PwC to track workers’ locations in crackdown on office attendance

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PwC is to keep track of its employees’ locations as part of a crackdown on office attendance. 
Partners and staff have been told that they must spend at least three days a week in the office or with clients, with their location tracked in the same way chargeable hours are. 
A memo sent to 26,000 UK employees warned that from January the firm will “start sharing your individual working location data with you on a monthly basis as we do with other data such as chargeable hours”. 
The email said tracking locations should ensure the new rule is being “consistently applied” after previous guidance was left “open to interpretation”. 
The new policy, first reported by the Financial Times, comes after the Big Four auditor in July reduced the duration of its summer working hours scheme, which allows UK employees to finish at lunchtime on Fridays. 
Previously staff were expected to spend at least two days in the office or with clients. 
An insider said those who breach the three-day policy would have to explain themselves. If an informal solution is not agreed then the firm would have to consider disciplinary options. 
PwC’s rival EY started to review swipe-card entry data earlier this year in a bid to crack down on employees who refuse to come into the office. The anonymised “turnstile access” data is used to ensure teams are meeting EY’s hybrid working policy. 
Big Four firms including EY and PwC have spent the past year drastically cutting costs and reversing the post-pandemic hiring spree as economic uncertainty and high inflation saw clients cancel projects and demand lower fees.
Laura Hinton, managing partner at PwC UK, said: “Face-to-face working is hugely important to a people business like ours, and the new policy tips the balance of our working week into being located alongside clients and colleagues. 
“This feels right for our business and right for our people, given our focus on client service, coaching, and learning and development.” 
While many workers have returned part-time, the average person working in London currently spends just 2.7 days in the office – primarily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Those following this schedule have been dubbed “TWaTs”, an abbreviation of “Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday staff”. 
This week it emerged that London workers are returning to the office far more slowly than rivals in Paris and New York amid fears that UK productivity will suffer without rapid action.
People in London spend an average of 2.7 days per week in the office, compared to 3.5 for Parisians and 3.1 for New Yorkers, according to the Centre for Cities think tank.
Researchers warned that extensive home working could pose a long-term challenge to the British economy.
Read the latest updates below.
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European stocks fell today as mixed economic data spurred worries about global growth, with France’s Cac 40 leading national declines.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.5pc, with healthcare, chemicals and personal goods sectors all falling over 1pc.
Economic worries continued to weigh on sentiment. German industrial orders rose more than expected in July, but euro zone retail sales slipped on an annual basis.
That, combined with some signs of weakening in the US labour market, kept investors cautious ahead of key American non-farm payrolls data on Friday.
France’s benchmark index slipped 0.9pc, its third daily loss in a row, as worries about a slowdown in top consumer China weighed on luxury stocks.
The selection of Michel Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, as France’s prime minister helped lift some bank stocks and government bonds in hopes it would soothe the country’s political turmoil since President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election in June.
Germany’s benchmark Dax index was flat. The country’s Ifo Institute said the economy was likely to stagnate this year, in contrast to previous forecasts of 0.4pc growth.
Donald Trump this afternoon said he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk if he wins the Nov 5 election.
The former president has been discussing the idea of a government efficiency commission with aides for weeks, people with knowledge of those conversations told Reuters. But a speech this afternoon to the New York Economic Club was the first time he had publicly endorsed the idea.
He said:
I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms.
Mr Musk said on a podcast in August that he had held conversations with the former president about the matter and that he would be interested in serving on the body.
I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises. No pay, no title, no recognition is needed. https://t.co/5PSNtjBQn7
Wall Street slipped in choppy trading this afternoon, with the S&P 500 down by 0.5pc and the Dow Jones down by 0.8pc. However, the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.1pc.
The much-watched non-farm payrolls data for August is due on Friday amid worries of a slowdown in the economy, while focus continues to be on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut that is expected later this month.
Traders’ bets for a quarter percentage point reduction in interest rates at the Fed’s September meeting now stand at 61pc, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Bets for a larger half point cut rose to 39pc from 34pc a week earlier.
With a rate cut at the Fed meeting almost certain, the uncertainty lies in its size as a larger cut could indicate deeper concerns about economic stability, Melissa Brown, managing director of applied research at SimCorp, said.
Eight members of the Opec+ group of oil-producing nations have agreed to extend their supply cuts until the end of November. They are postponing a planned output increase amid falling crude prices.
The price has been affected by worries about weak demand from America and China.
The eight nations are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
Their voluntary supply cuts of 2.2m barrels per day will be extended “for two months until the end of November 2024”, the alliance said in a statement.
The world benchmark for oil, Brent Crude, rose by as much as 2.1pc today, to $74.20 a barrel, on anticipation of the deal. However, the price is currently down 0.2pc at $72.55 a barrel.
Global stocks edged down today as investors brace for highly anticipated American jobs data, out tomorrow.
Friday’s US non-farm payroll report, which is watched closely as the biggest indicator for how much the US Federal Reserve might cut rates this month.
While bets have increased to around 40pc from 34pc a week ago that the Fed might kick-off its long-awaited easing cycle with a half a percentage point move this month, traders still see a roughly 59pc probability that the cut will just be a quarter of a percentage point.
Thomas Simons, senior US economist at Jefferies in New York, said that “the market is pricing in way too much easing from the Fed, whether that be in terms of pace or total number of cuts”.
