Closing summary
Time to recap, after a busy day in which BP posted its second-highest quarterly profits ever, and was accused of ‘unfettered profiteering’ as it pumped up its payments to shareholders.
Profits at the UK oil major smashed expectations, tripling to $8.5bn, thanks to strong refinery profits and high energy prices, which intensified calls for a windfall tax on the sector’s profits.
Sharon Graham, the head of the Unite union, said people will be confounded by the latest profits announced by BP.
“The British economy does not work for workers and their families.
Britain’s real crisis isn’t rising prices it’s an epidemic of unfettered profiteering.”
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said the “eye-watering profits” showed that the government was “totally wrong” to have given significant tax breaks to oil companies.
However, the government’s Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said he was not in favour of an extra windfall tax.
BP lifted its dividend by 10% and launched a fresh $3.5bn share buyback, with analysts saying its results were ‘exceptional’.
BP’s earnings mean that the Big Five oil giants have made combined profits of almost $60bn in a single quarter, after ExxonMobile, Shell and Chevron all racked up record earnings in Q2.
While they profited from soaring oil and gas prices, UK households were warned that average energy bills could hit £3,600 this winter. With wholesale gas price around record levels, bills could remain over £3,000 per year until 2024, experts fears.
Rising energy costs also drove more companies to the wall, with the number of voluntary liquidations hitting the highest level on record (going back to 1960).
The cost of living crisis pushed more individuals into personal insolvency too, which may get worse as prices keep outpacing wages, and inflation heads for double-digit levels.
But house prices still kept rising last month, and the super-rich pushed profits at Ferrari to a record.
Energy bills are pushing up costs at Greggs, where customers could face higher prices as food ingredients also become more expensive.
British Airways has extended its suspension of ticket sales for short-haul flights from London’s Heathrow airport to the middle of August.
The two-week halt will cause more disruption for travellers this summer -- and make a last-minute getaway this summer even more expensive,
The unprecedented move is BA’s attempt to head off further disruption and flight cancellations, after Heathrow capped passenger numbers at 100,000 per day, after staff shortages led to long queues, delays and problems with baggage earlier this year.
And Spanish oil production could be hit by fierce heatwaves and a lack of rain this summer:
Updated
Uber’s bookings have hit an all-time high in the last three months as anxiety over Covid-19 eased and workers headed back to the office. Full details here.
