6:17 am, March 31, 2026
Shop price inflation edges up as ‘storm clouds loom’ – BRC
Shop price inflation edged up in March as higher costs resulting from the Middle East conflict started to feed into supply chains, figures show.
Shop prices overall were 1.2% higher than a year ago, up from 1.1% in February but still below the three-month average of 1.3%, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ.
The BRC warned that ‘storm clouds loom’ despite ‘subdued’ inflation and noted the headline figure rose even as food inflation eased from 3.5% to 3.4% due to dairy prices falling with lower wholesale milk costs.
Starmer calls for ‘joint effort’ with business on Iran war economic impact
Business chiefs have been urged to help address the economic impact of the Iran war as Sir Keir Starmer admitted the government could not shoulder all the burden.
Bosses from energy, shipping and banking firms were called in to Downing Street for talks as Donald Trump threatened to escalate the Middle East conflict.
The prime minister told the executives gathered in Downing Street it must be a ‘joint effort’ to tackle the impact of the war, saying ‘the government can’t do it on its own’. The talks in Downing Street involved representatives from firms including Shell and BP, shipping giant Maersk, maritime insurance specialist Lloyd’s of London and banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs.
Vauxhall Corsa GSE undergoes testing at the Nurburgring
Vauxhall’s ‘hot’ Corsa GSE has been seen undergoing further testing at the Nurburgring race track in Germany.
Final details on the car have not been confirmed at this stage, though it has been confirmed that the Corsa GSE will receive an uprated chassis setup with tweaks made to its throttle, steering and ESC system.
Vauxhall has not revealed the Corsa GSE’s powertrain, though it’s likely to receive a similar setup found on its bigger brother – the Mokka GSE. That means it’s anticipated to use a 54kWh battery pack with an electric motor to produce 276bhp and 345Nm of torque.
The markets
The FTSE 100 made strong progress on Monday, despite continued oil price strength, on renewed hopes for a peace deal in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 closed up 160.61 points, 1.6%, at 10,127.96. The FTSE 250 ended down 10.25 points, 0.1%, at 20,954.50, and the Aim All-Share advanced 4.49 points, 0.6%, at 710.12.
The pound fell to 1.3191 dollars on Monday afternoon from 1.3288 dollars at the equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to 1.1518 euros from 1.1554 euros.
Households braced for ‘awful April’ as council tax and water bills soar
Households are facing near across-the-board increases in their bills as yet another “awful April” takes effect.
While energy bills are falling – for the time being at least – hikes to council tax, water, broadband and mobile phone costs are threatening to stretch many households to breaking point, charities have warned.
Across England, the average Band D council tax in 2026/27 will be £2,392 – an increase of £111 or 4.9%. Household water bills across England and Wales are to rise by an average of 5.4%, while a number of broadband providers are hiking prices by almost £50 per year.
Monday on Car Dealer
£7.5bn compensation scheme for motor finance scandal revealed
Millions of car drivers who took out motor finance are set to receive payouts this year after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed a sweeping compensation scheme for mis-sold agreements.
Battle of the Buyers 2: Why did we let these dealers buy us some shockers?
The search for the best used car buyer is back as Car Dealer launches Battle of the Buyers 2.
Targa Florio collapsed with £500,000 debts as failed supercar dealer reveals liabilities
Failed supercar dealer Targa Florio collapsed with debts of almost half-a-million pounds, according to new documents.
Accounts for billion-pound turnover car dealer group Hendy are overdue
The billion-pound turnover franchised dealer group Hendy has missed its annual accounting filing date by more than a week.
Government begins review of ZEV mandate prompting hopes of revised EV sales quotas
The government has begun its review of the ZEV mandate, raising the possibility of revised sales quotas in the near future.
Weather
A cloudy start with patchy light rain will brighten slightly in the far north-east, with some sunny spells developing later and a chance of a shower in the south-east, reports BBC Weather.
Tonight, most areas will stay dry, though western Scotland will see rain. Cloud lingers west, with clearer skies in the east.
