Marmite maker Unilever in talks to merge food business with US-based McCormick

Unilever, the owner of Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is in talks to combine its food business with the US-based spice and seasoning maker McCormick.The Anglo-Dutch food company – which last year spun off its ice-cream division, the home to Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s – has entered discussions over the future of the “highly attractive” business.Unilever is valued at almost £100bn, and its food unit, which includes brands such as Knorr, could be worth tens of billions of pounds.McCormick, which owns brands including French’s yellow mustard, Old Bay seasoning and Cholula hot sauce, is valued at about $15bn (£11bn).“Unilever confirms that it has received an inbound offer for its foods business and is in discussions with McCormick & Company,” the Marmite maker said in a statement

Work from home and slow down on the road: world’s energy watchdog advises emergency measures as oil prices rise

The world’s energy watchdog has advised governments to reduce highway speeds and encouraged workers to carpool or, ideally, work from home to combat soaring oil prices and impending fuel shortages caused by the Middle East conflict.It has also recommended countries consider limiting car access to designated zones in large cities, by giving vehicles with odd-numbered plates access on different weekdays to those with even-numbered plates.The International Energy Agency (IEA) has advised member countries, including Australia, the UK and the US, to take the emergency measures to curb oil demand, following the military strikes on Iran that have triggered the most significant supply disruptions in the history of the global oil market.It comes amid concerns that crude oil imports from Australia’s top Asian suppliers are at risk, as countries scramble to shore up their own reserves.Last week, the IEA ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history to help calm the oil price shock

High charges, poor service: NCP hits the skids as drivers change habits

Nearly a century old and once host to London fashion week, the NCP car park in Brewer Street in London’s Soho is facing an uncertain future. Its former glories – which at one time included separate rooms for chauffeurs and changing rooms for theatregoers – have long given way to complaints about a lack of security and high parking charges, but this week things got worse.National Car Parks, one of the UK’s biggest car park operators, which dates back to 1931, filed for administration at the high court in London after struggling to pay its rents and buckling under a £305m mountain of debt. This means the future of 340 car parks across the UK, in town and city centres, at hospitals and airports, is uncertain along with the fate of 682 people who work for the Japanese-owned business.Car parks are regarded as a high-margin business, generating revenue from pay-as-you-go and season tickets, overstay fees and fines via modern payment systems while requiring little day-to-day maintenance, amid a general shortage of parking

Shrinkflation takes a bite out of Easter eggs as shoppers pay more for less

Shoppers are shelling out for smaller eggs again this Easter as shrinkflation takes another bite out of the favourite seasonal treat.The price of popular branded chocolate eggs has risen by more than 40% in some cases while some have also shrunk in size, according to research by the consumer champion Which?.At Asda, this year the Galaxy milk chocolate extra large Easter egg is £5.97 and weighs in at 210g. That compares with £4

Markets keep the faith – but oil staying above $100 could test that optimism | Nils Pratley

Was it only at the new year that the fanfare was heard for the FTSE 100 index breaking through 10,000 for the first time? It was – on 2 January – and the index then added another 900 points by the end of February. On Thursday, the Footsie briefly fell below that round number as Iran struck Qatar’s enormous Ras Laffan complex, which normally supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, before closing at 10,063, down 2.3% on the day.There are two ways to view that price action. One is to say the sharp reversal from the peak represents a necessarily severe reaction to the war on Iran

US moves to soften capital rules: ‘Big banks can declare mission accomplished’

US federal regulators are trying to soften bank requirements, loosening the amount of capital US banks must have, in what would be some of the biggest changes to bank restrictions since the 2008 financial crisis and a huge win for financial institutions.On Thursday, US Federal Reserve officials are expected to vote to lower capital requirements – the funds they need to cover risky assets – for the biggest banks by 4.8%, which could free up capital for banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.Larger regional banks like PNC would see their requirements drop by 5.2%, while requirements banks with less than $100bn in assets would fall by 7

Bank of England tipped to raise UK interest rates twice this year to fight inflation shock from Middle East crisis, as oil and gas prices rise – as it happened

