Closing summary
Global stock markets are drifting lower, oil prices have risen and government bond yields are climbing again despite the US Treasury’s intervention to calm the bond market on Wednesday.
Investor worries over inflation from rising oil prices, caused by the Iran war, and government debt battered bond markets (and to a lesser extent, stock markets) this week. Brent crude climbed 2.3% to $93.72 a barrel on Thursday.
The yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond rose to the highest since 2007 at the start of the week but pulled back after the Treasury department announced it would at least double debt purchases in a surprise move on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the yield started rising again, by 5 basis points to 5.244%, while the benchmark 10-year bond yield alsi rose 5bs to 4.69%.
This came after the Treasury department said that total US debt topped $40 trillion for the first time. And the minutes of the last US Federal Reserve meeting showed that policymakers are concerned about rising inflation, with several officials ready to hike interest rates.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell 6,000 to 206,000 in the week to 15 August, according to the latest Labour Department figures.
The dollar fell to three-month lows against a basket of major currencies, as it became less attractive as an asset, with the pound hitting a six-month high against the greenback.
Gold rose more than 4% on Wednesday and was little changed on Thursday.
US stock indices fell with Walmart tumbling 8.7% after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations. Biotech company Moderna dropped nearly 21%, a day after the stock soared 177% after its mRNA skin cancer therapy achieved positive results in a late-stage clinical trial.
Over here, the FTSE 100 index slipped 17 points or 0.16% to 10,726.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care! – JK
Danone's takeover of Idris Elba-backed protein shake maker Huel cleared by regulator
Danone’s takeover of the British meal supplement maker Huel, which counts the actor Idris Elba among its investors, has been cleared by the UK’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has approved the €1bn (£864m) deal after carrying out a review.
The two companies agreed the deal in March, when Huel’s chief executive, James McMaster, said it marked the “next step” for the business (the name is a contraction of “human fuel”).
The French food and drink firm Danone has said the acquisition will help it grow in the nutrition sector.
The British company, which was set up in 2015 and makes food powders, snack bars and meals from a blend of plant-based ingredients and fortified with vitamins, started out selling its powders online. It is now available in more than 25,000 stores around the world.
The Huel co-founder Julian Hearn will make about £400m from the deal, according to filings at Companies House.
He started the business in 2015 with the nutrition specialist James Collier, and remains one of the biggest shareholders in the business. Elba and his wife, Sabrina, have also invested in Huel. The size of their stakes in the business have not been disclosed but the deal will probably give them a significant payout.
The TV presenter Jonathan Ross was also previously a backer of the business.
Crypto bank part-owned by Trump family offers depositors way to ‘gain favor’ with White House, experts say
Two fundamentals underpin the business model of a new crypto bank partly owned by the Trump family, cryptocurrency experts tell the Guardian.
World Liberty Trust Company received conditional approval this month from the US office of the comptroller of the currency (OCC) to start a bank. An entity affiliated with Donald Trump and his family members owns about 38% of the company. The agency is led by a political appointee of the US president.
The first distinctive feature of this bank – and stablecoin operations like it – is that there is almost no risk that it can lose money. The second is the sole logical motivation for depositors to put their money into it, according to five experts: the financial connection to the president and his family.
World Liberty is not really a bank, in the conventional sense: it won’t be lending money to businesses or individuals, issuing mortgage or credit cards, or getting federal insurance on deposits.
What it will be able to do is directly issue the Trumps’ dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1. Stablecoins, unlike other cryptocurrencies, are pegged at fixed values such as $1, and used almost exclusively to buy and sell riskier crypto assets, like bitcoin.
Because of the way stablecoins are regulated – under a law signed by Trump in 2025 – World Liberty’s bank will not be allowed to pay its depositors, the companies and individuals who buy its stablecoins, any interest. The bank, however, can earn interest for itself by putting the cash it collects from those depositors into high-quality liquid investments – US government-backed treasury bonds.
Why would depositors be interested in buying the Trump family’s little-used stablecoins? Experts point to their ties to the White House.
“The only reason really to do it is because they want to appease Trump, because they want to gain favor with Trump or in some way help Trump for whatever reason,” said James Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Global shares drift lower
The opening bell has rung on Wall Street, and stocks are down.
