England 1-2 Greece (Bellingham 87′ | Pavlidis 49′, 90+4′)

WEMBLEY — Welcome to England. If the shirt did not weigh heavily in his opening two games, Lee Carsley understands better now the demands of the job. His attempt to flood Wembley with an England all-star XI ran into a disciplined Greek opponent who observed the ancient principle of team play.

While England dribbled themselves dizzy, the Greeks kept it simple, maintaining their shape, running hard for each other and passing to team-mates. They scored two, had three disallowed and might have had half a dozen.

England, for the most part a rag-tag of shredded reputations, barely created a clear-cut opening before Jude Bellingham jumped on to a loose ball with five minutes remaining to blast England level. But that wasn’t enough.

Carsley’s third England team sheet read like a fantasy football selection, shot through with a kind of not-Gareth Southgate imperative. Assimilating the likes of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Bellingham was a tactical conundrum Southgate’s innate caution could never contemplate. Throw in the old enigma that is Trent Alexander-Arnold and you can see why Southgate has given himself a year to recover.

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Carsley is supposedly about combinations and ridding the structure of awkward compromises. Alexander-Arnold is a right-back or nothing under Carsley. Foden is a central fix not a winger. Palmer is the team’s playmaker and Bellingham is good enough to play anywhere, which in the absence of Harry Kane meant centre-forward.

In the event, none distinguished themselves. What England lacked in the array of ballers was a leader, someone to organise and inject discipline. Southgate’s fear that too many creatives spoil the eco-system looked justified.

Greece had a shot kicked off the line and a goal disallowed in the first half. And another chalked by VAR in the second. Perhaps the shape of the England team was itself a distorting influence, the players overelaborating in their desire to be Brazil.

Balls went astray, the final pass was too ambitious and players attempted one touch too many. When Bellingham and Palmer did combine for the first time Palmer blazed over, striking the ball unnecessarily hard. At least Palmer was in an advanced position. For the most part he was too deep, taking the instruction to get on the ball too literally.

Southgate would have loved Greece. Compact without the ball, they were a flower bursting into petal with it. The ball fizzed about in a blur of one-touch combinations, releasing players at pace into the gaps, particularly those left by Alexander-Arnold, who had a game to forget defensively.

Each Greek break was a micro-victory and a warning to England to drop the hauteur. Carsley had serious concerns with England goalless at the break for the second successive home game. The consequences of that missing ingredient was felt five minutes into the second half when Vangelis Pavlidis waltzed through the England defence to score. Alexander-Arnold was the wrong side of the ball, John Stones was not quick enough to close down and the ball was gleefully dispatched.

Carsley responded by ditching the false nine theory. Off came Anthony Gordon for Ollie Watkins, Noni Madueke, who replaced Bukayo Saka at half-time, switched to the left with Palmer on the right, where he occasionally plays for Chelsea. Yet it was Greece who continued to look the more plausible until Bellingham struck.

Carsley has spent his short reign as interim boss denying his interest in the full-time post without convincing any. After Pavlidis hit a second in added time, he might be advised to hold course. Greece were his masters here, leaving England with lessons to learn. Namely that football is a team game after all.

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Former UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers has taken a position at an AI wealth management start-up in his first significant role since leaving the Swiss financial behemoth 18 months ago.

Hamers was Europe’s highest-paid bank boss when he was at UBS, but left shortly after it agreed to take over its former rival Credit Suisse last spring. He was most recently in the running to become chief executive at UK asset manager Schroders, but lost out to chief financial officer Richard Oldfield.

Hamers has agreed to become an external senior adviser to Arta Financial, a wealth management start-up founded by several former Google employees. Based in Silicon Valley and Singapore, it aims to use artificial intelligence to offer high-end wealth management services to mid-market clients.

The company initially offered services to US customers, but has recently rolled out its offering to Singapore and plans to attract business in India, where chief executive Caesar Sengupta is from.

Hamers has also taken a stake in Arta Financial, which focuses on working with clients with assets over $1mn.

While UBS chief executive, the 58-year-old Dutchman attempted to acquire a similar business, striking a deal to buy robo-adviser Wealthfront for $1.4bn in early 2022. But UBS later aborted the deal.

Hamers was hired by UBS for his digital expertise and set about trying to improve its technology and he stated his ambition was to turn the storied Swiss institution into a “Netflix for wealth”.

