Ryanair to increase free cabin bag allowance by 20%
The new dimensions are larger than the recently agreed European minimum bag size of 40 x 30 x 15cm.
This adjustment ensures that existing Ryanair-compatible cabin bags will remain usable for passengers.
Rival airlines, including easyJet and Wizz Air, will maintain their current cabin baggage dimensions.
Airlines for Europe is working with the EU transport commissioner to simplify baggage rules, while major low-cost carriers oppose a recent MEP vote for a mandatory two-bag limit.
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The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Arsenal have one final hurdle in Viktor Gyokeres deal after Benjamin Sesko issues
Arsenal are in talks with Sporting over a move for Viktor Gyokeres, with a deal set to be concluded once a payment structure is agreed. Mikel Arteta wanted a striker in before pre-season properly started, which is one reason for the sudden advancement. Arsenal's football leadership had been involved in constructive discussion over whether to proceed on Gyokeres or RB Leipzig 's Benjamin Sesko, with Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins a fallback, and it is understood that the difficulty of doing a deal for Sesko has ultimately swayed the decision. The prospective signing is the first sign of new sporting director Andrea Berta's influence, as his preference was for Gyokeres. While the club's staff generally rated both the Swedish forward and Sesko equally, there were a number of considerations like age profile –Gyokeres is 27 and Sesko 21 – as well as readiness to immediately fit in, and the context they've been scoring goals in. Arsenal had still been at least €10m away from Leipzig's valuation on Sesko, with the German club wanting €40m of the release clause up front, and around €40m split over fewer instalments. A further issue is that Arsenal hadn't agreed a final package with Sesko's camp for the player's terms, with the impasse lasting right up to last week with Berta specifically feeling Leipzig's demand was too high a figure. It is understood that Arsenal got increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations and with Sesko's camp, which has been a key factor in the evolution of their striker pursuit. Arsenal have since been working more in other directions, due to Arteta's will for the situation to not drag on. There had been no such complications with Gyokeres, who has made it clear for months he only wants to join Arsenal. Personal terms are agreed and only final details now need to be settled with Sporting, for a deal that could come to around £60m. Once a forward is confirmed, Arsenal are still expected to move on to potentially two further players. They have been in talks with Chelsea over Noni Madueke, with The Independent having previously reported that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy want £50m. Arsenal retain a strong interest in Real Madrid's Rodrygo and, especially, Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, but there has been no concrete movement on either yet. Arsenal are likely to have to sell before bringing in one of the two, with the primary budget having been allocated for a forward and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi. The signing of the Basque midfielder was finally confirmed on Sunday.
Telegraph
30 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Porky Britain loses its appetite for Greggs sausage rolls
Asked last year if she thought Britain was approaching 'peak Greggs', Roisin Currie laughed off the suggestion. The bakery chain's chief executive said this point was 'a long way off' as she announced plans to open dozens of new stores across the country following a surge in sales. Today, the prospect of Greggs' over-saturation is less of a laughing matter. After years of extraordinary growth, questions are being asked about whether the chain can maintain its upwards trajectory. Shares in the company plunged by more than 15pc this week after it warned June's scorching heatwave had dampened demand for its hot pastries and sausage rolls, and would lead to lower profits this year. In March, the company posted its slowest sales growth since the pandemic, warning it faces a tougher time in 2025. Investors' faith has been faltering all year, causing a slump of almost 40pc in its share price since January. Though it still offers a cheap meal, the chain has been forced to raise the cost of many of its best-sellers as the burden of paying for labour, ingredients and energy soared. Jonathan Pritchard, of investment bank Peel Hunt, believes these price rises are putting some shoppers off. Other challenges are on the horizon. Labour plans to force takeaway chains to cut customers' calories in an effort to tackle the nation's expanding waistlines. At the same time, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has vowed to make appetite-suppressing weight-loss jabs easier to get on the NHS. 'We've had unseasonal weather or overly seasonal weather many times over the last 10 years, and they've sailed through that without too many problems. I do think it nods to something slightly more fundamental,' says Pritchard of last week's warning. Recipe for success Founded in 1951 in Newcastle, Greggs was largely a regional business until retail veteran Roger Whiteside took over in 2013 and led a march of expansion across the country. By ditching the traditional bakery side of the business, improving the coffee, revamping the shops and focusing on takeaway food, Whiteside – a former M&S executive – grew the chain to more than £1bn in revenues by 2018. He is widely credited with turning the once-hesitant British middle classes on to the wonders of the Greggs sausage roll. The invention of the £1 vegan version in 2019 sealed Greggs' newfound dominance on the high street, turning the chain into a viral sensation and winning over millions of younger fans. In 2022, Whiteside stepped down, passing the torch to Currie, a well-respected executive who previously led its people, retail and property operations. Greggs' winning streak continued during the first few years of her tenure. While the cost of living crisis hit more expensive brands, it helped the low-price bakery chain as demand soared for cheaper food. By the end of 2024, the chain's revenues had topped £2bn. Today it runs 2,649 shops – more than both McDonald's and Starbucks – and Currie has said she believes there is scope to reach as many as 3,500 in the long term. Obesity crackdown Yet the recent sales slowdown raises questions about whether this ambition is misplaced. Greggs was approached for comment. Some observers are also sceptical of Greggs efforts to try to conquer dinner time. In recent months the chain has been pitching its pizzas as a cost-efficient alternative to Domino's, while simultaneously increasing its focus on chicken dishes to compete with the likes of KFC. 'In the evenings there is absolutely tons of opposition, and it's difficult,' Pritchard says. 'They've tried to come with a value proposition, but you're up against Domino's, and you're up against people that have got enormous marketing budgets and consumer loyalty.' Simon Stenning, a hospitality industry expert and founder of Future Foodservice, believes Greggs is still good value and can give rivals a run for their money on price. 'If you're on your way to work, why wouldn't you buy a bacon roll and a coffee for £2.50, or whatever it is? I think in a world of comparisons where prices are known, they can get away with an extra 5p, 10p or 20p,' he says. He is more worried, however, that increasingly interventionist legislation could hamstring the bakery and other hospitality firms at a time when costs are high and growth is imperative. The Government is planning an ambitious clampdown on food companies that could see chains such as Greggs compelled to reduce diners' calorie intake. 'There's going to be taxation, legislation, nudging, nanny-state intervention to try to reduce our fast food consumption out of home,' Stenning says. 'That's going to be a slowing down.' Then there is the question of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which are rapidly growing in popularity in the UK. An estimated 1.5m people now take them. Currie has called them 'something on the horizon we are watching closely and understanding and learning about'. Greggs has made efforts to combat the perception that it is unhealthy and, under Currie, has been launching healthier options such as salads and lower-calorie bakes. But the reality is that GLP-1 drugs work by suppressing appetites, meaning people on them will be eating less. Currie insists that recent troubles are simply bumps in the road. But after a decade of dominance, the hard yards are ahead as Labour pushes Britons to ditch the sausage rolls.
