Author: WTX Business Team

Financial Times – Sunak sacks Tory party chair Zahawi over ‘serious breach’ of ministers’ code All of todays newspapers are dominated by the sacking of Nadhim Zahawi as Tory party chairman over a penalty he was forced to pay to HMRC. The Financial Times notes that an inquiry found Zahawi had committed “serious breaches” of the ministerial code and says the move represents a “significant U-turn” for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who only weeks ago insisted Zahawi had “addressed this matter in full”. The paper also described the episode as only the “latest political scandal to hit the ruling party”.

UK homes cancelled 2m streaming services last year as cost of living crisis soared  More than 2 million subscriptions to services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ were cut by cash-strapped Britons as the cost of living crisis fuelled the first annual decline since the UK streaming revolution began a decade ago. Despite a royal boost – via The Crown and Harry & Meghan, almost 900,000 UK households gave up on the streaming services last year, as the total number having at least one paid-for subscription fell from 17.12m in 2021 to 16.24m. Many households that still stream have…

UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt prioritises stability over tax cuts FT says Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s chancellor, has issued a message to small-state Tory MPs that they will have to wait for tax cuts, telling a business audience that “the best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation”. Hunt, who was appointed after the debacle of the autumn Budget — which caused turmoil in financial markets — has been under pressure from backbenchers to cut taxes, despite the UK’s precarious public finances in the wake of the Covid crisis. He said that in the long run “we need lower taxes”,…

Royal Mail says strikes have cost them £200m The recent wave of postal strikes that have swept the UK have cost the Royal Mail £200m so far, according to the firm’s owner. The row with the CWU union over pay and conditions has led to 18 days of strike action since August. Royal Mail also said the number of voluntary redundancies it needed to hit job cut targets would be much lower than it first expected. They said it will be less than the 5,000-6,000 originally forecast, partly due to staff turnover. The dispute with the Communication Workers Union (CWU)…

UK car production falls to lowest for 66 years  UK car production – the number of cars made in the UK – fell sharply again last year, sinking to its lowest level since 1956. The drop marks a 10% fall from 2021, which itself was a historic low. There is a continuing global shortage of semiconductor chips, which has hit production lines.  But car makers are concerned the UK has not yet got a plan to make the country competitive as a destination for manufacturing investment. The government said it was “determined” to ensure the country remains a top global…

Striking Amazon workers have ‘nothing to lose’ in first UK walkout, says union The Independent says Amazon workers staging their first ever strike in the UK in a dispute over pay have “nothing to lose”, a union has said. Members of the GMB at the company’s fulfilment centre in Coventry voted to walk out on Wednesday in protest at a pay rise the union said is worth 50p an hour. GMB senior organiser Stuart Richards said: “Today, Amazon workers in Coventry will make history. “They’ve defied the odds to become the first ever Amazon workers in the UK to go…

Eurostar carrying 1/3 fewer passengers between UK and Paris  The Eurostar boss Gwendoline Cazenave has said its trains between the UK and Paris are carrying 30% fewer passengers. Ms Cazenave said there were “bottlenecks” in stations due to post-Brexit border checks and current levels of border staff. Eurostar is currently running 14 services per day between London and Paris, compared with 18 in 2019. She said the company might not restore some of the suspended services due to the problems. “The thing is now we are not able to run the same transport offer as what we had before in…

Elon Musk on trial in fraud case – the controversial $40m tweet A controversial 2018 tweet from Elon Musk has seen the Tesla owner on the stand, as his fraud trial gets underway.  Musk is on trial after investors in Telsa claimed the tweet – which said he had enough funding secured to take the electric car company private – cost them millions of dollars when a deal did not go ahead. Musk took to the stand today to claim that he had met with a Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund who had indicated they would support a deal. He…

‘The UK may already be in what has been one of the mostly widely anticipated recessions in living memory.’

CITY AM – No room for tax cuts in budget CITY AM reports that economists are predicting that tax cuts look unlikely in the upcoming March budget despite the £11bn windfall from falling energy prices. CITYAM says Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak will hold fire on tax cuts at the 15 March budget despite being handed an around £11bn windfall from international energy prices falling to pre-Russia-Ukraine war levels, according to top economists’ predictions gathered by City A.M. Brits will have to wait until the run up to the next general election, which has to happen before January 2025, for…

FT – Eurozone to avoid recession in 2023 as energy prices and China boost outlook The Financial Times says the eurozone is forecast to defy expectations and avoid a recession this year. A widely-watched survey of economists now predicts the bloc will see growth of 0.1% over 2023 – because of lower energy prices and the reopening of China’s economy. FT says The eurozone will avoid a recession this year, according to a widely-watched survey of economists, which illustrates the sharp about-turn in global economic sentiment in the past couple of weeks. As recently as last month, analysts surveyed by…

It’s becoming even harder to get an affordable deal.

