Inflation is forecast to hit a 50-year high of just over 18% in January, putting pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates to get the economy under control (The Times £). UK inflation is set to top 18% in January - the highest point in more than 40 years and nine times the Bank of England’s target - due to rocketing wholesale gas prices, a global investment bank has forecast (Sky News). Investment bank Citi said inflation was “entering the stratosphere” and could rise to 18%, while the Resolution Foundation said it could reach 18.3% (The BBC).

Ben & Jerry’s has lost an attempt to stop its UK-based parent Unilever from selling its ice cream brand to a local licensee in Israel, as the two companies clash over sales in occupied Palestinian territories (The Financial Times £). A US federal judge ruled on Monday the ice-cream company had “failed to demonstrate” that the move to sell the goods in the Israeli-occupied settlements caused it “irreparable harm” (The Guardian).

McDonald’s Corporation is to shake up its leadership team, with Anthony Capuano, the Marriott International boss, joining its board and a non-executive director targeted by the activist investor Carl Icahn due to step down. (The Times £)

Shares in Hammerson plunged after inflation warnings sparked fresh fears over a slump in footfall. The owner of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham and Brent Cross in London took a hit during the pandemic as shoppers were forced to stay indoors. (The Daily Mail)

Sky’s Ian King looks at why the pound is doing so poorly - and unlikely to rally any time soon. “It is not just the UK’s lacklustre economic prospects that appear to be hurting. There also appears to be scepticism on the FX markets that the Bank is going to be able to raise interest rates as high as would normally be expected to sufficiently combat inflation for fear of tipping the economy into a recession, or prolonging one.” (Sky News)

Revlon’s stock price had fallen to about $1 a share when the bankruptcy reorganisation kicked off two months ago but has since soared to more than $8, yet bond markets tell a different story. The divergent valuations will be subject of an argument between the minority shareholders and debt holders at a hearing in a New York bankruptcy court on Wednesday. (The Financial Times £)

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