UK unemployment shows surprise fall to 4.9% as pay growth drops to lowest in five years

Unemployment in the UK unexpectedly fell in the three months to February, according to official figures – but the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East is expected to cause a rise in job cuts.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment was 4.9% in February, the lowest level since last summer. This compares with 5.2% in the three months to January, a rate that economists had expected to also see in February

Primark to split from food business despite warning of Iran war impact

Primark is to break free from its sister food company, which owns Twinings, Kingsmill and Patak’s, next year despite warning that the conflict in the Middle East is likely to hit consumer spending and drive up inflation.The fashion chain’s owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), confirmed the plan to split off Primark from the rest of the food group, first mooted last year. The fashion group operates 486 stores across 19 countries.The demerger is expected to create two new FTSE 100 companies, with Primark worth as much as £9bn and the food business £4bn, although the valuations would be dependent on an improved profits outlook, according to Charles Allen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.City analysts have previously argued that Primark was undervalued as part of a conglomerate

Royal Mail invests £500m to tackle late deliveries as second-class post cut back

Second-class post will be delivered every other weekday and scrapped on Saturdays from next month as part of a £500m plan to tackle late deliveries at struggling Royal Mail.The courier has been piloting a new letter delivery pattern since July, which will be rolled out nationwide in May.The change comes follows a deal with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite last week that ended a lengthy dispute over the second-class post overhaul. The CWU will now ballot its members on the changes.There will be no changes to first-class post, which will still be delivered daily from Monday to Saturday, or to parcels, which remain unchanged, continuing at up to seven days a week

Kevin Warsh: Trump’s ideal choice to push Fed to cut interest rates

On the face of it, Kevin Warsh looks like an ideal candidate to chair the Federal Reserve, the world’s most important central bank. The 56-year-old Ivy League economist, former Wall Street banker and presidential adviser ticks all the boxes. Unfortunately for Warsh, as he faces what could be a fraught nomination hearing, his biggest backer is also his biggest liability.In his second term, Donald Trump has attacked the Fed in a manner both unprecedented and unseemly. He has called current chair Jerome Powell – whom he also appointed – a “jerk” and “a stubborn MORON”, and repeatedly threatened to fire him

UK jobs market was in a fragile state – even before Iran war threatened recovery

Despite a surprise fall in the unemployment rate, the latest jobs data show the labour market in a fragile state, even before the Iran war threatened to derail the UK’s nascent economic recovery.At 4.9% in the three months to February, the unemployment rate was down from 5.2% in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.That may suggest the labour market has improved, alongside the uptick in economic growth in February

Tequila overtakes gin as the UK’s favourite warm-weather spirit

A crisp gin and tonic has for many British people been just the ticket as the weather gets warmer, but new consumer data shows tequila is overtaking gin for the first time as a summer tipple of choice.Spicy margaritas, which are a piquant twist on the classic tequila, lime and triple sec cocktail, have taken the UK by a storm in recent years and now the country is firmly hooked on tequila, with many ordering a tequila and tonic instead of a G&T.The Marks & Spencer summer trends report found that tequila is the retailer’s hottest spirit. It reads: “Tequila is having a major glow-up, with sales soaring 50% year on year and margarita sales jumping a huge 75%, making it one of the hottest spirits of the summer.”It is the 40th anniversary of the high street canned cocktail; M&S launched its “gin in a tin” in 1986