The MSCI World index is down 0.5pc.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 is down 0.6pc, the Dow Jones is down 1pc and the Nasdaq Composite is flat.
The days of running around the house in search of a WiFi signal may be coming to an end after BT pledged to end the blight of internet black spots in the home. James Warrington reports:
EE, the internet and mobile network owned by BT, will this month release a new service named WiFi 7, which it claims will ensure wireless connections reach “every corner” of homes.
Marc Allera, the chief executive of EE, said: “WiFi 7 is a really, really significant advancement in WiFi standards. It brings game-changing capabilities to give homes the best WiFi connection they’ve ever had.”
People have long complained about patchy WiFi in their homes, with routers failing to produce a signal strong enough to cover the entire house, especially in larger properties.
While boosters are available to extend the reach, these have traditionally lowered speeds, making it harder to browse the internet or stream services such as Netflix.
WiFi 7 will still require boosters but without affecting speed, EE said, meaning people should have the same connection in the far corner of the conservatory as they would sitting next to the router in the living room.
Read the full story…
Greenpeace activists blocked access to Unilever’s headquarters in London earlier today, claiming the consumer goods company is “trashing the planet and harming communities” with single-use plastics.
Members of the environmental campaign group locked themselves to barricades. The campaign group said that nine of the activists were cut out by police with angle grinders and arrested under the Public Order Act.
Greenpeace is calling on Unilever to remove single-use plastic from its operations and phase it out fully within a decade, starting with plastic sachets, which they say are “near impossible to collect and recycle”.
A spokesman for Unilever said:
Our ambition at Unilever is clear: an end to plastic pollution through reduction, circulation, and collaboration. We recognise the important role that we play to help make this ambition a reality – which is why plastic is one of our four sustainability priorities.
We’ve already reduced our virgin plastic use by 18pc and increased our use of recycled plastic to 22pc – recognised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as one of the businesses making the most progress to reduce its virgin plastic packaging footprint.
However, our work is far from over. Our updated plastic goals are stretching and focus on the areas that we know will have the most impact – such as continuing to reduce our virgin plastic use and developing alternatives to hard-to-recycle flexible plastic packaging, like plastic sachets.
Euro zone bond yields were mixed on Thursday as investors waited for more data on the health of the U.S. jobs market.
Yields have slid this week as markets have fretted about an August US employment report, due tomorrow, and reacted to figures on Wednesday showing American job openings fell to their lowest level in three and a half years in July.
It was a volatile session on Thursday as investors digested more data that showed US private payrolls increased less than expected in August but US services sector activity was steady.
The German 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, fell to 2.192pc mid-afternoon, its lowest since August 22.
It is currently 2.208pc, down from 2.228pc late on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.3pc.
The top riser was Vistry, better known as Bovis Homes, up 8.5pc. It was followed by WPP, the owner of Ogilvy ad agency, up 5.6pc.
At the other end of the index, Twinings owner Associated British Foods fell 8.5pc, while insurer Admiral fell 4pc.
Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.2pc.
The top riser was Alfa Financial Software, up 10.3pc, followed by Wag Payments, up 6.3pc.
The biggest faller was Ithaca Energy, down 10.1pc, followed by Upper Crust owner SSP, down 4.5pc.
Rolls-Royce is to run a “one-time precautionary engine inspection programme”, the company has announced, after an incident with a Cathay Pacific aircraft.
A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said:
We can confirm that we are working very closely with EASA [European Union Aviation Safety Agency] on a one-time precautionary engine inspection programme, which may be applicable only to a portion of the A350 fleet. We are keeping our customers updated and expect EASA to make a further announcement later today.
As an investigation is ongoing under Annex 13 [of the aircraft accident and incident investigation standards], we cannot comment on the focus of the inspections, but note that EASA has publicly referenced high pressure fuel hoses.
Separately, Cathay Pacific has stated publicly that their inspections took 24 hours to cover their Trent XWB fleet, and that they expect all replacement parts to be installed in less than a week since the incident on flight CX383.
The Trent XWB engine family has an excellent record over its nine years in service, during which it has accumulated over 20 million flying hours.
Working with our customers and supply chain, we are focused on minimising any short-term disruption caused by these inspections. We apologise to those who may be affected.
Government ministers will host investors next week in an attempt to attract more money into Britain’s beleaguered water industry.
Bloomberg reported that Steve Reed, the environment secretary, and Spencer Livermore, a Treasury minister, would consult with investors on the guarantees they need in order to provide the “huge quantum of investment that will be required to start fixing the broken water infrastructure,” according to comments made by Mr Reed in an interview.
The meeting will reportedly include all the sector’s major equity and debt investors.
Two out of three of America’s top stock indexes have dipped in uncertain trading this afternoon.
The S&P 500 is 0.2pc down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading US companies is down 0.4pc but the Nasdaq Composite 0.3pc higher.
Treasury yields were also holding relatively steady in the bond market following the mixed reports on the US economy.
One suggested US companies slowed their hiring last month, falling well short of economists’ forecasts for an acceleration. Another report, though, said fewer US workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected. That’s an indication redundancies remain low.
A report released later in the morning offered more optimism, saying growth for businesses in the mining, finance, health care and other services industries was stronger last month than economists expected.
