When does fish, chips and mushy peas become an unaffordable luxury? May 12, 2026 When prices rise so high and budgets get so tight, consumers adjust their habits permanently. This is looming in the energy markets as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will not be resolved any time soon, says Helen Thomas As Ryan, the owner of Harrison’s Fish and Chip shop, said to me on Friday [...]
Compass shares jump as it shrugs off inflation concerns with profit upgrade May 11, 2026 Shares in Compass Group jumped on Monday morning as shrugged off concerns over inflation eating into its margins after upgrading its profit forecasts. The FTSE 100 catering giant, which has served meals everywhere from prisons to oil rigs, upped its profit growth estimate from 10 per cent to “above” 11 per cent for the year [...]
‘Political choice’: Retailers urge government to act on rising costs May 6, 2026 Retailers have urged the government to cut tax and red tape to counter soaring energy costs caused by the Iran war. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), an industry trade body, has accused Labour of making a “political choice” not to cut energy taxes and delay costly regulation to avoid the worst shop inflation. The effective [...]
Supermarket inflation: Falling oil prices help keep costs down at the till May 6, 2026 Thank goodness for the price of oil. No, not Brent crude – the stuff that has sent costs at the pump up sharply since the outbreak of war in Iran – but cooking oil. A 500ml bottle of rapeseed oil fell by an average of 14 per cent between April and May across three supermarkets [...]
The Strait of Hormuz proves fossil fuels are essential for food security May 6, 2026 Carbon emissions are not a threat to food security – the war in the Middle East is highlighting that the much bigger food challenge for the world is not having enough access to fossil fuels, says Bjorn Lomborg For years, climate campaigners have claimed that our food supply is under grave threat from climate change [...]
IFF Reports First Quarter 2026 Results May 5, 2026 Delivered solid top and bottom line Q1 results Progressing disciplined sale process for Food Ingredients business Reaffirms Full Year 2026 Financial Guidance
Controversial £2bn packaging tax could be scrapped as food inflation looms May 5, 2026 The government is reviewing a controversial £2bn sustainable packaging tax as it faces increasing pressure from retailers to prevent food prices from soaring. The Treasury is reportedly looking at potential changes to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) tax, which requires large businesses to pay towards the cost of disposing of their packaging. Retailers have been [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gilt yields surge over Starmer fears; Intel, Pinterest shares rocket May 5, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Gilt yields have risen to their highest rate in nearly thirty years, as markets weigh up the prospect of an ousted Keir Starmer and lurch to a more left-wing government that might follow. The yield on 30-year government bonds rose 11 basis points on Tuesday [...]
Food prices set to soar 50 per cent since cost-of-living crisis began May 4, 2026 UK food prices are on track to be 50 per cent higher by November compared to levels at the start of the cost-of-living crisis, piling fresh pressure on households already struggling with rising bills. New analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) warns the surge would mark a “grim milestone”, with price growth [...]
Whitbread to cut nearly 4,000 jobs in £2bn cost saving plan April 30, 2026 Whitbread is to slash nearly 4,000 jobs as part of plans to offload restaurants and sell off the freehold rights to its hotels, in a bid to raise £2bn. Shares in the company slipped on Thursday after it announced the plans to raise £1.5bn by selling off the freehold rights to a raft of its [...]