The big story of the day is UK inflation has fallen to 2.6%, down from 2.8% in February. It marks the second month in a row that the rate at which prices are rising has eased, reported BBC News. Analysts have warned the fall may be only temporary, as it is expected to spike in July as rising bills and higher business costs take hold.
The Guardian reports there is rising pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates when they meet next week. One of its previous deputy governors had said that tariff uncertainty meant the bank should set aside concerns about inflation and cut the cost of borrowing.
The BBC has reported that disposable vape use has fallen in the UK ahead of the ban coming into force on 1 June. Researchers at UCL have revealed that the percentage of people aged 16-24 who mainly use disposable vapes has dropped by nearly half in the last year from 63% to 35%. They believe vape users are switching to refillable and rechargeable vapes in anticipation.
As tariff uncertainty continues, China has warned of shocks to its already sluggish economy even as it grew by 5.4% in the first quarter year-on-year. These numbers beat expectations but covers a period before US tariffs on Chinese-made goods rose from 10% to 145%. Some of the growth could be down to factories ramping up exports before tariffs spiked, known as “front loading”, reports the BBC.
In other tariff related news, Nvidia has warned it expects to be hit with $5.5bn in costs after the US government tightened export rules to China. The chip manufacturing giant will rnow require a special licence to export its H20 AI chip to China, which has been one of its most popular. Nvidia said the US had said the move was necessary to address the risk of H20 chips being used in “a supercomputer in China”. (Financial Times)
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has warned that the EU faces higher tariffs as talks with the US have failed to make progress. It is understood that Maros Sefcovic, the European trade commissioner, was left struggling to understand what the US government wants to achieve after he met with Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, and Jamieson Greer, Trump’s chief trade negotiator.
Global wine sales have fallen to their lowest levels since 1961, reports The Guardian. The International Organisation of Vine & Wine said on Tuesday that 2024 sales fell 3.3% from the previous year to 214.2m hectolitres. Production is also at its lowest level in more than 60 years, having fallen 4.8% in 2024 to 225.8m hectolitres.
Starbucks’ UK retail business paid no corporation tax for last year as it dived to a £35m loss after paying £40m in royalty and licence fees to its parent company. The US-owned coffee chain said it made the payments despite sales declining 4% to £525.6m in the year to 29 September 2024, amid what it called a “challenging economic climate” and a consumer boycott linked to the Gaza conflict. (The Guardian)
No comments yet