The main story this morning is the latest UK inflation rate which has jumped from 2.5% to 3% in January. As the BBC reports, it means that, on average, something which cost £1 a year ago now costs £1.03. The Bank of England’s target for inflation is 2%.
The Guardian adds that Bank of England forecasters have predicted that inflation will rise to 3.7% later this year as energy prices and a series of utility bill increases add to business and household costs. It added this woul dbe a blow to ministers.
Services inflation, which the Financial Times says was a key measure of underlying price pressures, rose to 5% in January from 4.4% in December, but was below economists’ expectations of 5.2% The FT also quotes ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner who said the cost of food and non-alcholic drinks increased as well as highlighting private school fees as a factor.
Energy bills are expected to increase by about 5% from April after a slump in Europe’s gas storage levels caused market prices to climb, reports The Guardian. The average gas and electricity bill for a typical household in Great Britain is expected to rise by £85 from April to £1,823 a year under the energy regulator’s price cap. The Times highlights this will be the third consecutive rise in the energy price cap, which is updated each quarter, and would mean that prices will have risen by more than 16 per cent since September.
The Telegraph attributes this to Britain’s push towards net zero temporarily pushing energy bills higher. The cost of rolling out wind farms, solar farms and other renewable power schemes will inflate prices in the “short to medium term”, making British businesses less competitive internationally, the newspaper reports was fonud on an obscure government website.
Retailers will be required to report suspcisious or bulk purchases of knives, and those caught selling blads to under-18s will face toughter sentences under a new raft of measures, reports The Guardian. This is part of plans to clamp down on young people’s access to weapons labelled under Ronan’s law.
A new policing unit backed with £1m of funding to monitor for weapons being sold illegally on social media will also be created, adds the BBC.
A new government campaign using YouTube and Instagram will see influencers urge young people not to start vaping by highlighing health risks. Big Manny, who has 1.6m followers on Instagram, and Bodalia, a doctor and DJ, will try to dissuade under-18s from using e-cigarettes (The Guardian).
The level of corporate distress is rising, says The Times, as businesses face “persistent economic challenges” before a sharp increase in labour costs. The number of company insolvencies rose 11% year-on-year to 1,971 across England and Wales last month, according to data from the Insolvency Service which was the highest level registered in January for more than five years.
No comments yet