By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

Last week we brought you news of the pound hitting its highest level against the US dollar since March 2022. 

After a slight dip, sterling is back at those levels with £1 buying more than $1.32. 

It's good for any Britons travelling to America or buying anything in dollars, as your pound is literally giving you more bang for your buck.

The currency shift comes after the chair of the Federal Reserve declared that "the time has come" for an interest rate cut.

Higher interest rates are generally supportive of a domestic currency - one reason is investors get more for their money.

A lack of guidance on how many cuts are likely across the rest of the year bolstered market predictions that several were on the cards before the end of 2024.

That has pushed the US currency sharply down against a basket of international rivals.

The pound is doing well,  but not quite as well, against the euro, as £1 will get you €1.18, the most since the very start of this month. 

The oil price is up about to $81.04 for a barrel of the benchmark Brent crude, the highest in nearly two weeks. 

The UK's benchmark stock exchange index, the FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange, is up 0.46%. 

The larger FTSE 250 index of more UK-based companies rose 0.19%.

Sir Keir Starmer has given the clearest indication yet that major tax rises are coming in the October budget.

In a news conference in Downing Street, the prime minister said the economic legacy from the previous government was worse than expected - or "dire", to use his word.

He said even the Office for Budget Responsibility had been unaware - and pointed to bigger-then-forecast borrowing for last month.

Sir Keir said: "I'll have to turn to the country and make big asks of you... to accept short-term pain for long-term good."

He went on: "I know that after all you have been through, that is a really big ask and really difficult to hear. 

"That is not the position we should be in. It's not the position I want to be in, but we have to end the politics of the easy answer that solves nothing."

Sir Keir reiterated his promise that VAT, national insurance and income tax won't rise, and the pensions triple lock will be protected.

Follow live updates of this story in our Politics Hub...

Ikea has soft-launched a new marketplace that will allow customers to sell their unwanted furniture to each other - and it looks set to come to the UK.

The platform, Ikea Preowned, will be tested in Madrid and Oslo until the end of the year with the aim of rolling it out globally, The Financial Times has reported.

Ikea already has its buyback programme which allows customers to bring back used furniture, which it then sells on at a discount. The store's Circular Hub (previously known as the Bargain Corner) also sells off display and damaged goods.

Customers will enter their product on Ikea Preowned and their own pictures with a selling price while Ikea's own artificial intelligence-enabled database brings in its own promotional images and measurements.

The buyer collects the furniture directly from the seller, who has the option of receiving money or a voucher from Ikea with a 15% bonus.

Listings are free but Ikea could eventually charge "a humble fee", said Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka, the main operator of Ikea stores.

Basically, if a retailer hasn't provided the goods or services you paid for, chargeback is a hidden way to get your money back.

It's a mechanism whereby banks can reverse transactions made on a credit, debit or charge cards if there is a breach of contract.

You can make a request for a chargeback if the company is refusing to offer a refund. But bear in mind, this is a voluntary scheme card providers subscribe to - not a legal right.

When does chargeback come in handy?

Chargeback can be requested if the goods you purchased were defective or not as described - or if they simply never arrive, even if the company has gone bust.

This is because your bank is requesting the money back from the company's bank - not the company itself.

Chargeback is also useful if there is an error - such as being charged multiple times or after cancelling a subscription - or if someone fraudulently bought the item with your money.

The retailer will be given the opportunity to dispute your claim, but if you're unsuccessful, you can appeal to the Financial Ombudsman.

What cards are covered?

Debit: Visa debit, Visa Electron, Maestro and Mastercard

Prepaid: Visa and Mastercard

Credit cards: Visa Credit, Mastercard and American Express

How does it work?

Claims can be made via email, online form or written letter, but a good place to start is your bank's website, which may have a link for "disputed transactions" or "chargeback claims".

The claim should include the name of the retailer, the date of your purchase and how you paid, a detailed description of the goods, and expected delivery dates.

Describe what went wrong and, if this includes returning faulty goods, provide proof.

More evidence may be requested, including invoices, receipts, correspondence and the retailer's terms and conditions.

