Closing summary
Time for a recap
Walgreens Boots Alliance has abandoned the sale of the Boots chemist chain, after market turbulence meant bidders couldn’t meet its expectations.
Sarah Riding, a retail partner at the law firm Gowling WLG, says:
“While disappointing news, it is right to set aside acquisition plans if the financial commitment cannot be met – the current and future value that incorporating the Boots brand would bring to any buyer is immense, given its strong domestic market and also its global reach.
It will be interesting to see if this opens the floodgates for other, more alternative buyers from the private equity market to consider an offer.”
The UK car industry has called for more help on soaring energy bills, and warned that uncertainty over the Northern Ireland protocol could hurt investment.
Heathrow has claimed that passengers will get a worse service, after the aviation regulator laid out plans to cut its landing fees over the next few years. Airlines, though, argued the charges were still too high.
Supermarket shoppers are turning to cheaper frozen foods as they watch “every penny and every pound”, according to the boss of Sainsbury’s.
The cost of living crisis has hit lottery ticket sales too, as cash-strapped customers rein in spending.
Abuse and violence towards shop workers and service staff is on the rise again, research shows, with a quarter of those reporting hostility blaming the cost of living crisis for putting increased stress on customers.
The AA has accused fuel retailers of ‘pump fiction’, after petrol prices hit a fresh record on Monday despite recent falls in wholesale prices.
The head of the European Central Bank has pledged to go ‘as far as necessary’ to cool rising prices. Christine Lagarde admitted inflation in the eurozone was “undesirably high”, but also played down concerns of a recession.
Consumer confidence in the US has been hit by rising inflation, while house price growth has decelerated a little.
Tram drivers in south London are holding a 48 hour walkout in a dispute over pay, just as Royal Mail postal workers receive ballots about possible industrial action too.
Stock markets have rallied, as China eased the Covid-19 restrictions on international arrivals.
The UK’s FTSE 100 is the highest in two weeks, up 92 points at 7350, with oil companies, miners and travel firms rising.
Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, says:
Easing COVID restrictions, investors hope will improve global supply chain issues and help lower the possibility of a global recession.
Commodity prices rose on the news with iron ore and copper reversing losses while oil gained.
Updated
The National Bank of Hungary has startled the markets with a massive interest rate rise.
The NBH raised its base rate by a whopping 185 basis points to 7.75%, from 5.9%, far ahead of the 50bp rise which economists had expected.
The hike came after the forint plunged to a record low this week, while inflation keeps surging.
