Bank of England survey in March shows chief financial officers foresee 3.7% increase over coming year
Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows.
The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the Iran conflict began, shows they now expect to raise their prices by 3.7% over the coming year.
Continue reading...Bank holiday traffic predicted to peak on Thursday, as petrol and diesel prices surge from fallout of Iran war
UK drivers are being urged to look for the cheapest petrol and “to fill up as usual” as travellers prepare to make 21.7m journeys on what is expected to be the busiest Easter on the roads in four years.
The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 20p in March, from 132.83p on the 1st to 152.83p on the 31st, raising concerns about the cost of filling up for Easter journeys. The higher fuel prices have been triggered by rising oil prices as a result of the US-Israel war against Iran.
Continue reading...Once-hyped, celebrity-backed company snapped up by American Exchange Group for fraction of former value
Allbirds, the San Francisco sustainable trainer brand once valued at more than $4bn, is being sold for just $39m (£29.6m) after global demand for its wool-based footwear failed to materialise.
American Exchange Group, the owner of a string of brands including the fashion label Ed Hardy and the accessories maker Born, is snapping up the struggling company once touted as the future of footwear.
Continue reading...Last April, the president unleashed a tidal wave of tariffs on ‘liberation day’. Analysts say the policy has failed, even by the Trump administration’s own terms
Before Donald Trump declared “liberation day” on 2 April 2025 and shocked the world by raising import tariffs on nearly every country the US did business with, he had spent almost three months causing chaos in Washington.
The wholesale slashing of government jobs under Doge (the “department of government efficiency”) and the defunding of US aid agencies had shown White House watchers that the US president was in a hurry to upset institutions he considered profligate or useless.
Continue reading...Sector cites ‘billions of pounds in additional costs’ from new business rates and increase in minimum wage thresholds
Two-thirds of hospitality businesses are planning to cut jobs as a result of “suffocating” costs imposed by government, as new business rates and higher wage bills come into force.
Many pubs, restaurants and hotel companies will see their costs increase significantly from 1 April after Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates and an increase in minimum wage thresholds announced at the chancellor’s November budget.
Continue reading...Treasurer Jim Chalmers says changes will help with cost of living and ‘Australians hate paying’ the surcharges
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Debit and credit card surcharges will be gone by October under Reserve Bank reforms, with big banks likely to foot the bill for the cost-of-living measures.
The new rules, announced on Tuesday, will enable businesses to remove added fees on Mastercard, visa and eftpos card payments.
Continue reading...Scheme for accusers of store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed to close before end of retailer’s internal investigation
Harrods has been accused of being “neither fair nor just” over its decision to close a compensation scheme for survivors of alleged sexual abuse by the luxury department store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
Kingsley Hayes, partner at KP Law, which is representing nearly 280 survivors, questioned why the scheme was being closed on Tuesday 31 March, before Harrods had completed an internal investigation into what happened and who knew about it.
Continue reading...City regulator reduces number of loan agreements in line for compensation from 14m to 12m
Victims of the car finance scandal will be in line for payouts worth £830 on average, as the City regulator tightened the rules of its compensation scheme to cover fewer contracts.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released the final details of its planned redress programme, saying it had narrowed the number of loan agreements eligible for payouts from 14m to 12.1m contracts.
Continue reading...Apple Distribution International, based in Ireland, made payments worth £635,000 to a Russian streaming service
The UK government has fined a subsidiary of Apple £390,000 for breaching sanctions against Moscow over payments it made to a Russian streaming platform.
Apple Distribution International (ADI), based in the Republic of Ireland, instructed an unnamed UK-based bank to make two payments to a company owned by a sanctioned Russian entity.
Continue reading...US president says he has ‘no problem’ with countries sending oil to Cuba, in potential lifeline to island nation
Donald Trump appears to have relaxed his blockade on fuel-starved Cuba after a Russian tanker reached the Caribbean island carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude.
Russia’s transport ministry said the Anatoly Kolodkin tanker arrived at the port of Matanzas on Cuba’s northern coast on Monday to deliver the crisis-hit country’s first such cargo in more than three months.
Continue reading...State and federal leaders due to discuss assistance for business sectors but petrol rationing not expected to find backing
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Farmers say the federal government must help them with tax breaks and underwriting fertiliser purchases to survive the fuel crisis, with Monday’s national cabinet expected to discuss more assistance to businesses amid ballooning petrol prices.