"You need to cite 'breach of contract' relating to your consumer rights," consumer champion Scott Dixon, AKA The Complaints Resolver, told Sky News.

"You need to push hard on chargebacks as they are often rejected on the first attempt.

"Your bank or credit card provider will reverse the payment and give the retailer an opportunity to present their case.

"Retailers don't like dealing with chargebacks as they are problematic and costly to resolve."

Under American Express rules, the retailer has 20 days to dispute the claim, while under Visa and MasterCard rules they have 45 days.

Must-read caveats

Time limit: You must request a chargeback within 120 days of the date you were due to receive the product. Future events, like plane tickets, are covered by this policy from the date they would be used.

Deposits: Because you are refunded what you paid by card, you won't get your money back if you just put down the deposit via plastic and paid the rest by a different method.

Credit cards: If your credit card purchase is worth more than £100, you are entitled to legal protection under Section 75, which will pay out the full cost of an item even if you only deposit a single penny.

Mastercard minimum: There's a £10 minimum spend. This does not apply to Visa or American Express.

PayPal: Chargeback cannot usually be used when paying via PayPal. But it is possible if you have an empty account and pay using your registered debit card because it is easier to prove the amount you paid corresponds with the price of the purchase, according to MoneySavingExpert.

Read other entries in our Basically series...

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says his fears over persistent inflation are easing - in comments that will be noted by anyone hoping for lower interest rates in the near future.

In the text of his speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, Mr Bailey said the "second round inflation effects appear to be smaller than we expected" and that "we are now seeing a revision down in our assessment of that intrinsic persistence, but this is not something we can take for granted".

The governor cautioned it was "too early to declare victory" over inflation, and given that indications from the Bank have been that rates will fall more slowly than they rose, his words have not led to a sudden expectation that the base rate will be cut again in September.

Instead, a November cut is seen as a more likely, but Mr Bailey's comments will give hope to those hoping for rates dipping below 4% next year. 

Inflation returned to target 2% in May, only to rise again to 2.2% in July. A further uptick is anticipated when energy bills go up later this year.

Interest rates are hiked to encourage saving over spending, and when this happens price rises tend to slow.

Five-year fixed mortgages are currently the most popular among remortgagers - with half of borrowers taking this option.

That's according to July figures from the LMSMonthly Remortgage Snapshot.

The second most popular deal is a two-year fixed rate, well ahead of three-year fixes (just 7% of people), 10-year (2%) and trackers (2%).

The snapshot contained other interesting data, including:

• 45% of people who remortgaged in July increased their loan size. The average amount was £20,243;
• 26% of people said the main reason they refinanced was to release equity from their homes;
• A far lower percentage, 19%, reduced their loan size, by an average of £15,561;
• 68% saw monthly payments rise, by an average of £367.03 a month;
• 11% saw no change, 21% saw payments reduced (by an average of £304.20.

Airline passengers who were mistakenly sold first-class tickets for up to 85% less than the intended price will have their bookings downgraded.

Qantas listed the flights from Australia to the US at less than $5,000 return - about $15,000 cheaper than usual.

Approximately 300 customers took advantage - but in a statement Qantas has now said this was "a case where the fare was actually too good to be true".

It blamed a coding error.

"As a gesture of good will, we're rebooking customers in business class at no additional cost," a Qantas spokesperson said. "Customers also have the option of a full refund."

After the revival of popular Cadbury's chocolate bar Top Deck earlier this year, we asked you which discontinued treat you would like to see brought back - and we got so many responses that we've decided to make a weekly feature of it called Bring It Back. 

Every Tuesday, we'll pick one from our comments box and look at why it was so beloved and, crucially, find out whether the companies in question might consider reintroducing them.

This week we are looking at what was once a mainstay at pub or corner shop shelves - Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard crisps.

The thick-cut crisps emerged in the 1980s and became known for their strong aroma and pepperiness.

But in 2020, KP Snacks, which also makes favourites such as McCoy's, Hula Hoops, Space Raiders and Nik Naks, announced the crisps would be discontinued due to "declining demand".

The company said that while the product had been cited as a fond favourite, "its popularity had regrettably not been shown in consumer demand".

