Business

Bus journeys in England will be capped at £2 between January and March next year to help people deal with the rising cost of living. The Department for Transport said the plan could see some passengers save more than £3 per single bus ticket. The average fare for a three-mile journey is around £2.80, the

Waitrose has admitted to blocking rivals from opening supermarkets in close locations for close to a decade, according to the market watchdog. During an investigation between 2010 and 2019 into supermarket practices, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that Waitrose had conspired with landlords to prevent competing companies from opening stores. The practice, which

The chancellor is preparing a multibillion-pound package of tax cuts to help businesses struggling with soaring energy costs. Nadhim Zahawi is drawing up emergency plans to save companies on the brink of collapse for the incoming prime minister, who will be named on Monday. According to The Times, the chancellor believes the government can learn

The UK will enter recession before the end of this year, with growth expected to be weak into 2024. That is the latest forecast from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which said it expects the UK economy to record three consecutive quarters of contraction – the definition of a recession – this year. However,

The soaring US dollar has pushed the pound to its biggest monthly fall since October 2016. The pound shed 4.6% in August, having lost 14% so far this year, as concerns grow about the state of the British economy. On Thursday afternoon it hovered just above $1.15. The news was not much better against the

British households are on course for the deepest living standards squeeze in a century, with real household disposable incomes expected to fall by 10% this year and the next. The warning comes in a new report by the Resolution Foundation, which said that real earnings are falling at their fastest rate since 1997, meaning that

The Co-op has sold its petrol station business to supermarket giant Asda for £600m, it announced on Wednesday, saying the deal would free up cash for the company and strengthen its financial position. The deal includes 129 petrol forecourt sites across the country, representing 5% of Co-op’s total retail portfolio of 2,564 stores. The company

Food prices rose at their fastest rate since 2008 in August – up 9.3% after a 7% increase last month. The figure comes from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ index, which blamed the Ukraine war and its effect on the price of animal feed, fertiliser, wheat, and vegetable oils. Fresh food prices were

British households borrowed on their credit cards last month at the fastest annual rate in over 17 years, a potential reflection of consumers struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living crisis intensifies. According to data from the Bank of England, the annual rate of credit card borrowing in July was 13% higher

Energy price increases of more than 300% are in danger of forcing pubs and brewers across the UK out of business in the coming months, industry leaders have said. Unlike domestic customers, who are facing an 80% increase in average bills in October, businesses operate without any sort of regulated price cap, with some pub

The worst airline for delays at UK airports last year was Wizz Air, an investigation has found. Its departures were an average 14 minutes and 24 seconds behind schedule in 2021, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. The Hungarian company operates from 10 UK airports including Gatwick, Luton and Cardiff. Tui was

Millions of people in the UK will not turn their heating on this winter because of rising energy bills, a survey suggests. The poll, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, showed 23% of adults plan to take this drastic move, rising to 27% for those with children at home. The results also showed 23% would be

Liz Truss is considering a “nuclear” option that could see VAT cut from 20% to 15%, according to reports. A source told Sky News that Ms Truss “will consider options to help people, but it would not be right for her to announce her plans before she has been elected prime minister or seen all

Boris Johnson has admitted that energy bills will be “eye-watering” this winter – and the cost of heating is already “frightening” for some. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister blamed Vladimir Putin for the worsening crisis – and claimed the Russian president “likes it”. And although Mr Johnson warned the months

Britons on £45,000 salaries will need government help to pay their energy bills – not just people on benefits, the chancellor has warned. Nadhim Zahawi also told The Daily Telegraph that households must try and reduce their energy consumption, and that he fears gas prices could remain elevated for another two years. Millions of households