Business news - live: UK on track for £50bn budget deficit this year after government obliterates fiscal rules

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The gap between income and expenditure was £7bn higher than in the same period last year (AFP via Getty Images)

The UK's public finances have slipped further into the red after the government borrowed billions more than expected in the first half of the year.

The gap between income and expenditure was £7bn higher than in the same period last year, official figures revealed, leaving the UK on course for an annual deficit of £50bn.

Chancellor Sajid Javid faces a dilemma in his Budget speech next month as the worse-than-expected fiscal situation means he is unlikely to meet the government's self-imposed target of a maximum budget deficit of 2 per cent of GDP.

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Key Points

• Expectations for manufacturing exports drop to worst level in 18 years
• Electric car drivers could get green number plates to allow them to drive in bus lanes
• Just Eat shares soar amid £4.9bn bidding war
   

[22 October 2019 10:40 · ben.chapman]

Premier Inn owner warns on Brexit impact

(Press Association) Premier Inn owner Whitbread has posted lower profits in the first half of the year as it was weighed down by "difficult" UK trading conditions.

The company saw like-for-like UK accommodation sales decline by 3.6 per cent for the six months to September due to weaker sales outside of London.

Whitbread said that market conditions continued to be "challenging" as consumer confidence remained weak amid "heightened political and economic uncertainty".

The FTSE 100 company said the slump in confidence has continued into the third quarter and that "near-term market conditions in the UK remain uncertain".

[22 October 2019 10:47 · ben.chapman]

Pay boost from university degrees declined over 20 years, research shows

Gaining a university degree is less of a sure route to higher earnings than it used to be, new research has found.

Graduates born in 1970 enjoyed a “graduate premium” much larger than that of graduates born two decades later, according to a study by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Department of Economics at Warwick University.

The “graduate premium” is a term often used to refer to how much more graduates are likely to earn on average, compared with their peers without a degree.

The new study analysed how the financial return to a degree has changed over a 20-year period marked by a major expansion in the numbers of people going on to higher education.

[22 October 2019 10:52 · ben.chapman]

Just Eat shares soar amid £4.9bn bidding war

Just Eat has rejected a £4.9bn hostile takeover bid by investment firm Prosus, claiming the 710p-per-share offer "significantly undervalues" the company.

Shares in the food delivery group have soared 25 per cent this morning to 733.4p.

It comes months after Just Eat announced plans to merge with Dutch rival Takeaway.com.

[22 October 2019 10:53 · ben.chapman]

Electric car drivers could get green number plates to allow them to drive in bus lanes

Electric cars could be issued green number plates as part of plans to incentivise cleaner vehicles in a bid to tackle climate change and dangerous levels of airborne pollution.

The Department for Transport (DfT) wants to promote zero-emissions vehicles by making them easily identifiable and giving drivers benefits such as cheaper parking and the option to drive in bus lanes. 

A similar scheme was introduced in Ontario, Canada in 2010, allowing electric car drivers to use toll lanes for free. The number of electric vehicles on the roads in the city increased after the scheme was implemented.

Launching a consultation on the new plans on Tuesday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “Green number plates are a really positive and exciting way to help everyone recognise the increasing number of electric vehicles on our roads.

[22 October 2019 11:00 · ben.chapman]

Nicola Sturgeon attacks ‘so-called’ protection for workers’ rights

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, sharing a section of the Brexit withdrawal agreement bill, tweeted about the “so-called protection for workers’ rights”.

[22 October 2019 11:03 · ben.chapman]

On his £4.9bn approach for Just eat, Bob van Dijk, the group chief executive officer of Prosus, said: "We believe our global experience and resources can help Just Eat to achieve its significant potential.

"We believe that Just Eat's customers and restaurant partners will ultimately benefit from more delivery options, greater restaurant choice as well as improved service and delivery speeds driven by the combined group's expertise in product and technology innovation supported by increased capital investment in the business.

[22 October 2019 11:15 · ben.chapman]

British manufacturers turned much gloomier over the past three months, with expectations for exports in the year ahead the worst in 18 years, according to the CBI’s quarterly Industrial Trends Survey.

At -44, the October reading for optimism about the general business situation was the weakest since July 2016, returning to the lows that followed the EU referendum. The measure for export prospects came in at -46, the lowest since October 2001.

Investment intentions have also worsened, with plans to spend on buildings, plants and machinery, and training and retraining at their most negative since early to mid-2009, when Britain was still reeling from the effects of the financial crisis. 

Likewise, manufacturers expect their output to fall in the next three months at the fastest pace since April 2009, compounding a slightly slower decline between August and October.

[22 October 2019 11:15 · ben.chapman]

US retail giants Macy's and Bloomingdales vow to stop selling fur by 2020

Macy’s has announced it will end the sale of fur across its stores by the end of 2020.

The move will make the company the largest US retailer so far to adopt a ban on natural fur, followed by JCPenney and Sears which have already done so.

On Monday the department store, and its sister company Bloomingdale’s, unveiled a new fur-free policy which has been created in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States.

While the store's private brands are going fur-free immediately, other labels will eradicate the use of fur by the end of fiscal 2020. 

[22 October 2019 11:30 · ben.chapman]

Britain's most expensive railway slashes fares

Britain’s most expensive railway is slashing fares ahead of the opening of Crossrail.

The Heathrow Express runs from London Paddington to terminals 2 and 3 at Britain’s busiest airport in 15 minutes, with an extra six minutes to terminal 5.

The “Anytime” one-way fare is £25, a price per mile of over £1.60.

A slightly cheaper off-peak single, avoiding rush hours, is £22.

Advance tickets costing £12.50 have been available on weekdays for travellers booking three months ahead, with cheaper deals for weekend travel.

[22 October 2019 12:31 · ben.chapman]

New checks on energy firms to protect customers

Energy suppliers could face independent checks on their customer service and financial strength under new reforms.

After a spate of energy company failures, Ofgem unveiled a series of measures intended to increase standards and prevent suppliers going bust.

Under the proposals, Ofgem would be able to request audits of a supplier's customer services and financial status, or prevent taking on too many customers.

Simon Wain, a partner at law firm Hewitsons, said:

“A number of energy suppliers have failed recently, including Extra Energy where 108,000 customers were left without a supplier. Therefore this is to be welcomed. It is the customer that bears the cost of supplier failure, and introducing checks to improve transparency was overdue, with the aim of protecting customers while not stifling competition and innovation.”