987.

Indian government bond yields are expected to remain steady whileSouth Korea's Kospi was up almost 3% after dropping on Monday by the most since late 2008.

The rally in the Asian markets came after a dramatic day on Wall Street on Monday.

All the major US stock market indexes fell at the opening bell and continued to drop up to the close.

Behind the drop are seven high-performing tech companies, the so-called magnificent seven: Apple, Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, AI-microchip maker Nvidia and electric car producer Tesla.

The UK's FTSE 100 closed down more than 2% on Monday, the worst day since July 2023. The FTSE 250 also dropped on the open and had fallen 2.83% by the end of the trading day.

Sell-offs were not confined just to stock markets. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached a level not seen since February. One Bitcoin is now worth $54,650.

It comes after US jobs market data on Friday came inmuch lower than expected for July, sending the country's stock markets tumbling.

Analysts at JPMorgan were more pessimistic, putting the probability of a recession at 50%.

We're pausing our live coverage for today - scroll back through to catch up on all the major developments as global stock markets tumbled amid fears of a US recession after an unexpected increase in joblessness across the pond.

Want to catch up at a glance? Here's a recap of events today:

• Stock markets around the world dropped sharply this morning - the UK's FTSE 100 was down more than 2%;
• Trillions were wiped off US markets when they opened at 2.30pm UK time;
  
• Some of the biggest losers in the US were Intel, Amazon, Arm Holdings, Nvidia and Tesla;
  
• The chances of a US interest rate cut rose as markets priced in a 90% chance of a reduction next month;
• The US turbulence was described by our NBC colleagues as a "complete U-turn" to a few weeks ago when "we were talking about the resilience of the US economy";
• And what it could all mean here in the UK - one lender said it would cut mortgage rates, with an analyst saying: "If the US sell-off continues, and given the current geopolitical backdrop, there is the potential for some deep cuts from major lenders this week and into next."

We'll be back tomorrow with live updates - good night.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

It would have been unthinkable to suggest that just days after deciding to hold interest rates that pressure would be mounting for an emergency cut in the cost of US borrowing.

Last week the US central bank, known as the Fed, announced it was making no change to interest rates, keeping them high to slow price rises.

But today the global stock market sell-off led to calls, and an expectation among some quarters, of an emergency intervention by the interest rate-setters at the Federal Reserve. Investors began to bet an emergency cut could be made.

Such measures are only taken in extreme circ*mstances. It would be the first time since March 2020, right at the outset of COVID-19 lockdowns, that such a move was taken.

The monetary policy regulator is mandated to do two things: keep inflation at 2% and have high levels of employment.

Throughout today commentators and officials have noted stock market performance is not a core concern of the Fed.

A 0.5 percentage point cut is now viewed by investors as the most likely course of action for the Fed's next meeting in September. Further cuts in November and December are also being priced in.

It comes amid worry the Fed misjudged the economic risk of keeping rates high, as it did in 2021 when pandemic-era inflation was increasing costs for consumers. The inflation increase was judged to be transitory but the effects of economic shocks on prices are still being felt in the US and across the world.