UK faces ‘grim winter’ with households already paying £442 extra in bills

Analysts warn cost of living crisis is gathering pace amid fast rises in petrol, food and energy billsWatch out for hidden ‘shrinkflation’ price hikes, analysts warnRising inflation ‘could trigger global sell-off that would harm UK’Households face a “p…

‘It was war’: school-run parents tackle petrol crisis traffic chaos

Residents set up traffic patrol to challenge drivers forming long polluting queues near London schoolBounds Green primary school sits on a road so busy it has a bridge for a pedestrian crossing. Even on a good day the air is acrid, suffused by mephitic…

‘Economically illiterate’: PM’s Tory conference speech gets frosty reception

Next boss, thinktanks and unions criticise Boris Johnson, saying ‘shortages cannot be blustered away’Business leaders rounded on Boris Johnson for lacking a coherent economic plan after he delivered a boosterish conference speech that made barely a men…

Two in three UK firms expect to raise prices in Christmas run-up, poll finds

BCC warning comes as Greggs flags price pressures amid surge in fuel and energy costsNearly two-thirds of UK manufacturers expect to raise their prices in the run-up to Christmas after being hit by mounting cost pressures, a leading employers’ group ha…

IMF cuts global economic forecast as pandemic ‘hobbles’ growth

Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva says most serious obstacle to full recovery remains Covid vaccine divide between rich and poor statesThe head of the International Monetary Fund has warned the world economy remains “hobbled” by the Covid-19 pandemic as …