Art and antiques help lift retail sales in Great Britain to biggest monthly rise since 2024

Retail sales in Great Britain rose 1.8% in January, the largest monthly increase in almost two years, according to official data, as heavy discounting and post-Christmas sales drew consumers back to bigger ticket purchases.The rise easily beat forecasts of a 0.2% rise and was partly driven by sales of artwork and antiques sales in January, alongside continued strong sales from online jewellers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It was the biggest monthly rise since May 2024

France and Germany agreed to build the fighter jet of the future. Now they can’t agree who is in charge

France and Germany’s plan to build a fighter jet of the future, planned to come with a swarm of drones and a “combat communications cloud”, is collapsing.Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said this week that the €100bn programme no longer worked for him. He insisted it was “not a political dispute”, but a technical one. France needs a jet that can carry nuclear weapons and launch from aircraft carriers, while Germany does not. However, the problems go back much further

Are you sitting uncomfortably? | Letter

Creating a network of public seating at regular intervals can hugely increase the independent mobility of people who need to sit and rest frequently. This sometimes means bench positioning can mystify those who don’t actually need them (Emma Beddington, 16 February).But sometimes, complainants are just plain mischievous. I was involved in improvements in the heart of Windermere, Cumbria, a few years back, when a complaint was made that a bench facing a butcher’s shop window “may distress vegetarians”. In truth, of course, the bench was very much welcomed – especially by those needing to rest their plates of meat

UK manufacturing still beset by low orders and price pressure, says CBI

British manufacturing orders remain well below average and price pressure continues to persist, according to a closely watched survey.The CBI industrial trends survey found that manufacturers’ orders for the month were below average in February, while most firms expected to raise their prices and for output to decline over the next three months.The survey compiled by the Confederation of British Industry adds to a mixed picture for the UK economy since the start of the year. Households are feeling “dismal” about their finances, while companies have been cutting staff amid rising cost pressures. However, some business surveys have suggested a rise in optimism among companies since the start of the year after uncertainty over the government’s autumn budget lifted

Oil prices rise amid fears of US strikes on Iran – as it happened

Oil prices are on the rise as traders react to growing concerns that the US could launch military action against Iran.Both the US and Iran embark on military posturing despite trying to de-escalate a standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.Brent crude is up 1.55% at $71.44 a barrelWTI is up 1

Is Tim Wilson an ‘inflation nutter’? Why the new shadow treasurer’s RBA comments are making waves

There was good news on Thursday.Another solid month of jobs growth left the unemployment rate steady at 4.1% in January.The impressive resilience of Australia’s jobs market has been the positive story of the post-pandemic economy.We have come out the other side of the global health crisis and a once-in-a-generation inflationary event with a jobless rate that has tracked consistently one percentage point below where it was through the dog days of the late 2010s