Start of superstar’s world tour ‘seems to have coloured inflation’, says economist, after tens of thousands of fans flocked to the capital for concerts
Swedish inflation fell below 10% in May, official statistics showed, but was still higher than expected with some analysts suggesting superstar Beyoncé had tipped the scales.
Consumer prices rose by 9.7% in May year-on-year, down from 10.5% in April, the first time inflation has come in under 10% in over six months.
Continue reading...Unemployment rate unexpectedly falls to 3.8% in three months to April, in sign of strength for jobs market
UK wages grew at a faster than expected pace in April, reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates next week.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show growth in average regular pay, excluding bonuses, strengthened to 7.2% in the three months to April – the highest level on record, excluding the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Households and firms can expect more financial pain despite Britain dodging technical recession, says KPMG
Britain will be left with deep scars from the pandemic despite narrowly escaping a second recession within three years and growing signs of an economic pick up, according to new forecasts.
A new report by the accountancy firm KPMG has found that the economy has enjoyed a better start to the year than it had thought, and is now expected to grow by 0.3% this year, compared with its previous prediction of an uplift of just 0.1%.
Continue reading...Despite 11 hikes in the cash rate since last May, some forecasters think the central bank could still raise borrowing costs again
It’s Reserve Bank roulette time for another month with borrowers and pundits bracing for the potential of another rate rise surprise.
Since May last year, the central bank has lifted interest rates on the first Tuesday of each month, with only the January holiday break and a short-lived pause in April breaking the metronomic rise in mortgage pain.
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Continue reading...45 breweries, mostly smaller makers, enter insolvency in last 12 months, up from 15 the previous year
The number of UK breweries going out of business has tripled in the past year, with smaller craft beer manufacturers most at risk as consumers opt for cheaper options during the cost of living crisis, according to research.
In total, 45 breweries entered insolvency in the 12 months ending 31 March, compared with 15 in the previous year, according to the most recent official Insolvency Service statistics analysed by Mazars, an audit, tax and advisory firm.
Continue reading...Statutory caps were brought in under Heath, now the government wants a voluntary store scheme to meet Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation
A cost-of-living crisis. Pressure on the government to step in to help hard-pressed consumers. Calls for supermarkets to cut prices on staple food items. Substitute Rishi Sunak for Ted Heath, step into a time capsule and journey back to Britain in 1972.
Let’s be clear: ministers are not considering imposing the sort of statutory price controls on a loaf of bread, a pint of milk or a bar of soap that were put in place half a century ago. Not now and not ever, according to Whitehall sources. But it has emerged that Sunak and his team are certainly not averse to the big supermarkets coming up with their own voluntary agreement to reduce the cost of the weekly shop.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium says rate fell from 15.7% to 15.4% even as rise in overall shop prices hits fresh high
Food inflation in the UK fell in May, lifting hopes that the rapid increase in grocery prices may have reached its peak after keeping the broader consumer prices index painfully high so far this year.
After more than a year of sharp increases in the price of food, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said annual food inflation eased this month from 15.7% to 15.4%, even as the overall rise in shop prices hits a fresh high.
Continue reading...The once humble, low-cost staple more than doubles in price, putting many fish and chip shops at risk
Whether it’s fried, baked or mashed, potatoes have traditionally been a low-cost staple food in the UK – but not any more.
A surge in costs is clobbering high street chippies, while in the supermarket, oven chips and the once humble baking potato are casualties of soaring grocery prices.
Continue reading...High inflation likely to push interest rates above 5% and force up mortgage and loan payments just ahead of election
Rishi Sunak has been warned the UK economy could be in recession next year as stubbornly high inflation pushes interest rates to more than 5% before the next general election.
Setting the stage for a further rise in borrowing costs on mortgages and loans for millions of households, economists predicted the Bank of England could be forced to drive Britain’s economy into a recession to tame inflation.
Continue reading...Lenders forced to raise fixed-term deals after latest inflation figure pushed swap rates upwards
Households looking for a new mortgage deal have been warned to expect 5%-plus fixed-rate deals in the coming weeks, after Wednesday’s inflation figures sent the money markets back into turmoil.
Nick Mendes, the mortgage technical manager at the broker John Charcol, said on Thursday that he doubts that there will be any two-year fixed-rate mortgages and probably few five-year deals priced at less than 5% in the coming weeks, as lenders are forced to reprice their mortgages upwards.
Continue reading...Former regulator head’s comments follow Guardian Australia analysis which shows Coles and Woolworths increased profit margins during cost-of-living crisis
The former competition watchdog head Rod Sims says Australia’s big supermarkets have likely used their market power to increase prices higher than necessary during a cost-of-living crisis and that the government should consider reforming merger laws to limit their dominance.
