Category Archives: Business

‘Makes Covid look like a tea party’: Australian food prices could rise for the next year, farmers warn

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Iran conflict could see shortages not just in fuel, but fertiliser and fossil fuel resins – used to make milk bottles

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.

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Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest

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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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Japan to begin biggest-ever oil release from national reserves as Middle East energy crisis bites

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PM Sanae Takaichi says about 80m barrels of stockpiled oil to be provided to refiners – equivalent to 45 days of domestic demand

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Japan will begin the biggest-ever release of oil from its strategic reserves this week, the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said, as the country braces for possible shortages caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.

The government last week approved the release of 15 days’ worth of private-sector reserves, amid concern that the conflict in the Middle East will continue to hinder the flow of tanker traffic along the strait of Hormuz.

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‘We consider every mile we drive’: how fuel shortages are affecting readers worldwide

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From a shop owner in India to a community worker in New South Wales, rising fuel prices are forcing people to ration oil usage

Alagesan, 35, needs liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to run his roadside drink and snack shop in Coimbatore, India, but with the fuel shortage since the US-Israel attacks on Iran, he worries his business could fold.

“I am far away from the Middle East, but my life is affected,” he said. “The gas cylinder is not available because of the war. I don’t know what to do.”

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Ministers tell HS2 to consider slower train speeds to cut costs

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Company will assess whether drop to 186mph from 224mph will save money and help bring forward launch

Ministers have told High Speed Two to consider running its trains at lower speeds, in an attempt to rein in the spiralling budget and begin operations as soon as possible.

HS2 Ltd will assess whether limiting the speed to 186mph (300km/h) instead of 224mph could save money – potentially billions of pounds – and bring the railway into being earlier in the 2030s.

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HS2 firm says new steel tariffs will ‘exacerbate’ cost pressures for UK construction industry

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Doubling tariffs on imported steel will raise cost of the metal when Iran war is already inflating steel and concrete prices

One of HS2’s biggest contractors has warned the government that raising tariffs on foreign steel imports will “exacerbate” cost pressures for the UK construction industry, amid growing concern over the £100bn railway’s rising budget.

Ministers said last week they would double the tariffs on imported steel and slash the amount that can be bought from overseas, in an attempt to save Britain’s struggling steelmakers.

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‘The stakes are enormous’: how a prolonged Iran war could shock the global economy

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Donald Trump’s ‘little excursion’ is likely to have long-term effects, from oil prices to inflation to growth, say experts

In the days after the US and Israel first bombed Iran, financial markets bet the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East would be short-lived.

“There are risks from higher oil prices longer term. But this is a tail risk,” one US-based fund manger said after the airstrike killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “History has shown time and time again that geopolitical flare-ups like this tend to be short-lived. This one should prove to be no exception.’’

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Liberals have ‘a lot of work to do’ after SA wipeout, Anne Ruston says – As it happened

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Australia not ‘contemplating’ fuel rationing but state and federal governments have powers, Bowen says

State governments also had fuel rationing powers, Chris Bowen said.

When I was a kid … in the 80s in Sydney, I remember petrol rationing was done by state governments – the state governments do have powers there.

Yes, the Commonwealth government, under the fuel emergency act, has powers.

It’s not designed to be invoked lightly. It really has powers primarily around defence and health, in the first instance, to ensure that those key areas are getting diesel that they need, but also other forms of fuel.

I would need to be satisfied that there’s a real shortage and that the powers under that act are useful.

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Owners from Great Britain travelling to EU warned over pet passport ‘dodge’

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Bypassing animal health certificate system by using cheaper pet passport issued abroad could backfire, experts say

British pet owners who want to take their furry friends elsewhere in Europe have been warned not to try to dodge expensive health certificates by using a pet passport issued abroad.

Before Brexit, taking a cat, dog or ferret to the EU was relatively simple: the Pet Travel Scheme meant an animal needed a microchip, vaccination against rabies, a pet passport and, for dogs, there were also requirements concerning tapeworm treatment.

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US lifts sanctions on Iranian oil at sea in bid to ease supply pressures

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Treasury secretary Scott Bessent says move will bring 140m barrels to market but insists Tehran will not benefit

The Trump administration has issued a 30-day sanctions waiver for the purchase of Iranian oil at sea to ease energy supply pressures since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.

It is the third time the US has temporarily waived sanctions in about two weeks.

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Marmite maker Unilever in talks to merge food business with US-based McCormick

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Anglo-Dutch company, which also owns Dove and Hellmann’s, will focus more on personal care products if deal agreed

Unilever, the owner of Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is in talks to combine its food business with the US-based spice and seasoning maker McCormick.

The Anglo-Dutch food company – which last year spun off its ice-cream division, the home to Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s – has entered discussions over the future of the “highly attractive” business.

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Australia news live: Tropical Cyclone Narelle poised to hit Queensland coast within hours with wind gusts up to 250km/h

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Tropical cyclone expected to make landfall in far north Queensland within hours. Follow today’s news live

Waves of near-record heights smash Cairns coastline

One of the challenges posed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle is the lack of weather monitoring infrastructure in remote parts of Cape York.

