Category Archives: Economics

Greggs enjoys bumper Christmas period as it hails easing inflation

Posted on by

Reduced cost pressures and popular festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins boost bakery chain

Greggs has hailed easing inflationary pressures after the UK’s biggest bakery chain rang up bumper Christmas sales amid less travel disruption and enthusiasm for seasonal specialities such as festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins.

The company said sales at established stores had risen 9.4% in the three months to 30 December as it attracted more customers with extended opening hours and by offering online ordering.

Continue reading...

Manufacturers say UK becoming more competitive as global hub, survey finds

Posted on by

Findings show British bosses growing in confidence over sector’s prospects despite ‘headwinds of sustained economic challenges’

Britain’s largest manufacturers believe the UK is increasing its competitiveness as a global hub for manufacturing, despite high energy costs, worker shortages and political instability holding back progress.

In a crunch period for the economy before the general election, the manufacturing trade body Make UK and the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said industry bosses were growing more confident about the sector’s prospects, but “headwinds of sustained economic challenges” still remained.

Continue reading...

Eurozone inflation rises to 2.9% after increase in energy costs

Posted on by

December data comes amid speculation over when European Central Bank will cut interest rates

Inflation across the eurozone rose in December after an increase in energy costs, reversing six months of consecutive falls and easing the pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates.

Figures from the EU statistical agency Eurostat showed consumer prices across the 20-country bloc rose at an annual rate of 2.9% last month, up from 2.4% in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a slightly higher reading of 3% for December.

Continue reading...

Why is Germany’s economy struggling – and can the government fix it?

Posted on by

As railway staff, lorry drivers, farmers and others threaten to strike, we examine the challenges the country faces

Railway staff, lorry drivers and farmers are among those threatening strike action across Germany from Monday in nationwide protests over grievances ranging from pay and conditions to cuts in agricultural subsidies and higher road tolls.

Long Europe’s powerhouse, Germany is struggling with a potent mix of short-term and deeper structural problems that – along with a divided and seemingly ineffectual government – have prompted economists to talk of the “sick man of Europe”.

Continue reading...

Global economy faces period of prolonged weakness, UN warns

Posted on by

Secretary general urges countries to increase investment to avoid falling behind on climate action and sustainable development

The world faces a protracted period of weak economic growth that will undermine progress on sustainable development, the UN has warned, as it urged countries to raise investment to tackle the climate emergency.

Its annual assessment of the state of the global economy presents a sombre outlook for growth as countries grapple with the impact of higher borrowing costs, geopolitical tensions and heightened risk of climate disasters.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says his ‘working assumption’ is that general election will take place in second half of 2024 – UK politics live

Posted on by

PM appears to rule out spring election after recent speculation it could be held in May

Starmer says being in opposition is frustrating, and he accuses the Tories of treating it as performance art.

He is now on the passage about his career in public service that was posted earlier. See 9.12am.

If you’ve been breaking your back to keep trading, steering your business through the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the challenge of Brexit and the chaos of Westminster.

If you’ve been serving our country, whether in scrubs or the uniform of your regiment and what you want now is a politics that serves you, then make no mistake - this is your year.

Continue reading...

UK factory output lower than expected after fall in domestic and export orders

Posted on by

Higher borrowing costs and slump in demand contribute to 17th consecutive month of contraction

Britain’s factories started the year on a weaker footing after 17 consecutive months of contraction, as higher borrowing costs and a slump in demand took their toll.

Factory output fell by more than expected in December after a drop in orders from domestic and export clients, according to the latest snapshot from S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

Continue reading...

Labour should make UK leader in wellbeing-informed policy, says peer

Posted on by

Call by economics of happiness expert Richard Layard comes as research agency set up under David Cameron is to be axed in Whitehall cuts

A Labour government should make the UK the world’s first country to make policy based on its impact on wellbeing as well as the economy, one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of happiness has said.

With Keir Starmer in No 10, Downing Street should require Whitehall departments to appraise the potential impact on citizens’ wellbeing when they make funding bids, Richard Layard said. The next chancellor should announce measures of happiness and misery alongside GDP in their annual budget statements, he added.

Continue reading...

‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ Japan’s labour shortage forces it to rethink gender stereotypes

Posted on by

Freight and logistics sector is turning to women to fill gap as demand for drivers grows alongside cap on overtime

When Mayumi Watanabe tells people what she does for a living, most struggle to hide their surprise, and not just because of her diminutive stature. As a truck driver with 23 years behind the wheel, she is one of a small but growing number of women coming to the rescue of an industry that is the beating heart of Japan’s economy.

“I can see they’re thinking, ‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ ” Watanabe, who is 152cm (5ft) tall, told the Observer as she prepared for the busy run-up to the end of the year. “But I’ve always loved cars, so it felt natural to want to be a truck driver.”

Continue reading...

Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons – poll

Posted on by

Only one in 10 feel leaving the EU has helped their finances, while just 9% say it has benefited the NHS, despite £350m a week pledge according to new poll

A clear majority of the British public now believes Brexit has been bad for the UK economy, has driven up prices in shops, and has hampered government attempts to control immigration, according to a poll by Opinium to mark the third anniversary of the UK leaving the EU single market and customs union.

The survey of more than 2,000 UK voters also finds strikingly low numbers of people who believe that Brexit has benefited them or the country.

