Money blog: Retailer cancels Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders (2025)

The UK economy is ending the week on a slightly more positive note after growth expectations for the year inched upwards.

Economists at the International Monetary Fund increased their growth predictions for the UK to 1.2% - up a mighty 0.1% from 1.1%.

But the IMF warned that trade tensions linked to US tariff plans will reduce UK economic growth next year.

Rollercoaster week in Trump's trade war

Speaking of which, it's been quite the week for Donald Trump's beloved tariffs.

A US court blocked his global import taxes from coming into force, saying the president had overstepped his powers. Such policies should be approved by Congress, it said.

This triggered some welcome relief for stock markets.

However, as it stands at the end of a week, an appeals court has ruled the tariffs can stay in place, at least while the appeal is in progress.

Global stock markets nonetheless remained upbeat on Friday, even if the theme of Trump's presidency continues to be uncertainty.

Our US correspondent Mark Stone explored what all of this meant for the US president...

Better news back home

Back in the UK, millions of people had some positive news from the country's biggest building society and the energy regulator.

Nationwide confirmed that millions of customers will be given £100 each after it posted bumper profits in the last year.

We explained how you get the payment here...

Meanwhile, Ofgem announced that energy companies have agreed to pay £5.6m to at least 40,000 people as part of compensation for the prepayment meter scandal.

Another £13m of energy debt will be cancelled, taking the value of the total compensation figure to just shy of £74m, it said.

You can read more about which energy suppliers are making the payments and which customers are eligible here...

Tax raid fears and 'gutted' Glastonbury fans

It wasn't all great news - we saw concerns of a stealth tax raid on pensions rise after HMRC launched a consultation into workplace pension schemes.

The tax authority has been exploring cutbacks to the salary sacrifice programme, asking employers for their reaction to three "hypothetical" changes.

You can read more about that - and what the changes could mean for you - below...

And, several people were "gutted" after a luxury glamping company went bust, leaving them £16,500 out of pocket and without Glastonbury tickets they thought they had paid to secure...

A Cheap Eats hack for the weekend

Before you head out to buy steak this weekend, it's probably worth reading our latest Cheap Eats series withBrian Hennessy, head chef at the acclaimed Winter Garden Restaurant in London.

He'll tell you why you shouldn't bother getting sirloin and should opt for a cheaper cut instead.

Watch out for Weekend Money

That's all from us for now but be sure to check out our long read feature tomorrow about the rise of prenups, who is getting them and the best time to sign one.

We'll be back with our regular live updates on Monday, and remember our new Money newsletter will launch next week - you can subscribe using the form above.

Have a good weekend.

We always ask our readers to get in touch with their comments, and a lot of you have been sharing your thoughts with us this week.

One story in particular seemed to catch your attention - it was about new technology being rolled out at Tesco...

A Tesco spokesperson told Money that the supermarket has installed cameras above self-checkouts to help customers identify if an item has not been scanned properly, "making the checkout process quicker and easier".

The VAR-style system uses AI to monitor when an item has not been scanned properly.

Much like a video referee, the screen then displays an instant replay to the customer.

Many of you didn't agree with the tech being used...

So, the supermarket is considering all of us thieves with all the surveillance that is in the stores nowadays. How is this helping customers, in what way? If anyone can clarify this it would be quite good.

WhiteOwl

Let's face it. VAR checkout tech has absolutely nothing, nowt, zilch to do with "making it easier for customers" and everything to do with Tesco penny pinching at the expense of law-abiding citizens. It's done for Tesco's benefit only.

Leo

Some of you thought it was time to ditch self-checkouts...

Why not use more staff tills? I personally will not use self-service tills on principle and a lot of people won't.

Ann Wiltshire

VAR in supermarkets, what's next in this ever-intrusive world? Only solution is to stand at the manned checkouts. At the end of the day, the customers don't work for these companies. Just another way to stop having to pay for checkout staff and line their bank accounts.

Alan

And, some of you gave your own ideas...

Bad idea. It will make it worse and will lead to more shoplifting at the self-checkout. An alarm should sound as an alert if an offence has been done.

David Martin

Self-checkouts. Why don't stores change the system so that customers tap the contactless card first. Then if they do a runner, you have a record of who they are. With all the technology, I’m sure this can be achieved.

Digital Dave

Ryanair's chief executive is set to earn a €100m (£84m) bonus after the airline hit a key share price target.

Michael O'Leary will receive the bonus in share options as long as he is still at the company in July 2028.

At that point, he will be granted the option of buying 10 million shares at €11.12 per share, according to the company’s annual report.

At Thursday's closing price of €23.74, that would represent a discount of €126m.

He became eligible for the bonus after the share price of Europe's largest low-cost carrier closed above €21 for 28 consecutive days, meeting a key condition of a share-option scheme originally setin 2019.

Customers have been left disappointed after GAME cancelled Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders.

The video game retailer said it was "working hard" to reinstate orders for affected customers but did not give a reason for the cancellation.

"These f****** actually ruined my day," one person wrote online.

Another added: "Just close your doors at this point. You're absolutely s**** and pointless."

The cancellations come just a week before the console is due to be released on 5 June, leaving some worried they'll now miss out on getting one.

"We understand how disappointing this is, especially for those who have been eagerly awaiting their order," GAME wrote in a post on X.

"If your order was affected, please know that we're doing everything we can and will be in touch with further updates and next steps."

Gamers have already raised concerns about the price of the console, with Nintendo selling it for £395.99.

Last month, gaming reporter Martin Kimber got a preview of the console - you can read more about that below...

