Category Archives: Business

Rishi Sunak: windfall tax an option if oil firms fail to invest in UK

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Chancellor says he is ‘pragmatic’ about introducing a levy on energy companies to ease cost of living crisis

Rishi Sunak has insisted he is “pragmatic” about the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies, claiming “no options are off the table” in the clearest sign yet that the government is planning measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Labour has been calling for a windfall tax on oil firms, which have benefited from rocketing global prices, with the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, suggesting the proceeds be used to cut domestic energy bills.

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Morrison’s objection to lifting wages in line with inflation puts spotlight on pensions linked to CPI

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Prime minister says such a move would be ‘incredibly reckless’ but payments such as pensions are already tied to cost-of-living changes

Economists and advocacy groups have seized on the Morrison government’s objection to lifting minimum wages by the inflation rate, noting benefits such as pensions are tied to how consumer prices change.

Prime minister Scott Morrison blasted comments by Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Wednesday that he would “absolutely” support wages keeping pace with prices. That call was “incredibly reckless”, Morrison said, adding that wage increases of 5%-plus were “like throwing fuel on the fire of rising interest rates and rising costs of living”.

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Saudi Aramco overtakes Apple as world’s most valuable company

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Soaring commodity prices swell oil giant’s profits as tech stock slide pegs back iPhone maker

Apple has lost its crown as the world’s most valuable company to the oil giant Saudi Aramco, as soaring commodity prices swell profits at energy companies and technology stocks continue to slide.

In a sign that the old economy is reasserting itself over the new this year, Aramco eclipsed Apple on Wednesday night amid the ongoing rout on Wall Street.

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Boris Johnson says windfall tax ‘not the right thing’ but refuses to rule out U-turn

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The prime minister claimed ‘these kinds of taxes’ deterred investment, contrary to BP boss saying it would not

Boris Johnson has refused to rule out the introduction of a windfall tax which would help to relieve pressure on the cost of living crisis.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Johnson said that while he believed a disadvantage of windfall tax would be the impact it would have on investment, the prospect of such a taxwas still something to be looked at.

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John Lewis boss calls for Covid-style cost of living aid package

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Dame Sharon White follows Tesco chief in urging UK government to help with rising energy and grocery bills

The boss of John Lewis has urged the governmentto intervene with a financial package of support to protect families from the cost of living crisis on the same scale as it did to help the nation deal with the Covid pandemic.

Dame Sharon White, a former second permanent secretary at the Treasury, said the government needed to act urgently as families struggle to pay utility and food costs as energy bills and inflation soars.

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Special delivery: Royal Mail to expand drone drops with 50 new routes

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The new ‘postal drone routes’ will improve the reliability of mail services to remote communities, the company said

Royal Mail has announced plans to increase its use of drones for deliveries with the creation of 50 new “postal drone routes” over the next three years.

Under a partnership with logistics drone company Windracers, and subject to Civil Aviation Authority approval, the move will provide faster and more convenient services for remote communities, Royal Mail said.

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‘Unacceptable’: Aviva CEO hits back at shareholder sexism

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Amanda Blanc says sexism in business has actually got worse after being told she is ‘not the man for the job’

The chief executive of the insurer Aviva has hit out at sexism in the industry, saying “unacceptable behaviour” has only increased since she took more senior roles in the sector.

Amanda Blanc, who became the company’s first female chief executive in 2020, published a LinkedIn post thanking people for their support after shareholders made sexist remarks at the company’s annual general meeting on Monday. Investors said Blanc was “not the man for the job” and should be “wearing trousers”.

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US inflation rate slows but remains close to 40-year high

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Consumer price index reveals costs rising by a monthly rate of 0.3% in April, down from 1.2% in March, the first fall since August 2021

Price rises slowed in the US in April but the annual inflation rate remained close to a 40-year high, leaving many Americans struggling to afford necessities including food, shelter and fuel.

The latest consumer price index (CPI) figures – which measure a broad range of goods and services – showed prices rising by a monthly rate of 0.3% in April, down from 1.2% in March, the first fall since August 2021.

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Chinese taxi app Didi shelves plans for major overseas expansion

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Exclusive: Prominent tech company cuts half its UK employees amid signs of pressure from Beijing government

Chinese taxi app Didi has told staff it has put plans for major international expansions on hold until at least 2025 and cut half its UK employees amid pressure from Beijing on one of its most prominent tech companies.

Didi Chuxing has been on the back foot since last summer when the Cyberspace Administration of China, a powerful regulator, banned the country’s dominant ride-hailing company from listing its app on mobile app stores in the country.

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Tui tells holidaymakers not to expect last-minute deals despite surge in bookings

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Losses halve as travel bounces back from pandemic with reservations reaching 85% of summer 2019 level

The travel company Tui Group more than halved its losses over the past six months and is predicting a “strong travel summer” as customers continue to book long-awaited holidays despite cost of living pressures.

Europe’s largest holiday company said future bookings remained “unabatedly high” as international travel bounced back from the coronavirus pandemic, but said there would not be many last-minute deals because it was facing rising costs.