The Dow Jones lost 385 points, or 0.7%, to 53,078 while the S&P 500 fell nearly 26 points to 7,682, down 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 129 points, or 0.5%, to 26,201.
Walmart shares tumbled 8.2% after the retailer missed analysts’ forecasts, as shoppers reined in spending faced with rising fuel prices.
Over here, the FTSE 100 index is trading nearly 22 points lower at 10,721, a 0.2% drop. JD Sports is still the biggest loser, down 14%, after the sportswear chain cut its profit forecasts as cost of living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, hit sales of trainers.
JD, which sells brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers’ wallets, resulting in a drop in sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to shift trainers and other footwear.
The German and French stock markets declined 0.5% while the Spanish exchange slipped 0.2% and the Italian borsa edged nearly 0.2% higher.
Updated
Boohoo fined €2.3m by French watchdog over deceptive discounts
The British online fashion seller Boohoo has been fined €2.3m (£2m) by France’s consumer watchdog for deceptive practices such as offering fake discounts.
The Manchester-based firm, whose parent company renamed itself Debenhams Group last year, was found to have exaggerated the discounts it was offering, giving shoppers a false impression of the savings they were making, according to the directorate-general for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control.
Of the promotions examined by the watchdog, 40% were found not to be real price reductions, 7% were a lower reduction than advertised, and 48% were a price increase.
Boohoo also used terms such as “leather” or “suede” to sell synthetic products, contravening French rules on product labelling, the regulator said.
Founder of China’s Evergrande jailed for life after pleading guilty to fraud
The founder of Evergrande, one of China’s largest property developers, has been sentenced to life in prison and had all of his personal property confiscated.
Hui Ka Yan, 67 and once named by Forbes as China’s richest man, with a net worth of $42.5bn (£31.2bn) in 2017, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges.
These included misuse of funds, fundraising fraud, illegally taking public deposits, illegally extending loans, fraudulently issuing securities and bribery.
The company Hui founded, Evergrande Group, was fined 8.8bn yuan (£950m), while its property arm was fined 7bn yuan, according to Chinese state media.
Hui’s convictions relate to a debt crisis at Evergrande, which shook China at a time when the government had been trying to make the world’s second-largest economy less reliant on the real estate sector.
Evergrande, which delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange last year, has defaulted on most of its $300bn in liabilities.
Shenzhen intermediate people’s court in southern China said in its ruling that between 2016 and 2021, Hui “violated state laws by employing methods such as sustained, large-scale financial fraud to inflate assets and conceal liabilities”.
It said Hui’s actions had “severely disrupted the order of the socialist market economy” and “caused exceptionally heavy economic losses”.
More than 50 individuals linked to Evergrande were also sentenced on Thursday, with prison terms ranging from 20 months to 18 years.
Evergrande’s troubles began in 2020 when the Chinese government introduced regulations limiting the amount of debt that property companies could hold. This torpedoed the debt-fuelled real estate sector, which has traditionally accounted for between one-quarter and one-third of China’s GDP.
Construction stalled on hundreds of property developments as companies scrambled for cash and struggled to pay suppliers amid weak demand during the Covid-19 pandemic. A study published this year estimated that the regulatory crackdown led to about $347bn in sunk costs across the Chinese economy.
Zuckerberg lied about concern for child safety, Meta whistleblower testifies at landmark trial
This is quite shocking.
Meta has taken a “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy when it comes to the safety of children on its social media platforms, according to a whistleblower who testified during a landmark trial against the company on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. He said he repeatedly raised the issue to various Facebook and Instagram executives but that they did little to resolve it.
In his testimony, Béjar said his job often included him briefing Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on product issues. He estimated that he spoke to the CEO at least 100 times. One email Béjar sent to Zuckerberg in 2021 showed the engineer warning of constant reports of harmful content and damage to teenage wellbeing on Facebook and Instagram. Béjar said he emailed Zuckerberg after the CEO publicly said the company doesn’t prioritise profit over safety.
“I felt that he created a false and misleading impression of Facebook’s commitment to young people,” Béjar testified.