“Generally, business is good,” one respondent said in the survey compiled by the Institute for Supply Management. “However, there are concerns of slowing foot traffic at restaurants and other venues where our products are sold.”
Stocks have largely struggled this week after another dud of a report on US manufacturing reignited worries about the slowing US economy and how much it could hurt corporate profits. That has raised the stakes for a highly anticipated report scheduled for Friday.
That is when the US government will say how many jobs US employers added last month, and economists are expecting an acceleration of hiring. The job market’s performance could dictate how big of a cut to interest rates the Federal Reserve will deliver at its next meeting later this month.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has pledged to back a motion at next Tuesday’s Nike AGM demanding the company consider ways it can improve working conditions at garment factories.
Nike is struggling with sliding sales and also faces criticisms over its supply chain. Investment research firm MSCI downgraded its ESG (environmental, social and governance) rating for Nike in 2022 and 2023, and rates it as a “laggard” on supply chain labour standards.
The resolution proposed by investors including Domini Impact Equity Fund says current approaches in the industry “often fail to identify and remedy persistent rights abuses such as wage theft, inadequate health and safety or gender-based violence”.
Domini was among more than 60 investors last year to sign a joint letter to Nike urging it to pay $2.2m (£1.7m) in wages to workers at suppliers in Cambodia and Thailand. Campaigners said they were denied severance pay owed to them after factory shutdowns during the pandemic. Nike has denied the allegations.
In a statement, Nike said its corporate governance team had been in touch with all the filers of the resolution.
It said: “We greatly value the opportunity to engage with and solicit feedback from our shareholders, and we believe that maintaining an open dialogue strengthens our approach to corporate governance practices and disclosures.”
The resolution reflects a push from some investors for Nike to create binding agreements with workers at factories and suppliers in countries where worker exploitation is a problem.
Nike sources from five factories in Pakistan, according to its own supply chain disclosures, yet it is not a signatory to the Pakistan Accord, a binding health and safety agreement between workers’ unions and brands that peers including Adidas and Puma have signed.
The decision by Norway’s fund, Nike’s ninth biggest shareholder, went against recommendations by Nike’s management for shareholders to reject the resolution.
Stocks have risen on both sides of the Atlantic on hopes of imminent Fed rate cuts.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said:
What seemed to be the beginning of a fresh slump for global markets has been put on pause, at least for now.
US markets have moved higher again this afternoon, having held the lows of the past 48 hours, while the Vix [the US stock market’s expectation of volatility] has slumped in afternoon trading.
The bulls aren’t giving up just yet it seems. While the ADP report was worse than expected, investors seem to have learnt their lesson this time, avoiding putting too much store in today’s numbers ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls.
[In the FTSE 100] the prospect of more rate cuts continues to put new life into the utility sector.
Today’s UK leaderboard is populated by a number of the high dividend-paying names, as investors look to bolster their income streams.
It’s a helpful recession defence too, given the strong visibility of revenues in the sector.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged more than £38bn in financing for Africa over the next three years, as the world’s second largest economy ramps up its influence on the continent.
Mr Xi made the pledge at as he addressed Beijing’s biggest summit since the Covid pandemic.
The move promises to deepen China’s cooperation in infrastructure and trade with the continent 
More than 50 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are attending the China-Africa forum, according to Chinese state media.
African leaders already secured a plethora of deals this week for greater cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade and energy.
Xi hailed ties with Africa as their “best period in history” as he addressed the leaders at the forum’s opening ceremony in Beijing’s ornate Great Hall of the People on Thursday. He said:
China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment,” he said.
Over the next three years, the Chinese government is willing to provide financial support amounting to 360bn yuan.
More than half of that will be in credit, he said, with $11bn “in various types of assistance” as well as $10bn through encouraging Chinese firms to invest.
He also promised to help “create at least one million jobs for Africa”.
Oil prices have moved higher after reports that Opec has agreed a deal to delay a planned increase in production, which had been due to start in October, by two months.
Brent crude was last up 1.2pc and heading in the direction of $74 a barrel. US-produced West Texas Intermediate gained 1.3pc to tip back above $70 a barrel.
Both had been languishing near their lowest levels since December amid concerns that the Opec oil cartel would begin increasing production despite data indicating the risk of weak demand from both the US and China.
With that, I am dashing off. Alex Singleton will make sure you stay informed on what’s happening in the markets for the rest of the day.
The services sector in the US expanded at a moderate pace for a second consecutive month, a closely watched survey showed, easing concerns about the potential for the world’s largest economy to fall into recession.
The ISM Services PMI gave a reading of 51.5 in August, up fractionally from July’s figure.
Wall Street turned positive after the data, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1pc and the S&P 500 rising 0.4pc. 
Both had opened lower after the data from ADP showed private sector companies added just 99,000 jobs in August, the lowest number since January 2021.
ISM said the increase in overall activity was helped by directly factoring indexes such as business activity, new orders and employment.
But survey chair Steve Miller. added: “Slow-to-moderate growth was cited across many industries, while ongoing high costs and interest-rate pressures were often mentioned as negatively impacting business performance and driving softness in sales and traffic.”
August ISM Services up to 51.5 vs. 51.4 est./prior month … new orders up to 53; prices paid up to 57.3; employment down to 50.2 pic.twitter.com/U5oLhTwVSb
Oil prices have edged higher as the Opec+ cartel was said to have reached an agreement to delay a planned increase in production.