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The world is dangerously close to a new crisis
Last week we saw yet again the power of the financial markets. Pretty much as soon as Rachel Reeves's tears were seen in the House of Commons, or Reevesgate as I shall call it, both the price of gilts and the pound fell, echoing on a much smaller scale what happened in reaction to the Truss/Kwarteng mini-Budget in 2022. Behind the human drama and the obsessions of the political class, there lurks a much more important problem. The elephant in the room is the appallingly high level of government debt, which is running at about 100pc of GDP. Last week's mini-crisis may simply be the harbinger of much worse to come. According to many on the Left, supported by some economists, nothing like this should happen. Do you remember the Magic Money Tree (MMT) that briefly flourished when Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party? Conveniently, the initials MMT also apply to the economic doctrine known as Modern Monetary Theory, which avers that governments can borrow from the markets willy nilly without consequence. You don't hear much about that idea these days. And with good reason. It is perfectly plain that there are limits to the markets' appetite for government debt. We have reached them. The UK's awkward position on public debt is by no means unique in the world. In the US, the so-called ' One Big Beautiful Bill' has just passed Congress. The consequence is going to be an increase in the US budget deficit. Indeed, it is difficult to see how this is going to come down anytime soon from its current rate of about 6pc of GDP. At present, the US debt ratio is running at about 100pc, but if the deficit continues at current levels, it is reasonable to suppose that the debt ratio will reach 120pc by the mid-2030s. The most acute worries around government debt in Europe are now focused not on Italy, where the debt ratio has stabilised, but on France. There, the debt ratio was 113pc last year and it is still rising. What is most concerning about France is the apparent unwillingness or inability of the government to reduce the deficit. Indeed, measures taken a few years ago by President Macron to reduce government spending by increasing the retirement age are again under threat. And if Marine Le Pen's party were to win power, it would probably increase government spending considerably. In many ways, though, the really interesting bond market is Japan's. (Interesting in the sense of the old Chinese curse.) For many years Japan was the poster child for all those people who argued that gargantuan government debt didn't matter. After all, for years its gross debt ratio was above 200pc. Yet for a long time the yield on these bonds was next to zero. Not any more. Against a backdrop of inflation having risen to over 3pc, the yield on Japan's 10-year government bonds has increased to 1.5pc. When the ratio of government debt to GDP reaches these levels in emerging markets then usually the prospect of default looms on the horizon. When a country borrows in its own currency, however, default can be avoided simply by printing more of the stuff. Mind you, this usually ends in inflation, which is a form of default by the back door. The US, Japan and the UK borrow in the currency that they issue. So default is not a worry. The same isn't true for countries within the eurozone because, although they borrow in their own currency, they have no control over its issuance. That rests with the European Central Bank. If it happens, a US recession could help to keep inflation subdued over the next year or two and that may forestall a bond market crisis. Yet, of course, that is a double-edged sword because any weakness in the economy will worsen the deficit. The same is true for the UK but the risk of a recession is probably lower here because we haven't suffered the tariff shock that President Trump has imposed on the US economy. As it is, over here recent signs on inflation have been fairly encouraging. If inflation does fall back convincingly, not only would that tend to encourage markets to take longer bond yields lower, but it would also encourage the Bank of England to cut short-term interest rates and that would tend to bring down short-term borrowing costs for the Government. But we face an acute vulnerability, namely the exchange rate. Of course, even the United States must confront this problem, although it is much less serious for them. For a start, as the world's largest economy and the issuer of the world's reserve currency, the US can get away with things that the rest of us cannot. Moreover, the US is a much less open economy than the UK and so any given percentage drop in the exchange rate has a smaller effect on inflation than it does here. Every financial crisis in Britain somehow or other involves the pound. Given our huge public indebtedness and very substantial international net liabilities, coupled with a still enormous current account deficit, we are seriously vulnerable to a loss of confidence. If the pound were to drop considerably, you could kiss goodbye to the prospect of lower interest rates and lower bond yields. Indeed, the opposite might happen. This is the significance of Reevesgate. Normally, the obsessions of politicians with this or that policy tweak and the manoeuvrings of particular individuals have very little significance. But in today's financial context, if the markets sniff the idea that Britain is about to enter a period of political chaos when the Government is unable or unwilling to stabilise the public finances, then they will move in for the kill. Whether the Chancellor is Reeves or someone else is not the important issue. The fundamental question is whether the Prime Minister has the will to assert his authority and control the public finances.
