Latest news with #debtrepayment
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
I'm in £21k of debt but Mounjaro's an essential buy each month, I've lost 5st without giving up Chinese takeaways
A MUM has revealed she has no regrets about spending £1,200 on confidence-boosting Mounjaro - despite being in £21,000 of debt. Nikki Johnstone, from Falkirk, started using the weight loss jabs last August when she tipped the scales at 18st 7lb. 5 5 5 The mortgage advisor, 36, had been unhappy with her weight for a long time, especially since having kids. But leaving a bad relationship, working on a debt repayment plan, improving her mental health and looking after her children - now aged three and five - had always taken priority over weight loss. Now, after taking a chance on Mounjaro, she has lost 5st and currently weighs 13st 6lb. Here, Nikki exclusively opens up to Fabulous on her Mounjaro journey. The single mum said: "I'd been considering it for some time but was worried about all the horror stories you read and wondered if it was actually a scam or was this genuinely a wonder drug? "I watched loads of videos on TikTok of others taking it and describing the journey and saw a discount code for cheap so decided to get on board. "I've got about 3.5st to get to my ideal goal weight of around 10st which I hope to get to by the end of the year." Nikki is currently on a journey to pay off £21,000 of debt but insists she would "happily spend the money again and again" on weight loss jabs. To date, the hard-working mum has forked out £1,238.99 on Mounjaro pens, which works out at an average of £138 per pen. And she always shops around for the best prices, often swapping pharmacies to keep the cost down. I've lost 3 stone in 8 months on fat jabs - there's a common error new starters are making & it means nasty side effects She said: "I like to say there is no right or wrong with money. You have to prioritise what is important to you, depending on what speaks to your soul. "My personal transformation journey is super important to me, and without health, you have nothing else. "I left my relationship in February and moved into my own little house with my children - I want to be healthy for me but I especially want to be healthy for them." Nikki had previously lost 4st on WeightWatchers but quickly piled it all back on, and tried Slimming World five times "with no success". But over the past nine months she's seen the weight consistently drop off thanks to "easy" Mounjaro, regarded by some as the King Kong of weight loss jabs. 5 5 About half a million Brits use weight loss drugs - and the number is expected to double in the next year. Mounjaro works by suppressing your appetite, making people feel fuller for longer. The injections are licensed for patients with type 2 diabetes and to assist those who are clinically obese (with a Body Mass Index of 30 or over). One jab is administered each week but the duration is dependent on someone's weight. While many typically associate headaches and constipation with Mounjaro, Nikki has been lucky enought to suffer from zero side effects. Everything you need to know about fat jabs Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases. Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK. Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market. Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year. How do they work? The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight. They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists. They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high. Can I get them? NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics. Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure. GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss. Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk. Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health. Are there any risks? Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild. Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea. Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at said: 'One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.' Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia. Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health. Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines. She said: "Mounjaro is just simple. It's easy. You don't really need to think about it. You stop thinking about food, you are in calorie deficit anyway because you don't eat as much naturally. "My journey has been slow and steady, not rapid weight loss at all, but fairly consistent. When I started, I never ever thought I'd get to five stone loss, it's a momentous milestone." Her slimmer figure has now given her the confidence boost to put her face out there, launching a TikTok page (@mumwithfunds) with finance, budgeting and Mounjaro tips for others. And she's not even had to change her eating habits either, still munching on takeaways every week. She said: "I actually have a second job in a Chinese takeaway on the weekends, so since starting this journey I've always had two Chinese takeouts per week at least and have still consistently lost weight. "I appreciate it might be why my weight loss is slower than others, I haven't tracked a single calorie. However, of course, my portion sizes are significantly smaller nowadays." She continued: "The judgement will always be there - especially me eating Chinese while being on Mounjaro. "You get told it's cheating and in some ways, some days, it does feel like cheating. How can I lose 5 stone and still have takeaway... all the time!? "But at the end of the day, everyone is on their own journey, and losing five stone has done wonders for my mental health, my self image, my confidence - and I would do it again just like this if I could. "I've recommended Mounjaro to everyone I know." 