Federal and state governments have remained tight-lipped about what would be on the meeting’s agenda but state premiers have urged the Albanese government to take a stronger national coordination role in the crisis.
Continue reading...More use of two-way charging will earn money for owners and could avoid the need to expand North Sea oil drilling
The Iran war has sent petrol and diesel prices to their highest levels in years, sparked warnings of fuel rationing across Europe and triggered calls for Britain to drill more North Sea oil and gas. But analysis suggests the UK is looking for solutions in the wrong places – and that one of them is sitting on people’s driveways or parked in the street.
If more drivers switched electric vehicles, Britain would sharply reduce its petrol and diesel consumption, with every car charged from the grid rather than the pump extending the country’s fuel reserves – and experts say the potential impact goes far beyond that.
If more drivers switched to electric vehicles, Britain could sharply reduce its petrol and diesel consumption. Every car charged from the grid rather than the pump extends the country’s fuel reserves – and experts say the potential impact goes far beyond that.
Law firm is preparing claim on behalf of 30,000 consumers who fear the FCA’s redress scheme will shortchange them
Lloyds Banking Group is facing a court battle with 30,000 aggrieved car loan customers who are to abandon the City regulator’s official redress scheme amid fears it will shortchange consumers and favour lenders.
The claims law firm Courmacs Legal is planning to file a £66m omnibus claim on behalf of borrowers who believe they were financially harmed by car loan contracts set up by Lloyds’ motor finance arm, Black Horse.
Continue reading...Regulator fears use of ‘covert marketing strategies’ by Sephora and Benefit might fuel compulsive habits
Italian regulators are investigating Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics over the apparent use of “covert marketing strategies” to sell beauty products to young girls that might be fuelling an unhealthy skincare obsession known as “cosmeticorexia”.
The Italian Competition Authority said it was looking into promotions for skincare products such as face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams that in some cases appeared to target girls under 10.
Continue reading...Unions and farmers call for government intervention as agriculture, construction and waste industries also at risk from higher prices
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Care workers, tradespeople and transport drivers are being hit hard by ballooning fuel costs, with some industry groups urging the government to roll out assistance packages or even a jobkeeper-style wage assistance program to help businesses avoid laying off staff.
Reports of small mining businesses scaling back operations and some construction companies deciding against hiring more apprentices have prompted suggestions the government should step in to help, with the Master Builders Association already forecasting a downturn in the number of homes that will be built this year.
Continue reading...CMA also looks into Pasta Evangelists, funeral operator Dignity and review company Feefo in latest crackdown
The UK competition watchdog has launched investigations into five companies including Autotrader and Just Eat over concerns they have not done enough to tackle fake and misleading online reviews.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has previously investigated the tech companies Amazon and Google, said its latest crackdown includes the funeral services operator Dignity, the review company Feefo and the restaurant chain Pasta Evangelists.
Continue reading...Retailer says higher fuel and factory costs may hit supply chains and lead to ‘significant increase in prices’
The boss of Next has said clothing prices could rise by 4% to 10% if conflict in the Middle East extends into the autumn and factories are hit by higher fuel and fabric costs.
Simon Wolfson said the clothing and home retailer had so far seen little disruption to its supply chain.
Continue reading...Industry fears strait of Hormuz closure could disrupt shipping of crucial parts for UK and German North Sea projects
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A string of large offshore wind projects in Europe are facing potential delays as the Iran war threatens to disrupt shipping of crucial parts manufactured in the Gulf.
Industry sources are concerned that components ordered from suppliers in the United Arab Emirates could become trapped if shipping remains effectively blocked through the strait of Hormuz.
Continue reading...Iran conflict could see shortages not just in fuel, but fertiliser and fossil fuel resins – used to make milk bottles
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Farmers say Australian consumers could pay more for everyday staples for the next year at least as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.
But the CEO of dairy farmer cooperative Norco, Michael Hampson, says a six- to 12-month disruption to food supply is likely a best-case scenario, depending on the strait of Hormuz reopening soon and global petrochemical supply chains beginning to stabilise.
Continue reading...Shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine
A leading Irish metals refinery is part of an international aluminium supply chain that appears to conclude with shipments to arms producers feeding the Kremlin’s war machine in Ukraine, leaked records and public data suggests.
Trading records show that shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina, which is located on the Shannon estuary in the west of Ireland and has been owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal since 2006, have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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