Time for a recap….A turbulent day in the financial markets has seen energy prices surge, and European stock markets fall.UK and European gas prices have jumped 15% today, after yesterday’s attacks by Iran on energy infrastructure across the Middle East.QatarEnergy has revealed that Iran’s strikes have damaged facilities responsible for producing 17% ​of the company’s LNG export capacity, and it could take three to five years to repair the damage.Brent crude jumped by 10% at one state – extending the gap between Brent and US oil – before slipping back to $110 a barrel, up 3

Oil and gas prices jump after Iran and Israel attack gasfields

Gas prices jumped to four-year highs and oil prices rose again after an escalation of attacks by Israel and Iran on gasfields heightened fears of prolonged disruption to international energy supplies.QatarEnergy told Reuters on Thursday that Iran had damaged facilities that produced 17% of the state-owned company’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity and that it would take three to five years to repair them.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 10% to $119 a barrel at one point before slipping back to $110 a barrel, a gain of 3.3%. Crude prices have soared by 60% since the US-Israeli war on Iran started on 28 February

Prolonged high oil prices could ‘crimp’ AI boom, WTO warns

An extended period of high oil prices as a result of war in the Middle East could “crimp” the AI boom, the World Trade Organization’s chief economist has warned.The war and its impact on energy and fertiliser costs is the main risk to the global economy identified in the WTO’s latest Global Trade Outlook.But the Geneva-based body also raised a question mark about the continued strength of AI investment, which in 2025 helped to offset the hit to global trade from Donald Trump’s tariffs.“There is an interesting possible interaction between the Middle East conflict and the AI boom, in part because the boom is very energy-intensive,” said the WTO’s chief economist, Robert Staiger. “If the price of energy continues to be elevated for the whole year, that could put a crimp on the AI boom

Europe’s biggest airlines say fuel price spike caused by Iran war will drive up fares

Europe’s biggest airlines have said the rise in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East will drive up fares and are advising passengers to book early.While carriers have partly hedged the price of jet fuel, bosses said they could not avoid passing on additional costs to passengers for long.Long-haul airlines such as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa said they would be adding more flights via Asia with Gulf carriers’ hubs either shut or operating at a reduced level since the US-Israeli attack on Iran.EasyJet dismissed any fears of imminent fuel shortages affecting flights in Europe despite concerns about supplies in parts of Asia, with Vietnamese airlines this week warning that they may reduce schedules.Kenton Jarvis, the airline’s chief executive, said it was “not seeing any issues” with its fuel supply

BoE delivers message Britons don’t want to hear as inflation – and rates – look set to rise

The US-Israel attack on Iran has already driven prices higher and not just at the petrol pumps, the Bank of England said on Thursday in a gloomy assessment of the UK’s economic outlook.An inflation rate that was on track to fall from 3% to the Bank’s 2% target in the coming months is now expected to rise to 3.5%. That is one probable impact of the US and Israel’s war on Iran.Higher transport and energy costs can quickly flow through to higher food prices, ratcheting up the consumer prices index when the previous trajectory was down

Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% and signals rise is possible within months

The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold and signalled it could be forced to increase borrowing costs in the coming months as the US-Israel war on Iran threatens to drive inflation in the UK above 3%.The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep its base rate at 3.75% amid growing concern over the surge in energy prices triggered by the conflict.The pound strengthened against the US dollar after the decision, while UK government borrowing costs rose and the FTSE 100 fell as City traders bet that the Bank would be forced to raise interest rates twice this year.In a development that would add to the pressure on household finances already battered by a cost of living crisis, financial markets anticipate a quarter-point increase from as early as June, followed by a further rise to 4

Buzz kill: US breweries shutter as fanfare over craft beers appears to fade

In the early 2000s, Chris Bell, then a student at University of Colorado Boulder, followed a common path among people interested in brewing beer. He started doing so at home, then spent years working at established craft beer makers Long Trail Brewing in Vermont and Avery Brewing in Colorado before opening Call to Arms Brewing Company in 2015 in Denver.In a crowded market, the business was successful. Its More Like Bore-O-Phyll beer won a gold medal in the fresh or wet hop ale category at the 2018 World Beer Cup. A local outlet called it one of the city’s best breweries, and it had a 4

