UK borrowing costs rise again, with analyst warning ‘things are also getting rather ugly’
The pound has fallen to a 14-month low against the US dollar as the sell-off in the bond market fuelled investors’ anxiety over UK assets and piled further pressure on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
As the bond sell-off gathered steam, sterling lost a cent against the US dollar, extending recent losses, falling to about $1.226.
Continue reading...Supermarket now controls 28.5% of grocery market, with sales at UK stores up 4% in six weeks to 4 January
Tesco has recorded its “biggest ever Christmas”, with the UK’s largest supermarket chain landing its biggest share of the festive shopping trolley since 2016.
Sales at established UK stores rose 4% in the six weeks to 4 January, with fresh food performing particularly strongly and clothing and homeware sales also up.
Continue reading...Seeking business partners post-Brexit is sound policy, but even in these darker geopolitical times the UK will ultimately side with the US
Rachel Reeves will fly with a delegation of City grandees to China this week as Labour seeks closer economic links with Beijing as part of its quest for growth.
With the outlook increasingly rocky at home after a run of soft economic data, the chancellor is sorely in need of a positive story to tell.
Continue reading...Bank of England says it is rowing back on ‘overcooked’ regulations introduced after financial crisis
The Bank of England plans to slash the “reporting burden” on UK banks and allow insurers to make riskier investments without initial approval, as it comes under government pressure to ease regulations introduced after the financial crisis.
Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank who leads its regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said the central bank had rowed back on rules that appeared to be “overcooked”, as he suggested it might have gone too far and harmed the financial sector.
Continue reading...Follow today’s news live
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says “the firing gun has started” for this year’s federal election, which he predicts will be in March or April.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast just earlier, he said he doesn’t think the government will deliver a budget this year:
I think we’re all ready for it. I think it will be in March, April, I don’t think they’ll do a budget, they don’t want to remind the Australian people with the sea of red ink in the budget. That’s my punt.
This road is of national significance but it’s also one of the most dangerous in our country. And I think it just needs a commitment, and we’re glad to see the government has finally adopted that, one we had, and one the state government can now get on with the job of delivering.
Labor can make up all the nonsense they like. They’re desperate. I mean, this is a government that’s been on the back foot, that got things wrong, that is sending Australians on a pathway to poverty, not a pathway to prosperity. And so they’re in a state of desperation, saying these sorts of things.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium figures show sales growth close to flatlining, as card spending fails to rise
Britain’s largest retailers are warning they could be forced to cut thousands of jobs this year as the industry braces for higher taxes and employment costs after a bleak Christmas shopping season.
In the latest sign of tough trading conditions on the high street, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show sales growth over the “golden quarter” between October and December came close to flatlining.
Continue reading...Fast-food company decides to scale back plans after 2023 US supreme court ruling and conservative backlash to DEI
Four years after launching a push for more diversity in its ranks, McDonald’s is ending some of its diversity practices, citing a US supreme court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.
McDonald’s is the latest big company to shift its tactics in the wake of the 2023 ruling and a conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and others rolled back their DEI initiatives last year.
Continue reading...Most deprived areas suffer ten-fold bigger reduction, which in turn exacerbates deprivation
People living in deprived areas of England have suffered disproportionately larger cuts to bus services, according research by a leading thinktank.
The analysis by IPPR North found that cuts to services in England had been felt the most in “left-behind neighbourhoods”.
Continue reading...CSI 300 blue-chip stock index also trades weakly, hitting its lowest point since September
China’s currency hit a 16-month low on Monday, despite efforts by the central bank and stock exchanges to soothe investor worries about impending US tariffs under a Donald Trump presidency.
The tightly controlled yuan reached 7.3301 per US dollar, its weakest level since September 2023. It has routinely hit multi-month lows since Trump won the US election, promising massive tariffs on Chinese imports.
Continue reading...Royal College of Nursing says Labour has a duty to fix health ‘double whammy’ by raising aid and funding for UK nursing
The UK cut health aid to some of the world’s vulnerable countries at the same time as recruiting thousands of their nurses, in a “double whammy” for fragile health systems, new analysis has found.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which carried out the research, said Labour had a “duty to fix” aid cuts imposed by the previous government, and to work on increasing the UK’s domestic supply of nurses.