Béjar added that he sent those reports directly to Zuckerberg because, “in my experience, when Mark makes something a priority, mountains move”.
“Did he ever respond to you?” the attorney representing the government asked.
“No,” Béjar replied. “I didn’t hear back from him.”
Oxfam ‘can’t guarantee future’ of charity shops as it also reviews warehouse business
In sad news, Oxfam is reviewing the operations of its three warehouses in Batley, Bicester and Milton Keynes and says it “cannot give guarantees” on the future of its high street shops in a “difficult economic climate”.
The charity said it had no plans to close warehouses or shops but insiders fear that Batley, which houses Oxfam’s main textile recycling centre, will shut as part of a cost-cutting drive because the West Yorkshire site’s lease is up for renewal.
All three warehouses together employ about 90 people.
A source said Oxfam was considering closing up to 100 of its 500-plus UK outlets as sales at some were no longer viable. “Donations have dropped off,” the insider said, adding that the charity’s shops were also facing competition from online sellers of secondhand goods such as Vinted.
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Bundesbank: Depleted German rivers hamper economic recovery
Depleted German rivers are disrupting the transport of goods across Europe’s largest economy, hampering an already sluggish economic recovery, the Bundesbank said on Thursday.
Months of dry weather have left the Rhine, Danube and other German rivers so shallow that vessels cannot sail fully loaded, slowing shipping and driving up costs.
The Bundesbank said this is likely to impact industrial production and exports, slowing down the recovery of the German economy, which will at best grow slightly this quarter. It said in its monthly report:
Only limited availability of transport routes on major rivers and sharply rising transport costs are likely to significantly hamper industrial output and the increase in exports. The low water levels are thus also placing a marked strain on overall economic activity in the third quarter.
It noted that low capacity utilisation in German industry and the recent rise in the European Central Bank’s interest rates are also “curbing” companies’ investment.
The German economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the federal statistics office’s flash estimate, less than 0.4% in the first quarter.
The German central bank said inflation, which was at 2.8% in July, could rise further temporarily, although the outlook remains dependent on the Middle East war.
But it cautioned that there is no evidence that the conflict will trigger second-round effects on inflation through higher wages.
Updated
The Bessent effect: Sterling hits six-month high against dollar
The British pound has hit a six-month high against a stuttering dollar, a day after the US Treasury announced a surprise measure to halt a rise in long-term government borrowing costs.
Sterling was up 0.4% against the dollar on Thursday at $1.3661, its highest level since 16 February. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies including the pound, fell 0.2% to 98.61.
The US Treasury announced on Wednesday it would at least double the size of buybacks of longer-dated Treasury securities, sending the 30-year yield sharply lower, after it had risen to its highest since 2007 earlier in the week. Yields have since crept up again as investors assessed the effectiveness of the move.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention makes the dollar less attractive to overseas investors.
Louis-Vincent Gave, chief executive at Gavekal Research, told Reuters:
A US Treasury actively signalling that it is looking to cap long-term yields is bearish news for the U.S. dollar.
If US long-term yields are indeed now capped, this sudden outperformance should continue since, if nothing else, the US Treasury’s move puts investors long the U.S. dollar on notice.
A rebound in UK inflation, to 2.9% in July from 2.6% in June is also underpinning the pound, although separate data this week showed a cooling jobs market. This complicates the picture for the Bank of England, which is charged with keeping inflation at 2% but does not want to choke off economic growth.
Traders still expect the Bank to raise borrowing costs once by the end of the year, while a second quarter-point rate rise is fully priced in by April next year.
UK consumers warned to beware of risky mini-bonds and loan notes
Britain’s financial regulator is warning consumers about the risks of investing in loan notes and mini-bonds issued by unregulated companies, after continuing to see people lose money in these high-risk investments.
The recent failure of Woodville Consultants Ltd, a litigation funder that raised capital from retail investors through unregulated loan notes, shows the potential risk to investors, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.
A loan note or mini-bond usually involves lending money to a company for a set period in return for interest. If that company fails, consumers could lose every penny, the watchdog warned.
