Jim Chalmers won’t have good news in Myefo. Instead, he’ll be trying to sell Labor’s good intentions

A penny-pinching Jim Chalmers will reveal a multi-billion dollar improvement in the federal budget that will still see the deficit nearly quadruple to $36.8bn in this financial year.The treasurer is the master of expectations management, and this week’s midyear economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) will be an exercise in selling the Albanese government’s fiscal rectitude: Chalmers and Katy Gallagher gamely battling the rising tide of spending pressures.“Despite all the pressures we’ve had to accommodate in the budget, the bottom line is better in every year over the forwards thanks to our efforts,” the treasurer said in a statement as he revealed the latest budget figures.The newly estimated deficit is $5

Roasted! Morrisons loses £17m VAT battle over rotisserie chickens

The UK supermarket chain Morrisons faces a £17m tax bill after losing a lengthy court battle against HMRC over the charging of value added tax (VAT) on rotisserie chicken.The high court has ruled that whole cooked cool-down chickens should be subject to the standard 20% VAT rate for hot food.The dispute relates to changes introduced by the then chancellor George Osborne’s controversial “pasty tax” of 2012, when the Treasury imposed VAT on all hot takeaway food sold by bakeries and supermarkets, such as Cornish pasties, pies and sausage rolls. This prompted a public outcry, forcing the Treasury to partially row back.The Treasury initially said that food sold above “ambient temperature” should be subject to VAT

UK unemployment rose to four-year high of 5.1% before budget

The rate of UK unemployment rose to a four-year high of 5.1% in the three months to October, as the labour market showed signs of further weakening before last month’s budget.The Office for National Statistics said the jobless rate was the highest since January 2021 – but with the pandemic era stripped out, it was the highest since early 2016.Analysts said the rise in the jobless rate made it almost certain that the Bank of England would cut interest rates when policymakers meet on Thursday.The central bank has said it wanted wages growth to fall further before reducing the cost of borrowing again this year

Young people hit hard as UK unemployment marches upwards

When Labour came to power, it set a “long-term ambition” of increasing the employment rate – the share of the working age population with a job – to 80%. The latest data suggest things are moving in the wrong direction.The employment rate in the three months to October was 74.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down 0.3 percentage points on the quarter

‘Squeezed from every direction’: pubs voice fury at Reeves’s business rates changes

Emma Harrison has begun to wonder how her business will survive in recent weeks. The managing director of the Three Hills pub in Bartlow, Cambridgeshire, is struggling to see how she will make a profit after examining the impact of her rising tax bill.“I’m really terrified about this coming year,” Harrison says. “We’re a well-run pub, we’ve won lots of awards, but this is going to be really hard.”Harrison is not alone

Nissan begins production of new electric car in Sunderland

Nissan has started the production of its latest electric car in Sunderland, a crucial step in the UK automotive industry’s transition away from petrol and diesel.The Japanese manufacturer will launch the third generation of the Leaf on Tuesday, which was the first mass-market battery electric car to be built in the UK. Nissan has made 282,704 Leaf models at the north-east England plant so far.Nissan said it has invested more than £450m into manufacturing the new Leaf, including more than £300m directly into the company’s UK operations. Chris McDonald, the industry minister, will visit the factory on Tuesday