Continue reading...Child poverty plan must address the 70% of families with at least one parent in work, Resolution Foundation says
Labour must offer extra support to working parents, including with childcare and commuting, if it is to fulfil its promise of cutting child poverty, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has argued.
The government’s manifesto promised an “ambitious strategy” on child poverty, and ministers have said they will publish a 10-year plan in the spring.
Continue reading...Global heating has made conditions more favourable for growing grapes – and finding the right variety is key
Heard the one about Irish wine? Like its English counterpart, it is no longer a joke, with more than a dozen vineyards now producing bottles to emulate those of the terroirs of France, Spain and Italy.
At about €60 (£50) a bottle and produced in small quantities, it is far from a commercial activity, but efforts over the last 10 years have produced what one retailer described as an “arguably very fine” rosé.
Continue reading...Around-the-clock work will be commonplace to tackle an M&A surge fuelled by tax changes, activist investors … and the Trump factor
Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.
“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.
Continue reading...Government plans for publicly funded operator CalMac have been mired in controversy, with replacement vessels delayed and costs spiralling
Almost £100m has been spent over the past decade on repairs for eight of the largest publicly owned ferries in Scotland.
The figure has been described as “eye-watering” by Sue Webber, transport spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, who obtained details of the repair bill from ferry operator CalMac.
Continue reading...Electric Vehicles UK says hybrids without a plug should be banned or else confidence in electric cars will be damaged
Britain needs to press ahead with a ban on the sale of new hybrid cars with no plug from 2030 or risk taking “a catastrophic misstep” on the road to net zero, ministers have been warned.
Cars such as the Toyota Prius, which charge a battery from an internal combustion engine, need to be excluded from the list of vehicles sold in the UK from 2030 or there will be a “profound” fall in confidence in the government’s commitment to electric motoring, according to the representative body Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK).
Continue reading...Cost of average home in December reaches £269,426, with value increasing over year by almost £12,000
House prices rose for a fourth consecutive month in December, ending 2024 on a “strong footing”, Nationwide said, with the cost of an average home hitting £269,426.
The building society’s monthly tracker found prices in December rose 0.7% on the previous month and were up 4.7% on an annual basis.
Continue reading...Ukraine president hails ‘one of Moscow’s biggest defeats’ as deal’s end brings power cuts in breakaway Moldovan region
Russian gas has stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine, ending a major energy route that goes back to Soviet times and had even survived three years of full-scale war between the two states.
Ukraine cut off the transit route after an agreement signed in 2019 expired in the early hours of New Year’s Day, marking a new milestone in Europe weaning itself off Russian gas supplies over the past few years, and prompting immediate power cuts for hundreds of thousand of people in a breakaway region of Moldova.
Continue reading...Ukraine ends agreement to allow gas to flow through its pipelines, with European supplies set to be tested as cold weather forecast later this week
Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion.
The move comes after a prewar transit deal expired during the final hours of 2024 and as the continent braces itself for a plunge in temperatures that could hasten the drain on gas reserves.
Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the transit “in the interest of national security” after Russia refused to alter its stance on the war.
“This is a historic event,” he said in an update on the Telegram messaging app. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses. Europe has already decided to phase out Russian gas, and [this] aligns with what Ukraine has done today.”
The number of listed companies fleeing can’t be ignored – cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital market
Last year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.
When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Group, the £27bn construction rental company that has been listed in London since 1986, announced plans to shift its primary listing to New York. Other escapers include Just Eat Takeaway, which is off to Amsterdam.
Continue reading...Average annual bill in England, Scotland and Wales increases by 1.2% to £1,738 from New Year’s Day
Nine million homes will face higher energy bills from Wednesday as Britain braces for freezing temperatures and snow warnings for the new year period.
The average energy bill for households across England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% from New Year’s Day to £1,738 a year for a typical household after the energy regulator raised its cap on gas and electricity charges.
Continue reading...