Despite sales having slowed, it's been one of the most frequently lauded discontinued snacks in our comments section over the last month or so.

One of our readers, Steve Mac, said: "Got to bring back Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard! An amazing crisp and great flavour."

Karlos added: "They were an absolute favourite in my house when I was growing up. Nothing I've tried since has given me that eye watering hit that they did. I loved them."

Another reader, Mr S, commented: "Brannigans Road Beef and Mustard crisps were and still are the best I have ever had, there is not a crisp out there today that comes close in flavour."

The Money blog contacted KP Snacks to put our readers' calls to them - but their response might not fill Steve Mac and co with much hope.

A spokesperson said: "It's great to hear there's so much love for Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard and while there are no plans for a comeback, never say never!"

Given no comeback appears likely any time soon, we spoke to crisp experts and rival brands to see what alternatives are out there.

Adam Coghlan, editor of food magazine Vittles Restaurants, said he wanted to see the crisps back because they were the "best crisps - particularly in the pub".

"The brown paper bags were unmistakable, so too was the heat and strong pepperiness of the proper mustard - the perfect foil for the yeasty salty umami beef flavour. They were also thick-cut, in fact perfectly so, to enjoy (as a kid) with a coke and later, as an adult, with a beer," he said.

Mr Coghlan said his best alternatives were probably Golden Wonder Wuster Sauce, Real Handcooked Ham and Mustard, or a simple Smiths Bacon Fries or Scampi Fries.

Tash Jones, commercial director at Fairfields Farm crisps, told the Money team: "Since Brannigans' crisps were discontinued, crisp lovers might have been on the search for a good alternative to their legendary beef and mustard flavour. 

"Fortunately for bereft fans, beef flavoured flavours have exploded in popularity recently and there is more choice than ever before. We at Fairfields Farm, however, humbly submit our Roast Rib of Beef flavour crisps as a worthy contender for fans' affections. They have a deep, rich umami flavour and like Brannigans they are actually suitable for vegetarians."

On whether she would like to see Brannigans back, she added: "Our sales are soaring, so we have to be honest and say no thanks!"

Which currently discontinued chocolate bar, crisps, sweets - or any other food product - would you like to see brought back, and why? Let us know in the comment box at the top!

By Jimmy Rice, Money blog editor

Thanks for visiting Money, our live blog for consumer and personal finance news and tips, as we return following the bank holiday weekend. Here are five reasons to pop back over the coming days...

The 'hidden' protection when buying things using debit or credit card

Last Tuesday's Basically... feature outlined your Section 75 rights when using a credit card to buy items over £100. Today we'll be looking at a lesser-known protection offered by major card providers - and not limited to credit cards - called chargeback. 

'Best crisps ever'

This week's Bring It Back feature - published this morning - looks at whether Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard crisps will ever return to shelves. Scores of you suggested them as the discontinued snack you'd most like to see make a comeback, so we spoken to KP.

Cheap Eats

This week we'll be hearing from the chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Sportsman, who picks his favourite budget-friendly eats in Kent.

Everything to know about savings and mortgages

Every Thursday we hear from Savings Champion founder Anna Bowes, who offers some advice for making the most of your spare cash and reveals the best rates on the market right now. Then on Fridays we do similarly with mortgages, hearing from industry experts on what anyone seeking to borrow needs to know at the minute before rounding up the best rates with the help of the guys from Moneyfacts.

Big Issue sellers' stories

This week's Saturday long read focuses on a Big Issue seller named Andre Rostant - we hear his story and how selling the magazine works financially.

We've got lots of others tips and features planned for this week, so bookmark news.sky.com/money and check back from 7am each weekday - or 8am on Saturday for our weekend feature.

The Money blog is produced by the Sky News live team, with contributions from Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young, Ollie Cooper and Mark Wyatt, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. It is edited by Jimmy Rice.

By Mark Wyatt, Money blog reporter

The trainer market is now more diverse and competitive than ever before, and its biggest player has felt the pinch.

While new brands have been popping up and taking market share, Nike suffered its biggest single day drop in share price on record in late June.