The FCA permanently banned the marketing of speculative illiquid securities, including mini-bonds and loan notes, to retail investors from 1 January 2021.
But consumers may still come across adverts for loan notes and mini-bonds on social media, online adverts or websites promoting high fixed returns.
The ads can look simple and safe, but warning signs include pressure to act quickly, unclear explanations of how money could be lost, or claims that an investment is “asset-backed” without clear evidence of what stands behind it.
Examples of the practices the FCA sees include:
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Unregulated introducer firms passing consumers on to unregulated companies offering high-risk investments often taking a large fee, or commission, so reducing their initial investment
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Consumers encouraged to certify themselves as experienced or wealthy investors to enable investments to be promoted to them
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Firms promoting high-risk investments without the permission they need
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Unclear fees or hidden conflicts, where those selling the investment may benefit from consumers investing
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Scammers seeking to add ‘halo’ associations to infer legitimacy; whether that be listing on overseas exchanges, or highlighting an FCA regulated firm being involved in the wider administration
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Using trust structures or other arrangements to try to stay outside FCA rules
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said:
Big, fixed returns are a warning sign, not a guarantee. Loan notes, mini-bonds and other speculative illiquid securities are high-risk investments and are not suitable for most people.
Ordinary retail investors should only invest through regulated firms because if they invest through an unauthorised firm, they may have little or no protection if things go wrong. We are working hard to prevent harm, but consumers should still stop and check before investing.
The FCA encourages anyone involved in distributing or funding high-risk investments to report anything suspicious. This includes regulated firms, banks, payment firms, lawyers, accountants and auditors who may be involved in getting these investments to consumers.
More on the bond markets.
Roger Lee, head of equity strategy at Cavendish Investment Bank, has analysed the threat to UK borrowing costs.
UK gilts are particularly vulnerable to moves in global sovereign yields especially US Treasuries as so much of UK debt is funded internationally. Therefore, the UK is more exposed to the ‘international competition for capital’ than markets with higher levels of domestic government bond ownership.
Whilst this rise in sovereign yields is currently a global issue, the UK has historically high levels of borrowing, a stretched fiscal position, and lacklustre growth, but unlike France for example, lacks the perceived support of the European Central Bank.
A significant rise in gilt yields would put further pressure on the UK fiscal position where the increased costs of refinancing government debt would exacerbate the existing deficit challenges.”
The world has never been more indebted, and many developed market countries are running elevated deficits. At the same time, especially in Europe, growth which helps to reduce debt levels has remained elusive.
As long as these underlying issues are unresolved, the risk of a developed market sovereign debt crisis, however remote, can never be entirely dismissed.
Sales of trainers dive as cost of living pressures hit JD Sports performance
Meanwhile, the UK’s sports fashion retailer JD Sports has slashed its profit forecasts as cost-of-living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, weighed on sales of trainers.
JD Sports, which sells a range of sports brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers’ wallets, resulting in falling sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to quickly shift trainers and other footwear.
Bosses went on to warn that the wider drop-off in consumer spending would likely continue into the second half of the year, leading to lower-than-expected profits. The sports retailer now expects pre-tax profits of between £700m and £800m for the full year, having previously hoped to reach £750m to £850m.
The news led to a near 16% drop in the firm’s London-listed shares, making it the top faller on the FTSE 100.
“Trading in the second quarter remained tough,” said the chief executive, Régis Schultz, adding that the company had been forced to slash prices and offer promotional sales to compensate, as “our core consumer was impacted by incremental cost-of-living pressures.”
Updated
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market strategist at Swissquote Bank, has also looked at Bessent’s move and what it means for bond markets.
She says it may buy some time, but without fiscal consolidation to reduce the US’s ballooning debt – now at a staggering $40 trillion – it won’t do much in the long term.
Buying back more long-dated debt should ease pressure on longer-term yields, helping households through lower mortgage rates and corporations through lower borrowing costs. That’s positive.
For the dollar, lower long-term yields are initially negative, as they reduce the attractiveness of US assets to international investors. That’s partly why the dollar sold off so aggressively yesterday.
But the operation changes neither the amount of US debt nor the underlying fiscal problem. And if Treasury increasingly relies on shorter-term borrowing, that would mean more frequent refinancing.