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US inflation dips to 8.3% but stays close to 40-year high –as it happened

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Rolling coverage of business, the world economy and the financial markets

National Grid has agreed to pay back £200m of revenues gleaned from subsea electricity cables early in an effort to cut painful household bills, reports Alex Lawson.

Under an agreement with watchdog Ofgem, the energy network operator must pay back revenues made from European ‘interconnector’ cables over a five-year period above a cap.

Since the price of materials is rising, we need to work to reduce the amount of materials we use as much as possible and to replace them with less expensive materials.

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‘Over-the-top alarmism’: economists dismiss concerns wage rises cause inflation

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Australia’s minimum wage is shrinking compared to median pay, bucking global trends

The recent spurt in inflation has little do with workers being paid more, economists say, warning the claim that wage increases could set off inflation is “over-the-top alarmism”.

Debate over how much the lowest-paid workers should receive has flared during the election campaign after the ACTU this week raised its minimum wage claim to the Fair Work Commission to 5.5% from an earlier goal of 5%, after March-quarter consumer prices spiked.

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Industry warns ’small business can’t afford it’ after Albanese backs 5.1% minimum wage rise

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Employers argue that excessive minimum pay increases will fuel inflation as unions call for ‘incredibly reasonable’ boost to meet cost-of-living pressures

Employers have warned against “unaffordable” wage increases after Anthony Albanese backed a 5.1% minimum wage rise to keep up with inflation.

Despite the warnings, the Australian Industry Group has raised its own submission to the Fair Work Commission from 2% to 2.5%, while the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked for low-paid workers to get a 3% rise.

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‘Beyond a joke’: Uber and taxi drivers plead for relief as petrol prices rise again

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Drivers say costs have surged but fares have stayed flat, forcing them to be picky about the trips they choose

Ride-share and taxi drivers say the rising cost of petrol is putting them under enormous strain and have bemoaned existing relief measures as a “joke”.

Major ride-share companies including Uber introduced a temporary levy in response to record high petrol prices in March. Ola was the first to act, increasing its fares by 15%.

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Just one of 50 aviation industry climate targets met, study finds

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Charity’s report says nearly all targets set since 2000 have been missed, revised or quietly ignored

The international aviation industry has failed to meet all but one of 50 of its own climate targets in the past two decades, environment campaigners say.

A report commissioned by the climate charity Possible assessed every target set by the industry since 2000 and found that nearly all had been missed, revised or quietly ignored. The charity says the findings undermine a UK government plan to leave airlines to reduce their emissions through self-regulation.

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UK cybersecurity unit tackles record number of online scams in 2021

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More than 2.7m attempted frauds interrupted, including fake celebrity endorsements and extortion emails

Britain’s cybersecurity unit has reported a record crackdown on internet scams after tackling more than 2.7m attempted frauds last year, a near-fourfold increase on the figure for 2020.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an arm of the GCHQ spy agency, said the interrupted scams included fake celebrity endorsements and bogus extortion emails. It stressed, however, that the increase in detection reflected aggressive targeting by the unit rather than an increase in scams.

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Sri Lanka is the first domino to fall in the face of a global debt crisis

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The south Asian country is the first to buckle under economic pressures compounded by Russia’s war on Ukraine, but it won’t be the last

The departure of Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, follows weeks of protest and a deepening crisis. There is no bankruptcy system for states but if there was then the south Asian country – down to its last $50m (£40m) of reserves – would be first in line to use it.

A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week started work with officials in Colombo over a bailout that will include a tough package of reforms as well as financial support. But as the IMF and its sister organisation, the World Bank, know full well, this is about more than the mismanagement of an individual country. They fear Sri Lanka is the canary in the coalmine.

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Ukraine’s wheat harvest may fall by 35%, raising fears of global shortage

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Satellite imagery ‘illustrates spectre of rising food prices and hunger’ due to invasion of world’s sixth-largest wheat exporter

Wheat production in Ukraine is likely to be at least a third lower than in normal years, according to analysis of satellite images of the country.

Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat, but the war is taking a toll on the country’s agriculture and food supplies, sparking fears of shortages or higher prices around the world.

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AGL reveals demerger would cost $260m as Mike Cannon-Brookes tries to block plan

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Atlassian cofounder says released details prove the split would be a ‘terrible outcome’ for energy giant’s shareholders

The planned split of AGL Energy that billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is trying to foil will cost $260m upfront and $35m in extra costs per year for the demerged entities, documents from the energy giant show.

In separate releases to the ASX on Friday afternoon, AGL laid out its details of the demerger ahead of a 15 June vote by shareholders. As the biggest shareholder following his purchase of a 11.3% holding, Cannon-Brookes can block the move with the support of another 13.7% of share owners.

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US stocks see worst day this year as Fed rate hike rattles investors

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Dow falls 3.1% a day after the Fed chair announces biggest hike in two decades to combat inflation

US stock markets suffered their worst day of the year on Thursday as investors worried about the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates to tackle soaring inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1,000 points (3.1%). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.5% and 4.9% respectively. Tech stocks were particularly hard-hit, with Amazon dropping 7.6% and Tesla falling 8.3%.

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