Crude prices had slumped to their lowest in nine months amid expectations that Opec would increase output from October.
Oil prices have also been falling along with other asset classes on concerns about a weak global economy and soft data from China, the world’s biggest oil importer.
Brent crude was up 0.5pc to more than $73 a barrel after Reuters reported Opec+ was  “almost there” on getting an agreement to delay the ramp up of production.
A delegate told Bloomberg that the group had reached a deal to pause the hike in output for two months.
The planned increase was for 180,000 barrels a day, part of some 5.86 million bpd in output Opec+ is holding back, which is equivalent to about 5.7pc of global demand.
HSBC said in a report that any decision by Opec+ might be taken negatively by the market.
The bank said: “Raising production would tip the market into a meaningful surplus from the first quarter 2025 onwards. 
“On the other hand, holding off may be interpreted as a belated admission by Opec that oil demand is weak.”
Labour’s potential plan to abandon the new British Isa has been welcomed by investment bosses who argue it was “doomed to fail”, as the Treasury insisted it was still weighing up the measure.
The former Conservative government drew up plans for the new savings product earlier this year as part of its spring Budget.
It was set to give people an additional £5,000 tax-free allowance to invest in UK companies and help boost the City.
The new Government is thought to be planning to drop the British Isa despite saying it would not do so prior to July’s general election, according to reports in the Financial Times.
A Treasury spokesman said “no decisions had been made” over the product, adding: “The Government will provide further information on its plans for the British Isa in due course.”
Bosses of top investment platforms have weighed in on the reports, praising officials for potentially ditching the “ill-conceived” idea.
Michael Summersgill, chief executive of AJ Bell, said the British Isa was a “political gimmick that was doomed to fail in its objective of boosting investment” in UK-listed businesses.
Dan Olley, chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown, said the group was “pleased” about the potential scrapping of the product “because simplicity is key when it comes to getting people to start investing”.
PwC has extended a crackdown on staff working from home months after it revealed it was forced to slash bonuses following a “challenging” year.
Partners and staff have been told today that they must spend at least three days a week in the office or with clients.
The new policy, which comes into force in January, comes after the Big Four professional services firm in July reduced the duration of its summer working hours scheme, which allows UK employees to finish at lunchtime on Fridays. 
Previously staff were expected to spend at least two days in the office or with clients.
Big Four firms have spent the past year drastically cutting costs and reversing the post-pandemic hiring spree as economic uncertainty and high inflation saw clients cancel projects and demand lower fees.
Laura Hinton, managing partner at PwC UK, said: “Face-to-face working is hugely important to a people business like ours, and the new policy tips the balance of our working week into being located alongside clients and colleagues. 
“This feels right for our business and right for our people, given our focus on client service, coaching, and learning and development. At the same time, we continue to offer flexibility through hybrid working.”
While many workers have returned part-time, the average person working in London currently spends just 2.3 days in the office – primarily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Those following this schedule have been dubbed “TWaTs”, an abbreviation of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday staff.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were subdued at the open as investors parsed through mixed jobs market data to gauge the size of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut that is expected later this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 81.4 points, or 0.2pc, at the open to 41,056.33. 
The S&P 500 was flat at the open at 5,520.08​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.1 points, or 0.1pc, to 17,063.237 at the opening bell.
The competition regulator has opened an investigation into Ticketmaster to see if the ticket seller broke consumer protection laws when it sold Oasis concert tickets.
Fans complained about “surge pricing” that left many paying about £500 to see the Britpop icons reunion gigs.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation would include how so-called “dynamic pricing” may have been used and would scrutinise whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law.
The investigation would consider whether Ticketmaster had engaged in unfair commercial practices, if people were given clear and timely information to explain that the tickets could be subject to so-called “dynamic pricing”, and if consumers were put under pressure to buy tickets within a short period of time – at a higher price than they understood they would have to pay.
The CMA said it would now engage with Ticketmaster and gather evidence from various other sources, which may include the band’s management and event organisers.
The CMA said it should not be assumed that Ticketmaster had broken consumer protection law.
Five AstraZeneca staff have been detained in China amid claims of potential illegal activity at the British drug giant. 
Our retail editor Hannah Boland has the details:
Authorities in Shenzhen, China, are investigating how the company collected patient data, according to Bloomberg, as well as investigating the imports of a liver cancer drug yet to be approved in China. 
A spokesman for AstraZeneca said: “We are aware a small number of our employees in China are under investigation and we have no further information to share at this point.” 
It threatens to cast a shadow over AstraZeneca’s Chinese operations. The company is the largest foreign pharmaceutical company in China, making 12pc of its revenues from the country. 
Read what chief executive Pascal Soriot has said about China.
The US economy showed further signs of slowing down as data showed private sector companies added the fewest number of jobs since January 2021.
Private employers added 99,000 jobs in August, according to the ADP Employment Report, which was well below analyst estimates of 145,000.
The previous month’s figure was also revised lower from 122,000 to 111,000.
Stocks turned lower on Wall Street during premarket trading, with the S&P 500 down 02.pc and on track to fall for a third day.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was down 0.5pc and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.
ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said: 
The job market’s downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth. 
The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilising after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown.
