Category Archives: Business

Act now on energy bills subsidy or see fuel poverty surge, says Martin Lewis

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Jeremy Hunt urged to reconsider raising state-subsidised energy rate from April as market prices make delay affordable

Jeremy Hunt must act now to reverse plans to raise energy bills from April, MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis has warned, saying the change cannot wait until the spring budget next month.

In a letter to the chancellor seen by the Guardian, Lewis warned more than 1.7m more households could be plunged into fuel poverty if he does not urgently commit to freezing energy prices.

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Greens and crossbench join Coalition to hand Labor first major defeat in parliament

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Senate blocks attempt to water down super funds’ transparency rules

The Greens and Senate crossbench have teamed up with the Coalition to hand the Albanese a major parliamentary defeat, disallowing its regulations watering down superannuation funds’ transparency.

The Greens joined the Senate revolt on Thursday, after warning earlier in the week it intended to help defeat Labor because the government backflipped on the unrelated issue of million-dollar fines for bankers.

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Greenpeace threatens legal action over UK failure to meet fuel poverty targets

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Government plans to upgrade energy efficiency of homes will help only 5.8% of fuel poor households by 2030, campaign group claims

Greenpeace is threatening to take legal action against the government as it emerged a target to lift millions of struggling households out of fuel poverty is likely to be missed.

Government plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes will help fewer than 6% of fuel poor households by 2030, according to the environmental campaign group.

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Disney announces 7,000 layoffs while teasing Toy Story and Frozen sequels

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Cuts represent an estimated 3.6% of Disney’s global workforce in effort to save $5.5bn in costs and follow major job losses at other top US companies

Disney has announced a sweeping corporate restructuring that will result in 7,000 people losing their jobs as part of an effort to achieve US$5.5bn (£4.5bn, A$7.9bn) in cost savings, at the same time as revealing plans for sequels to Toy Story and Frozen.

The layoffs represent an estimated 3.6% of Disney’s global workforce and come after major job cuts at other US giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Ford and Meta.

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Britain’s biggest gas supplier accused of ‘profiteering’ from energy crisis

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Climate campaigners hit out at Norwegian state-owned Equinor’s record £62bn profits as household bills rise

Britain’s biggest gas supplier, the Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor, has been accused of “profiteering” from the energy crisis and higher household bills after posting record annual earnings of £62bn.

The oil and gas producer said on Wednesday that adjusted profits hit $15.1bn (£12.5bn) in the final three months of last year, bringing total annual profits to $74.9bn, the highest in its 51-year history.

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FTSE 100 hits fresh all-time high as inflation and recession fears ease

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Index rises to 7934.30, pushing it above previous record set on 3 February

The UK’s blue-chip shares index has hit a fresh all-time high, only days after a previous record was set last Friday.

The FTSE 100 index rose by almost 1% on Wednesday morning to hit 7934.30 points, surpassing the former high of 7,906.58 points set on 3 February.

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Rishi Sunak reshuffle: ‘red wall’ MP Lee Anderson named deputy Tory chair – live updates

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Controversial MP appointed as Greg Hands’ deputy; Michelle Donelan becomes minister for science, innovation and technology

This is from TalkTV’s Kate McCann.

“Next hour or so …” We’ll see. Reshuffles often take longer than expected, because all it takes is one minister to say no, or ask for time to think, and then the whole process gets clogged up. There is already some evidence that this one is not going to be quite as quick as originally expected. (See 8.30am.)

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Crisis at Adani Group intensifies as Indian activists stage protests

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Opposition groups push Modi to investigate allegations by US short-seller as firm suffers market rout

The crisis engulfing the Adani Group has intensified as hundreds of members of India’s opposition parties took to the streets to press for an investigation into allegations by a US short-seller against India’s second-biggest business group which triggered its market rout.

The Adani Group said on Monday that its major investors, known in India as “promoters”, had pledged to prepay $1.1bn (£916m) in share-backed loans due for repayment by September 2024. The repayments include shares in Adani’s ports business, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission.

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Australian startup Recharge wins bid for collapsed UK battery company Britishvolt

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Recharge, which is also planning a factory in Victoria, revives goal to build £3.8bn ‘gigafactory’ in north England

An emerging Australian company yet to construct a major project will be responsible for delivering on UK hopes to electrify its automotive industry after outbidding rivals to take over collapsed battery maker Britishvolt.

In a whirlwind fortnight, Recharge Industries put together an aggressive package that also revives plans to build a £3.8bn (A$6.7bn) “gigafactory” in the north of England to supply the next generation of UK-built electric vehicles, free from Chinese materials.

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Billionaire investor Křetínský and trader Vitol eye fortune in British power plant subsidies

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Exclusive: Looming auction to earmark £1.5bn to put power generators on standby and keep the lights on

The billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Křetínský and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.

National Grid’s electricity system operator is preparing to announce successful bidders in a “capacity market” auction this month for 2026.

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Haiti garment workers share $1m payout after factory closure a year ago

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More than 1,100 workers who were left destitute to be compensated by owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein

More than 1,100 garment workers in Haiti are sharing $1m (£830,000) in compensation from the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein after being left destitute by the closure of a factory.