But his time at UBS was dogged by an investigation in the Netherlands into his involvement in a money-laundering case at ING, the Dutch bank he used to run.

Prosecutors are due to decide by the end of the year whether he will be forced to appear in court over the matter or if they will drop the case.

Hamers declined to comment on the case.

GETTING a mortgage past retirement age used to be a hurdle that was hard to jump over, but older home buyers and borrowers have more options than ever before.

Lenders have become more flexible in their criteria and deals for homeowners heading into their later years.

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Some providers now have no maximum age limit at all, giving older borrowers the chance to get the home they want.

It comes as first-time buyer ages have gradually increased over the past few years, as higher house prices mean it is more difficult than it used to be to get on to the property ladder.

At the same time, people are living for longer and working past the traditional State Pension age in many cases.

In some cases, this may be out of financial necessity but it can also be for enjoyment and to keep mentally or physically active in later life.

As a result, lenders have adapted to changing patterns.

Chris Sykes, at financial firm Private Finance, said: “Lenders have indeed become more flexible in this space in recent years.

“It might sound like some people’s worst nightmare to have finance into later life, but for some it’s a lifeline as they can’t pay for food with bricks.

“Others haven’t been able to get on the property ladder as early in life as they would have liked, and some would rather pay monthly but raise capital for children or even grandchildren to buy.”

Whatever the reason for wanting to borrow, the chances are that there will be lenders willing to look at your case.

Chris added: “Mainstream lenders are taking employed and self employed income later and later in life, often to 75 now, some to 80 even.

“But the lenders who really specialise in this space is specialist building societies.”

Big lenders usually have set criteria for mortgage applicants which will specify things such as the age you will need to be by the time your mortgage ends.

However, specialist lenders such as building societies are more likely to look at applicants on a case-by-case basis.

As long as these lenders think you will still be able to afford to make the mortgage repayment at a later age, you could find that you are accepted at almost any age.

In some cases, pension payments will even be an accepted form of income whereas in the past it wasn’t.

Mr Sykes said: “Building societies are having to innovate in their criteria in order to win business so can be flexible.

“Often as you get into your 70s, lenders are looking at incomes guaranteed into later life, such as pensions. investments and buy to lets.

“But also if you own a business that pays you and is family-run, for example.”

Lenders typically assess whether you can qualify for a mortgage based on your income through your job.

The best mortgage rates for over-60s

 A borrower who is 60 and looking for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage today has plenty of choice and can get sub 4% rates.

The scenario assumes the borrower has an income of £50,000 and wants the mortgage for a 25-year term on a loan to value of 60%, according to data supplied by broker John Charcol,

The lowest rate is with Barclays with a competitive offering of 3.7%, it’s the only high street lender in the top five.

The rest of the leading rates are from building societies with Newbury offering 4.39%, Darlington 4.49%, Cambridge 4.69% and Family 4.74%.

Some building societies have specialist conditions such as requiring you to live within a particular region of the country.

The mortgages also come with different product fees which need to be taken into account when looking at the overall value of the deal.

An independent mortgage broker can help you understand the best deals available to you in your specific circumstances.

SPECIALIST LENDING

As well as traditional mortgage products there are also specialist products available to older borrowers.

Retirement interest only mortgages, for example, have increased in popularity.

These loans are available to borrowers over 55 and allow borrowers to pay a fixed amount of interest on a loan with the underlying sum paid off from the property when the owner dies or moves into long term care.

There are currently 181 retirement interest-only mortgages available, according to data site Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, compared to 104 products in 2021.

Caitlyn Eastell from the site, said: “Many people may have existing mortgage debt as they approach retirement age or are simply choosing to continue working past typical retirement age.

“S0, it is positive news to see a rise in the number of Retirement Interest Only products available to later-life borrowers despite only being a niche sector of the market.

“RIO mortgages are a way for older homeowners to continue borrowing into retirement and may well help with monthly repayments as it removes the need to repay the capital sum, which could appeal to those who are indeed relying on their pension to make payments.

“In any case, it is important borrowers seek advice before committing and ensure they are making the correct decision to suit their needs.”

Equity release is another product that may suit older homeowners looking to borrow cash.

You’ll need to get professional advice before you take out specialist lending products.

Later life advisers can help you to navigate the options available to you whether it’s a mainstream mortgage or a specialist product is best for your particular circumstances.

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Darktrace co-founder Poppy Gustafsson has been appointed as the UK’s investment minister ahead of the government’s international business summit on Monday, according to officials.