If rates remain high – uh-humm, there you’ve got to get the Fed to play along – the government’s interest bill adjusts more quickly.
And that’s where the longer-term risk lies. If investors conclude that Washington is increasingly trying to manage long-term borrowing costs rather than addressing the fiscal deficit itself, they could eventually demand a higher term premium to hold long-dated Treasuries. That could push long-term yields higher again.
And if investors start believing that the Fed is becoming a ‘sock puppet’ of the White House to keep rates lower and tame pressure on borrowing costs, the Fed would lose credibility, making the entire yield curve harder – not easier – to control.
So the Treasury may have found a way to buy some time and ease pressure on the longer end of the US yield curve, but not solve the problem. Near term, the move could help cap long-term yields and weigh on the dollar; longer term, without fiscal consolidation, it won’t eliminate the exploding debt risks or the underlying upward pressure on the yield curve.
Relief in bond markets fades as Bessent Put comes under pressure
The relief in the bond markets is fading after Wednesday’s intervention by US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent to tackle a surge in yields, as investors and analysts question how effective the Treasury’s support will be.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond is up 3 basis points to 5.2256% this morning, after falling to 5.11765%.
It tumbled 9bps on Wednesday when the Treasury announced it will at least double its debt buybacks of 10- to 30-year securities from next month. It said it wants to improve liquidity in longer-dated debt – rather than providing stimulus, so should not be confused with QE. The move came after the 30-year yield touched 5.34% at the start of the week, the highest since 2007.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield also rose 3bps, to 4.6723% on Thursday, following a 5bps fall on Wednesday. And the dollar has fallen to three-month lows.
UK government bond yields are also edging higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt rose 1.5bps to 5.0631%.
Government bond yields in Germany and Japan are easing, however. Japan’s 10-year yield is down nearly 5bps at 2.846% while the German equivalent yield dipped to 3.2586%.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices are pushing higher, with Brent, the global benchmark, up 2.4% at $93.85 a barrel.
Minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed last night that concerns about inflation deepened, with “several” policymakers ready to raise interest rates, and “many” officials saying that a hike would be needed if inflation does not fall back to the central bank’s 2% target.
Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at trading platform capital.com, said earlier today:
Markets are digesting two important developments from Washington: a more hawkish-than-expected set of Federal Reserve minutes and an unusual move from the US Treasury to provide additional support to the long end of the bond market. Together, they highlight the tension currently running through markets: policymakers remain concerned about inflation, while sharply higher long-term borrowing costs are becoming a concern in their own right…
The bigger question is whether that relief can last. The buybacks improve market functioning but don’t address the underlying reasons long yields have risen: heavy government borrowing, fiscal uncertainty, persistent inflation risks and growing competition for capital. The subsequent 20-year auction still required investors to be offered a slight yield premium, even though overall demand was healthy. That suggests the Treasury may have taken some heat out of the sell-off without fundamentally changing the long-end story.Meanwhile, the Fed minutes revealed a considerably more active debate about further tightening than the decision to hold rates might suggest. Three officials voted for a 25bp increase in July, while many participants indicated that higher rates could ultimately be required if inflation remained persistently above target. Importantly, the Fed’s own account also noted that inflation compensation had moved relatively little despite higher oil prices, supporting the argument that the recent bond sell-off isn’t simply an inflation-expectations story.
For markets, that leaves a somewhat uncomfortable equilibrium. Softer recent employment and CPI data have reduced the urgency for a September hike, but the Fed is clearly not closing the door on further tightening. At the same time, Treasury’s intervention in the long end has provided temporary relief for yields and weakened the dollar. The next major test will be Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech next week, where investors will be looking for clues on whether the hawkish discussion revealed in the minutes translates into his own policy message, and whether he offers greater detail on his broader plans for the Fed.
Brent crude jumps over $93 a barrel on Iran impasse
In the markets, oil prices have risen further to three-week highs as there is no sign of an end to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Brent crude has jumped $1.46, or 1.6%, to just over $93 a barrel, the highest in three weeks. Oil prices have risen for the last five trading sessions, as the shaky ceasefire between Washington and Tehran expired on Monday.
