A former Bank of England chief economist warns that “more pain is coming” from rising mortgage costs and falling real wages.jobs

chairman of Marks & Spencer Having described his post-Brexit trade plans as “incomprehensible” and “intimidating”, he has become the latest business leader to attack governments on economic policy.

Archie NormanA former Tory MP, he said the government’s plan to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol stalemate would boost prices and give EU firms a competitive advantage over British firms. His comments on planned label changes for retailers were in a letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, an excerpt of which was seen by the Daily Telegraph.

Last week, billionaire businessman Sir James Dyson denounced the government’s ‘short-sighted’ and ‘stupid’ economic approach, while the secretary-general of the Confederation of British Industry questioned its lack of a ‘strategy’. Did.

Norman says:

The heavy burden of the labeling scheme will increase prices, reduce consumer choice, further disadvantage UK farmers and suppliers, and affect the competitiveness of UK retailers in other international markets. will be

The simple fact is that retailers already operate on real-time digital information. Day or night, you can find products in depots, in transit or in stores with the click of a button.

In the digital age, a store can check in a customer and find an order in less than 60 seconds with a single tap on their mobile phone. It is puzzling that the government and the EU have rewound his 40 years to discuss expensive “solutions” involving stickers and labeling. .

Using different product labels could theoretically ease the need for customs inspections at the border, but the M&S chairman said in a letter that it would increase costs for producers and reduce costs for customers. They claim that the price will be higher.

A costly labeling solution means customers will be hit by reduced ranges, higher prices, periods of massive inflation and when Northern Ireland’s economy is already unfavorable, resulting in worse availability. I mean ”

This proposal adds cost, effort and complexity at a time when the supply base does not really need it and struggles to meet the specific advantages of EU producers.

National Grid asks coal-fired power plants to warm up as needed

Jasper Jolly

of national grid has requested that coal-fired power plants be warmed up in case they are needed on Thursday as the cold weather continues across the UK.

Two coal units at Drax, Yorkshire and one at West Burton, Nottinghamshire were asked to light just before midnight on Wednesday. The West Burton unit shut down at 5:13 a.m., but the Drax unit continues to overheat, according to a notice sent to the industry.

National Grid has been active in recent days in balancing the UK’s energy supply to deal with colder and less windy weather, which is driving up energy use and lowering wind power.

This is the third time in the last week that National Grid’s Electricity Supplier (ESO) has asked coal-fired power plants to warm up as needed.

National Grid is also running a demand flexibility service outside of a pilot for the first time this month. The service pays households with smart meters for energy savings and helps reduce peak demand. This means less need to utilize more polluted energy sources when energy use increases in the evening. Some companies are already getting paid to reduce their energy use.

former president of the United States donald trump allowed to return Facebook When Instagramas the company behind the social media platform, meta, said it ended the two-year suspension on his account.his twitter The ban has already been lifted by the company’s new owners Elon Musk.

Mehta said the suspension will end “in the coming weeks.”

President of Global Affairs at Meta Nick Clegg (and former UK Deputy Prime Minister) said the review found that Trump no longer poses a serious risk to public safety. It is.”

In January 2021, after Joe Biden won the election, the then U.S. president encouraged his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol building and disrupt the presidential election verification process through his social media accounts. When Trump’s account was suspended.

In response to Mehta’s decision, Trump posted on his own social media company, Truth Social, on Wednesday that Facebook “lost billions” after banning “your favorite president, me.” He wrote:

News of Meta’s decision was met with anger and outrage among civil rights and online safety advocates.

Good morning. Welcome to our rolling coverage of business, financial markets and the global economy.

Andy HoldenThe former chief economist at the Bank of England, now chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts and a government adviser on leveling up, said real wages will fall again this year as mortgage costs continue to rise. He also warned that recent political turmoil has contributed to the UK’s poor economic performance. , said it had seen an “economic flicker”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Holden argued that the UK economy was less resilient to the economic crisis due to underinvestment and lack of coordination between the public, private and charitable sectors.

The horrific double-hit of the initial Covid and subsequent cost of living crisis has created tremendous financial stress for many businesses, many homes and, of course, many charities.

In terms of inflation-adjusted wage growth, there have been 15 lost years. Last year saw a decline in real wages, but the same thing is most likely to happen again, putting severe economic and indeed psychological stress on so many households. ‘I’ve seen it.

Asked if political instability has contributed to the recent economic downturn in the UK, he said:

With a ministerial merry-go-round, it is more likely that measures will not be implemented and working programs will not be expanded. We are still a little short of making a medium-term plan for the growth of this country.

He was asked if he had any regrets because the Bank of England had raised interest rates at the same time as massive energy price hikes and inflation had occurred:

It’s been painful and I’m afraid there will be more pain coming as the rise in mortgage rates from last year will start hitting people’s bank accounts later this year. would have liked the central bank to start raising rates a little sooner. would have been Overall, however, this global shock has always caused considerable pain, including at higher rates.

With headline inflation now at its peak, we hope there’s a good chance the central bank will slow down a bit later this year and put less brakes on the recovery. Some glimmers in economic life.

The Bank of Canada announced yesterday that it will pause after its eighth rate hike to 4.5%.

Today’s market focus is on US GDP data Economic growth is expected to slow to 2.6% in the fourth quarter from 3.2% in the previous quarter.

asian stocks MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks ex-Japan hit a seven-month high as it rose 0.9% for a fifth day after falling again. Trading was thin, however, as Australia closed for a holiday and parts of Asia, including China, still celebrated the Lunar New Year. european market Expected to open higher than US GDP.

agenda

• 9am GMT: Italian Business and Consumer Confidence for January

• 11am GMT: UK CBI Retail Sales Survey for January

• 1.30pm GMT: US Q4 GDP (Forecast: 2.6%, Previous: 3.2%)

• 1:30 PM GMT: December US Durable Goods Orders

• 1:30 PM GMT: U.S. weekly unemployment claims