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Shoppers cut back in March, with data likely to increase pressure on Bank of England over interest ratesBusiness live – latest updatesRetail sales in Great Britain unexpectedly stalled in March as consumers cut back on spending because of the cost of living, according to new data.British retail sales volumes stagnated at 0% in March after an increase of 0.1% in February, according to the...

Company, which also makes Quality Street, says reducing sugar, salt and fats could harm ‘strategic freedom’Business live – latest updatesNestlé faces a resolution at its AGM on Thursday that could force the world’s largest consumer goods company to cut back on high levels of salt, sugar and fats in its food and drinks.The Swiss-headquartered multinational is urging investors to reject the proposal, arguing a...

Shares in Beyoncé and Neil Young song fund rise amid hopes uncertainty over its future could be overBusiness live – latest updatesThe embattled British music royalties investment fund Hipgnosis, which owns the rights to songs by artists from Beyoncé to Neil Young, has agreed to a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) takeover by a music and theatrical rights rival after months of turmoil over the company’s structure...

Demand for private treatment booms as NHS waiting lists remain long, while more people also sign up for dental cover Britain’s health cover market has grown by £385m in a year as the NHS crisis prompted more people to seek out private medical treatment and demand for dental insurance increased, according to a report.The total health cover market, including medical and dental insurance and...

Predictions for when Bank of England will start lowering cost of borrowing pushed back Business live – latest updatesThe UK’s annual inflation rate fell by less than expected in March to 3.2%, complicating the timing of a first Bank of England interest rate cut.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show inflation continued to fall from 3.4% in February to reach the lowest...

Time taken for Farhad Moshiri to attract new investors may have made a viable solution harder to find Everton fans are used to owner Farhad Moshiri telling them that better times will be arriving soon. He began his reign at the club in 2016 promising to give fans “whatever I have” – the type of soundbite he would continue to deliver during the following...

Julian Dunkerton decided against takeover offer and company will delist from London Stock ExchangeBusiness live – latest updatesSuperdry is to embark on a restructuring plan including rent reductions in stores and a fundraising, backed by its boss and co-founder Julian Dunkerton, and will quit the London Stock Exchange.Trading in the shares was halted on Tuesday morning after they fell 25% to just over 5p,...

International Paper settles all-share deal after tussle with British rival MondiBusiness live – latest updatesThe FTSE 100 UK packaging firm DS Smith is to be taken over by a bigger US rival, International Paper, after the companies agreed a £5.8bn all-share deal.Tennessee-based International Paper, one of the largest paper and pulp companies in the world, moved in late March to gatecrash a £5.14bn all-share...

Pay growth is stronger than expected, underlining dilemma over when to cut interest ratesBusiness live – latest updatesThe number of people out of work rose by more than expected in February, raising concerns that employers are beginning to lay off staff in response to high interest rates.The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in February from 3.9%, well above...

February growth of 0.1% comes despite construction and retail being hit by wet start to yearBusiness live – latest updatesBritain’s economy has taken a step closer to exiting recession as official figures showed growth continued in February despite a washout month for construction and retail after one of the wettest starts to a year on record.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic...

Mobile units will be deployed on high streets to identify wanted people – including repeat offendersThe government is investing more than £55m in expanding facial recognition systems – including vans that will scan crowded high streets – as part of a renewed crackdown on shoplifting.The scheme was announced alongside plans for tougher punishments for serial or abusive shoplifters in England and Wales, including being...

Controversial investment bank could play important role in fate of Britain’s biggest water firmBusiness live – latest updatesThe Australian investment bank Macquarie, which has been criticised for its role in the privatisation of England’s water industry, is understood be among lenders to Thames Water’s troubled parent company.The former Thames Water shareholder could, along with other lenders, play an important role in determining the fate...

Chain says it has experienced operational disruption after hackers gained access to its IT systemsOne of the UK’s largest vet groups has told regulators about a possible breach of personal information after it was hit by a cyber-attack.CVS Group said hackers had gained unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. The company continued to have problems with slow-running systems on...

Risk of declining consumption, house price falls and defaults as tighter policy finally has impactBusiness live – latest updatesThe high proportion of UK homeowners on fixed-rate mortgages means the Bank of England should be wary of keeping interest rates too high for too long, the International Monetary Fund has warned.The IMF said many borrowers had been sheltered until now from the impact of higher...

Jason Tarry poised to take over from Sharon White when she steps down in SeptemberBusiness live – latest updatesThe former boss of Tesco in the UK and Ireland is to replace Sharon White as the chair of the group that owns John Lewis and Waitrose as it turns to an experienced retailer to lead the next phase of its turnaround.Jason Tarry is poised to...

Fees of up to £145 on EU animal and plant products through Dover and Folkestone begin on 30 AprilBusiness live – latest updatesTrade groups have warned that consumers could see a rise in food prices after the UK government announced the introduction of post-Brexit charges on imports of EU food and plant products later this month.The government has published details of fees – known...

Funding for drains, embankments and other measures is part £45.4bn five-year investment planBusiness live – latest updatesNetwork Rail is to spend nearly £3bn to protect the railway from the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather, as it warned that the country’s network was having to contend with hotter summers and increased winter floods.As part of its new £45.4bn five-year investment plan, the...

Decision raises concerns about financial future of UK’s biggest water companyBusiness live – latest updatesInvestors at Thames Water have pulled the plug on £500m of emergency funding, raising concerns about the financial future of the country’s largest water company.The beleaguered utilities firm announced this morning that its shareholders had refused to provide the first tranche of £750m funding set to secure its short-term cashflow,...

Former CEO of shared office space rental company has reportedly been in talks with investorsBusiness live – latest updatesAdam Neumann, the ousted co-founder of WeWork, has tabled a bid worth more than $500m (£395m) in an attempt to regain control of the long troubled shared office space rental company that he launched in 2010.Flow, Neumann’s property company, said on Monday that it had submitted...

Waitrose and Ocado win new shoppers while a quarter of households are feeling the squeezeBusiness live – latest updatesGrocery price inflation in Great Britain has slowed to 4.5%, its lowest level since February 2022, but one in four households are still struggling financially, retail researchers have found.The upmarket retailers Waitrose and Ocado were the only grocers to win new shoppers in the past three...

Resolution Foundation points to legacy of Covid as it warns that near-record 2.7m people are too ill to workBritain is going through the longest sustained rise in the number of working-age adults who are too sick to work since the 1990s, according to a report warning that a benefits crackdown is unlikely to solve the country’s jobless crisis.The Resolution Foundation said economic inactivity due...

CMA plans in-depth investigation into deal that would create UK’s largest mobile phone operatorThe planned merger between Vodafone and Three UK, which would create the UK’s largest mobile phone operator, has been referred to an in-depth investigation by the competition regulator.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it intended to refer the deal to a more detailed phase 2 investigation amid concerns that mobile...

Wealthy are willing to pay more than double the standard price of £170,000, says luxury carmakerThe luxury carmaker Bentley is cashing in as more of the world’s richest people opt to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on “levels of personalisation that we’ve never seen before”, the company has said.While households all over the world struggle with inflation and the continued impact of the...

Magnum to Marmite consumer goods group plans productivity programme to save £684mBusiness live – latest updatesUnilever is to cut 7,500 jobs globally as part of an overhaul aimed at saving about €800m (£684m) over the next three years.The consumer goods company, whose brands range from Marmite to Dove soap and Lynx deodorant, employs 128,000 people worldwide, including 6,000 in the UK. Continue reading...