August ADP payrolls +99k vs. +145k est. & +111k in prior month … professional & business services with largest decline (-16k); education & health services with largest increase (+29k) pic.twitter.com/6zFfle0O1m
John Lewis is bringing back its “Never Knowingly Undersold” promise as it battles to win back the middle classes.  
Our senior business reporter Daniel Woolfson has the details:
The classic slogan and price promise, which were ditched by chairman Dame Sharon White, are being resurrected as the department store seeks to turn the page on a turbulent period in which it has lost ground to its rivals and struggled with profitability.
First introduced a century ago, “Never Knowingly Undersold” was a promise to customers that meant John Lewis would refund the difference if shoppers found an item on sale for a cheaper price after buying it at the department store.
The pledge was scrapped by Dame Sharon, the then-chairman of John Lewis Partnership (JLP), in 2022, saying it wasn’t fit for the digital shopping age.
It comes as the retailer seeks to reverse its fortunes.
BMW plans to start selling its first hydrogen-powered cars in four years as it tries to create an alternative to battery electric vehicles (EVs).
The German carmaker hailed a “milestone in automotive history” as it announced its first fuel cell powertrain vehicles would go on sale in 2028.
The cars will use technology developed by Toyota – the world’s largest car maker – with a hydrogen variant of an existing BMW model available that year.
However, no details of price or the scale of production were announced on Thursday.
BMW chairman Oliver Zipse said: 
This is a milestone in automotive history: the first-ever series production fuel cell vehicle to be offered by a global premium manufacturer. 
Powered by hydrogen and driven by the spirit of our cooperation, it will underscore how technological progress is shaping future mobility. 
And it will herald an era of significant demand for fuel cell electric vehicles.
Hiring, pay rises and price rises are all slowing sharply, amid growing signs the economy is losing steam and that the Bank of England will be able to keep cutting interest rates.
Our deputy economics editor Tim Wallace has the details:
Employment by businesses rose by 0.7pc over the past year, according to the Bank’s decision makers’ panel survey, the weakest rate in three years.
Bosses expect to increase their headcount by 1pc over the coming 12 months, also the slowest pace since 2020 when the economy was still in lockdown.
Pay growth has also slowed, with wages up 5.8pc over the past year, the weakest since 2022. Bosses plan smaller pay rises in future, averaging 4.1pc over the next year.
“This suggests that the UK labour market is continuing to loosen,” the Bank of England said.
At the same time the share of companies complaining that it is “harder than normal” to get the staff they need has plunged from almost 90pc three years ago to 39pc now.
Andrew Bailey, the Governor, and his colleagues on the Monetary Policy Committee have worried that sustained pay growth and tightness in the jobs market risks keeping inflation high and so requires interest rates to stay high.
Drivers face potentially “perma-high” petrol prices in the coming years if the Government decides to axe the 5p fuel duty cut in the Budget, the AA has warned.
Motorists would be hit with an immediate increase of £3.30 on the average tank of fuel if the policy is axed, the motoring group said.
Petrol prices dropped this week to their lowest level for nearly three years, the AA’s latest figures show, amid declining oil prices.
However, the AA said the drop to 139.5p a litre – the lowest price since October 2021 – would not have happened without the fuel duty cut.
Edmund King, AA president, said: “Pure and simple, the only reason why pump prices are nearly at a three-year low this week is because of the 5p fuel duty cut. 
“Removing it threatens to send millions of low-income drivers back into the era of ‘perma-high’ road fuel prices.”
Sir Keir Starmer last week refused to rule out a rise in fuel duty when the Chancellor delivers her first Budget on October 30.
Germany’s largest union has proposed cutting the working week at Volkswagen in an effort to save jobs as the car maker considers closing factories.
The head of the powerful IG Metall union on Thursday proposed switching to a four-day week after Volkswagen said on Monday that it could no longer rule out closing plants in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history.
The carmaker is seeking €10bn (£8.4bn) in savings by 2026 as it tries to survive the transition to electric vehicles. 
However, VW chief executive Oliver Blume faces a potentially fierce battle with unions, who said it was a “black day” as the car maker said it was also looking to end the group’s job security programme, which has been in place since 1994 and prevented job cuts until 2029. 
IG Metall’s top negotiator Thorsten Gröger warned that 500,000 workers could take part in strikes in late October. 
Asked whether the union would be open to a compromise such as a four-day week, IG Metall chief Christiane Benner said: “We would be ready to talk about something like this.” 
She added the union is “open” to constructive proposals.
The pound was little changed ahead of US employment data that could set the tone for currency markets for the weeks and months ahead.
Sterling is on track for a modest weekly gain versus the dollar, while the euro, which hit a one-month low against the pound last week, headed for its firstly weekly rise since early August, up 0.1pc.
Sterling was last flat at $1.316, up 0.2pc this week and some distance from last week’s two-year high at $1.327. Against the euro, the pound was also steady at 84.3p.
The Bank of England meets in two weeks to set monetary policy. Right now, the derivatives market shows traders see very little chance of a rate cut this month, but a quarter-point cut is fully priced in for the following meeting in November.
The Bank of England was the first among major central banks to raise rates back in 2021, but is likely to be among the slowest to lower them, which has given the pound a lift this year.
Sterling is typically more volatile than the likes of the euro and this week’s ructions across the broader markets have hit the pound.
But with US monthly employment data due on Friday, analysts see overall activity in the currency market remaining on an even keel for the time being.
