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Rising heating oil prices are hitting Northern Ireland harder than the rest of the UK - here's everything you need to know.

Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi says oil could hit $150 a barrel if the Iran conflict continues over the coming weeks.

A drone attack on Azerbaijan has narrowed choices for airlines scrambling to respond to disruption in the Gulf.

Last year the Daily Mail and General Trust proposed to buy the company in a £500m takeover.

If oil prices remain high for some time, there could be knock-on effects on the cost of fuel and food.

We have appointed 2 new senior leaders, further strengthening our capability across key areas of our remit. Chris Knight will join us in July 2026 as director of insurance within our Supervision, Policy and Competition (SPC) division. He joins the FCA from Legal & General, where he has been the group chief risk officer for the last 5 years and member of the Group management committee. Prior to this, he was CEO of Legal & General Retail Retirement for 3 years.David Lymburn joined the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) on 23 February 2026 as interim deputy managing director. David brings over 15 years’ experience in financial services, including as chief operating officer and global payments programme director at Nordea Bank and payments roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. He will serve in this interim role while the permanent recruitment takes place.Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive, FCA, said:'We welcome Chris and David into their new roles. They bring considerable industry and leadership experience and will play a vital part in driving forward our strategic priorities – strengthening our capabilities, accelerating our journey to become a smarter regulator, and ensuring we continue to support economic growth and improve lives across the UK.'

We're concerned that HDH Investment Services Limited may have given unsuitable financial advice to some of its customers, potentially leading to financial loss. We recently placed restrictions on HDH Investment Services Limited (HDH). From 20 January 2026, HDH agreed to stop carrying out all regulated activities. This now means the firm can't give investment advice.HDH also agreed to write to all customers to explain what these restrictions mean for them. What customers should do nowIf you think you were given unsuitable advice, or you're unhappy with the service you received from HDH, you have the right to complain.We know this news may be worrying. If you have concerns, you can use our contact form to get in touch. If you're a customer of HDH and need financial advice, you should contact another FCA‑authorised financial adviser. You can find information on finding an adviser on MoneyHelper. You can also use the FCA Firm Checker to make sure a firm is authorised and has permission to provide the services you're looking for.Stay alert to scamsIf you're a customer of HDH, you may be contacted directly by the firm. However, if you're unsure whether a call is genuine, end the call immediately and contact them using the details on Firm Checker.You may also be contacted by the FCA. But if you're concerned about who you're speaking to, please do call us back on 0800 111 6768. Our team won't mind waiting for you to check. Find out more about how to spot fake FCA communications. People are being increasingly targeted by recovery room scams. This includes where fraudsters approach investors who have been given unsuitable advice, offering to help them for an upfront fee. Find out more about how to protect yourself from scams.

Speech by Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments, at the TISA Inclusive Investing Conference 2026. Speaker: Lucy Castledine, director, consumer investmentsEvent: TISA Inclusive Investing Conference 2026Delivered: 4 March 2026Note: this is the speech as drafted and may differ from the delivered version.Reading time: 11 minutesKey points:Consumer investments are a cornerstone of the UK economy, with over 5,000 authorised firms and their representatives, serving 19 million adults – around a third of our population. Our sector safeguards the future of individuals and families up and down the country.Building a stronger investment culture is critical for consumers’ financial lives. We’re excited to work with firms on plans such as targeted support.For a strong investment culture, consumers need trust, confidence in good consumer outcomes, and reassurance in strong financial crime controls.Through all this, we recognise that the consumer investments landscape is changing – and we want to hear from firms.

John Wood Group PLC (Wood Group) has been fined £12,993,700 for publishing inaccurate information in its financial results. Following the poor performance of certain projects, Wood Group’s accounting judgements were inappropriately influenced by its desire to maintain previously stated financial results. Wood Group did not have adequate systems, controls or procedures to prevent this from happening.This resulted in Wood Group publishing inaccurate information in its full-year 2022 and 2023 financial results and the half-year 2024 results. The company failed to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements about those results were not false or misleading.These issues came to light from November 2024 onwards. Wood Group’s share price fell by 78% by April 2025 and its shares were suspended in May 2025.Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said:'Investors rely on accurate information to make decisions. Wood Group failed to provide this and fell well short of the high standards we expect of listed companies.'The FCA opened its investigation into Wood Group in June 2025 and concluded it within 9 months. This is an example of how the FCA is improving the pace of its enforcement investigations.Wood Group accepted the findings and so qualified for a 30% reduction in its financial penalty.Notes to editorsFinal Notice 2026: John Wood Group PLC (PDF)Wood Group agreed to resolve the case at an early stage and qualified for a 30% discount on the penalty imposed. Without this discount, the FCA would have imposed a financial penalty of £18,562,500 on Wood Group.The FCA announced its investigation of Wood Group in June 2025: FCA Press Release.The FCA has imposed the financial penalty on Wood Group for the following breaches:Listing Rule 1.3.3R (misleading information must not be published) by failing to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements were not misleading, false or deceptive and did not omit anything likely to affect the import of the information; andListing Principle 1 (a listed company must take reasonable steps to establish and maintain adequate procedures, systems and controls to enable it to comply with its obligations)On 30 October 2025, Wood Group published its restated financial results for the full years 2022 and 2023, which included material adjustments arising from the misconduct described above.

We'd also streamline the scheme, so millions get compensation in 2026. We're considering over 1,000 responses to our proposals for a compensation scheme for motor finance customers who were treated unfairly.If we proceed with a scheme, we are likely to make several changes. If we do go ahead, we expect to publish final rules in late March. The timing of publication will be outside market hours and we'll confirm the date in advance. Final decisions on the scheme have not yet been made. But to help firms prepare and ensure consumers get any money owed promptly, we're setting out some details now on how we intend to streamline the consumer journey and make it smoother for firms to operate.Given the scale and complexity of the scheme and in response to feedback, we're likely to introduce an implementation period of 3 months, with up to 5 months for older agreements. Firms could choose to process claims under the scheme sooner.We would also streamline the process for consumers and firms.People who complain before the scheme starts would no longer be asked if they wish to opt out. Instead, within 3 months of the end of the implementation period, their lender would tell them whether they're owed compensation, and how much. Consumers receiving a redress offer would be able to accept it immediately, rather than waiting for a final determination. Firms would not be required to write to customers via recorded delivery. We would allow a range of channels that best meet consumers' needs with appropriate safeguards to prevent fraud. Even with an implementation period, streamlining the process means millions of people would receive compensation in 2026.Our advice remains that anyone concerned they weren't told about commission involved in their motor finance deal should complain now. Doing so means they should get any compensation sooner. There is no need to use a claims management company (CMC) or law firm, and those who do may lose over 30% of any compensation.We've cracked down on poor practice by FCA-regulated CMCs. Over 800 misleading adverts have been removed or amended since January 2024 and we've intervened with 5 CMCs causing harm: 2 reduced exit fees and 4 agreed to stop taking on new clients until they can show they comply with our rules.The likely changes to the scheme were supported by many consumer groups and firms that responded to our consultation. As well as providing a better experience for consumers, the changes would help keep the cost of delivering the scheme proportionate, supporting a well-functioning market for the millions of people that rely on it.