Confidence drops across UK services in face of higher costs and weak demand

CBI survey shows firms cutting hiring and investment as profits squeezed, with outlook gloomy for rest of year

Business confidence plunged this month across the UK’s services sector as mounting cost pressures and weak demand hit profits and undermined the outlook for the rest of the year.

The CBI’s latest service sector poll found that a majority of companies were gloomy about their prospects and discounted the acceleration in activity that usually follows the return to work after the summer break.

Continue reading...

Cracker Barrel reverses course and will scrap new logo after intense backlash

US restaurant chain previously said it would keep new logo despite some, including Trump and his son, criticizing it

Cracker Barrel, the 56-year-old US restaurant chain known for southern style cooking, has reversed course and will scrap the new minimalist logo it launched just days ago after intense backlash.

“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain,” the company posted on social media, referring to the picture of the overall-clad man – known as “Uncle Herschel” – leaning against a barrel that had been its calling card for decades.

Continue reading...

Toy air fryer will be a Christmas bestseller, John Lewis predicts

Fries and chicken drumsticks are included – or young cooks might prefer a mini-me Ooni pizza oven

The air fryer has rapidly become a must-have kitchen appliance, so it was only a matter of time before the craze reached toy town, with a chic wooden version tipped as a Christmas bestseller.

If you are thinking it’s too soon to mention Christmas, it’s hard to disagree. But with the school summer holidays almost over (or already over for some) and the UK weather forecast signalling a “band of heavy rain”, retailers are starting festive campaigns.

Continue reading...

Norway wealth fund sells Caterpillar stake over Israel allegations

World’s largest wealth fund says it has excluded bulldozer maker and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds

The world’s largest wealth fund has excluded Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, over Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norway’s $2tn (£1.5tn) fund said on Monday it had excluded Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

Continue reading...

One in four UK late-night venues have closed since 2020, figures show

Industry body calls for urgent tax cuts to save ‘cornerstones of community life’ and halt rise of ‘night-time deserts’

More than one in four late-night venues have shut their doors since 2020, figures show, prompting lobbyists to warn that the UK faces a worrying rise in “night-time deserts” without urgent tax cuts.

Nearly 800 late-night businesses have been forced to close over the past five years, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), representing a 26.4% contraction in the late-night sector overall. That compares with a 14.2% contraction across the wider hospitality sector.

Continue reading...

Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ‘discriminate’ against US tech

Levies and restrictions could hit UK’s digital services tax and EU states such as France, Italy and Spain

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and export restrictions on countries whose taxes, legislation and regulations target US big tech companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, the US president said: “Digital taxes, legislation, rules or regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American technology.”

Continue reading...

UK gender pay gap underestimated for two decades, report says

Findings suggest since 2004 ONS failed to properly account for fact it received more data from larger employers

The UK’s gender pay gap has been underestimated for more than 20 years, according to research that could raise fresh questions about the quality of data used to inform key pay decisions across the UK.

The findings, released in the British Journal of Industrial Relations on Monday, suggest that, since 2004, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had failed to properly account for the fact that it received more data from larger employers, when it reported its annual survey of hours and earnings (Ashe).

Continue reading...

Murray Watt advised by own department to declare protection order over ‘significant Aboriginal area’ in WA

Exclusive: Environment department document states that Burrup peninsula site near Woodside gas plant ‘under threat of injury or desecration’

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has been advised by his department to declare a protection order over part of the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia due to its significance as an Aboriginal site, a government affidavit filed in the federal court shows.

A Murujuga traditional custodian, Raelene Cooper, applied in 2022 to protect the area’s cultural heritage from nearby industrial activities, including Woodside’s planned extension of its North West Shelf processing plant.

Continue reading...

‘Reinvention is the secret ingredient’: food brands harness 90s nostalgia with retro revamps

Millennial childhood staples such as Walkers and Nik Naks introduce new flavours amid pressure for brands to stay relevant

Nostalgia for the 1990s might have reached its peak with Oasis back on tour this summer, but several of Britain’s best-known brands are also trying to make a comeback, reinventing themselves with new flavours, packaging or names.

Walkers, Nik Naks and Bacardi Breezer are among some of the brands that are adapting to try to stand out in the food and drink market.

Continue reading...

Government to ‘feel the pressure’ after Gaza protests, says Greens leader – as it happened

This blog is now closed

David Littleproud continues to insist the Coalition is not setting itself up for another election defeat by maintaining its support for nuclear power.

Speaking to 2GB on Sunday, Littleproud said the Coalition would take a different approach than it did at the last election by lifting the moratorium on nuclear power generation in Australia and “let the market do it”.

I just say to your city viewers, regional Australia is bearing the brunt of this. I’m seeing towns and I’m actually seeing families being torn up by these renewable projects that are tearing up their productivity, your food security and actually the native environment. And it’s all without premise.

Artificial intelligence was absolutely central to our discussions because it will be absolutely gamechanging in our economy and our society into the future.

Getting it to 8% will be a good effort but not good enough, as minister Mark Butler has pointed out, so we will continue to work with the states on providing the support that people need and deserve, particularly in this instance, when it comes to Thriving Kids.

