6:55 am, February 16, 2023
Inflation falls to five-month low, but cost pressures remain intense
UK inflation slowed by more than expected in January to hit a five-month low in a further sign that the cost-of-living crisis has passed its peak, official figures have shown.
The Office for National Statistics revealed Consumer Prices Index inflation dropped sharply to 10.1 per cent last month – the lowest reading since September last year – from 10.5 per cent in December as lower air fares and fuel costs helped slow down the pace of price rises.
Most economists had been expecting a drop to 10.3 per cent last month.
SNP president expects ‘contested’ election to replace Nicola Sturgeon
The race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s First Minister will be a ‘contested’ election, the SNP’s president has said, as the party puts into motion the steps to find a new leader.
Ms Sturgeon shocked Holyrood on Wednesday after she told a hastily arranged press conference she was to quit, but she insisted she was not reacting to ‘short-term pressures’ after a series of political setbacks.
‘In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it’s right for me, for my party and my country,’ she said at Bute House, her official residence, on Wednesday.
Land Registry and DVLA staff to stage more strikes in pay row
Civil servants are to hold more strikes in the increasingly bitter dispute over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said its members working for the Land Registry and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will take industrial action in the coming weeks.
DVLA staff in Swansea will join more than 350 PCS members at the Land Registry in Birkenhead, Coventry, Croydon, Durham, Fylde, Gloucester, Hull, Leicester, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Swansea, Telford and Weymouth in striking from February 27 to March 3.
Read the full story here.
Hannah David, PCS vice president of the Culture Sector back out on the Brisish Museum picket line.#PCSonStrike #BlameTheGovt #HeartUnions❤️ pic.twitter.com/xLreEY6XaV
— PCS Union (@pcs_union) February 15, 2023
Musk ‘demanded Twitter tweak site to better promote his tweets’
Elon Musk demanded Twitter engineers build a system to better promote his tweets on the platform after the Tesla boss got less engagement on a post about the Super Bowl than US president Joe Biden, it has been reported.
According to a report by US outlet Platformer, the Twitter owner threatened to fire his engineering team unless they tweaked the social media site to boost the promotion of Mr Musk’s posts to Twitter’s entire user base after he became frustrated at the lower number of views of his own posts.
Earlier this week, many Twitter users reported that their For You section of the app – which is meant to show some content from accounts the user does not follow but the site believes will be of interest to them – had been flooded with posts from the Tesla boss.
FTSE posts gains after briefly surpassing 8,000 mark for first time
London’s top index of firms surpassed the 8,000-point mark for the first time on Wednesday as the pound lost significant ground.
However, the FTSE 100 finished just short after only briefly hitting the milestone peak. The index moved 0.55 per cent, or 43.98 points, higher to finish at 7,997.83.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German Dax rose by 0.89 per cent, and the French Cac 40 increased by 1.35 per cent at close.
Wednesday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Investigation: What happens next to used car prices? When will they start to fall?
- Peter Vardy in advanced talks to buy two sites from used car dealer Cazoo
- Toyota confirms death of founder’s son, who led global growth, aged 97
- Snows expands network with acquisition of J Davy Vauxhall and Citroen sites in Basingstoke
- Vertu Motors adds to sponsorship portfolio with Somerset County Cricket Club deal
- Used EV market needs more support in Spring Budget, says Vehicle Remarketing Association
- Volkswagen has Greenpeace-led climate case thrown out of court
- Mini reveals its first electric Convertible as special edition
UK-built hydrogen-electric truck manages 350 miles on a single tank
A UK-built hydrogen-electric truck has driven for 350 miles on a single tank, despite wintry conditions hampering efforts.
Tilbury-based Tevva is currently in the process of developing a 7.5-tonne battery electric vehicle but has also been putting a hydrogen-electric version through its paces during some cold weather testing recently.
Four engineers undertook a ‘range test’ of Tevva’s 7.5-tonne hydrogen-electric model, driving between London and the Scottish border at Berwick-on-Tweed.
Tilbury to Scotland🎉🎉
Tevva covered almost 350 miles without needing a single charge!
This was possible by the truck’s hydrogen fuel cell, which tops up the range-extended (Rex) vehicle’s lithium battery when needed.Read more here: https://t.co/IKC1EidThJ #H2week #hydrogen pic.twitter.com/ViPSHeUEPK
— Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks (@TevvaTrucks) February 14, 2023
Jeremy Corbyn will not be a Labour candidate at next election, Starmer confirms
Sir Keir Starmer has for the first time unequivocally barred his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election as he invited his critics to leave the party.
On an ‘important day’ for Labour, Sir Keir welcomed the equalities watchdog’s decision to lift the party out of two years of special measures over its past failings on antisemitism.
He used a speech on Wednesday to invite his opponents on the Labour left to leave the party which he said is now ‘unrecognisable’ from its form under Mr Corbyn.
Barclays shares tumble after annual profits fall
Barclays has reported a 14 per cent slide in profits as it set aside £1.2bn to cover loan losses, but revealed it handed its boss more than £5m in pay and bonuses last year.
The banking giant said its pre-tax profits totalled £7bn in 2022, down from £8bn in 2021, sending its shares tumbling by 10 per cent in Wednesday morning trading.
The lender said it put aside £1.2bn in loan provisions over the year to guard it against an increase in borrower defaults as rising interest rates put pressure on households and businesses already under strain from the cost-of-living crisis.
Teenagers charged with Brianna Ghey murder remanded in custody
Two teenagers charged with the murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey have been remanded into custody by a district judge.
The pair, a boy and a girl, both aged 15, appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court, sitting as a youth court, on Wednesday and were not required to enter pleas to the charge.
Brianna, from Birchwood in Warrington, was found by members of the public as she lay with fatal stab wounds on a path in Culcheth Linear Park at around 3.13pm on Saturday.
Weather outlook…
Today will see largely dull start with a few spots of rain and hill mist towards the west. Later, rain will clear leaving a few brighter spells, but further rain will move into Northern Ireland, the BBC reports.
Tonight, low cloud and rain will spread east over northern areas, becoming heavy in places with strong winds. Further south, low cloud will also build in for most, with some light rain in the west.
Tomorrow, the south will stay cloudy with light rain and drizzle. Further north will see bright spells, but also blustery showers for some, and it will be very windy, particularly the north-east.
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