The United Arab Emirates has suspended all financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice.
Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks were taking place with Iran and claimed the strait of Hormuz was open while Iran said the key waterway remained shut. Then on Wednesday, the US president threatened “tremendous economic consequences” against any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran”.
UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said:
Tensions in the Middle East remain high, leaving room for further supply disruptions. Lower oil exports from the Middle East are once again tightening the oil market.
There are also headlines flashing on Reuters quoting Japan as saying that a North Korean missile has been fired and landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Updated
Established in 1985, Travelodge is the second largest hotel brand in the UK with more than 610 hotels and 47,000 guest bedrooms, across the UK as well as in Ireland and Spain.
The company reported a 4.2% rise in first-half revenues to £491.3m this morning, with good leisure demand across London and outside the capital, while there are fewer corporate bookings, particularly in London.
Travelodge has opened three hotels so far this year across the UK and Spain.
Profits, measured by adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) rose slightly to £47.9m from £47.3m a year earlier.
Here’s our full story on the departure of the hotel chain’s boss:
Travelodge has set out the details of its security review, along with its latest financial results today. It claimed it had “acted quickly to make changes to improve safety and security across our operations”.
Most importantly, it has changed its room access security policy, so “any additional or replacement room key now requires explicit permission from the guest staying in the room, the company said.
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An independent review led by Paul Greaney KC, a leading barrister specialising in public inquiries concerning security, serious violent crime, and health and safety, to examine its room access security policies and escalation procedures
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A partnership with a leading Violence Against Women and Girls expert who are delivering a tailored programme of senior leadership training.
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Ongoing working with UK Hospitality, participating in their guest security working group, helping to develop industry guidance, which aims to promote best practice across the hospitality sector
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An internal review, which is ongoing, and making a number of changes as a result, including changes to room access security policy. Any additional or replacement room key now requires explicit permission from the guest staying in the room. This builds on our existing policy to never confirm to any third party that a guest is staying at one of our hotels
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A new room access security policy, now live across all 600+ hotels, backed by training for 12,000 customer-facing staff and ongoing independent audit and mystery shopper programmes
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Management consultancy AlixPartners have been brought in to assess, audit, build and reinforce the work underway
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A completed deadbolt audit across all UK rooms, confirming all key-card doors have a secondary deadbolt
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Ongoing proactive engagement with parliament, government, and UK Hospitality’s guest security working group.
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Travelodge boss resigns following criticism of handling of assaults
The boss of Travelodge has stepped down as the budget hotel chain scrambles to improve safety after two incidents where guests were assaulted at its hotels.
The firm said Joanna Boydell left on Monday after 13 years with the company and will be replaced by chief financial officer Ray Reidy on an interim basis while they hunt for a permanent successor.
Boydell was heavily criticised over her handling of an incident in 2022 and concerns over safety across the chain, prompting former prime minister Keir Starmer to step in and urge her to “seriously engage” with the government on the issue after she cancelled a meeting with MPs.
The hotel chain has come under fire for giving men the keys to women’s rooms without asking the woman first.
A guest at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given a key card to her room. Kyran Smith was jailed in February for seven-and-a-half years following the attack in December 2022. The victim was later offered what she described as an “insulting” £30 refund after the assault.
This month, it emerged that there was another incident at a hotel in London.
Travelodge staff gave a room key to the domestic abuser of a woman, who then physically attacked her. The woman, who is remaining anonymous, told the BBC she was staying in a Travelodge in London to escape the man, but he followed her and was given a key by the reception staff.
They pointed him to her room, where she says he kicked in the door, assaulted her and tried to grab her phone. Travelodge has said such instances are “very rare” and customer safety is a priority.
Reidy said today:
We remain focused on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and will continue taking the actions necessary to strengthen the business.
We will also continue to engage proactively and constructively with government and the wider hospitality industry on the issue of safety and security.
Stephen Shurrock, the Travelodge chairman, said:
This announcement does not change anything about our focus on safety and security. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Jo for her dedication to Travelodge over the last 13 years.
