Category Archives: Business

Australian coal industry says China market matters less than before, even if import ban ends

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Queensland Resources Council says industry would welcome restrictions easing but new long-term customers since found elsewhere in Asia

Australia would benefit from a lifting of China’s ban on its coal but any gains would likely be modest as miners have largely redirected supplies elsewhere, analysts said.

Shares of ASX-listed coalminers shot up on Wednesday after reports China was considering lifting its restrictions on coal imports from Australia from April. The ban was imposed in mid-2020 amid deteriorating bilateral relations that have since begun to improve.

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Dignity funeral services firm targeted in first UK takeover bid of the year

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Consortium spearheaded by Direct Line founder, Sir Peter Wood, have swooped for company

A consortium spearheaded by Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood has swooped for the funeral services company Dignity in the first UK takeover attempt of the year.

A subsidiary of Valderrama – a joint venture between Wood’s investment firm SPWOne and investment house Castelnau Group – has made a possible offer for the London-listed company, whose board recommended the deal to shareholders.

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Meta dealt blow by EU ruling that could result in data use ‘opt-in’

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Irish regulator fines Facebook owner €390m after EU rejects argument for use of data to drive personalised ads

The business model of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta empire has been dealt a blow following a ruling that its legal justification for targeting users with personalised ads broke EU data laws.

Campaigners said the move could force the Facebook and Instagram owner to ask users to “opt in” to having their data used for targeted ads.

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Coinbase reaches $100m settlement with New York regulators

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Agreement caps regulator’s investigation into cryptocurrency’s compliance with requirements to prevent money laundering

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has reached a $100m settlement with New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), the exchange and the regulator said in statements on Wednesday.

The settlement, which includes a $50m penalty, caps the regulator’s investigation into the firm’s compliance with requirements to prevent money laundering.

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Jeremy Hunt tells business leaders energy support is ‘unsustainably expensive’ – as it happened

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Business groups fear government will halve energy support after March, while commuters face more disruption on the railway

Households in the UK spent £1.1bn more on groceries in December than a year earlier, taking Christmas spending to a record £12.8bn, but got fewer items in their baskets as rampant inflation hit home.

Many stocked up on alcohol to enjoy while watching the men’s football World Cup, with sales of beer reaching the highest level for the year on the day of England’s quarter-final against France on 10 December.

This was a big drop. Mortgage approvals fell by 11,800 in November, the biggest fall since April 2020 and are at their lowest level since June 2020. This is not the news the housing market was hoping for in the first week of the new year.

Mortgage approvals are the key lead indicator for housing transactions, lower mortgage approvals today means fewer housing transactions tomorrow. A reduction in housing transactions will hurt all those businesses that are involved in the home-moving process, but the absence of forced sellers implies that house prices will not fall as far or as fast as housing transactions.

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Bike maker Brompton to source fewer parts from China and Taiwan

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UK company makes decision because of growing tensions between Beijing and the island

Brompton, the UK’s largest bicycle maker, has said it is planning to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts, amid fears of a growing military threat to the island from Beijing.

The company known for its folding bikes is among various western firms hoping to ensure they can source supplies from other countries, as concerns mount over rising geopolitical tensions, and even a possible future invasion of Taiwan by China, which considers the island to be a breakaway province.

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Disaster response charity enlisted to aid drivers stuck in UK queues for Channel

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Exclusive: military veterans’ group RE:ACT gets £200,000 yearly contract to ensure welfare of lorry drivers gridlocked in Kent

The government has signed a £200,000-a-year contract with a disaster response charity established by the former head of Britain’s armed forces to help drivers stuck in lorry queues in Kent.

The Department for Transport has enlisted RE:ACT, which uses military veterans to distribute humanitarian aid in war zones and following natural disasters, amid concerns over driver welfare.

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Only one in five UK train services to run on second consecutive day of strikes

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Passengers advised to travel only if necessary on Wednesday, although No 10 and Network Rail optimistic about reaching deal

• UK strike calendar: service stoppages in January

More disruption awaits commuters returning to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday, the second of five consecutive days of rail strikes.

Once again, much of Britain’s rail network will not be operating, with only about a fifth of trains expected to run, leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on some urban and intercity lines.

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Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study

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People with disabilities more likely to cut back on energy use and food, Resolution Foundation says

Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.

Research from the Resolution Foundation found people with disabilities had an available amount to spend that was about 44% lower than that of other working-age adults, exposing them hugely to the rising cost of essentials.

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RMT chief threatens rail strikes could continue beyond May – business live

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Mick Lynch says strikes could carry on into spring unless a reasonable offer is made to the RMT union; transport secretary denies blocking a deal

Huw Howells, head of manufacturing and industrials at Lloyds Bank corporate & institutional banking, said:

Manufacturers start 2023 on somewhat uncertain ground as December shows a fifth month of contraction.

