Category Archives: Business

Legal action launched against ‘rip-off’ secret commissions on UK firms’ energy bills

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Thousands of small businesses sue for return of brokers’ fees that often go undisclosed in billing

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Businesses across the UK have been forced to pay an extra 10% on average for their gas and electricity because suppliers routinely add third-party broker commissions to their bills, according to a leading litigation law firm.

Thousands of small businesses have joined a group legal action, led by the law firm Harcus Parker, to claw back up to £2bn in undisclosed broker fees added to their energy bills.

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Boeing has ‘much to prove’ following cabin panel blowout, CEO says

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Aircraft maker suspends financial guidance as it grapples with ‘serious challenge’ of winning back trust amid 737 Max 9 crisis

Boeing faces a “serious challenge” to win back the confidence of regulators and airlines, its CEO has said, as the aircraft maker faces intense scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.

Dave Calhoun acknowledged the business has “much to prove” since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing earlier this month.

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Australia’s inflation rate retreats to two-year low fanning hopes next RBA move will be a rate cut

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CPI came in at 4.1% in the December quarter, easing from the September quarter pace of 5.4%

Australia’s inflation retreated to a two-year low in the December quarter as food and fuel prices increased at a slower pace, fanning hopes the next move by the Reserve Bank will be an interest rate cut.

The consumer price index came in at 4.1% in the final three months of 2023 compared with a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had expected CPI to come in at 4.3%, easing from the September quarter pace of 5.4%.

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New Brexit food checks likely to mean less choice, warn delis

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Guild of Fine Food fears European suppliers of specialist produce will stop supplying UK because of red tape

Thousands of delicatessens and other specialist food shops have said new border rules that come in from Wednesday are likely to mean reduced choice of products for consumers.

The Guild of Fine Food (GFF), which represents 12,000 businesses, has raised fears that European suppliers of specialist foods such as cheeses and meats will stop supplying the UK as a result of the additional red tape for imported goods.

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Saudi Arabia surprises oil markets by ditching plan to increase production

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Blow to Joe Biden, who had hoped to benefit from lower pump prices in an election year

Saudi Arabia has cast doubt on the future of the global oil market after abandoning plans to grow its crude production capacity by 1m barrels a day.

The world’s biggest exporter signalled a big change in policy by ordering the state oil company, Saudi Aramco, to drop plans to expand its maximum production capacity to 13m barrels a day by 2027.

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Eurozone narrowly avoids recession as German economy shrinks

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Single currency zone’s stagnating GDP figure will add to pressure for ECB interest rate cut

The 20-nation eurozone has narrowly avoided recession after the region’s economy flatlined at the end of 2023, official figures show.

Zero growth in the single currency zone in the final quarter of last year followed a 0.1% economic contraction in the third quarter meaning that recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction – was just averted. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the eurozone’s economy to shrink by 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

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HSBC fined £57m over ‘serious’ deposit protection failings

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Regulator says bank failed to properly implement Financial Services Compensation Scheme

HSBC has been fined £57m by the Bank of England’s financial stability arm for failing to protect customer deposits in the event of a banking collapse.

It is the second-highest fine imposed by the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and reflects the seriousness of the failings, the watchdog said. The highest fine was £87m, imposed on Credit Suisse last July.

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‘Unacceptable greenwashing’: Scottish farmed salmon should not be labelled organic, say charities

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Open letter calls for Soil Association certification to be removed from industry, amid concerns of negative environmental impact

The British body that certifies food in the UK as organic has been accused of misleading consumers over its labelling of Scottish farmed salmon.

Thirty charities, conservation and community organisations, including WildFish, the Pesticide Action Network and Blue Marine Foundation, say the negative environmental impacts of the industry in Scotland “run completely counter” to the principles of the Soil Association’s promotion of healthy, humane and sustainable food.

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Brexit border rules could cut shelf life of fresh food from EU by a fifth, say experts

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Requirement for importers to give 24 hours’ notice of deliveries described as ‘unfeasible’ by suppliers

New Brexit border rules could cut the shelf life of fresh food from mainland Europe by a fifth and leave some deliveries from the EU unsaleable, major food bodies have warned.

The SPS Certification Working group, which represents 30 trade bodies covering £100bn of the UK’s food supply, has said new rules requiring importers to notify authorities a day before they arrive in the UK was “unfeasible” and could mean that some European businesses decide to stop supplying the UK.

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Teesworks review criticises freeport project’s secrecy and value for money

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Government-backed scheme overseen by Tory mayor cleared of cronyism and corruption, but transparency found wanting

Taxpayers are not being guaranteed value for money or transparency at a regeneration project overseen by the Conservative Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, according to a review that cleared it of cronyism and corruption.

An independent review of Teesworks, one of the highest-profile, government-backed regeneration schemes in Britain, found the project was excessively secretive and could not ensure public money was being well spent.

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Australian-linked mining companies helping to prop up Myanmar military junta, report alleges

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Activist group Justice for Myanmar alleges companies have continued operations in war-torn nation since the coup almost three years ago

Australian-linked mining companies are continuing to operate in Myanmar, helping to support the military junta and the junta-dominated mining sector, a new report alleges.

