Business news live: UK recession fears rise as survey points to sharp fall in retail sales

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The prospect of a Brexit-induced recession is looming larger after a survey signalled UK retail sales dropped unexpectedly in August, dealing a blow to hopes that consumer spending can rescue Britain’s ailing economy.

Just 10 per cent of retailers polled by the Confederation of British Industry said sales increased in August compared to a year ago, with 58 per cent saying sales were down. Outlook for the month ahead hit its lowest level since the financial crisis.

Shoppers had been helping to keep the economy afloat by continuing to spend but the latest data indicates they are becoming more cautious, increasing the prospect that growth could be negative for a second quarter in a row.

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Key Points

• Retailers expect the sharpest deterioration in business conditions since February 2009
• Household incomes growing more slowly than UK economy
• Ryanair flights depart as normal despite pilot walkout

[22 August 2019 09:31 · ben.chapman]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of global business and economics events.

The pound is up 0.2 per cent against the dollar so far today and broadly flat against the euro.

Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cuts are on course to push the US government deficit beyond $1 trillion this year, according to a new report. Before assuming office, the president had attacked his predecessor Barack Obama for increasing America's debt pile.

[22 August 2019 09:35 · ben.chapman]

Cuadrilla has suspended fracking at its site in Lancashire following the largest earthquake recorded since the company started drilling for shale gas.

The suspension comes just a week after fracking was restarted.

Cuadrilla argues that the magnitude 1.55 quake moved the earth to a similar degree as "a large bag of shopping dropping to the floor".

The company says: 

Minor movements of this level are to be expected and are way below anything that can cause harm or damage to anyone or their property.

[22 August 2019 09:40 · ben.chapman]

Laura Ashley has swung to a pre-tax loss of £14.3m in the year to 30 June.

The troubled home furnishing chain is blaming some of those losses on changes to its website but conceded that the last twelve months had been " a difficult trading period for the group and indeed for the retail sector as a whole".

[22 August 2019 09:46 · ben.chapman]

Sterling hovering just about in positive territory against other major currencies.

[22 August 2019 09:55 · ben.chapman]

Ryanair flights are departing as normal this morning despite a strike by the airline's pilots over a range of grievances.

None of Ryanair's flights have yet been cancelled today, Simon Calder reports.

Ryanair has brought in pilots from other bases to cover for striking flight crew.

In contrast, other carriers including easyJet and Britiash Airways have cancelled a wide range of flights.

Further details of the routes affected can be found here:

Ryanair flights depart as normal despite pilot walkout

[22 August 2019 10:11 · ben.chapman]

Businesses in the eurozone are more pessimistic about the future of the economy than at any time in the past six years according to closely watched PMI surveys out today.

Manufacturing continued to contract while the service sector expanded in August according to the IHS Markit poll which is considered a good gauge of the economy.

The overall index came in at 51.8, slightly better than expected but respondents' views on future growth slumped to their lowest level since the eurozone crisis in 2013. 

[22 August 2019 10:12 · ben.chapman]

[22 August 2019 10:21 · ben.chapman]

More FTSE 100 companies have a chief executive called Stephen than have a woman at the helm.

 Only six of the chief executives were women, while seven were named Steve or Stephen,

The finding is part of an analysis of pay at Britain's largest firms by HR trade body the CIPD.

[22 August 2019 10:42 · ben.chapman]

Pay rises hit highest since 2008

Major British employers gave average pay rises of 2.6 per cent to staff in the three months to July, the highest pace of increase in more than 10 years, data from industry consultants XpertHR showed on Thursday.

Annual pay settlements in Britain began to rise roughly a year ago as the lowest unemployment rate since the mid-1970s put pressure on employers to retain staff, but deals had been stuck at around 2.5% in recent months.

The increase in the latest data represented the strongest rise since the three months to December 2008.

Reuters

[22 August 2019 10:54 · ben.chapman]

Household incomes growing more slowly than UK economy

Despite the news that British workers are getting slightly bigger pay rises than they have been used to, they are still receiving less than their fair share of the economic pie, OECD figures suggest.

Bloomberg points out that in many nations, household incomes are now rising faster than the overall economy is growing.

The UK is the only country that the OECD highlighted where the opposite is true and household incomes are growing more slowly than the economy.