Business
Postcode glitch freezes pensioners out of winter heating benefit
Katy McCloskey and Chris Clements
BBCPeople on low incomes could be losing out on a grant for winter heating bills because postcodes are missing from an energy supplier’s website.
Scottish Gas were warned last autumn that customers on means-tested benefits living in a specific Glasgow postcode were unable to apply for the Warm Home Discount online. More than a year later, the website has still not been fixed.
Tenants and charities have criticised the power company, with Energy Action Scotland telling the BBC that it’s “absolutely incredible” the problem hasn’t been solved.
Scottish Gas said addresses for new build properties may not have been registered correctly with Royal Mail and it hopes to have the website updated.
‘That money would make a big difference’
The Warm Home Discount of £150 is paid automatically by energy suppliers to those on the guaranteed element of Pension Credit.
Other households of any age on a low income can also be eligible via the “broader group” category, but they have to manually apply and enter details about their means-tested benefit.
Annie Dougherty, 71, lives in Govan with her husband Sammy.
She tried to apply online via the Scottish Gas website in November 2024 but found her postcode was missing from the dropdown box on the site.
This meant she could not continue her application.
Annie believes she is eligible for the discount because she claims Housing Benefit.
She told BBC Scotland: “I think it’s ridiculous.
“I don’t know what they are playing at. They say our postcode isn’t registered with Scottish Gas website but they manage to send us bills with our postcode on them.
“We didn’t get the Warm Home Discount last year and we’re not getting it this year. That would make a big difference, it would be £150 off my bill each year.”
Annie said she worries about her bills.
“I get fed up with it, I really do.
“We only put our heating on if it’s really cold. We go to our beds early so we don’t have to have the heating on. And I only put my tumble dryer on once a week.
“I try my best to cut back on things but it’s hard.”
The flats where the Doughertys live were built in 2024.
“None of us in this block or the block next door get it,” Annie added.
Missing postcodes ‘flagged a year ago’
Gordon Brown, of local charity Glasgow Action for Pensioners, first spotted the problem in November last year, and said he flagged it with the energy supplier.
He said: “In this area we know of 46 residences where the Scottish Gas database doesn’t recognise the postcode.
“Most of them are elderly people who would be on the qualifying benefits. These people could be sitting cold.”
He said Scottish Gas had offered a “workaround” for affected customers, but he described the process as “complicated”.
“They’ve told me to use the head office postcode and then phone up with a number from the website and they can sort it manually,” he said.
“Why can’t they just fix their database?
“We don’t know how many people are in the exact same boat.
“People don’t have the ability or time to phone them up to ask what’s going on and why the website doesn’t work.”
Fuel poverty charity Energy Action Scotland said it was expecting an additional 250,000 households in Scotland to receive the broader Warm Home Discount payment this winter.
Households need to be receiving a means-tested benefit such as Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
Suppliers then check eligibility with the Department for Work and Pensions or Social Security Scotland.
Frazer Scott, chief executive at Energy Action Scotland, said he found the situation in Govan “incredible”.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that, for a company with the resources that Scottish Gas has, they cannot get this right.
“It should have been sorted a long time ago.”
He added: “I cannot understand why it is left to the eligible person, someone who is in need of financial support and someone who is likely in difficult circumstances, that they have to try and come up with a fix for this when it should be energy supplier moving heaven and earth to help these people.
“There is a huge question mark about people’s ability to engage when many of the only routes companies seem to have available these days are electronic or web-based.
“Companies are not working hard enough to support all their customers fairly. People should be at the heart of the system, not processes.”
‘Not registered correctly’
Scottish Gas said it was “sorry to hear that some residents in Glasgow’s Govan area have had some trouble completing their Warm Home Discount application through the online portal”.
A spokesperson added: “It appears the address details for these new builds may not have been registered correctly with the Royal Mail and we’re helping to get these updated.
“To reassure customers, our advisors can help with completing the form and ensuring their application is successfully processed.”
BBC Scotland has contacted Royal Mail for comment.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 PERCENT in its February 2026 monetary policy review, maintaining a neutral policy stance as inflation pressures remain under control and economic growth stays stable.
The decision was announced by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra after the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which began on February 4 and concluded on February 6.
Focus on Inflation and Growth
The MPC chose to pause after a series of rate cuts over the past year, preferring to evaluate how earlier policy changes are affecting borrowing costs, liquidity, and overall economic activity.
Inflation has remained within the RBI’s comfort range, giving policymakers room to maintain the current rate while monitoring global economic conditions and domestic demand.
The RBI’s monetary policy framework aims to keep inflation close to 4 PERCENT with a tolerance band of 2–6 PERCENT, which continues to guide interest-rate decisions.
Impact on Loans, EMIs, and Markets
Since the repo rate directly influences borrowing costs for banks, the decision to keep rates unchanged means loan EMIs are unlikely to change immediately. However, banks and financial markets will continue to watch RBI signals on liquidity and future rate moves.
The central bank has already reduced rates by about 125 basis points since early 2025, which helped support economic growth while inflation eased.
What Happens Next
Economists believe the RBI may now focus more on policy transmission and liquidity management rather than further rate cuts in the near term.
Governor Malhotra is expected to outline the RBI’s outlook on inflation, growth, and financial stability in the coming quarters during the post-policy press conference.
