6:38 am, October 12, 2023

London councils warn of financial ‘knife-edge’ as overspends grow

Councils in London have warned their finances are on a ‘knife-edge’ as they expect to have to make half a billion pounds in savings to balance their books next year.

A survey of the capital’s 32 local authorities found 29 are already set to collectively overspend on their budgets by £400m this year, with many services in peril.

The cross-party London Councils group said boroughs were facing a ‘perfect storm’ of prolonged high inflation, sharply rising demand for services and insufficient government funding that has increased the risk of financial failure.

Antisemitic incidents soar in UK since Hamas attack

Antisemitic incidents in the UK have increased more than fourfold since Hamas’s attack on Israel, according to a Jewish security group.

The Community Security Trust, which represents British Jews on issues of racism and policing, said it had recorded 89 incidents between October 7 and 10 that it classed as ‘anti-Jewish hate’.

It said that marked a 324% rise on the 21 antisemitic incidents recorded over the same period last year.

GDP grew by 0.2% in August, official data shows

The UK’s economy grew slightly in August, figures out today show, with the country’s service sector leading the way, the Office for National Statistics has said.

Gross domestic product increased by 0.2% over the month, in line with what economists had expected.

The ONS also said it had downgraded July’s performance from a fall of 0.5% to a 0.6% drop.

Next eyes £100m deal to buy rival Fat Face – reports

Next is closing on a deal to buy high street rival Fat Face, according to reports.

The FTSE 100 clothing giant is putting the finishing touches to a deal to acquire Fat Face for around £100 million, Sky News reported yesterday.

Next and Fat Face both declined to comment. It comes around three years after Fat Face was taken over by its lenders.

Firm aiming to compete with Eurostar to buy 12 trains

A company aiming to operate services through the Channel Tunnel in competition with Eurostar has agreed to buy 12 trains from French manufacturer Alstom, it said.

Evolyn said £1bn was being invested in its bid to start cross-Channel rail services in 2025.

The company said it is led by the Spanish Cosmen family – an investor in coach and train company Mobico, formerly known as National Express – and is backed by ‘important British and French industrial and financial partners’.

Crane set to remove felled Sycamore Gap tree

The world-famous Sycamore Gap tree is set to be removed from Hadrian’s Wall two weeks after it was chopped down.

A crane will lift the 50ft tree off the historic and delicate Roman wall and it is due to be removed today, the National Trust said.

Northumbria Police arrested a boy aged 16 and a man in his 60s after the tree was felled. They have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Sir Salman Rushdie to release memoir about 2022 stabbing

Sir Salman Rushdie is to release a memoir that documents how he survived an attempt on his life last year that left him blind in one eye.

The 76-year-old Indian-born British author was stabbed repeatedly while on stage at a literary festival in New York state in August 2022.

Sir Salman, who suffered severe, life-changing injuries after the incident, will release Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder with Penguin Random House on April 16 next year.

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter ‘admits keeping money from books’

The daughter of Captain Sir Tom Moore has admitted her family kept profits from three books he had written.

In an interview being broadcast this evening, Hannah Ingram-Moore tells TalkTV’s Piers Morgan that Sir Tom wanted them to get the book profits, which The Sun reported were £800,000.

Sir Tom became a well-known figure when he raised £38m for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. He died in February 2021 aged 100.

Skoda boosts Enyaq’s power

Skoda has tweaked its Enyaq electric SUV and changed its naming structure, with the 80 model replaced by the new 85 and the all-wheel-drive 80x now the 85x.

The 60 keeps its name but the 85 and 85x models now generate 282bhp as standard – an increase of 81bhp over the 80 and 21bhp over the 80x.

Inside, the infotainment system has been cleaned up and the digital cockpit display behind the driver has also been simplified. The new range starts at £38,970 for the 60 version, rising to £44,540 for the 85 and £48,605 for the 80x.

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Market movements

The FTSE 100 closed 8.18 points down yesterday to end the day on 7,620.03. The Cac 40, meanwhile, was down 31.22 points at 7,131.21, the Dax was up 36.49 points at 15460.01, and the Dow Jones was up 65.57 points at 33,804.87.

Weather outlook

It’ll be mostly cloudy and warm in the south today, says BBC Weather, with patchy light rain lingering. There’ll be sunshine further north, but it’ll be cloudy and windy in the far north, with showers. The south-west will have heavy rain by the evening.

Friday will be cloudy in the south, with heavy rain and a risk of thunder, but rain will begin to ease. Further to the north, there’ll be plenty of sunshine and some showers. There’ll also be nrisk north-westerly winds.