6:25 am, March 25, 2023
Business groups hit out at Bank boss for saying price rises ‘hurt people’
Campaigners have warned of business failures and job losses if companies follow the Bank of England chief’s suggestion not to raise prices above inflation.
Andrew Bailey asked retailers to think twice before setting prices above the rate of inflation because it risks embedding higher prices into the economy, adding in his Radio 4 interview that higher inflation ‘hurts people and it particularly hurts the least well-off in society’.
But business groups stressed that retailers, particularly in the hospitality sector, have had no choice but to ‘reluctantly’ raise prices to offset cost pressures. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: ‘Without adequate government support, whether it is through energy, business rates or VAT, doing as the governor asks will just mean business failure and job losses, compounding the country’s economic woes.’
Macron delays King’s visit amid massive demonstrations
A planned state visit to France by the King has been postponed amid continuing unrest across the country and calls for a new round of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension legislation.
Charles had been scheduled to arrive in France tomorrow to celebrate France and Britain’s renewed friendship.
But the protests and strikes against Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 promised to affect the visit, with some workers refusing to roll out the red carpet for the King’s arrival.
Singing estate agent’s NeverEnding Story-inspired video goes viral
A music video designed to advertise a five-bedroom house on Rightmove has gone viral, garnering nearly 200,000 views in just one day on YouTube.
Claire Cossey, owner of Just-Knock Estate Agents, sang a song about a £700,000 Bedfordshire home she was eager to sell and dubbed it the ‘never-ending property’ – parodying Limahl’s 1984 hit NeverEnding Story – because of its five bedrooms, five reception rooms, three bedrooms and games room.
The 43-year-old, who was a singer for 24 years before starting her business, told the PA news agency: ‘I’ve never known anything like it. It’s just shocking and it is just escalating at a fast rate. Even someone from New York has contacted me.’
Final Covid-19 data shows infections in England highest since start of year
The final regular official estimates of Covid-19 in the UK show infections in England have climbed to their highest level since the start of the year.
The trend in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is uncertain, although there are signs the virus is continuing to become more prevalent.
An estimated 1.5m people in private households in England were likely to have had coronavirus in the week ending March 13 – up from 1.3m in the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics. Any further monitoring of Covid-19 will be announced after a review to ensure it is cost-effective, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
Next to unveil higher sales and profits despite consumer spending pressure
Next is set to unveil higher sales and profits as the high street giant hopes to shrug off concerns over consumer spending.
The retailer will reveal on Wednesday how it performed over the year to January. Investors are expecting the company to reveal that sales grew by around 6.9 per cent to £4.6bn over the year.
It is also predicted to show that pre-tax profits rose by 4.5 per cent to £860m, having increased its projection from £840m set in November.
Unions shouldn’t comply with new minimum service laws, says FBU chief
Unions are being urged to build a campaign to defy the controversial new law on minimum levels of service during strikes.
Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Matt Wrack called for ‘mass non-co-operation and non-compliance’ with the Minimum Service Levels Bill currently going through Parliament.
The FBU said the TUC should convene an emergency conference to launch a campaign of defiance and civil disobedience against the Bill if it becomes law.
Employers have important role in supporting parents and caregivers – Kate
The Princess of Wales has said employers have an important role in making it possible for parents to balance a successful working life with a nurturing home life for their children.
Kate this week urged business leaders to prioritise well-being in the workplace to support family life as she launched her Business Taskforce for Early Childhood.
Writing in FT Weekend, the future Queen said investing in early childhood is ‘a down payment for our collective future’.
Archaeologists on ‘first-of-its-kind’ mission to map sunken ancient landscapes
Two British archaeologists are set to embark on a ‘first-of-its-kind’ mission to map ancient landscapes lost to the oceans thousands of years ago.
Dr Simon Fitch, from the University of Bradford, and Professor Richard Bates, from the University of St Andrews, will travel to Split to begin a five-day survey of the Adriatic seabed as part of the Life on the Edge project, which has received £1m from UK Research and Innovation.
The maps can then be analysed for clues into the lives of humans who lived there between 10,000 and 24,000 years ago, during the late Paleolithic period. Geoarchaeologist Dr Fitch said: ‘This is the first time anyone is going more than 500 metres from the coastline in the Adriatic to map the seabed.’
Dog chews instead of chicken breasts among unusual store delivery substitutions
Online shoppers have received dog chews instead of chicken breasts and strawberries in place of bin liners in some of the strangest supermarket substitutions, according to a poll.
Almost half of supermarket deliveries (47 per cent) included a substitute item over the past 12 months, Which? found in a survey of 3,007 UK adults.
More than six out of 10 Asda customers (62 per cent) reported receiving a substitution in their most recent shop, with one getting dog chews instead of chicken breasts. One Iceland shopper told Which? they received strawberries instead of bin bags.
Call for regular eye tests for drivers as four per cent of licence holders are 80 or older
A record one in 25 driving licence holders in Britain is aged 80 or above, leading to renewed calls for regular eye tests for motorists.
Some 1.6m people with a licence are in that age category, according to PA news agency analysis of DVLA figures. That’s up from 1.4m two years ago and accounts for four per cent of all drivers with a full licence – the most in records dating back to 2012.
Responding to the increase, motoring research charity the RAC Foundation urged the government to introduce compulsory eye tests for all drivers during licence renewals.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Dodgy car dealer fined for unfair trading after using ‘sold as seen’ disclaimer to sell faulty vehicle
- Mercedes-Benz workers are investigated over possible corruption
- Inchcape’s shares slide after its own broker issues note of caution despite huge profit rise
- Wrexham showroom takes top spot as Volkswagen UK honours the best of its dealer network
- Vote, vote, vote for your favourite car manufacturers and suppliers in Car Dealer Power 2023!
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed down 94.15 points yesterday to end the week on 7,405.45. The Cac 40 was down 124.15 points at 7,015.10, the Dax was down 253.16 points at 14,957.23 but the Dow Jones was up 132.28 points at 32,237.53.
Weather outlook
Today will see sunny spells, variable cloud and scattered showers that will be heavy in places, says BBC Weather. It’ll be cloudier in central and southern Scotland as well as northern England but drier in northern Scotland. Winds will ease.
Sunday morning will see rain clear from the south-east. The north will have some wintry showers, becoming confined to eastern parts. It’ll turn more bright from the north but the south will be cloudier.
Remember, remember…
British Summer Time starts at 1am tomorrow – March 26 – so if they don’t do it automatically, remember to put your clocks and watches forward an hour.
They will go back an hour at 2am on Sunday, October 29, when the UK returns to Greenwich Mean Time.
