BrewDog could be broken up as craft beer business put up for sale

The beer-maker BrewDog could be broken up after consultants were called in to help find new investors.The Scotland-based brewer, which makes craft beer such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has appointed consultants AlixPartners to oversee the sale process.BrewDog last month announced it was closing its distilling brands, prompting concerns for jobs at its facility in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.The company, which was founded in 2007 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, said it made the decision to focus on its beer products.No decision has been made in respect of the sale process

Did you buy a coffee machine with a tax refund? It may have affected Australia’s interest rate

One of the first things many Australians did last year after receiving a tax refund or a lower mortgage rate was to buy an armchair, an air fryer or a coffee machine.The purchases, evident in company earnings published this week, came after households had endured years of high living costs – and consumption had been weak up until that point.And policymakers didn’t think homeowners or renters had the spare capacity.This pickup in demand – along with rising prices – for such goods turned out to be an important factor in the Reserve Bank’s decision to raise interest rates, because it was concerned inflation was broadening.“The things that are driving the uptick in inflation really are housing, durable goods and market services,” Michele Bullock, the RBA’s governor, said last week

Reeves appoints higher pay advocate to fight skills shortages as chief economic adviser

Rachel Reeves has appointed a labour market expert who has repeatedly called for better pay and conditions in key sectors, such as social care, to reduce the UK’s reliance on migrant workers as her new chief economic adviser.Prof Brian Bell, who chairs the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which advises the government, has been announced as the new chief economic adviser in the Treasury – a senior civil service role.He will take up the post just as the UK economy is adjusting to a plunge in net migration, which fell by more than two-thirds, to 204,000, in the year to June 2025.Some economists have predicted a further decline, towards zero net migration – but Bell rejects that forecast, expecting it to bounce back towards 300,000 a year by the end of the decade.A professor of economics at King’s College London, Bell has used his role on the MAC to make the point that the “skills shortages” bemoaned by UK employers may often reflect the failure to offer good enough terms and conditions to domestic workers

Trump ‘plans to roll back’ some metal tariffs; US inflation weaker than expected in January - business live

Time to wrap up…US inflation moderated in January to 2.4%, an easing after Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered price fluctuations last year.Prices rose 0.2% from December to January, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday measuring the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services. Core CPI, which strips out the volatile food and energy industries, went up 0

Penalty notice: Euro Car Parks fined £473,000 for ignoring regulator

Euro Car Parks is infamous for dishing out fines but the private parking company has been hit with an almost £475,000 penalty of its own after it failed to hand over information to a regulator.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had imposed a £473,000 fine after the company did not respond for three months to seven requests for information, including by registered post, email and hand-delivered letter.It is the first time the CMA has issued a penalty under the new fining powers it was given in 2024.The regulator sends out “information notices” to companies when deciding whether to open an investigation, and businesses have a legal obligation to comply.The CMA said Euro Car Parks, which provides payment systems in car parks, only responded after it raised the spectre of a fine

US inflation falls to 2.4% in January after Trump’s tariffs led to price fluctuations

US inflation moderated in January to 2.4%, an easing after Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered price fluctuations last year.Prices rose 0.2% from December to January, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday measuring the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services. Core CPI, which strips out the volatile food and energy industries, went up 0