Continue reading...

Britons cut back on dining out and buying clothes, Barclays reveals

Posted on by

Annual card spending report says consumers are prioritising travel and nights out and buying value-range groceries amid cost of living crisis

Hard-pressed consumers cut back on eating out and buying new clothes to prioritise spending on travel, entertainment and a visit to the pub over the past year, as soaring inflation and rising bills sharply curtailed the rate of spending growth.

Consumer card spending increased by 4.1% year-on-year in 2023, almost two-thirds lower than the 10.6% rise in 2022, as the sharp increase in the cost of living took its toll on households.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt fuels election speculation as 6 March spring budget announced

Posted on by

Chancellor has asked the OBR to prepare forecasts for the economy and public finances to be presented to parliament

Jeremy Hunt has announced that a spring budget expected to feature a host of tax cuts will be held on 6 March, fuelling speculation over an early general election.

While government sources insisted nothing should be read into the date, it is the earliest the set-piece fiscal event has been held in 13 years of Conservative government – apart from 2021 when the Treasury was trying to kickstart the economy after Covid.

Continue reading...

How a spring UK budget could fire the starting gun for an early election

Posted on by

UK economic prospects are bleak but an agenda-setting fiscal event such as sweeping tax cuts in March offers another roll of the dice

To grasp the nettle, or wait in the hope that things somehow miraculously improve. This is the choice Rishi Sunak will be weighing for the next general election, as the Conservatives limp towards the finishing line of another challenging year.

After Jeremy Hunt announced the government would hold an earlier than anticipated budget, with a date set for 6 March, the possibility of a poll in May, in the afterglow of some electioneering tax cuts, is clearly being given considerable thought.

Continue reading...

Boxing Day footfall rises but number of shoppers is well down on pre-Covid levels

Posted on by

Weaker Christmas spending amid cost of living crisis and fewer shops opening cut visitor numbers by 30% on 2019

Retailers have recorded a small pickup in Boxing Day footfall, but visits to stores remained well below pre-pandemic levels as several high street chains stayed shut.

Retailers have been braced for weak spending over the Christmas period as the UK economy stagnates amid the cost of living crisis.

Continue reading...

Hard cheese: Canada rejects British attempt to secure tariff-free exports

Posted on by

Many UK cheese makers could face 245% duty from 1 January, making exporting unaffordable

A priceless opportunity to sell “more affordable high-quality cheese to Canada” was one of those many Brexit boons that Boris Johnson championed with his customary blather as prime minister.

A bespoke UK-Canada trade deal was going to open up the Canadian market to cheddar, stilton and wensleydale in a way that had never been possible under a trading agreement struck between the EU and Canada.

Continue reading...

Ikea warns Red Sea attacks could disrupt supplies and deliveries

Posted on by

Firm says it is weighing up options to secure product availability amid Yemeni rebel attacks on shipping

Ikea has warned that the disruption to global trade caused by Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea could delay its deliveries and affect availability of some products.

The world’s largest furniture company said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products” after many big shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez canal in response to the attacks by Houthi militants’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war.

Continue reading...

Javier Milei’s radical economic policies for Argentina met with protests

Posted on by

New libertarian president accused of drawing up a ‘battle plan against working people’

Thousands of protesters have poured on to the streets of Buenos Aires after Argentina’s new president announced a far-reaching emergency decree containing dozens of controversial economic measures – a move one prominent critic compared to the actions of an absolute monarchy.

Javier Milei, a radical libertarian economist who was inaugurated less than a fortnight ago, won power promising a dramatic shake-up of Argentina’s moribund economy amid rampant inflation and widespread poverty. On Wednesday night Milei appeared on television, flanked by 12 stony-faced ministers and top officials, to unveil a decree he claimed would haul the South American country out of “the economic hell we are now living through”.

Continue reading...

UK and Switzerland agree to deepen ties between City and Swiss banking system

Posted on by

Treasury says post-Brexit tie-up to be signed on Thursday will ease cross-border market access for financial services

The UK and Switzerland will agree to forge closer links on Thursday in a post-Brexit accord that aims to deepen ties between the City and the Swiss banking system.

In a move that brings Europe’s largest financial centres closer together, the mutual recognition agreement will be signed on Thursday by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, during a visit to Berne.

Continue reading...

UK inflation in unexpectedly steep fall to 3.9% amid lower bread and fuel prices

Posted on by

Forecast-beating drop in November takes rate to lowest level in more than two years

Britain’s two-year cost of living crisis eased last month as cheaper petrol and less expensive food helped send the annual inflation rate sharply lower to 3.9% – its second big monthly fall in succession.

In a much bigger decline than had been anticipated by economists, the annual rate of price rises fell from 4.6% in October to its lowest level since September 2021.

Continue reading...

Drop in UK inflation is welcome but does not erase two years of pain

Posted on by

Food prices were 29% higher last month than in September 2021, leaving many households still under pressure

At last, UK inflation has fallen far and fast enough to start to match countries such as France, where the annual rate of price rises has reduced at a faster pace this year.

At 3.9% last month, the headline figure remains almost double the 2% target set for the Bank of England but significantly lower than the 11.1% peak in October last year and below the 5.3% target Rishi Sunak set for the end of 2023.

Continue reading...