Stir-fries, crab cakes and carbonara: Georgina Hayden’s crab recipes

It’s hard not to be excited by the arrival of spring and all the produce that will soon be gracing our kitchens. Asparagus, spinach and new potatoes can’t come soon enough, but it’s not just fruit and vegetables that I count down the days for – there’s plenty of seafood to celebrate too, and in particular crab. Sweet and delicate, its freshness mirrors the arrival of brighter, sunnier days. If you’re lucky enough to pick through a fresh crab, then it needs very little in way of adornment – a squeeze of lemon perhaps, and warm bread and salty butter. Thankfully for the time-poor among us, you can also buy pots of it pre-cooked and picked, which is glorious lightly spiced in a dip or for folding through pasta

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spaghetti with mushrooms, soft cheese and herbs | A kitchen in Rome

Before cooking something, it is never a bad idea to turn to the expert on the science of food and cooking, Harold McGee. This week, I had mushrooms, which, as he notes, are fruiting bodies, specialised structures that, encouraged by the parent body underground, force themselves up through the soil and open their umbrella-like cap so the gills or pores can release spores into passing air currents. The aim is the same as for all pushy parents: get the next generation into the world and hope they don’t get eaten in the process.I am hoping that a few million spores got out before the white and chestnut mushrooms I bought at our local supermarket were picked and packed. Mushrooms are often described as smelling and tasting earthy, but, as with most things, McGee is right

How to turn puff pastry offcuts into a brilliant cheesy snack – recipe | Waste not

After testing puff pastry for the Filter a few weeks ago, I had loads of trimmings left over, which reminded me of one of my favourite zero-waste recipes. Malfatti are biscuits made from pastry offcuts, which are seasoned, rolled in seeds and spices, baked and served with cheese. Determined to create something new with all my excess puff, I realised that it would be perfect for making misshapen cheese straws. Even if you have only a few offcuts, I implore you to top them with cheese and some sauerkraut or kimchi, then twist and bake alongside a tart or pie. They’re a brilliant little cheeky snack

Tips for downsizing recipes | Kitchen aide

Any tips for downsizing recipes to serve one? Dividing by the number of servings doesn’t always work.Melanie, by email“It’s often just common sense,” says Kitty Coles, author of Make More With Less, plus a little maths – though, as Melanie so wisely points out, you can’t always simply divide the ingredients and be done with it.First, you need to consider your cookware: “It’s really worth investing in smaller pans and a smaller skillet,” says Alexina Anatole, who is behind the Small Wins Substack. A tiny amount of liquid in a large pan, say, will get too much exposure to heat, so it’s very likely you’ll under- or overcook its contents. As Shelina Permalloo, author of What to Cook When Everyone’s Hungry, says, “The absorption method for rice is a nightmare if you’re using a wrong-sized pan

Loaded crisps: four recipes for the ‘perfect finger food’ – ranked from best to worst

Ready salted, prawn cocktail, pickled onion and smoky bacon – crisps are undoubtedly the nation’s favourite snack food, subject to a variety of staple and sometimes suspicious flavour varieties. According to one recent report, they were the UK’s snack of choice on 94% of “all consumption occasions”, often enjoyed with a complementary dip, or served in a packet ripped open on a pub table. But now, the humble bag of crisps is having a revamp.Enter: the loaded crisp bag. It’s a lot like loaded fries or nachos, in that it can be a vehicle for a whole gamut of flavours – as served, for example, at Pablos, a fast food outlet in Nottingham where anything from ground beef to molten cheese is dolloped into an opened bag of crisps

José Pizarro’s recipe for chicken and white bean stew

Chicken and beans are two of the foods I grew up with, and were often cooked in one pot and designed to be shared. It’s the kind of cooking we do at my restaurant Lolo: generous, relaxed and made to be eaten together. March sits between the seasons, when we still need comfort, but also start to look for freshness, too, and this stew feels just right for the moment. As the days get longer and spring starts to show itself, it is warming without being heavy, while the mojo verde lifts everything and gives the dish energy.Prep 10 minCook 1 hr 20 minServes 4-61 tbsp olive oil 3 banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika 1 pinch saffron strands Sea salt and black pepper 1 large chicken (1