There are silver linings in the supply chain, but unknowns remain for 2023, making forecasting difficult as manufacturers balance demand and supply.

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Sam Bankman-Fried expected to plead not guilty in FTX case

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Crypto exchange founder accused of using deposits to support hedge fund, buy real estate and make political contributions

Fallen crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges that he cheated investors and looted billions of dollars at his now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Bankman-Fried is accused of illegally using FTX customer deposits to support his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and make millions of dollars in political contributions, in what prosecutors have called a fraud of epic proportions.

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Why are wholesale gas prices falling and will it cut UK bills?

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Falls could lower cost of government subsidies and reduce risk of power cuts this winter

Economic forecasters could be forgiven for reading the outlook for 2023 through their fingers as strikes, cost of living pressures and a potential global recession paint a gloomy picture. But wholesale gas prices have offered a sliver of optimism, with a sharp fall in recent days. Here’s why they are tumbling – and what it means for consumers.

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Deal to stop UK train strikes ‘in touching distance’, says Network Rail

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Chief negotiator says better communications could sway union members, as first of five days of rail strikes begins

A deal to stop strikes is “in touching distance”, the chief negotiator for Network Rail has claimed, as drivers and staff began the first of five consecutive days of national rail strikes.

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, suggested the pay offer would not be improved but claimed that better communication of the deal would begin to win over union members.

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Almost 50 UK shops closed for good every day in 2022, says report

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Centre for Retail Research says 17,145 stores shut in total, up almost 50% on 2021, during pandemic

Last year was a “brutal” one for Britain’s retail sector, with more shops shutting down than at any other point in the last five years, and 2023 will be similarly challenging, according to industry groups.

About 47 shops on average pulled down their shutters for the final time every day last year, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). It found a total of 17,145 shops on high streets and in other locations closed for good over 2022. This is up almost 50% on the 11,449 shops closed in 2021, during the Covid pandemic.

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Record number of public electric vehicle chargers installed in UK in 2022

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More than 8,700 chargers installed, bringing total to 37,000 in a 30% increase

British companies installed a record number of public electric car chargers during 2022 as they raced to dominate a fast-growing and potentially lucrative market.

There were more than 8,700 public chargers installed in the UK during the year to 22 December, bringing the total available to more than 37,000, according to Zap-Map, a data company. That represented a 30% year-on-year increase, slower than the 38% annual growth in sales of battery electric cars during the year to November.

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Ex-Royal Mail boss hits out at board for ‘confrontational path’ on strikes

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Rico Back believes postal service’s talks with union have been poorly handled

The former Royal Mail boss Rico Back has launched a withering attack on the company’s board, saying its chief executive lacked experience and had mishandled talks with the Communication Workers Union that led to strikes and chaos in the run-up to Christmas.

Royal Mail has been locked for months in an increasingly bitter battle with the CWU over pay and changes to working conditions. Simon Thompson joined as chief executive two years ago from the online grocer Ocado.

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Gymshark founder who launched £1.25bn empire in parents’ garage awarded MBE

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Ben Francis, 30, among slew of businesspeople recognised for services to commerce and economy in new year honours list

The 30-year-old founder of the exercise clothing brand Gymshark has been awarded an MBE in the new year honours list, – just one of a slew of businesspeople to be recognised for their services to commerce and the economy.

Ben Francis, who began his £1.25bn empire sewing his own gym clothes in his parents’ garage in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, in 2012, is the youngest of those to be honoured for their services to business.

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Russian oligarchs lose $95bn in 2022 amid sanctions after Ukraine war

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Roman Abramovich’s fortune fell by 57% to $7.8bn, as the UK government froze more than £18bn of assets belonging to Russians

The richest Russian oligarchs have lost almost $95bn this year amid strict sanctions imposed by western nations over the Ukraine war – shedding $330m a day since the Kremlin launched its invasion.

Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea FC owner, was the biggest loser, with his fortune falling by 57% to $7.8bn this year, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index.

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FTX assets worth $3.5bn held by Bahamas securities regulator

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Authority says it is holding digital assets until they can be returned to creditors and former customers

The Bahamas securities regulator has said it has seized assets worth $3.5bn (£2.9bn) from the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and plans to return them to creditors and former customers.

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said it had transferred all digital assets under the custody or control of FTX Digital Markets, a Bahamas subsidiary of the FTX operation, to its own digital wallets for “safekeeping”.

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Rail strikes ‘cost UK hospitality sector £1.5bn in December alone’

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Figure worse than predicted and head of industry body expects ‘more business failures’ in early 2023

The rail strikes have had a worse impact on the UK’s hospitality industry than expected – costing bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels £1.5bn in December alone – according to the head of the body representing the sector.

Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UKHospitality, said this had contributed to a “perfect storm” for businesses battling high energy bills and a cost of living crisis, adding this meant “undoubtedly we will see more business failures” in the next three months.

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