Gospodarka

The London to Birmingham stretch of the HS2 railway could cost more than £65bn in current prices, the boss of the company building it has said. Sir Jonathan Thompson said a rise in the cost of materials such as concrete and steel over the past few years have added £8bn to £10bn. In October the government cancelled the sections between the West Midlands, Manchester, and the East Midlands.more

Sainsbury’s won shoppers from all its major grocery rivals this Christmas but sales at its Argos chain dived, in a worrying sign for high street rivals. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket reported an 8.6% rise in grocery sales in the six weeks to 6 January but Argos sales fell 4.2% in the same period as shoppers reined in spending on electrical goods and furniture.more

Amazon faces fresh industrial action in the UK, after members of the GMB union at a new fulfilment centre in Birmingham voted to strike over pay and conditions later this month.more

Shoppers and retailers are set for a "challenging" year ahead, according to a leading trade body. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that higher living costs will continue to squeeze household budgets. Its boss pointed out that firms will also face higher business rates as well as potential disruption to shipments via the Red Sea.more

Britain’s largest manufacturers believe the UK is increasing its competitiveness as a global hub for manufacturing, despite high energy costs, worker shortages and political instability holding back progress.more

If the new credit programme enters into force as announced, prices will rise. It is possible that they will rise by double digits," the "Rzeczpospolita" reports today.more

Three-quarters of Britons believe their country is in worse shape today than it was in 2010, when the Conservative Party took power, according to a poll by the YouGov center released yesterday. Up to 68 percent of its voters hold this view.more

Energy companies have been granted approval to resume force-fitting prepayment meters in people's homes nearly a year after it was suspended. EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power can install the meters again after meeting various requirements set by Ofgem, the industry regulator.more

£300 million UK investment to support domestic production of fuel required to power next-generation nuclear reactors.more

Motorists with older petrol and diesel vehicles that were made more than two decades ago are set to face another rise in car tax fees in the next few months. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates are due to increase across the board from April 1, 2024, with older models also in line for higher fees.more

The average rate on a two-year fixed mortgage has fallen to its lowest level for nearly seven months as lenders compete for custom. Financial information service Moneyfacts said the average rate had fallen from 5.92% to 5.87% in a day.more

Asda has announced it will match the prices of 287 items to those sold at rivals Aldi and Lidl. The supermarket chain said matching means five items have gone up in price, 58 are unchanged, and 224 have decreased by an average of 17%.more

Sainsbury's has announced pay rises from March as supermarkets continue their battle to retain workers. It will increase minimum pay for employees outside London to £12 an hour, with wages for staff in the capital increasing to £13.15 an hour.more

The number of people receiving emergency food parcels from the Trussell Trust has significantly increased from nearly 26,000 in 2008/09 to 2.9 million in the 12 months leading up to April last year. more

Starting on Monday 1 January 2024, so-called "digital platforms" now have to collect extra information about sellers, including – crucially – how many sales you've made and how much income you've generated. more

The second day of a six-day junior doctors' strike - the longest in the history of the National Health Service (NHS) - began today in England. Disruption to medical services is precipitating, the BBC reported.more

Supermarkets experienced their busiest Christmas period since 2019, boosted by promotions, new research suggests. Customers made 488 million grocery trips in the four weeks to 24 December, according to research firm Kantar.more

The sharp declines in gas and electricity prices last year suggest that Europe's energy crisis is over, according to a leading Belgian energy expert. "This should kill European inflation, which is mainly driven by energy," said Professor Damien Ernst from the University of Liege.more

House prices during 2023 rose by an average of 3.4pc, the smallest increase since 2019, according to a Daft.ie end-of-year report.more

London's suburbs are being placed under a huge amount of strain as an increasing number of families move out of the capital. Nurseries are bursting to the point where babies who have not even been born are being registered with them while schools and care homes are struggling to cope with demand. Council budgets are under pressure.more

Starting January 1, 2024, the amount of the child-rearing benefit will be raised from PLN 500 to PLN 800. Parents will receive payments on the same dates as before. According to government estimates, 6.6 million children will be eligible for 800 plus in 2024.more

An increase in the cost of domestic energy in England, Wales and Scotland has taken effect, adding pressure to household budgets in the new year. A higher price cap, set by regulator Ofgem, from now to April means gas and electricity costs will be 5% higher than the last three months.more

The bottom half of earners will lose any gains from next week’s lowering of national insurance payments when their income tax bills go up in April, a leading thinktank has warned.more

Households are facing a "debt timebomb" next year, according to analysis from a trade unions group. more

Annual card spending report says consumers are prioritising travel and nights out and buying value-range groceries amid cost of living crisis.more