Closing summary: Air traffic disruption eases; no widespread 'greedflation' says BoE
The disruption to UK airline schedules from Monday’s air traffic control failure appears to be fading, with the number of cancellations dropping at London Heathrow, but the recriminations have been going strong today.
Willie Walsh, the head of aviation lobby group Iata, said airlines should not have to pay for mistakes by Nats, the national air traffic service. Airlines could end up covering costs of up to £100m, Walsh said.
Nats boss Martin Rolfe said the computer crash was caused by incorrect data uploaded to the flight planning system.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the airlines must stand by their duty to look after stranded passengers. EasyJet is flying extra flights over the next few days to get people back from holiday destinations.
In other business news today:
Only companies able to exploit market power have been able to increase profit margins since the start of the Ukraine war, according to a new Bank of England study on “greedflation” that found no widespread evidence of companies gouging their customers.
London-listed Instem has been taken private in a £200m deal marking the second British life sciences company this week to be snapped up as foreign buyers target the UK for cheap takeover deals.
Mark Thompson, the former New York Times and BBC chief, has been named the new CEO of cable news giant CNN, tasked with reviving a network beset by sagging ratings and falling profits.
Superdry has suspended trading in its shares as the British brand’s auditors finalise their review of its accounts.
The number of UK mortgage approvals fell to its lowest level in five months in July, amid fresh evidence of the impact of the sharp increase in borrowing costs on the housing market and the wider economy.
You can continue to follow our live coverage from around the world:
In the UK, Rishi Sunak announces ban on ‘zombie-style’ knives and says there is no reason for them to be on streets
In the US, Donald Trump is reportedly considering skipping 6 September plea hearing in Georgia
There are warnings of ‘catastrophic’ storm surges after Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida
In our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Kremlin says Prigozhin plane crash may have been caused deliberately
Thank you for reading our live coverage today. Please do join us again bright and early tomorrow morning for more. JJ
The FTSE 100’s latest reshuffle is incoming (with confirmation due later today, once UK markets close). One new face among London’s blue chips will be one of its most familiar: Marks & Spencer.
The Guardian’s retail correspondent, Sarah Butler, reports:
Marks & Spencer is on track to re-enter the UK’s list of top-rated companies for the first time in four years amid hopes of a permanent revival at the high street stalwart.
M&S fell out of the FTSE 100 list of the UK’s most valuable stock market companies in 2019 as sales and profits slid amid heavy competition from rivals such as Primark and the major supermarkets.
The retailer’s share price has surged this year, taking its market value to more than £4bn, after it thrived during the cost of living crisis by improving the value for money of its clothing and food.
Its balance of high street and online retail has enabled M&S to bring in fresh new brands to complement its own and to offer cheap returns and click and collect services, giving it an edge over purely online retailers such as Asos.
M&S will probably replace struggling investment manager abrdn, while insurer Hiscox housebuilder Persimmon and chemicals company Johnson Matthey are also set to be relegated. They are expected to be replaced by pharma companies Hikma and Dechra Pharma and machinery maker Diploma.