A whopping $28bn (£21.6bn) was shaved off in market capitalisation overnight after the company's management reported an expected sale drop in early 2025.

But why has this happened?

Nike remains the largest sports retailer in the world and still has the biggest slice of market share. However, analysts say strategic decisions at boardroom level have contributed to a downturn in its fortunes - with consumer concerns and the emergence of new competition also in play.

Shift in strategy

John Donahoe became Nike's new CEO in January 2020 and was tasked with updating the company's online operation and bringing in more digital revenue.

Mr Donahoe arrived from one of the world's biggest ecommerce companies, eBay, and quickly began shifting Nike's focus towards its digital sales efforts and away from the high street.

Shortly after, the COVID pandemic hit, and the world's shoppers were forced online whether they liked it or not.

With people not going into offices to work, there was no need to buy smart, formal footwear. Comfortable, everyday shoe sales rose, and Nike's profits surged past projections.

Everything looked to be going well, so Mr Donahoe doubled down, accelerating the digital strategy and moving Nike out of hundreds of bricks-and-mortar stores. 

Soon, Nike had severed a third of its relationships with sales partners.

"The consumer today is digitally grounded and simply will not revert back," said Mr Donahoe on an earnings call in 2020.

Nike believed they were the ones best able to deliver their vision straight to consumers, and they didn't need retailers like FootLocker and JD Sports diluting that as middle men.

But as lockdowns ended across the world, people returned to stores and online sales slowed, and the decisions that had been made started to be questioned.

"I think they underestimated the cultural aspect of brick-and-mortar shopping as part of the social life of young consumers," Daniel Herval, who worked at Nike between 2017-20 on some of its biggest trainers including Air Max, Jordan and Air Force 1, told the Money blog.

"Nike thought people had shifted to online, and they'd left the brick-and-mortar experience behind. 

"But as soon as things started reopening, the social aspect of shopping, the community bonding aspect of shopping, returned, and Nike weren't really there."

Nike had started to divest by the time people returned to stores, but they had lost pace against other brands.

Competition and innovation

Nike's rivals weren't going to stand still while this was happening, and sure enough, retailers that had once had Nike shoes front and centre on their shelves looked for other brands to fill the space.

Newer brands like Asics, Deckers Outdoor's HOKA and Roger Federer-backed On emerged, taking a steadily growing portion of the market share.

And those companies quickly began to show off new ideas, notably in a corner of the market that Nike has long dominated - performance running.

HOKA's thick foam soles are a huge draw for runners, while On's well-marketed (and now patented) cushioning system technology has proved popular for casuals and professionals alike.

Nike, it is perceived by some, has lagged behind in the sports lifestyle scene, too. Adidas's Samba and Gazelle lines, and New Balance's 990s, have grown in popularity - even then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak owned a pair of Sambas...

So where has Nike's innovation been during this time? 

The air cushioning inside the soles of trainers - known as the Air Max bubble - debuted all the way back in 1978.

The flyknit material, which was released back in 2012, Mr Herval says, is the last major performance innovation that managed to trickle into the lifestyle brand in a major commercial way.

A survey of US teenagers by Piper Sandler earlier this year backed up the idea that while Nike remains the favourite, it has been losing "mindshare" to innovative brands like Hoka and On.

Nike appears to have acknowledged the problem, announcing a "multi-year innovation cycle" in April.

Two key complaints from the streets

To find out how consumers feel about Nike's shoes in 2024, there are few better places to go searching than The Basement.

Launched on Facebook over a decade ago, the online group of streetwear fanatics has just over 150,000 members from across the globe and is a go-to authority on all things street fashion, including trainers.

Need to check if the hoodie you just bought on eBay really is a vintage Ralph Lauren? Ask The Basement. Want to launch your own line of bespoke sunglasses but need advice starting a small fashion business? Ask The Basement.

Looking for consumers to tell you why fewer people are buying Nike trainers in 2024? You get the picture.

When we asked The Basement's members for their thoughts on Nike, there were two issues that came back with almost every response.