Gustafsson, who left Darktrace last month ahead of a £4.3bn takeover of the cyber security group, will be charged with promoting the UK as a place to invest and do business.

Filling the vacancy before the investment summit was seen as an important step with a shortlist whittled down in the weeks since the governing Labour party’s annual conference in late September. 

The junior ministerial role is regarded as particularly important given Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s focus on growing the economy and attracting international investment.

Previous investment ministers under the Conservatives included City grandee Lord Gerry Grimstone and Lord Dominic Johnson, a former business partner of ex-Tory minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

The appointment of an investment minister was delayed after chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first choice, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, turned down the chance to take the role to focus on his private sector career.

Wegg-Prosser heads Global Counsel, the advisory group he co-founded with former Labour minister Lord Peter Mandelson. 

Gustafsson spent more than a decade at Cambridge-based Darktrace, which she had led since 2016. The company listed in 2021 and agreed a sale to US private equity group Thoma Bravo this year.

Darktrace was backed by Mike Lynch, the British entrepreneur who died in August when his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

It listed in 2021 but faced turbulence on the public markets, with short sellers alleging in 2023 that the company seemed to have incorrectly booked some sales and may have misrepresented the nature of its revenue. Darktrace rebutted the claims.

Gustafsson’s appointment comes as Starmer prepares to welcome about 200 executives to Monday’s summit in central London, with some flying in from the US and Asia. 

Starmer, chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are set to address executives at the event, according to a copy of the agenda seen by the Financial Times. 

The prime minister will also take part in a discussion with former Google boss Eric Schmidt and GSK chief Emma Walmsley.

Gustafsson was already due to speak at the summit, according to the agenda circulated to attendees this week. 

Labour promised to convene global investors within 100 days of taking office after its July 4 election victory. 

Some businesses have expressed concern that the event will be overshadowed by uncertainty over potential tax rises at the Budget to be held 16 days later. 

A secret boiler button could slash your heating bills by a whopping £150.

There’s claims that average gas bills could go down by as much as 9per cent by turning your boiler flow temperature down.

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Families are trying to find ways to stave off energy costs down while keeping warm during the winter months.

But energy experts from one of the UK’s biggest money saving expert’s have revealed some top tips on how to combat heating bills as temperatures plunge.

Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “The boiler flow rate controls how hot the water is when it leaves the boiler and goes to your radiators. It’s separate to heating and radiator controls.

“Reducing the flow rate can make your boiler run more efficiently, which can save you energy and money.

“People with a condensing combi boiler may be able to turn down the flow temperature to save themselves some money on their energy bills.

“For combi boilers, the recommended output temperature for the radiators is 75C and at least 60C for water, which is the temperature that kills legionella bacteria.”

Flow rate control work is a key element that homeowners can use to lower their payments.

Which? Energy Editor Emily Seymour explained why it’s important.

She said: “Most homes are heated by wet central heating. The heating flow temperature of your boiler is the temperature at which water leaves your boiler on its journey to your radiators.

“By default, many boilers are set to heat this water to 75-80C. But many homes with condensing combi boilers can be suitably warmed with heating flow temperatures of 60-65°C or lower.

“Lowering that temperature means your boiler uses less gas and operates more efficiently.

“Combi boilers also let you select how hot the water supplied to your taps is. As a result, you can adjust both your heating and hot water temperature separately.

“Water comes back from radiators into your boiler when it reaches a certain lower temperature, ready to be heated up again. This is called the return temperature.

“The return temperature is likely to be 60 degrees if you have a flow temperature of 80 degrees.”

By tweaking it, you could save yourself a fair bit of cash if your home is well insulated.

Your average gas bills could go down by as much as 9per cent by turning your boiler flow temperature down – which equates to roughly £150 a year.

But for those that aren’t well insulated or have small radiators, the benefits may not be as good.

To change your boiler’s flow temperature, Emily says: “On a combi boiler, flow temperature for heating is usually shown by a radiator symbol and, for hot water, a tap symbol.

“Use the up and down arrows to adjust the temperature.”

It is important to note that the Heating & Hot Water Industry Council (HHIC) recommends that people adapt their boiler settings with the advice of a boiler engineer.

But if you have a combi boiler, you’ve made sure it’s safe and you’ve checked your boiler’s technical manual, you can adjust these settings yourself.

This setting is accessible to anyone and it can be changed using your boiler controls.