'Potential to kill' But although Kenidee's weight loss has left many very impressed, users should note that Mounjaro can have fatal consequences. Sun GP Dr Zoe Williams acknowledged that Mounjaro, which could soon be rolled out on the NHS, can save the lives of people with 'life-threatening levels of obesity.' But despite this, the NHS said: 'Never take an anti-obesity medicine if it has not been prescribed to you. "These types of medicines may not be safe for you and can cause serious side effects.' The drugs can be prescribed by a practitioner - such as a doctor, nurse or a pharmacist-independent prescriber. But increasingly, many have been buying them through online pharmacies without sufficient checks. Recently, figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency revealed fat jabs had been linked to 82 deaths across the UK. As a result, the family of a man from Burton upon Trent, Staffs, who died after taking Mounjaro, are now calling for a probe into the jab's "potential to kill." What are the other side effects of weight loss jabs? Like any medication, weight loss jabs can have side effects. Common side effects of injections such as Ozempic include: Nausea: This is the most commonly reported side effect, especially when first starting the medication. It often decreases over time as your body adjusts. Vomiting: Can occur, often in conjunction with nausea. Diarrhea: Some people experience gastrointestinal upset. Constipation: Some individuals may also experience constipation. Stomach pain or discomfort: Some people may experience abdominal pain or discomfort. Reduced appetite: This is often a desired effect for people using Ozempic for weight loss. Indigestion: Can cause a feeling of bloating or discomfort after eating. Serious side effects can also include: Pancreatitis: In rare cases, Ozempic may increase the risk of inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, which can cause severe stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. Kidney problems: There have been reports of kidney issues, including kidney failure, though this is uncommon. Thyroid tumors: There's a potential increased risk of thyroid cancer, although this risk is based on animal studies. It is not confirmed in humans, but people with a history of thyroid cancer should avoid Ozempic. Vision problems: Rapid changes in blood sugar levels may affect vision, and some people have reported blurry vision when taking Ozempic. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): Especially if used with other medications like sulfonylureas or insulin.
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
‘Tidal wave': How 75 nations face Chinese debt crisis in 2025
Many of the world's poorest countries are due to make record debt repayments to China in 2025 on loans extended a decade ago, at the peak of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a report by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute think tank has found. Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a state-backed infrastructure investment programme launched in 2013, Beijing lent billions of dollars to build ports, highways and railroads to connect Asia, Africa and the Americas. But new lending is drying up. In 2025, debt repayments owed to China by developing countries will amount to $35bn. Of that, $22bn is set to be paid by 75 of the world's poorest countries, putting health and education spending at risk, Lowy concluded. 'For the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,' said Riley Duke, the report's author. 'Developing countries are grappling with a tidal wave of debt repayments and interest costs to China,' Duke said. China's BRI, the biggest multilateral development programme ever undertaken by a single country, is one of President Xi Jinping's hallmark foreign policy initiatives. It focuses primarily on developing country infrastructure projects like power plants, roads and ports, which struggle to receive financial backing from Western financial institutions. The BRI has turned China into the largest global supplier of bilateral loans, peaking at about $50bn in 2016 – more than all Western creditors combined. According to the Lowy report, however, paying off these debts is now jeopardising public spending. 'Pressure from Chinese state lending, along with surging repayments to a range of international private creditors, is putting enormous financial strain on developing economies.' High debt servicing costs can suffocate spending on public services like education and healthcare, and limit their ability to respond to economic and climate shocks. The 46 least developed countries (LDCs) spent a significant share – about 20 percent – of their tax revenues on external public debt in 2023. Lowy's report implies this will increase even more this year. For context, Germany used 8.4 percent of its budget to repay debt in 2023. Lowy also raised questions about whether China will use these debts for 'geopolitical leverage' in the Global South, especially with Washington slashing foreign aid under President Donald Trump. 'As Beijing shifts into the role of debt collector, Western governments remain internally focused, with aid declining and multilateral support waning,' the report said. While Chinese lending is also beginning to slow down across the developing world, the report said there were two areas that seemed to be bucking the trend. The first was in nations such as Honduras, Burkina Faso and Solomon Islands, which received massive new loans after switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. The other was in countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, where China has signed new loan deals to secure critical minerals and metals for electric batteries. Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was 'not aware of the specifics' of the report but that 'China's investment and financing cooperation with developing countries abides by international conventions'. Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said 'a small number of countries' sought to blame Beijing for miring developing nations in debt but that 'falsehoods cannot cover up the truth'. For years, the BRI has been criticised by Western commentators as a way for Beijing to entrap countries with unserviceable debt. An often-cited example is the Hambantota port – located along vital east-west international shipping routes – in southern Sri Lanka. Unable to repay a $1.4bn loan for the port's construction, Colombo was forced to lease the facility to a Chinese firm for 99 years in 2017. China's government has denied accusations it deliberately creates debt traps, and recipient nations have also pushed back, saying China was often a more reliable partner than the West and offered crucial loans when others refused. Still, China publishes little data on its BRI scheme, and the Lowy Institute said its estimates, based on World Bank data, may underestimate the full scale of China's lending. In 2021, AidData – a US-based international development research lab – estimated that China was owed a 'hidden debt' of about $385bn. Challenging the 'debt-trap' narrative, the Rhodium consulting group looked at 38 Chinese debt renegotiations with 24 developing countries in 2019 and concluded that Beijing's leverage was limited, with many of the renegotiations resolved in favour of the borrower. According to Rhodium, developing countries had restructured roughly $50bn of Chinese loans in the decade before its 2019 study was published, with loan extensions, cheaper financing and debt forgiveness the most frequent outcomes. Elsewhere, a 2020 study by the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University found that, between 2000 and 2019, China cancelled $3.4bn of debt in Africa and a further $15bn was refinanced. No assets were seized. Meanwhile, many developing countries remain in hock to Western institutions. In 2022, the Debt Justice Group estimated that African governments owed three times more to private financial groups than to China, charging double the interest in the process. 'Developing country debt to China is less than what is owed to both private bondholders and multilateral development banks (MDBs),' says Kevin Gallagher, director of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. 'So, Lowy's focus on China lacks context. The truth is, even if you remove China from the creditor picture, lots of poor countries would still be in debt distress,' Gallagher told Al Jazeera. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation prompted the United States Federal Reserve, as well as other leading central banks, to hike interest rates. Attracted to higher yields in the US, investors withdrew their funds from developing country financial assets, raising yield costs and depreciating currencies. Debt repayment costs soared. Global interest rates have since come down slightly. But according to the UN, developing country borrowing costs are, on average, two to four times higher than in the US and six to 12 times higher than in Germany. 'A crucial aspect about Chinese lending,' said Gallagher, 'is that it tends to be long-term and growth enhancing. That's precisely why a lot of it is focused on infrastructure investment. Western lenders tend to get in and out faster and charge higher rates.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Peterborough City Council sells £50m worth of assets to pay debts
A football stadium, shopping centre and farmland were among a council's most lucrative sales as it tried to repay its City Council made £50m from asset sales over the past decade, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) authority has more than £500m of debt, which it said was the result of funding new roads, schools and regeneration sold Weston Homes Stadium back to Peterborough United in 2021 and sold land at the Hereward Cross Shopping Centre in 2023. The stadium and surrounding land was bought by the authority for £8.4m in 2010. The council sold it back to Posh for just over £ club said it was given a £1.25m discount in recognition of its "economic and social benefit to the city" and £2.8m investment into the Allia Business Centre which formed part of the leasehold at Hereward Cross, which housed Poundland and the Sir Henry Royce pub, was sold for a "mutually acceptable price", the council said. The council's most recent documents said it faced a £23m budget gap for said asset disposals cannot be used to fund day-to-day services and were instead used to "repay its debt balances, therefore reducing the cost of borrowing (interest)".It said the cost of servicing external borrowing was about £38m per to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the other assets which fetched the best prices were: Newborough Rural EstateAvenue Farm in NewboroughTurves Farm in Newborough Land at NorthminsterEardley Grange Farm and Hill FarmLand at Bishops RoadFletton Mills (lots seven and eight) at Fletton QuaysWhitworth Mill The council's budget document said its "debt levels compare high to other unitary authorities, whilst at the same time our reserves levels compare low".It said it could be left with as little as £5m at the end of 2024/25 in its general reserve fund and just more than £14m overall in its savings. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Zimbabwe Sees $2.6 Billion Bridge Finance in Place by Early 2026
By and Kamailoudini Tagba Save Zimbabwe expects the $2.6 billion bridge finance — needed to repay debt owed to international financial institutions and regain access to capital markets — to be in place by the first quarter of next year, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. Ncube shared details of the roadmap to revamp the southern African nation's debt at an event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital, on Monday, on the sidelines of the African Development Bank's annual meetings.
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China shifts from developing world's banker to debt collector, says Lowy Institute
SYDNEY, May 26 (Reuters) - The world's poorest countries are due to make record debt repayments to China in 2025 on loans extended a decade earlier at the peak of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a report by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute think tank said on Monday. Under the initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, Beijing lent billions of dollars to build infrastructure to connect Asia, Europe and Africa, as it also sought to build trade and influence. Of $35 billion in debt repayments due to be made to China by developing countries in 2025, $22 billion is set to be paid by 75 of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries, putting at risk health and education spending, the report said. "For the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world," said Riley Duke, the report's author. In 54 developing countries, debt payments to China will exceed the combined payments owed to the Paris Club of Western bilateral lenders, the report said. "As Beijing shifts into the role of debt collector, Western governments remain internally focused, with aid declining and multilateral support waning," the report said, warning of the risk of development setbacks and instability.