The first of those is the price point, which is now largely unaffordable for the exact demographic who historically have bought Nike's trainers in droves.

Have a look on Nike's website, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a new-release trainer costing less than £120. Most of the "hotly anticipated" shoes sit between the £150-£200 mark.

For the classic products, like the Air Max 95, a new pair starts at £174.99. Some traditionally cheaper options, like the Air Jordan 1s, are now around £130 on retailers including JD Sports, Size? and ASOS.

"£200 isn't an accessible price point," said one member of The Basement. "People have got older and smarter."

"I worked for a footwear retailer for four years," said another. "Nike's biggest killer was easily their price hikes.

"When I started collecting Jordan they were £105, within 10 years the same model is £190 - you can't justify that!"

The testimonies go on and on. As do those raising consumers' second-biggest gripe with Nike trainers - quality control.

Anecdotal reports of botched products are not hard to find, with many buyers frustrated that, after spending a lot of money on new shoes, they've received trainers covered in glue stains, with mismatched logos, missing patterns, misshaped heels and more among the complaints.

Quality control is a hands-on process that involves both manual and automated procedures, and as such it is not foolproof.

But the sheer number of reports of errors indicates this is not just a few faulty Air Forces.

There are tens of millions of hits on TikTok for the term "Nike quality control" and - spoiler alert - most videos aren't of people sharing how delighted they are with their new trainer purchases.

"Why would I spend £200 on a pair of Nike trainers that will probably arrive covered in glue stains and break after a month, when I could get a perfect pair of New Balance for £150?" asks a member of The Basement.

"Quality has taken a dive. Anyone who has ever worked for somewhere stocking Nike knows that glue smell off the pallet far too well," says another.

Bouncing back via Paris

But it's not all doom and gloom for Nike. There was a golden marketing ace up its sleeve this summer - Paris 2024.

The world's biggest brands see the Olympics as an opportunity to get in front of a global audience, and Nike is no different. Good publicity and brand image can instil customer confidence and improve share price - getting things right in Paris was key.

The sportswear giant announced prior to the Games that it would be spending more on it than it had for any previous edition.

"This will be the most investment and the biggest moment for Nike in years," Heidi O'Neill, Nike's president of consumer, product and brand, told Reuters in April.

Nike secured itself as an official sponsor for Team USA, meaning so long as the athletes performed as expected, the swoosh would be on top of the podium.

And so it was. Simone Biles won three golds in gymnastics, Noah Lyles took 100m glory and swimmer Katie Ledecky featured on the podium four times.

Lifetime Nike endorser LeBron James laced up some very on-the-nose metallic gold style trainers from his own custom LeBron 22 signature line on his way to a gold medal.

And it's not just while competing that the Nike tick gets its moment. Every US athlete received a special package containing 50 items of apparel, footwear and accessories, including "interview wear" and "village wear" to keep branding visible at every moment possible in Paris.

That was important, because Paris 2024 broke records for its worldwide audience. In the UK, BBC Sport's coverage of the games was streamed 218 million times, more than double the number recorded in Tokyo.

Across the pond, NBCUniversal's multi-platform coverage drew in record advertising money and averaged 30.6 million daily viewers. 

What did that all mean for Nike? In the opening week of the Olympics, from 26 July to 1 August, it managed to increase visits to its websites, while its direct rival Adidas saw its visits decline compared with the week prior.

Importantly, data from Similarweb also showed that Nike was able to convert a lot of visits to its website into sales. And it did that more than its rivals.

"(Nike is) still a struggling brand overall," said Drew Haines, the merchandising director at retailer StockX.

"But the Olympics, it definitely drives interest in these things. Nike is the one that's really winning there."

Where now?

The marketing boost provided by the Olympics won't suddenly end all Nike's perceived and real problems, but it's clearly a step in the right direction.

Even now, the share price has slowly started to recover, gaining around 14% in the last month following recent investment from US billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

"Nike's ability to just go beyond the pure product conversation, the ability to connect to consumers, is second to none," says Mr Herval.

"It's going to take a couple of years. But I truly, firmly believe that the brand is still able to rebound."

Nike did not respond to a request to participate in this article.