Tesco, housing, motor insurance and debt

After Tesco surprised the City by announcing a £3.9 billion merger with Booker comes the news that the supermarket giant could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores. Analysis by the data team at The Times has found ‘there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker’s network of Premier, Londis and Budgens stores, raising fears about the impact on consumers, suppliers and rivals’. In other Tesco news, Tesco Bank current account customers are to receive a guaranteed 3 per cent credit interest on balances up to £3,000 from 1 April 2017 until 1 April 2019. And current account customers will receive more Clubcard points for every £1 spent in Tesco. Housing Writing for the BBC website, the broadcaster’s economics editor, Kamal Ahmed, says that ‘one of the UK’s largest housebuilders has called for a “critical reassessment” of green belt land to help solve Britain’s housing shortage. Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson said that if 1 per cent of green belt was released for building, it would be enough for up to one million new homes.’