PVH, which was one of several brand owners sourcing from the Vald’or factory in the Caribbean country, agreed to pay the sum to cover missed severance pay, pension contributions directly to workers and the government pension fund after involvement by the Worker Rights Consortium lobby group.

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Stop UK mobile and broadband firms ‘lining their pockets’, urge consumer experts

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Companies facing backlash amid warning of mid-contract price rises of up to 17% during cost of living crisis

Britain’s telecoms regulator is being urged to intervene over concerns that mobile and broadband operators are “lining their pockets” with £2.2bn of above-inflation price rises during the cost of living crisis.

While ministers have urged employees to show pay restraint, the mobile phone and broadband firms are facing a consumer backlash as they announce record price increases.

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Refuse firm Lord of the Bins ordered to change its name by Tolkien franchise

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Two-man business contacted by lawyers of Middle-earth Enterprises, which owns rights to Lord of the Rings

A refuse firm in Brighton called Lord of the Bins has been ordered by lawyers to change its name after being accused of breaching trademark laws.

The two-man waste collection business was contacted by Middle-earth Enterprises, which owns the worldwide rights to The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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Sydney renter hit by 35% hike as housing crisis sparks calls to cap increases

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Tenants’ Union says some form of rent control is needed to alleviate pressure during a ‘nasty’ time in the market

Millie Bannister was already anxious about how much the rental market had skyrocketed in Sydney when she received a letter from her landlord saying they wanted to increase her rent by 35%.

“Last time, it only increased by $60, but now it’s going to increase by $270 a week, which is a 35% increase, and around $12,000 per year. For me and my roommate, two people in their mid-20s, it is not [easy] to wrangle with.”

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Scams: FCA blocks more than 10,000 ads from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

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Financial watchdog warns over rise of ‘fin-fluencers’ targeting younger people on social media

More than 10,000 misleading financial promotions and scams aimed at consumers via social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok have been identified and targeted by the financial watchdog during the past year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the use of social media marketing channels and the rise of so-called “fin-fluencers” – particularly directing investment products at younger age groups – exploded last year, resulting in a record number of takedown notices and alerts.

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World’s biggest investment fund warns directors to tackle climate crisis or face sack

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Norway’s sovereign wealth titan threatens to vote against boards on firms it holds investments with over lax climate and social targets

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s single largest investor, has warned company directors it will vote against their re-election to the board if they don’t up their game on tackling the climate crisis, human rights abuses and boardroom diversity.

Carine Smith Ihenacho, chief governance and compliance officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages more than 13tn Norwegian kroner (£1tn) on behalf of the Norwegian people, said the fund was preparing to vote against the re-election of at least 80 company boards for failing to set or hit environmental or social targets.

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Coles and Woolworths ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of recycled soft plastic in landfill

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NSW environment officials alert Fire and Rescue over concerns plastic is being stored dangerously following suspension of the REDcycle scheme

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have been ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of soft plastic – currently being stored at warehouses across New South Wales – into landfill.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority is concerned that huge amounts of soft plastic are being dangerously stored at 15 locations due to the suspension of botched recycling initiative REDcycle.

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Apple posts first revenue drop in four years

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Facebook parent company Meta bucks trend with better earnings than expected, as Apple sees first profit miss in seven years

The A-Team of big tech – Apple, Amazon and Alphabet – all delivered disappointing results on Thursday a day after Facebook owner Meta bucked the gloomy trend in technology, delivering better-than-expected results.

Apple shares slid more than 4% on Thursday after the company posted a disappointing first-quarter earnings report, including rare misses on revenue, profit and sales.

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Labour renews call for ‘proper’ windfall tax as Shell declares record £32.2bn profit – UK politics live

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As it happened: Prime minister speaks in interview on TalkTV to mark his 100th day in office

On the subject of Rishi Sunak reaching his 100th day in office, my colleague Jessica Elgot has a great assessment of how it’s going. Here is an extract.

After Liz Truss left office, polls suggested that voters wanted to keep an open mind about Sunak and rated him significantly higher than his party.

That is now beginning to turn. According to senior Labour figures, their most recent focus groups, with swing voters in Southampton, Dewsbury and Bury last week, were described as being “utterly brutal for Sunak”, with participants engaging in “open mockery” of the prime minister. Even the most pessimistic members of Keir Starmer’s team say they have seen a decisive shift.

In the coming weeks, our new stop the boats bill will change the law to send a message loud and clear.

If you come here illegally, you will be detained and removed.

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Jo Johnson resigns as director of firm linked to Adani allegations

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Former UK PM’s brother quits board of Elara Capital days after it was accused of using funds to manipulate share prices

Jo Johnson, the younger brother of the former prime minister Boris Johnson, has resigned as a director of a London-based investment bank allegedly linked to the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s crisis-ridden business empire.

Lord Johnson, a former Conservative minister who was given a peerage by his brother in 2020, resigned from the board of Elara Capital on Wednesday just days after Elara was accused of using Mauritius-based funds to manipulate the share price of Adani-linked companies and obscure their ultimate ownership.

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