Falling inflation this year should smooth way for more interest rate cuts, says Bank of England policymaker - as it happened

Time to wrap up…The UK handed out record offshore windfarm contracts today, in what has been hailed as a breakthrough moment for the government’s ambition to get clean power by 2030.12 new offshore projects were awarded contracts after ministers increased the amount of funding available to developers to help them deliver their plans without raising bills for consumers.The funding was awarded to 8.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore windfarm capacity, or enough to generate clean electricity for more than 12m British homes before the end of the decade. They were awarded a contract price of between £89

Saks Global files for bankruptcy after takeover leads to financial collapse

Beleaguered high-end department store conglomerate Saks Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, a month after missing the deadline on a $100m interest payment, in one of the largest retail collapses since the pandemic.Barely a year after a deal brought the chains Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus together, Saks Global said it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy “to facilitate its ongoing transformation”.Such a move can provide a company with more time to restructure its finances without having to shut down. Saks Global said early on Wednesday its stores would remain open for now after it finalised a $1.75bn financing package and appointed a new CEO

Coca-Cola reportedly abandons plans to sell Costa Coffee chain

Coca-Cola has reportedly abandoned plans to sell its Costa Coffee chain after bids from private equity firms failed to meet its expectations.The US soft drinks company halted discussions with remaining bidders in December, according to the Financial Times, ending a months-long auction process.It first emerged in August that Coca-Cola was working with bankers on a review of Costa that could lead to the chain being sold off in a cut-price deal, of roughly half what it paid for the business.Coca-Cola had high hopes for Britain’s largest coffee chain when it bought it for £3.9bn in 2018 from Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn hotels

Trump claims victory on US economy despite many Americans’ cost of living concerns

Donald Trump claimed victory on the economy after 12 months back in office on Tuesday, declaring it to be the “greatest first year in history” as many Americans express alarm over the cost of living.In a stream-of-consciousness speech at the Detroit Economic Club, the US president delivered his gold-tinted view of how the economy has fared on his watch. Prices were down, he claimed, despite official data showing otherwise, and productivity was “smashing expectations”.Even as he touted achievements during the first year of his second term, Trump has started to acknowledge concerns over affordability across the US, with November’s midterm elections creeping closer. The White House has moved to roll out a series of policy proposals in recent days that aspire to address affordability

US inflation held firm in December amid pressure on Trump over cost of living

US inflation held firm last month as Donald Trump faces mounting pressure over the cost of living for millions of Americans.The closely watched consumer price index rose 2.7% in the year to December, in line with the previous month, according to official data published on Tuesday morning, ahead of a speech by the US president on the economy.The latest reading was broadly in line with economists’ expectations last month, and significantly above the Federal Reserve’s target for 2% inflation. Food prices and housing costs lifted the index higher in December

Quarter of developing countries poorer than in 2019, World Bank finds

A quarter of countries in the developing world are poorer than they were in 2019 before the Covid pandemic, the World Bank has found.The Washington-based organisation said a large group of low-income countries, many in sub-Saharan Africa, had suffered a negative shock in the six years to the end of last year.The bank said the group included Botswana, Namibia, the Central African Republic, Chad and Mozambique. South Africa and Nigeria, which has a fast-growing population, also failed to raise average incomes over the period, despite growing by 1.2% and 4