The German economy will not grow at all this year and will eke out an expansion of just 0.9pc next year, according to the IFO Institute.
Our deputy economics editor Tim Wallace has the details:
That is down from previous forecasts of 0.4pc and 1.5pc respectively, as unemployment is rising and households in the crisis-stricken nation save more instead of spending.
Timo Wollmershäuser, head of forecasts at the Institute, said the eurozone’s largest economy is missing out on a recovery.
“The German economy is stuck and languishing in the doldrums, while other countries are feeling the upswing,” he said.
“We have a structural crisis. Too little investment is being made, especially in manufacturing, and productivity has been stagnating for years. We also have an economic crisis. The order situation is poor, and gains in purchasing power are not leading to increased consumption but instead to higher savings because people are unsettled.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has insisted that “decarbonisation cannot be de-industrialisation” and “good jobs” must come with a green energy transition.
Labour MP Luke Myers (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) said green jobs were a “key plank” of the Government’s industrial strategy as he asked in the Commons how vocational education in British industry would be developed and protected.
Mr Reynolds replied: 
Decarbonisation cannot be de-industrialisation. We’ve got to recognise that the policy mix that we’ve inherited isn’t the right one in order to deliver that, and changes will have to be made.
For any business at any level, skills and access to talent in the labour market will always be the foundational issue, we work very closely with our colleagues in the Department for Education, the creation of skills England, the better link between the skills system and immigration is a key part of that.
Responding to a later question on green jobs, Mr Reynolds said: “The need to make sure that the good jobs in the supply chain comes with the transition that we all now support is a key priority for me.”
Germany’s construction recession deepened in August as housebuilders laid off staff and demand for commercial projects slumped.
Our deputy economics editor Tim Wallace has the details:
The crunch in the German industry deepened despite the European Central Bank’s interest rate cuts, according to the purchasing managers’ index (PMI), an influential survey from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank.
Germany’s construction industry has now been shrinking for almost two and a half years, with few signs of recovery. The PMI fell to 38.9, down from 40 in July. Any score of below 50 indicates contraction, so these sustained low numbers represent a deep downturn.
“The construction sector is cementing its path deeper into recession, with overall activity falling in August at a faster pace than in the two months prior,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
A boost from a rail track overhaul was not enough to reverse the slump, while homebuyers appear to be holding off despite lower interest rates.
Mr de la Rubia said: “The ECB’s recent loosening of monetary policy might have stirred up some faint hopes of a turnaround in the housing market, but those hopes are fading fast. After a brief slowdown in the downward trend, the housing sector is now sliding downhill at its quickest pace in four months. A recovery in the construction sector seems a long way off.”
The French construction industry is shrinking almost as quickly as Germany’s, with builders also shedding staff.
German industrial orders grew at a slower pace in July, official data showed, as analysts warned Europe’s largest economy is likely to “remain subdued” in the coming months.
New orders, closely watched as an indicator of future business activity, climbed 2.9pc compared to the previous month, according to federal statistics agency Destatis, following an upwardly revised increase of 4.6pc in June.
But the July rise was driven by large orders, notably an 86.5pc jump in orders for planes, ships and trains. Without those big-ticket items, orders for July would have been down 0.4pc.
Germany’s crucial manufacturing sector has been hit hard by higher energy costs in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine and cooling demand from abroad, contributing to a wider downturn that saw the country’s economy shrink in 2023.
LBBW economist Jens-Oliver Niklasch said incoming orders were “likely to remain a lonely island in a sea of weak data”, while the economy ministry was equally gloomy. 
Recent data pointed to continued “weak foreign demand”, it said in a statement, while confidence indicators in the manufacturing sector “recently deteriorated again”.
“Industrial activity is therefore likely to remain subdued in the coming months,” the ministry added.
The German government has forecast 0.3pc growth this year but that figure is looking increasingly ambitious. The Ifo economic institute today lowered its full-year outlook for the country. It now expects the German economy to stagnate in 2024, after previously predicting 0.4pc growth.
🇩🇪 Germany Industrial Orders MoM Actual 2.9% (Est. -1.7%, Prev. 3.9%)#industrialorders #stagflation https://t.co/93IvzEcPzp pic.twitter.com/YkDQAFF2iP
Britain’s construction sector has “turned a corner” as housebuilding picks up at its fastest pace in nearly two years, a closely watched survey has shown.
S&P Global UK Construction PMI showed output in the sector grew for a sixth month in a row, althoug the reading of 53.6 in August was down slightly from 55.3 in July.
Momentum was driven by residential work, with growth accelerating to its fastest since September 2022 amid improving market conditions and lower borrowing costs. 
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: 
The UK construction sector appears to have turned a corner after a difficult start to 2024, with renewed vigour in the house building segment the most notable development in August. 
Residential work expanded at the fastest pace for almost two years as lower borrowing costs and a gradual recovery in market conditions helped to boost activity. 
Commercial building was the best-performing part of the construction sector as the improving UK economic backdrop resulted in stronger order books, but the post-election bounce in demand faded somewhat in August. 
The UK new car market declined by 1.3pc in August, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said, ahead of the release of new number plates in September.
Some 84,575 new cars were registered last month, compared with 85,657 during August 2023.
Registrations of new pure battery electric vehicles rose 10.8pc year on year, which the SMMT attributed to “heavy discounting by manufacturers over the summer and a raft of new models attracting buyers”.