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German factory gate inflation hits three-year high
In Germany, factory gate inflation hit a three-year high in July, adding to signs of fresh inflationary pressures in Europe’s largest economy.
Prices charged by manufacturers for their goods, ranging from food to cars and tools, climbed 3% year on year last month following June’s 1.8% rise, Germany’s statistics office said. Economists had expected an increase to 2.7%.
It was the biggest increase since April 2023. Producer prices feed into higher prices for consumers, and are seen as an early gauge of future inflation.
The price of intermediate goods jumped 5.4% while energy prices rose 3.8% year on year.
Compared with June, producer prices were up 1.1%.
Alexander Krüger, chief economist at the German private bank Bethmann HAL, told Reuters:
Conditions at the early stages of the inflationary surge have suddenly become uncomfortable. The war involving Iran is leaving its mark, as it the heat.
A series of heatwaves and lack of rain have led to record low water levels in the Rhine and Danube, reducing shipping and pushing up transport costs.
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At the same time, new figures revealed that US debt had reached $40tn for the first time, the US treasury department said, after the government deficit doubled over the last decade.
The milestone marks years of government spending that grew under both Trump and Joe Biden. During his first term, Trump approved $8.4tn worth of debt, with a huge chunk going to Covid-19 relief spending, while Biden approved $4.3tn worth of debt, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Introduction: Rising UK consumer confidence gives Andy Burnham 'golden opportunity,' survey says
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the global economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
Consumer confidence has increased in the UK, giving new prime minister Andy Burnham a “golden opportunity”.
A survey conducted by Opinium for the British Retail Consortium showed consumer expectations for the next three months have improved.
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The state of the economy improved to -28 in August, up from -36 in July.
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Their personal financial situation improved to -9 in August, up from -12 in July.
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Their personal spending on retail rose to +8 in August, up from +1 in July.
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Their personal spending overall increased slightly to +15 in August, up from +13 in July.
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Their personal saving fell slightly to -5 in August, from -4 in July.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, said:
Consumer sentiment continued to rise with confidence in the economy hitting its highest level since the historical lows reached at the start of the Iran conflict. Expectations for personal finances saw a small improvement, driven by an optimistic Gen Z. This same generation also reported a bump in spending plans, as the stifling summer heatwaves are expected to give way to more shopping-friendly temperatures in much of the country.
The Burnham administration is enjoying a honeymoon boost driven by less pessimism about the outlook, but maintaining that momentum will depend on whether the Government can ease the pressure on household budgets. Retailers compete fiercely to keep the cost of food and essentials down, yet mounting regulatory and tax burdens risk pushing prices higher. The Budget will be the acid test of this government’s real commitment to growth: if the government can reduce retail business costs, from energy bills to business rates, it will be ordinary households who feel the benefit. A Budget that backs retail and reduces costs is a pro-consumer Budget.
Crude oil is up slightly again this morning, after an uneasy ceasefire between the US and Iran expired on Monday, and Donald Trump said on Wednesday that there were no talks with Tehran. Brent crude has risen 0.27% to $91.87 a barrel.
The US president has announced a new campaign to isolate Iran’s economy, threatening “tremendous economic consequences” on any country that helps or does business with Tehran, a move that could set up a fresh confrontation with China if implemented.
The US dollar is trading at three-month lows after the Treasury Department moved to calm a bond market rout that pushed 30-year yields to their highest levels since 2007.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other major currencies, dipped 0.02% to 98.799, around its lowest level since mid-May. The euro is trading at $1.1679, its highest level since late May.
The yield, or interest rate, on the 30-year US government bond is at 5.189%, after it jumped to 5.337% at the start of the week, prompting US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent to step in with the announcement that debt repurchases will “at least” double.
And gold has retreated, dipping 0.6% to $4,493.49 an ounce after jumping 4% on Wednesday to the highest in more than two months.
Asian stock markets are mostly up. Japan’s Nikkei gained nearly 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi rebounded by 5.9% after Wednesday’s chip sell-off and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3%. The mainland Chinese exchanges were flat.
The Agenda
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11am BST: UK CBI Industrial trends for July
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1.30pm BST: US Initial jobless claims for week to 15 August
Updated