The activist group Justice for Myanmar released a report Tuesday detailing the activities of mining companies either linked to Australia or backed by Australian investors, which it alleges have continued their operations in the war-torn nation since the coup almost three years ago.

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Australian air fares halved when three carriers rather than one fly route, data reveals

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Assistant competition minister Andrew Leigh says it is often cheaper to fly from Darwin to Singapore than to Sydney as Labor targets monopolies

Ticket prices are halved when three airlines fly a route compared with a monopoly situation and fares fall further as more rivals are added, according to new findings designed to inform Australia’s competition and merger laws.

The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, will tell a Melbourne audience on Tuesday there are worrying signs that competition intensity has weakened over recent decades, with evidence of increased market concentration and profit markups in several industries.

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Evergrande collapse: Hong Kong court orders liquidation of China property giant

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Judge says ‘enough is enough’ after developer, which has $300bn in debt, fails to provide convincing restructuring plan

Embattled Chinese development company, Evergrande, has been ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court after an 18-month long hearing.

Evergrande, which holds the ignominious title of the world’s most indebted property developer with about $300bn in liabilities, failed to convince the court that it had a viable restructuring plan, after having been given seven extensions since court proceedings were first brought in June 2022. However it can still appeal.

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Victoria’s Robinsons Bookshop apologises after owner’s call for more ‘white kids’ on book covers

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Susanne Horman’s comments have been ‘taken out of context’ and ‘misrepresented’, business says

Victoria’s oldest independent bookshop has apologised after its owner called for more picture books with “just white kids on the cover” and claimed that the chain would stop stocking “woke agenda” content that divided people.

Susanne Horman, the owner of Robinsons Bookshop chain, posted a series of tweets in December where she called for an “substantial shift” in Australian publishing, arguing the focus should be in line with public opinion, requests for books and “for what is good”.

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Welsh semiconductor factory ‘left in limbo’ as Westminster fails to approve US takeover

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Labour criticises government ‘dithering’, after Vishay deal last autumn to buy chip maker Newport Wafer Fab stalls, putting jobs at risk

Labour has criticised “dither and delay” from the government over a decision on a proposed takeover of the UK’s largest semiconductor facility by a US company, warning that it could lead to further job cuts at the Welsh factory.

The fate of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales has been unclear for nearly two years since the UK government first indicated it had concerns over a 2021 takeover by the Chinese-owned Nexperia firm. The national security concerns related to the ownership of semiconductor technology by a company with links to China.

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‘Out of control’: Congresswoman sounds alarm over ‘unchecked’ gambling boom

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Andrea Salinas warns of ‘upstream problem’ in US mental health crisis and proposes tax revenue be used for treatment

America’s “unchecked” gambling boom risks exacerbating a nationwide mental health crisis, according to a congresswoman pushing for federal government support. The industry is pushing back hard.

Operators must be held “accountable” for rising addiction rates, Andrea Salinas told the Guardian, after lawmakers proposed legislation that – if approved – would provide tens of millions of dollars in funding to help those affected.

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Britons switching to smaller, higher-quality alcoholic drinks, experts say

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Increasing preference said to be driven by desire to be healthier and is fuelling trend for 100ml taster bottles

As the adage goes: good things come in small packages. According to alcohol industry experts British consumers are increasingly choosing to enjoy their beverages in smaller portions, but of higher quality – fuelling a trend for 100ml taster bottles.

The shift comes from a desire to be healthier, experts say, with drinking among UK teenagers and young people falling. In June 2023, Tesco sold 25% more low- and non-alcoholic beer than in dry January.

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Savings passbooks popular as Britain turns to cash amid cost of living crisis

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While some banks and building societies scrap system, others report increase in usage by customers

While some banks are scrapping passbook savings accounts amid suggestions they are past their sell-by date, other providers have reported an increase in their usage as people turn to cash to help them manage the cost of living.

Newcastle building society said that in 2023 it issued about three times as many passbooks as it did in 2021, and that it is getting new customers on the back of decisions by rivals to axe them.

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Telegraph takeover decision put back by fresh inquiry into Barclay family’s UAE-backed deal

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Regulators’ reports on public interest risk now due on 11 March after late change in consortium’s structure prompts further review

A second investigation has been launched into the Barclay family’s deal to transfer control of the Telegraph newspaper group, pushing the deadline for regulators’ reports on the public interest threat it poses by more than six weeks.

The UK government moved swiftly to order the second watchdog inquiry after the Barclays’ UAE-backed consortium partner revealed a last-minute corporate structure change.

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Vodafone should spin off sensitive work after UAE deal, say UK officials

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National security concerns focus on arm of Vodafone that provides sensitive tech to government departments and agencies

Vodafone should be forced to spin off its most sensitive activities in order to quash national security concerns raised by a United Arab Emirates-backed telecoms group swooping on its shares, government officials have told the Guardian.

The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, announced on Wednesday that the deal involving Emirates Telecommunications Group building a 14.6% stake in Vodafone presented a “national security risk” to the UK due to Vodafone’s role “as a strategic supplier of services” to government departments, including those “which are in support of national security”.

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