6:24 am, August 18, 2025
‘Alarming’ drop in UK consumer confidence over last year – Which?
Consumer confidence in the future UK economy has plummeted over the last year, figures suggest.
Confidence has tumbled by 31 points over the last year, from an average of minus nine between May and July 2024 to an average of minus 40 between May and July this year, Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker shows.
On average between this May and July, 56% of people thought the economy would get worse and just 16% thought it would get better.
More than 200 pubs closed in six months amid tax hikes, figures show
Eight pubs a week shut their doors for good across the UK over the first half of the year amid rising tax and labour costs, according to new figures.
Industry bosses said it is ‘heartbreaking’ and highlighted the need for supportive tax measures from the Treasury in the autumn budget.
Official Government statistics show 209 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the six months to June.
Bentley reveals bespoke ‘Ombre by Mulliner’ paint finish
Bentley has revealed a bespoke paint sample with the ‘Ombre by Mulliner’.
The first Bentley to receive the paint finish is the Continental GT Speed Coupe. The ‘Ombre’ effect changes colour depending on light.
The car is hand-painted at the firm’s Dream Factory in Crewe, England, and takes a total of 56 hours to apply to the vehicle. There’s a choice of three colours available.
The markets
The FTSE 100 fell back after hitting a new all-time high to close lower on Friday amid caution ahead of the US-Russia peace summit, hints of more tariffs and weak US consumer sentiment.
The index closed down 38.34 points, 0.4%, at 9,138.90. It had earlier reached an all-time intra-day high of 9,222.07. The FTSE 250 ended down 43.43 points, 0.2%, at 21,758.24, and the AIM All-Share finished 0.86 of a point higher, 0.1%, at 759.80.
The pound climbed to 1.3566 dollars late on Friday afternoon in London, compared with 1.3541 at the equities close on Thursday.
Starmer and European allies travel to Washington with Zelensky for crunch talks
Sir Keir Starmer will join European leaders in presenting a united front with Volodymyr Zelensky at his crunch meeting at the White House with Donald Trump.
The prime minister and six other political leaders will travel to Washington DC on Monday, with the aim of protecting Ukraine from having to submit to Russian land grabs as a price for peace.
Those joining Sir Keir include France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb, president of Finland.
Rail campaigners say potential 5.5% fares rise would be ‘ripping off’ passengers
A potential 5.5% rise in England’s train fares next year has been described by public transport groups as ‘outrageous’.
July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation – which is often used to determine increases in the cost of train travel – will be announced on Wednesday.
The government has not confirmed how it will determine the cap in regulated fare rises for 2026, but this year’s 4.6% hike was one percentage point above RPI in July 2024.
Latest on Car Dealer
Family-run used car dealer to close down as bosses call it a day after 54 years in the motor trade
An historic family-run used car dealer is to close down after the long-standing owners took the decision to retire.
Vauxhall Corsa is Auto Trader’s fastest selling used car so far in August
The Vauxhall Corsa is currently the fastest selling car in the UK, according to the latest data from Auto Trader.
Admiral sets aside £50m to compensate customers who received insufficient settlements
Insurance firm Admiral revealed this week that it has set aside approximately £50m to compensate its customers who didn’t receive a fair settlement payment if their car was written-off or stolen.
Citroen woes continue as rare ‘stop-drive’ order is expanded to C4, DS4 and DS5 models
Almost 10,000 additional Citroen owners have found themselves caught up in the brand’s rare ‘stop-drive order’ after its ‘code red’ recall was expanded to include further models.
Carzam creditors still owed almost £20m as liquidators probe failed online used car dealer
Failed online used car dealer Carzam still owes almost £20m to its creditors, whose hopes of recouping their money hang in the balance.
Volkswagen UK ‘monitoring situation’ as badge thefts cost owners up to £1,500
Volkswagen is ‘monitoring the situation’ surrounding a spate of badge thefts which has seen thieves target expensive radar sensor components.
Weather
A cloudy start for many today, gradually clearing with sunnier skies developing, especially in the west, reports BBC Weather. South-west England may see heavy, thundery showers. Highs of 25 degrees in the west.
Tonight, low cloud spreads across central and eastern UK, while clearer spells linger in the west and Northern Ireland, with more showers likely in south-west England.