Santander customers aged 20 to 25 can get a free four-year railcard worth £100 - but they need to be quick because the deal ends tonight.

The railcard could save you 1/3 on rail travel in England, Scotland and Wales.

If you think you might be eligible for the deal, it's worth checking that you meet all the relevant criteria.

Here's what you need to check:

1. Have you paid at least £50 into a new Santander savings account or cash ISA?

If the answer is no, you have until 11.59pm today to open a new savings account and deposit £50.

2. Are you going to leave the cash in there?

In order to qualify, you need to keep at least £50 in the savings account until 30 June.

3. Do you have online or mobile banking?

If not, you need to make sure you have this set up by the end of the day. You can do that through the Santander website.

In order to register for online banking, you need either your debit card, credit card, account number, sort code or mortgage account number, and your mobile number.

Here's what happens next...

Once those steps have been completed, you will be able to redeem your railcard.

Santander will send you a unique railcard redemption code. You'll get an email to tell you it's arrived.

You'll then have until 30 June 2025 to redeem your code through the Santander Railcard website.

Don't be concerned if you don't receive the code right away, the bank has said it will be sending them out before 16 June.

Last month, the government froze prescription charges for the first time in three years.

Medicines have stayed at £9.90 - but did you know there is a way regular prescription users can save a big chunk of money?

A three-month prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) costs £32.05, while a 12-month PPC is £114.50.

Anyone paying for two prescriptions per month for a year would save approximately £120 with a 12-month pass.

NHS prescription charges apply in England only, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales abolishing the fee after devolution.

Around 89% of prescriptions in England are dispensed free of charge, including for children, over-65s, pregnant women, and people with certain medical conditions.

The number of people claiming pension credit has jumped 51% since the government made changes to the winter fuel payment last year, official data shows.

A total of 285,600 claims were made to the Department for Work and Pensions between 29 July 2024 - when the government confirmed the winter fuel payment changes - and 25 May 2025.

That's 96,200 more applications than the same period in the previous year.

Successful claims have gone up 57%, with an additional 58,800 recipients awarded the benefit.

But the number of claims that have been rejected has doubled, with 146,000 thrown out in the same period.

'Huge number' still not claiming benefit

Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell, said the rise in pension credit applications will "eat into the already limited savings" the government expected to make from the winter fuel allowance change.

"There are still a huge number of people claiming for pension credit and finding their application rejected," he added.

"While it makes sense to submit a claim if you're close to the eligibility threshold and aren't quite sure whether you're eligible, the large number of rejected claims suggests there is still widespread misunderstanding of the eligibility rules."

Starmer's change of heart on winter fuel

Prior to the government changes, the winter fuel payment was available to all pensioners.

But the Labour government made the payment means-tested, so only those on the lowest incomes received it automatically.

It initially defended the change, arguing it was necessary to help balance the public finances inherited from the previous Tory government.

But the cut has proved deeply unpopular with older Britons, with many in the Labour Party blaming it for Reform's gains in recent local elections.

That said, a YouGov poll this month suggested the wider public backed means-testing the payment.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has recently U-turned on the policy, vowing changes will be made to ensure more pensioners will be eligible for the winter fuel payment at the autumn budget.

Besides pensioners, who could government U-turn affect?

Tom Selby said the government now faces a dilemma in determining exactly who should be eligible for the payment.

One option on the table is to award the payment to everyone receiving a state pension, clawing the money back from higher-income households, potentially through their tax returns, he explained.

"This might look something like the process for clawing back child benefit for working households, although that has caused mass confusion among taxpayers bamboozled by the complexity of the rules," he said.

"Another option is to decide to reverse the idea entirely and restore the winter fuel payment as a universal benefit," he added.

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

It's been said before, but it's true, so worth repeating: the only certainty is uncertainty when it comes to the Trump administration.

Even though an appeals court has ruled the president's tariffs are back on, at least during the Trump administration's appeal against a federal trade court decision, European stock markets are still in positive territory.

They were given a boost yesterday morning following the initial court halt and, despite the appeal court's move, are up today.

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index of the most valuable companies listed on the London Stock Exchange rose just shy of 0.6% as a measure of business confidence rose to a nine-month high.

The FTSE 250 was also up, just below 0.5%.

Sterling values have dipped, however.

One pound will get you $1.3478, below the $1.35 mark enjoyed earlier this week, or €1.1888, a fall from the €1.19 level of the past few days.

Despite near-universal stock index falls across Asia, European stocks were buoyed up.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.5%.

Similarly, the indices of major EU economies France, Germany and Spain, had a strong showing.

Tesco Clubcard members can now use their points to get a three-month pass for top UK attractions this summer.

The supermarket has added a Merlin Entertainments pass to its rewards section, which gives you access to Alton Towers, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park, Sea Life Aquariums, Cadbury World and many more.

The pass is available for £60 of Clubcard vouchers, which can be doubled with Merlin to a value of £120.

You can see all the ways you can collect Clubcard points here.

How do you get the voucher?

You can select the Merlin pass through the Clubcard website and app.

If you don't have enough points, you can use any value you have in vouchers towards the £120 single pass and pay the difference with another payment method.

You need to purchase it through the link to Merlin by 31 August. The pass will be activated as soon as you have bought it.

You can then use the pass to book tickets to the attractions through Merlin's pass holder portal for the following three months.

It's important to note that while this is a good deal, it only works out well if you are going to use it enough to make it worthwhile.

The cost to visit a Merlin attraction depends on the specific attraction and the type of ticket purchased. Single-day tickets can range from £30 to £40, depending on the attraction and time of year.

This means you would need to go at least four times in three months to make a saving.