Business
$2 trillion wiped off crypto markets! Bitcoin halves since October; investor company shares sink to multiyear lows – The Times of India
Cryptogiant Bitcoin has suffered sharp losses since the beginning of 2026, tumbling over 20%. The digital currency has given up almost half of its value since October’s record peak of over $124,000, sliding to $67,000, now worth less than it was at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Bitcoin is often pitched as “digital gold” as its returns are just like gold, offering no dividends or profits and price driven by what investors are willing to pay. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last trading 1.64% higher at $64,153.24 after a volatile session that saw prices swing between gains and losses, having earlier touched a low of $60,008.52. The global crypto market has lost $2 trillion in value since peaking at $4.379 trillion in early October, with $800 billion wiped out in the last month alone, Reuters reported. Bitcoin has declined 28% so far this year, while ether has lost nearly 38% over the same period.As the asset slid, shares of companies holding bitcoin and other digital assets also came under heavy pressure amid ongoing turbulence in the cryptocurrency market, fuelling concerns about stress across the sector. Publicly listed firms that piled into crypto last year, encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s supportive stance, are now grappling with intensifying market challenges.The decline comes as uncertainty over Federal Reserve rate cuts and concerns over AI company valuations weigh on risk assets, pushing bitcoin to its lowest level since November 2024.Strategy shares plunge to multi-year lowsMicroStrategy’s bitcoin-focused arm, Strategy, has seen shares tumble from $457 in July to $111.27 on Thursday, marking their lowest level since August 2024. The stock was last down more than 11%, according to Reuters.In December, Strategy cut its 2025 earnings forecast, citing weak bitcoin performance, and announced plans to create a reserve to support dividend payments. The company now expects full-year earnings between a $6.3 billion profit and a $5.5 billion loss, down from its earlier forecast of $24 billion.Other notable bitcoin buyers have also been hit. UK-based Smarter Web Company (SWC.L) fell nearly 18%, Nakamoto Inc (NAKA.O) lost almost 9%, and Japan’s Metaplanet (3350.T) dropped over 7%.Bitcoin wipes out gains since Trump’s electionBitcoin itself is down nearly 28% since the start of the year, with recent selling accelerating after Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Analysts cited by Reuters say that Warsh’s appointment could lead to a smaller Fed balance sheet, a negative for speculative assets like crypto.Bitcoin has erased all gains made since Trump’s election, when he pledged to overhaul policies toward digital assets. The cryptocurrency last traded at $67,651.“As Bitcoin continues its slide below the psychological barrier of $70,000, it’s clear the crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,” said Nic Puckrin, investment analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau. “If previous cycles are anything to go by, this is no longer a short-term correction, but rather a transition… and these typically take months, not weeks,” Reuters cited the expert.Broader digital asset holdings also hitCompanies holding other tokens have been affected as well. Alt5 Sigma, which stocks the Trump family’s WLFI token, fell 8.4%. SharpLink Gaming, holding ether, dropped 8%, while Forward Industries, which holds solana, fell nearly 6%.Bitcoin fell to a low of $63,295.74 on Thursday, its weakest since October 2024, before rebounding slightly to $63,525, marking its largest one-day drop since November 2022. Approximately $1 billion in bitcoin positions were liquidated over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data.Fed concerns and investor outflowsTrump’s Fed pick, Kevin Warsh, has added to market fears. Analysts say investors worry that a smaller balance sheet will remove liquidity support for speculative assets.“The market fears a hawk with him,” Manuel Villegas Franceschi from Julius Baer told Reuters. “A smaller balance sheet is not going to provide any tailwinds for crypto.”Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted massive outflows from institutional ETFs as a key driver of the decline. US spot bitcoin ETFs saw over $3 billion withdrawn in January, following $2 billion and $7 billion outflows in December and November, respectively. “This steady selling in our view signals that traditional investors are losing interest, and overall pessimism about crypto is growing,” they said.Tech sector weakness piles pressure on crypto segmentThe slide in cryptocurrencies has been compounded by a broader downturn in tech stocks, particularly software companies linked to AI. Bitcoin and other tokens have historically tracked risk appetite in technology markets, and the current weakness has intensified losses.“Concerns are being raised around the crypto miners and whether we could be looking at forced liquidations if prices continue to fall, which could lead to a vicious cycle,” said Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar, as cited by Reuters. The analyst further added that crypto “should never be more than a very small portion of a portfolio, but its heavy retail ownership adds to overall market risk.”
Business
RBI MPC Meeting 2026 Live Updates: Gov Sanjay Malhotra To Announce Decision On Repo Rate Today
RBI MPC Meeting February 2026 Live Updates: All eyes are on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Sanjay Malhotra, today as he is going to announce the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) February policy meeting, which started on February 04. The outcome, due shortly, will set the tone for interest rates, liquidity conditions, and market sentiment at a time when growth is steady but inflation risks haven’t fully disappeared.
The six-member MPC, headed by RBI Governor, has deliberated on domestic inflation trends, global uncertainty, crude oil prices, and the evolving growth outlook.
The decision will be announced by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra amid a supportive domestic backdrop of a growth-oriented Union Budget, easing inflation pressures and a major easing of external uncertainty following the long-awaited India-US trade deal.
RBI Governor will begin his speech at 10:00 AM. The Central bank had cut the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.25 per cent from 5.50 per cent with a ‘neutral stance’ in its December monetary policy.
This time, expectations are mixed. While retail inflation has shown signs of cooling, it remains close to the RBI’s comfort zone. At the same time, global central banks are turning more cautious on rate cuts, which could influence RBI’s tone and forward guidance.
Markets will closely track not just the rate decision but also the RBI’s commentary on inflation risks, growth projections, liquidity management, and its stance going forward.
Stay tuned with us to watch the live coverage of RBI MPC February Meeting 2026
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