The market share for electric cars reached 22.6pc in August, the highest for a month since December 2022, when they represented 32.9pc of all new cars reaching the road.
However, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes warned that while August’s EV growth is welcome, “it’s always a very low volume month and so subject to distortions ahead of September’s number plate change”.
James Hosking, managing director of AA Cars, said: 
After reaching two years of uninterrupted growth, the new car market’s momentum has finally stalled.
While fleet and business purchases previously drove sales, offsetting declining private demand, this trend came to an end in August.
Jet2 said more holidaymakers are booking last minute, helping to boost its package holiday business.
The airline said it “experienced strong late booking momentum” in July and August, with September showing a similar trend.
As a result, package holiday customers are up by 8pc, representing 70.2pc of its total departing passengers.
In an update to shareholders, it said: 
Looking forward, we continue to believe that package holidays are the right product for price conscious customers. 
Our ability to offer a wide choice of quality product and the flexibility of truly variable duration holidays, makes it easy for our customers to conveniently tailor their holiday plans to suit their individual budgets. 
Shares were up 1.3pc as it said summer 2025 bookings were slightly ahead of summer 2024 bookings at the same point.
The FTSE 100 was flat amid concerns over the US economy ahead of crucial jobs data.
The blue-chip index was up slightly having earlier traded down 0.2pc, leaving it at risk of extending losses for the fifth session for the first time since May.
The domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.1pc, after touching a nearly one-month low on Wednesday.
Weak manufacturing figures and mixed labour data have fanned fears over the US economy this week and bolstered the case for a bigger Federal Reserve rate cut ahead of this month’s monetary policy meeting.
Airways owner IAG, miner Antofagasta, insurers Prudential and Admiral, paper and packaging company DS Smith and chemicals group Croda fell over 1pc each as they traded without the entitlement to their next dividend.
Homebuilder Vistry rose 3.1pc to the top of the FTSE 100 as it announced plans to buy back shares worth £130m and posted higher half-year earnings.
Online retailer Asos jumped 13.9pc after forecasting adjusted core profit at the top end of market expectations, while Associated British Foods fell 3.9pc after the Primark owner’s trading update.
The owner of Primark expects sales at the low-price clothes retailer to fall in the second half of the year after poor summer weather dampened consumer spending.
Associated British Foods said like‐for‐like sales are expected to decrease by around 0.5pc in the second half of 2024, with a projected decline of around 0.9pc in the final three months of the year. 
The company said in an update to shareholders: “This primarily reflects unfavourable weather in the UK and Ireland in H2, which resulted in lower footfall and particularly impacted sales of our seasonal lines in womenswear and footwear.”
Primark’s market share decreased slightly to 6.5pc in the 24 weeks to July 21 as a result of the lower high street footfall.
Shares in AB Foods slumped 4pc as it said the performance of its sugar business had also been “mixed”.
A major housebuilder has ramped up land purchases as it says it is “uniquely positioned” to help deliver on the Government’s pledge to build 1.5m homes over the next five years.
Our economics reporter Melissa Lawford has the details:
Vistry secured land to develop 8,225 homes in the first six months of this year, up 16pc from 6,886 plots in the same period in 2023, the company’s half year results show.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said the company was on track to build more than 18,000 homes this year.
Shares rose 2.3pc in early trading as the company said adjusted pre-tax profits were up by 7pc to £186m after it made a major pivot to affordable housing.
Vistry announced last September that it was merging its housebuilding business with its partnerships arm, which builds for local authorities and housing associations, to focus solely on affordable housing.
It built 7,792 homes in the first six months of the year, up 9pc compared to the first half of 2023.
Mr Fitzgerald, said: “The group’s growth strategy and greater delivery of affordable housing is well aligned to the new Government’s ambitions to address the country’s housing crisis, and uniquely positions Vistry to play a key role in delivering the Government’s new housing targets.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has pledged to deliver “the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding for a generation” as part of the government’s bid to ramp up housebuilding.
Stocks in London have followed Asian and US markets lower amid concerns about the health of the American economy.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.2pc to 8,256.45 while the midcap FTSE 250 edged lower by 0.1pc to 20,790.83.
In corporate news, Asos is to offload 75pc of its stake in the Topshop and Topman brands, in a deal which values them at £180m.
The online clothes seller said it will sell three-quarters of its ownership in the brands to Danish company Heartland by forming a 75/25 joint venture with the Nordic business.
Asos bought the brands out of administration in 2021, along with Miss Selfridge and HIIT, for £330m, during the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group.
Heartland is the holding company belonging to Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, and also owns clothing brand Bestseller.
Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte, chief executive of Asos, said the move would help “accelerate our strategy to both offer customers the best and most relevant product and to turn Asos into a company that delivers sustainable, profitable growth”.
After announcing the scrapping of second class post on Saturdays, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications Lindsey Fussell said: 
Postal users’ needs are at the heart of our review.
If we decide to propose changes to the universal service next year, we want to make sure we achieve the best outcome for consumers.
So we’re now looking at whether we can get the universal service back on an even keel in a way that meets people’s needs.
But this won’t be a free pass for Royal Mail – under any scenario, it must invest in its network, become more efficient and improve its service levels.
Second class post is to be scrapped on Saturdays under proposals put forward by Ofcom. 