Sims, who retired as the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last year, said Coles and Woolworths have little to worry about when making pricing decisions because they control two-thirds of the market.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s Farm to Fork meeting, the first of its kind, failed to address solutions to inflation, soaring costs and food security, say attenders
Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street food summit has been described as “empty" by food and farming industry representatives, who rounded on the prime minister for failing to discuss soaring inflation or set out measures to safeguard British food production.
The Farm to Fork summit, the first meeting of its kind, brought together farmers, food producers and some of Britain’s largest supermarkets.
Continue reading...Supermarket chain and consumer goods company insist they are protecting shoppers from inflation surge
Sainsbury’s and the Marmite maker Unilever have both insisted they are protecting shoppers from inflation, amid accusations that some companies are profiteering from the cost of living crisis.
“We are not profiteering in any form,” the chief executive of Unilever, Alan Jope, said as the consumer goods company insisted it was only passing on three-quarters of its increased costs to customers.
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The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is this morning committing to $260m to Australia’s national parks to address problems after “a decade of neglect”.
Plibersek is telling ABC News some parks have become unsafe:
What we’ve seen in our national parks, feral animals, invasive weeds, despite the best efforts of our rangers and staff, they just haven’t been able to keep up with the demand in our parks.
They’ve actually become unsafe. One of the worst examples I heard was broken and missing crocodile signs in Kakadu national park.
Continue reading...Renee Fry-McKibbin says panel considered ‘a lot of alternative frameworks’ but decision on shift would fall to future reviews
The review of the Reserve Bank of Australia has “opened the door” for a potential shift away from targeting inflation using interest rates, one of the review panellists says.
Renee Fry-McKibbin told an event on Monday that the panellists had examined “a lot of alternative frameworks” but it would fall to future reviews to discuss ditching the bank’s current goal of aiming to keep inflation between 2% and 3%.
Continue reading...Increase to 4.5% will be last rise in current cycle, former rate-setter Michael Saunders predicts
The Bank of England is likely to increase interest rates one more time in May, to 4.5%, before inflation falls “sharply” over the rest of the year, a former rate-setter has predicted.
Michael Saunders, who was a member of the monetary policy committee until August, said the UK was nearly at a “turning point” for interest rates, which have risen sharply over the past year as policymakers tried to curb a surge in prices caused by an increase in energy costs.
Continue reading...Australians will find out at 2.30pm AEST whether the Reserve Bank will pause its interest rates hikes after 10 consecutive rises. Follow the day’s news live
Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, says becoming a republic is “inevitable” even if Australians are proud to have the British monarch as their head of state.
In his first interview since taking up the post, Smith told the Times newspaper that most British people would be “indifferent” to Australia getting rid of the monarchy and it would not damage the countries’ relationship.
There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia.
That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.
My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.
Our public-sector workers do a great job serving their fellow Victorians and we’re proud to support them. In addition to wage increases, workers will be able to obtain a sign-on bonus while productivity improvements will bring the potential for further advancement of conditions.
The policy provides fair outcomes for employees while being responsible as we deal with the types of budget challenges faced by families, businesses and governments across the world.
Continue reading...Commission appointments must be signed off by the governor general. Follow live
Sorry – I am told by a couple of senators that it was “technically” 4.13am.
So expect to see a few bleary-eyed senators in the coffee lines this morning.
Continue reading...Tim Martin says Bank of England is right to ask firms to be mindful but advice should not be taken too literally
The boss of JD Wetherspoon has warned it could be “catastrophic” for pubs and restaurants to hold off raising prices as costs continue to soar, as the pub chain revealed that the “ferocious” impact of inflation has fuelled a dramatic increase in its bills.
Tim Martin said that Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, was right to warn companies to be mindful of how much they put up prices to avoid continuing to fuel an inflationary cycle, after the headline annual rate unexpectedly rose to 10.4% last month.
Continue reading...Bipartisan approach likely as Senate addresses changes to the rules governing referendums. Follow the day’s news live
Voice negotiations
The referendum machinery legislation will set up how the voice referendum will run – the machinery surruounding the vote, if you will.
We’re negotiating in good faith in the Senate that’s being led by Jane Hume who is doing an outstanding job. What we said to the government in the beginning is what we’re saying to them now and that is that we are not prepared to trash decades of referendum precedent, and not do this in a way that Australians expect us to, in their interests, for their information.
We’re asking for a pamphlet to outline the yes and no case, and we’ve talked about that. We’re asking for equal funding of the yes or no case, not the millions of dollars that may go into a public campaign on either side of this debate, but just the administration funding.
Fifty-seven per cent of the population does not want to open new coal and gas mines and I think there’s a very clear message coming through there. Secondly, no, I have got a lot of time for Jacqui Lambie, but we had an emissions trading scheme in this country and she was part of a party that voted to repeal it so let’s let’s not get too carried away with the spin here.
We’re in a climate crisis, as the UN secretary general has made clear. The decisions that we make now will reverberate for generations to come and the big decisions that we’ve got to make, do we open new coal and gas mines or not?
Continue reading...