Business news live: FTSE 100 near record levels and latest gold, bitcoin and oil price updates
In the domestic mortgages market, lenders continue to battle for the hundreds of thousands of homeowners expected to seek new terms on their deals this year, with Barclays lowering more rates into the sub-4 per cent range and Lloyds announcing their plans to make the most of changed regulations allowing more than 4.5 times income to be lent to prospective buyers.
Meanwhile, two investment banks - Bank of America and Goldman Sachs - have differing views on how fast the Bank of England will reduce interest rates for the rest of 2025, though both expect a cut in August.
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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Businesses set to be fined for late payments under new rules
Companies that consistently delay payments to their suppliers are set to face substantial fines, potentially running into millions of pounds, as the Prime Minister issued a stern warning that "it's time to pay up". In a significant move to bolster support for small businesses, the government is poised to unveil plans granting the small business commissioner enhanced powers to penalise large firms for persistent late payments. The commissioner will also gain new authority to enforce a crucial rule: suppliers must be paid within 30 days of a valid invoice, unless alternative terms have been agreed. This will be backed by spot checks designed to help identify breaches. Further legislation on the horizon will introduce maximum payment terms, initially set at 60 days, which will subsequently be reduced to 45 days. Sir Keir Starmer has highlighted the burden on businesses, stating that "too many hardworking people are being forced to spend precious hours chasing payments", a process he described as "exhausting". 'From builders and electricians to freelance designers and manufacturers — too many hardworking people are being forced to spend precious hours chasing payments instead of doing what they do best – growing their businesses,' Sir Keir said. 'It's unfair, it's exhausting and it's holding Britain back. 'So, our message is clear, it's time to pay up. 'Through our small business plan, we're not only tackling the scourge of late payments once and for all, but we're giving small business owners the backing and stability they need for their business to thrive, driving growth across the country through our plan for change.' The crackdown on late payments is part of a wider Government package and sits alongside a move to pump £4 billion of financial support into small business start-ups and growth. This is set to include £1 billion for new firms, with 69,000 start-up loans and mentoring support. 'This country is home to some of the brightest entrepreneurs and innovative businesses in the world, and we want to unleash their full potential by giving them back time and money to do what they do best – growing our local economies,' Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said. 'Our small business plan – the first in over a decade – is slashing unnecessary admin costs, making it easier for businesses to set up shop and giving SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) the financial backing they need.' Andrew Griffith, the Conservative shadow business secretary, said: 'Cracking down on late payments will be welcome for small business but will mean nothing for the 218,000 businesses that have closed under Labour. 'The reality for businesses under Labour is a doubling of business rates, a £25 billion jobs tax and a full-on strangulation of employment red tape. 'Only the Conservatives are on the side of the makers and will support businesses across Britain to create jobs and wealth.'
The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Shell profits fall as trading hit by volatile markets
Shell has revealed that profits slid over the first half after a drop in trading profits and lower oil and gas prices. The oil major told shareholders that adjusted earnings, or net profits, dropped by 30% to 9.84 billion US dollars (£7.4 billion) over the half-year, compared with a year earlier. Nevertheless, profits in the second quarter of the year were ahead of analyst expectations. Shell added that income attributable to shareholders was 23% lower, due to the effect of 'lower trading and optimisation margin' and decreasing energy prices. The firm said it was also impacted by a charge of 509 million dollars (£383 million) related to the UK energy profits levy. Wael Sawan, chief executive of Shell, said: 'Shell generated robust cash flows reflecting strong operational performance in a less favourable macro environment. 'We continued to deliver on our strategy by enhancing our deep-water portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil, and achieved a key milestone by shipping the first cargo from LNG (liquified natural gas) Canada. 'Our continued focus on performance, discipline and simplification helped deliver 3.9 billion dollars (£2.9 billion) of structural cost reductions since 2022, with the majority delivered through non-portfolio actions. 'This focus enables us to commence another 3.5 billion dollars (£2.6 billion) of buybacks for the next three months, the 15th consecutive quarter of at least 3 billion dollars in buybacks.'
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Co-op expands its ‘food on the go' offering with 15 new bitesize stores
The Co-op is to challenge takeaway outlets such as Greggs, Pret a Manger and Subway with plans for hundreds of small food shops selling hot pizza, fried chicken and sandwiches. The first Co-op On The Go store opens in Solihull, near Birmingham, on Thursday and 14 more are planned this year, including five in London. They will sell ready meals, such as pizzas and lasagne to heat up at home, alcoholic and soft drinks, and essentials such as toothpaste and loo roll alongside staffed hot food counters and food in heated cabinets. At between 600 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft, the stores will be about a quarter of the size of a typical Co-op but unlike many convenience stores they will not sell cigarettes or vapes. However, the company has developed 35 new products for the new format, such as all day-breakfast meal pots and smoked salmon, egg and spinach pots. 'This isn't a really small version of a [traditional] Co-op, it's very different in layout and what we are servicing the customer with,' said Matt Hood, the boss of the Co-op's grocery chain, which already has more than 2,000 stores. The bitesize outlets will open from 7am to 7pm, closing three or four hours earlier than its traditional outlets. Many will then operate as 'dark stores', sending out home deliveries of food and groceries into the evening. The Co-op already delivers groceries to homes via Deliveroo and Uber Eats as well as its own 'quick commerce' delivery service and it aims to add hot food to that fast-growing business. Hood said the format, inspired by similar setups in Japan and China, would help the Co-op grab a bigger slice of the breakfast and dinner market alongside its existing strength in lunch products such as sandwiches. 'This feels ripe for us to step into,' he said. Hood said the Co-op already had a 15% share of the UK's 'food to go' market and the new format was about taking a bigger share in busy urban locations. The first stores are likely to be on high streets but the group is also looking at transport hubs, such as train stations, and could inject aspects of the new format, such as hot food counters, into some of its existing stores. Some small existing stores in busy locations may also be converted into 'on the go'' stores while others are already operating as 'dark stores'. Fewer than 100 stores will continue to operate with just one worker at certain times of day, despite protests from some workers who say the practice leaves them vulnerable to crime, as Hood said this was part of efforts to 'continue looking at every way I can to keep all shops open and servicing communities'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The new format is launching amid fears for the strength of the takeaway food market after Greggs, the UK's biggest bakery, reported a fall in profits this week as it said shoppers ate less during the recent heatwaves. Hood said Co-op was still seeing 'huge growth in our food to go business', which was driven by sandwiches and coffee. He said retailers such as Greggs were 'always going to be tight on margins and footfall' as they were focused on hot baked products and the Co-op was offering something different. The Co-op is attempting to bounce back from a serious cyber-attack which affected the availability or products in its stores for several weeks and led to the theft of data, such as names and addresses, for all 6.5 million of the mutual's members. Hood said that the Co-op was now 'fully recovered' in terms of the service available in stores but that 'a lot of stuff is still happening in the background to make sure [the IT] set up is even stronger'. He added: 'It has not been something I would wish on anybody. It's been a massive learning curve and we will come back out stronger and better than before.'
