Rishi

The front pages of this morning’s papers are dominated by news that Rishi Sunak has been named as the new prime minister.

The Financial Times (£) writes that the “ambitious pragmatist returns to take Tory leadership”.

UK gilt yields remained down and the pound strengthened after Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the Conservative Party leadership contest (The Times £).

Britain is winning back credibility in the gilt markets but this still needs to be followed through with stable policymaking, a senior Bank of England rate-setter has said (The Times £).

UK economic activity contracted at its fastest pace in almost two years in October, suggesting the country has fallen into a recession during a period of political uncertainty and high energy and borrowing costs, according to a survey (The Financial Times £).

The flash composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell by more than expected to a 21-month low of 47.2, firmly below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. City economists had expected a reading of 48.1, down from 49.1 last month (The Times £).

Footfall at retail outlets in the UK fell by 2.3% last week as economic turmoil continues to squeeze household budgets, figures show (The Guardian).

The price of pasta, tea, chips and cooking oil has soared, according to new data, with vegetable oil going up by 65% in a year (BBC News). Overall, the price of budget food items rose by 17% in the year to September, the Office for National Statistics said.

A civil liberties group has threatened to take supermarket chain Tesco to court over data collection at any checkout-free stores it opens in Europe, highlighting the privacy questions raised by increasing automation (The Financial Times £).

Selfridges’ new owners are backing plans by Marks & Spencer to demolish and redevelop its Oxford Street store, with a planning inquiry into the controversial proposals beginning this week (The Guardian).

UK hospitality warns of ‘tidal wave’ of closures as crises loom (The Guardian).

Gü founder James Averdieck and his wife, Charlotte, are in a sticky situation after losing a tax case against HM Revenue & Customs over the purchase of their £3m country home in an undisclosed location. They face having to pay £120,000 in extra stamp duty after they were found to have wrongly paid a reduced rate on the purchase (The Times £).

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