Financial Times – Central banks vow to stay the course on high rates until inflation is tamed The Financial Times reports that investors have been put on notice that central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic will “stay the course” on interest rate increases to cool their economies and tame high inflation. FT says Investors have been put on notice that central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic will “stay the course” on interest rate increases to cool down their economies and tame high inflation. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde warned that further big rate rises lay…

Retail sales fall in December as shoppers cut back on spending The Office of National Statistics released new figures showing retail sales fell by 1% in December, as shoppers cut back on spending. The ONS said that retailers told them “consumers are cutting back on spending because of increased prices and affordability concerns.” There was a sharp drop at non-food stores, but food stores also reported a fall in sales. The ONS also revised down figures for November. It said that sales volumes fell by 0.5% instead of the original estimate of a 0.4% drop. The rate of inflation remains close…

Ardern announced her resignation on Thursday.

Broadband bills are expected to rise by 14.4% in April.

Dyson calls UK approach to economy ‘stupid’ Sir James Dyson has called the government’s approach to the economy and business in the UK “stupid” and “short-sighted.” Dyson said growth had “become a dirty word” during Rishi Sunak’s premiership. Dyson writes in the Daily Telegraph, urging the government to “incentivise private innovation and demonstrate its ambition for growth”. Levelling-up secretary Michael Gove said the government was “firing on all cylinders” to help businesses. Dyson, a prominent supporter of Brexit and a net worth of around £23bn, said the government believed it could “impose tax upon tax on companies in the belief…

Supermarket’s rise to £13.18 on 1 February puts hourly minimum rate 20% ahead of January 2022 Aldi is increasing pay for UK warehouse workers for the third time in a year – with the hourly minimum rate now 20% ahead of last January. The German-owned discounter, which is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, said pay would rise to £13.18 on 1 February, up 4% on the current minimum of £12.66, which was introduced in September. Continue reading… ​Supermarket’s rise to £13.18 on 1 February puts hourly minimum rate 20% ahead of January 2022Aldi is increasing pay for UK warehouse workers…

This online tool will help you discover what is contributing to your household’s cost of living increases Inflation is soaring in the UK as people are hit by higher prices for everyday essentials. Now in double digits, the latest inflation rate for the 12 months to December 2022 means that goods and services cost over 10.5% more than they did a year ago – in most cases, surpassing any pay rises workers can expect to receive. Continue reading… ​This online tool will help you discover what is contributing to your household’s cost of living increasesInflation is soaring in the UK…

FT – IMF outlook turns brighter as world copes with upheaval  Wednesday’s Financial Times paints an optimistic picture of the world’s economy in 2023, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly predicting an improvement in the second half of the year and into 2024. It comes as a result of China dropping Covid controls, the US launching a green investment boom and western Europe adjusting to the war in Ukraine, the paper writes. Read a summary of Today’s newspaper headlines here – and check out the back pages. 

Overall food and drink inflation across the eight major supermarkets reached 15% in December, but butters and spreads rose by an ‘astonishing’ 29.4%.

The daily and weekly cap on pay-as-you-go Tube fares will increase by up to 6.7 per cent, depending on how many zones are travelled.

UK inflation falls but food prices continue to rise For a second month in a row, price rises in the UK have slowed but the cost of food kept inflation at a 40-year high. Inflation fell to 10.5% in the year to December from 10.7% in November. Petrol and diesel costs also eased last month but food prices – including milk, cheese and eggs, continued to soar. Restaurant and hotel prices also rose in December along with a record rise in airfares. Cost of living crisis Food prices rose 16.8% in the year to December, according to the Office for…

Netflix flight attendant job offers $385,000 salary Netflix is on the hunt for a flight attendant for one of its private jets – with the successful applicant being paid as much as $385,000. The company is looking for candidates with “independent judgement, discretion and outstanding customer service skills”. And expect the application to be able to “operate with little direction and a lot of self-motivation.” The job advertisement comes after last year’s axing of hundreds of jobs at the streaming site – following a drop in subscribers, amid a growing cost of living and competition from other streaming sites. “The…

EY is understood to be ready to take control after talks about new funding fail The battery startup Britishvolt is expected to collapse into administration on Tuesday after talks about funding from new investors failed. The company’s efforts to build a giant facility near Blyth in Northumberland have stalled in recent months as it has struggled to find a cash injection to pursue the project. Continue reading… ​EY is understood to be ready to take control after talks about new funding failThe battery startup Britishvolt is expected to collapse into administration on Tuesday after talks about funding from new investors…