Peter Smith obituary

My father, Peter Smith, who has died aged 97, set up a pioneering health food store in the unlikely setting of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, in the late 1950s, at a time when the pursuit of vegetarianism and healthy eating was a fringe interest.He ran the shop until the mid-1960s before spending a number of years living and teaching in Japan and then opening up another health food outlet in Surrey in the early 70s, guiding it successfully into the late 90s, by which time his advocacy of healthy diets had become much more mainstream.Born in Cottam, on the Nottinghamshire-Lincolnshire border, to Jack and Doris (nee Womble), Peter was raised in the lively setting of their pub, the Railway Inn in Leverton, where he flourished. As a child he showed a talent for snooker, touring local halls to play in charity matches and displaying the confidence that would mark his later life.After leaving Scunthorpe technical high school he did three years of national service from 1946 to 1949 with the Royal Air Force as an engineer and was posted to Iraq, an experience that sparked a fascination with foreign cultures, food and travel

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy reccipe for crispy baked gnocchi puttanesca | Quick and easy

Puttanesca purists, look away now. This dish takes the classic elements of a puttanesca – that is, anchovies, capers, olives, tomatoes – and combines them into a rich sauce for gnocchi, which are then covered in mozzarella, breadcrumbs and parmesan, and flashed under the grill. It’s exactly what you want on a rainy night. In fact, my sauce-averse toddler thought it smelled so good that she stole half of my plate – a win all round. (Although her pretty decent suggestion was that next time I use it as a pizza sauce, rather than on pasta or gnocchi

How to make Irish stew – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

The first time I dared to write a recipe for Irish stew, I was invited on to the national broadcaster, RTÉ, to discuss my choices live on air. And, to my considerable relief, it was eventually decided that I had not dishonoured the memory of my ancestors. It’s tempting for modern cooks to meddle with such resolutely plain classics. Do not! It’s delicious just as it is.Prep 20 min Cook 2 hr Serves 63 large onions 2 tbsp oil, or lamb fat10-12 very floury potatoes, depending on size and hunger1 neck of lamb, or hogget or mutton, cut into thick slices (see steps 1 and 2)2 sprigs fresh thyme Salt and pepper 6 carrots, or, if you like, substitute some for chopped turnip, swede or leekChopped parsley, or chives, to serve (optional)Traditionally, an older, less productive animal would have been used here – and the slow cooking time reflects this – but modern recipes tend to favour lamb

DakaDaka, London W1: ‘Like a 2am lock-in on a Tbilisi back street’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

DakaDaka, a rowdy paean to Georgian cuisine, has arrived on Heddon Street in the West End of London. Heddon Street has always been synonymous with rowdiness, regardless of the fact that the mature, semi-elegant likes of Sabor, Piccolino and Heddon Street Kitchen are quite the opposite. But anyone who ever found themselves staggering out of Strawberry Moons in the 1990s having lost a shoe and with a love bite or from the basement club at Momo will know that this little nook tucked away behind Regent Street is where a good time is meant to be had.And now there’s DakaDaka, which certainly does not market itself as a nightclub, because, well, virtually nowhere does any more. What DakaDaka does do, though, is play Georgian dance music very loudly and with endless enthusiasm right through your badrijani (grilled aubergines), imeruli (cheese-filled flatbread) and kababi (lamb skewers)

Fallouts and financial woes: inside Heston Blumenthal’s sinking empire

Dinner by Heston was once one of the world’s most revered restaurants, known for its decadent and unusual dishes such as the “meat fruit”.But Heston Blumenthal announced this week that he is winding down operations at the two Michelin-star restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, London, saying it was because the tenancy had “finished”.However, current and former workers at Dinner claim the restaurant has been going downhill for years after Blumenthal fell out with his right-hand man, Ashley Palmer-Watts, who created the menu and ran the restaurant day to day before he left the business.“Closing the restaurant was not Heston’s choice whatsoever,” a senior source from the Mandarin Oriental told the Guardian. “The hotel chose not to renew the lease