Our retail editor Hannah Boland has the latest:
The UK regulator said it believed Saturday deliveries were only needed by people when they were sending the “occasional urgent letter or card”.
However, it said people would opt for a first class stamp for these urgent deliveries. It said most letters were not urgent. 
Ofcom suggested that scrapping second class deliveries on Saturday would “enable Royal Mail to improve reliability, make substantial efficiency savings, and redeploy its existing resources to growth areas such as parcels”.
Read on for details.
Britain’s economy will grow at a slower pace in the second half of this year, business leaders have warned, despite Rachel Reeves’ pledge to run a “pro-growth” Treasury.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to slow to 0.4pc in the third quarter and then drop to 0.2pc in the final three months of the year, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Growth is predicted to remain at this level throughout 2025.
It is in stark contrast to the 0.7pc and 0.6pc growth of the first two quarters of 2024 under Rishi Sunak’s government, when statisticians described the economy as “going gangbusters”.
The BCC upgraded its growth prediction for this year from from 0.8pc to 1.1pc and said growth would hit 1pc in 2025. It marginally increased its 2026 projection from 1pc to 1.1pc. 
In her first speech as chancellor, Rachel Reeves said she wanted to run “the most pro-growth Treasury in our country’s history”. 
Vicky Pryce, chairman of the BCC Economic Advisory Council, said:  “The BCC’s latest forecast shows that while the UK economy will perform better this year, it’s unlikely to be heading into the fast lane any time soon.”
Advertisers are “unlikely” to change their plans to cut spending on X, Elon Musk has been warned.
X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said last month that the advertiser boycott was “a stain on a great industry, and cannot be allowed to continue”.
Gonca Bubani, of merket researcher Kantar, said: 
Advertisers have been moving their marketing spend away from X for several years. 
The stark acceleration of this trend in the past 12 months means a turnaround currently seems unlikely.
Marketers are brand custodians and need to trust the platforms they use. X has changed so much in recent years and can be unpredictable from one day to the next – it’s difficult to feel confident about your brand safety in that environment.
An X spokesman said: “Advertisers know that X now offers stronger brand safety, performance and analytics capabilities than ever before … the majority of advertisers are increasing their investment in X, as shown by Kantar’s data.”
The investment company Fidelity, which has a stake in X, has marked the company’s value down by 72pc since the November 2022 acquisition, filings showed last week.
Elon Musk’s social network, X, is facing a new advertiser exodus as a record number of brands plan to cut spending.
The research company Kantar found that 26pc of marketers planned to cut spending on the social network, formerly known as Twitter. It said that although advertisers had steadily cut spending in the past few years, there was a “stark acceleration” in those withdrawing their business from X.
Mr Musk, who paid $44bn (£34bn) for Twitter in 2022, has attacked high-profile advertisers who withdrew spending – such as Disney and Apple – accusing them of “blackmail” and of killing the company. He has sued the Unilever-backed trade body Garm, claiming its members conducted an illegal boycott of X.
Mr Musk has also allowed a string of previously banned accounts back on the platform, including those of former US president Donald Trump and far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, raising concerns among advertisers that their messages would appear next to hate speech or illegal content.
Kantar’s annual Media Reactions report, which surveys advertisers, found that only 4pc of marketers believed advertising on X provides brand safety, against 39pc for Google. Just 12pc said adverts on X were trustworthy, down from 22pc two years ago.
Thanks for joining me. More than a quarter of advertisers are planning to cut their spending on X, new industry data show, in a blow to Elon Musk two years after he took over the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The billionaire has criticised companies who have withdrawn spending since he took over the platform but has also reinstated a string of previously banned accounts, including Donald Trump and Tommy Robinson.
1) Rayner’s workers’ rights overhaul ‘will create two-tier jobs market’ | Economy’s most vulnerable workers could end up worse off as result of Deputy PM’s plans
2) Landlords rush to sell former rental homes ahead of Budget | Tenants face further rent rises as Rachel Reeves’s capital gains tax raid looms
3) Thames Water creditors seek peace deal to avoid threat of nationalisation | Calls for detente with Ofwat amid fears that breakdown in relations will speed up utility giant’s demise
4) Why Miliband must transform Britain to hit his ‘undeliverable’ green power target | Critics say the Energy Secretary’s 2030 net zero goal is simply too close to be realistic
5) BBC cuts dozens of jobs as it spends £80m on new diversity drive | Broadcaster battles to cut costs with plans to shed 500 roles by March 2026 and make £500m savings
Asian markets were mixed following a global sell-off a day earlier, as Wall Street declined in the technology, energy and other sectors.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.9pc in morning trading to 36,700.19 as data showed wage growth remains strong.
Average cash earnings in July grew 3.6pc year-on-year, beating market expectations, while real earnings unexpectedly increased by 0.4pc in July, increasing the likelihood of another rate hike.
The US dollar was trading at 143.81 Japanese yen.
In South Korea, the Kospi was less than 0.1pc lower to 2,579.93, as the country’s economy contracted by 0.2pc in the second quarter, in line with estimates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.4pc to 17,379.83 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1pc at 2,785.38.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1pc to 7,957.40.
Wall Street finished slightly lower in choppy trading on Wednesday.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.2pc to 5,520.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.3pc to 17,084.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1pc at 40,974.97.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 3.76pc from 3.83pc late on Tuesday.