Well, that’s the ongoing discussions that we’ve been having, whether it’s treasurers, health ministers, NDIS ministers, leaders, have been having this discussion since the deal was struck.

What’s the best way to implement. Two deals, not one. They are closely related. There are billions and billions of dollars tied up in them and so we’ve been trying to progress both of those deals at once for good reason because there are swings and roundabouts for both of us.

Continue reading...

‘We’re publicans’: County Limerick community forms syndicate to save village’s last pub

Group in Kilteely pooled savings to buy bar and licence and ‘everybody brought something to the table’

A century ago, the County Limerick village of Kilteely had seven pubs but one by one they shut. This year, it braced to lose the last.

The economic and social trends that have shuttered family-run pubs across Ireland appear remorseless, leaving many communities with nowhere to meet, have a drink and share stories.

Continue reading...

Canada to drop counter-tariffs on some US goods one day after call with Trump

Mark Carney says change will go into effect on 1 September but tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos will remain

Canada will drop its counter-tariffs on some American goods in the coming days, Mark Carney has said, as the country’s prime minister looks to end a protracted trade war with longtime ally the United States.

From 1 September, the Canadian government will remove some levies on US goods that comply with the North American free-trade pact, a move meant to “match” how the White House treated Canadian goods. Levies on steel, aluminum and autos will remain in place.

Continue reading...

Government to cover pay and pensions at collapsed South Yorkshire steelworks

Unions receive assurances after state takes control of Liberty Steel plants that collapsed into administration

Workers at the UK’s third-largest steelworks in South Yorkshire have been assured they will receive their pay for August as well as unpaid pension contributions, after a government-appointed special manager took over the collapsed company.

Liberty Steel’s main British business, Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), collapsed into administration on Thursday afternoon after a high court judge ruled that it was insolvent and that its owner, the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, had no prospects of repaying debts of several hundred million pounds.

Continue reading...

Fed chair Powell to give high-stakes speech at Jackson Hole amid Trump attacks

Jerome Powell – who Trump has urged to resign – will address the economic outlook at a symposium in Wyoming

For months, the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, has ignored demands from Donald Trump to cut interest rates and defied the US president’s calls to resign.

On Friday, as Trump ramps up his extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence, Powell will set out where he thinks the world’s largest economy is headed in a closely scrutinized speech at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming.

Continue reading...

News live: Australia says Israel’s West Bank settlement plan is ‘unacceptable’ and demands press access to Gaza

Albanese government joins 20 other countries in condemning Israeli plan to expand Jewish settlements. Follow today’s news live

Australia signs international statement to allow media access to Gaza

It’s been a busy night for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition, urge Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.

Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Access to conflict zones is vital to carrying out this role effectively. We oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts.

The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law.

We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.

Continue reading...

Loan ‘irregularities’ led to collapse of Prax Lindsey oil refinery

Administrator was appointed after parent company State Oil was given new information about £783m loan

The Prax Lindsey oil refinery collapsed after “material irregularities” were discovered in a complex £783m loan facility that funded the wider group, it has emerged.

The refinery on the Humber estuary in northern England – one of just five left in the UK, – was suddenly plunged into administration in late June, prompting calls from furious government ministers for an investigation into Winston Soosaipillai, Prax Group’s oil tycoon owner.

Continue reading...

Airbus workers vote to strike for 10 days next month in pay dispute

Unite says stoppages at Broughton and Filton factories could disrupt production of wings and delay deliveries

Thousands of Airbus workers in the UK are to go on strike for 10 days in September in a row over pay that threatens to disrupt the production of aircraft wings.

A series of two-day strikes are planned to begin on 2 September and continue throughout the month at the company’s factories in Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, according to Unite.

Continue reading...

Shein mulls China return for Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls

Fast-fashion retailer considered £50bn float in London but has not received backing from Chinese authorities

The online fast-fashion retailer Shein is understood to be considering moving its base back to China from Singapore in a move expected to pave the way for a Hong Kong listing rather than a UK one.

The business, which was founded in China and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, had been considering a £50bn float in London after failing to win approval from regulators in the US for a New York flotation.

Continue reading...

UK metals firms threaten to sue government over tariffs on steel imports from Asia

Companies send letter to business secretary complaining new rules were imposed with 24 hours’ notice

UK metals companies have threatened to take legal action against the government over tariffs on raw steel imports from Asia which they claim have caused a “tsunami” of problems for the industry.

Earlier this summer, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, reduced the amount of raw steel from Vietnam and South Korea that can be imported tariff-free in a move designed to protect UK raw steel makers, which face competition from cheap imports.

Continue reading...

Soho House members’ club to go private in $2.7bn deal as Ashton Kutcher joins board

MCR Hotels to lead new equity investors in members’ club chain after four years on New York stock exchange

The members’ club chain Soho House has agreed a $2.7bn (£2bn) deal to take it private after a tricky four years listed on the New York stock exchange.

New York-based MCR Hotels will lead new equity investors in the chain of clubs as part of a deal that will involve it ditching its stock market listing.

Continue reading...