Winds of that speed are pretty hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced them before. They are just so, so strong, capable of uprooting really large trees or completely stripping them of their branches …

It can also cause extensive damage to properties in the path of those very strong wind gusts as well as power outages.

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Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank

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CenTax warns bill under debate in parliament has ‘easily exploitable’ loopholes and will not prevent foreign interference

Political donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.

In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies.

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HelloFresh hit by sales slump as people lose appetite for meal kits

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German food delivery firm’s share price has plummeted by 93% since 2021 boom during Covid lockdowns

HelloFresh has reported a sharp decline in sales as the struggling food delivery company battles falling demand after the pandemic-era meal kit boom.

The German company was forced to make 900 UK job cuts last year with the closure of a delivery site in Nuneaton, and the demand for meal kits tumbled as revenue fell by more than 11% during 2025.

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DiDi raises prices in Australia to cover soaring petrol costs amid conflict in the Middle East

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Other delivery and transport companies such as Uber, DoorDash and Australia Post are weighing whether to charge more

Rideshare giant DiDi has raised its prices to cover soaring petrol costs, becoming one of the first major companies after the airlines to charge Australian consumers more as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

Uber, DoorDash and Australia Post were among the delivery and transport companies weighing whether to add charges, as small businesses hike fees.

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Rachel Reeves reveals push for fiscal devolution to English regions, says Brexit caused damage, and admits student loan system is ‘broken’ – as it happened

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Chancellor says Brexit may have cost 8% of UK GDP in wide-ranging Mais lecture at Bayes Business School in London which also called for AI push

The number of people in England and Wales falling into insolvency has jumped.

There were 11,609 individual insolvencies registered in England and Wales in February, the Insolvency Service has reported this morning. This was 18% higher than in February 2025 and 6% higher than in January 2026.

The individual insolvencies consisted of 768 bankruptcies, 4,210 debt relief orders (DROs) and 6,631 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The number of DROs in February 2026 was a record high in the monthly time series going back to their introduction in 2009, exceeding the previous high of 4,185 in August 2025.

The number of IVAs was higher than both January 2026 and the 2025 monthly average. Bankruptcies were 25% higher than in February 2025, although numbers were affected by the clearing of a backlog following the Insolvency Service moving to a new case management system.

Average 2-year fix has risen from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today. It’s highest since April 2025.

Average 5-year fix has risen from 4.95% at the start of March to 5.32% today. It’s highest since February 2025.

“War in the Middle East has added almost £800 to a typical annual mortgage bill in just two weeks, which will be unwelcome news for anyone currently seeking a fixed rate deal.

“The average two-year fixed rate has jumped from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today – its highest level since April 2025. The average five-year fix has risen from 4.95% to 5.32%, now at its highest since February 2025. For a borrower with a £250,000 mortgage over 25 years, that equates to paying £788 more per year on a two-year fix, or £651 more on a five-year deal compared to just a fortnight ago.

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Arizona charges Kalshi, alleging illegal gambling with election bets

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Kalshi calls Arizona’s case ‘paper-thin’ and says the platform should not be overseen by ‘inconsistent state laws’

Arizona’s attorney general on Tuesday filed criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing the prediction markets platform of operating an illegal gambling business in the state and unlawfully allowing people to place bets on elections.

The charges filed by Kris Mayes, the Arizona attorney general, marked the first time a state has pursued a criminal case against Kalshi, which has been at the center of an escalating battle over the ability of state gaming regulators to police prediction markets operators.

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Bentley to cut hundreds of UK jobs amid ‘challenging global market environment’

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Carmaker reduces office-based roles and will not fill vacancies ‘to ensure long-term competitiveness of business’

Bentley is to cut 275 jobs in the UK as the carmaker faces a “challenging global market environment”.

The luxury brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, is preparing to launch its first all-electric model but acknowledged it had some work to do to persuade consumers to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

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Train delays: compensation claims to be easier under Great British Railways

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Refund systems for individual train operators to be merged into single service under nationalised rail body

Rail passengers will be able to claim compensation for delayed trains directly from the website where they bought their ticket, the government has said, as part of a shake-up to make rail travel simpler.

Passengers who use third-party retailers such as Trainline to buy tickets currently, have to submit applications for refunds to the relevant train operator for processing.

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European takeover battle hots up with UniCredit’s ‘unfriendly attack’ on Commerzbank

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Milan-based bank plans to up its near-30% stake in German lender to trigger formal talks despite strong opposition from Berlin

Two European banking powerhouses have become embroiled in a €35bn (£30bn) takeover battle after Italy’s UniCredit stepped up its long-running pursuit of German lender Commerzbank, despite strong opposition from the German government.

UniCredit first took a stake of 9% in Commerzbank in September 2024 and has since built up its holding to just under 30%. It said on Monday it was pushing to increase that holding further and push the rival lender into formal merger talks.

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