Airlines among companies using fuel surcharges to cover surge in costs, UK survey shows
Airlines and other companies are increasingly using fuel surcharges to cover soaring costs, a survey has found, in a further sign of Iran war-linked inflation hitting the economy.A poll of companies in the services sector, which includes airlines, found rising fuel prices had contributed to businesses raising prices at the fastest pace in more than three years in April.Nearly six in 10 firms surveyed by S&P Global said average costs rose last month, mostly driven by fuel and higher wages, but also in part by metals and plastics getting more expensive.IAG, the conglomerate that owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, said last month it would make “some pricing adjustments to reflect these higher fuel costs”, although it stopped short of labelling the move as a surcharge.Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has added a charge of £360 to business class tickets, falling to £50 for economy.
Its new chief executive, Corneel Koster, told the Financial Times in April that it would still be “hard to make a profit this year”.Tim Moore, S&P Global’s economics director, said the rise in costs was “overwhelmingly linked to greater transportation bills and increased salary payments”.“A number of firms also noted that they had brought in fuel surcharges for their customers, which led to a spike in prices-charged inflation across the service economy to its highest for over three years in April.”Despite this, firms reported slightly better business than expected last month, with the pollster’s gauge of activity rising to 52.7 across the sector, up from an 11-month low of 50.
5 in March.Britain’s services sector, which includes retailers, finance firms and transport companies, accounts for about 81% of the economy, with activity therefore closely watched by economists.Moore warned that the improvement “could easily prove short-lived”, however, as new business remained subdued compared with the start of the year, with the Iran war weighing heavily on firms’ confidence to make investment decisions.Moreover, the widespread price rises will further pressure the Bank of England to raise interest rates – its main weapon in tackling inflation – despite policymakers voting to keep borrowing costs on hold last week.The Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said last week: “The longer this problem goes on and the longer the disruption to energy supplies goes on, the more difficult the scenario we’re in.
”Brent crude, the global oil price benchmark, fell below $100 a barrel due to fresh hopes that US efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz could come to fruition.But prices have swung sharply in recent months amid a fast-changing situation in the Middle East, and analysts said much will hinge on how the war, and its effect on the price of energy, continues to evolve.Thomas Pugh, the chief economist at the consultancy RSM UK, said: “Obviously, everything depends on how energy prices move going forward, but we still think the ultimate impact of the crisis will be a rising unemployment rate and weaker economic growth, which means any tightening cycle will be short and shallow.But clearly the risk of rate hikes is rising.”The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
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Oil and gas prices fall sharply, driven by hopes of strait of Hormuz reopening – as it happened
Brent crude keeps falling amid hopes that the strait of Hormuz could soon be open again. The global benchmark has slid to $97.48 a barrel, down $12 a barrel – a near-11% drop, the lowest since 22 April.US West Texas intermediate crude fell 11.3% to $90
Dozens of former WH Smith stores face closure, putting thousands of jobs at risk
Dozens of former WH Smith stores are likely to close, putting thousands of jobs at risk under a radical restructuring plan by their new owner, which had rebranded the shops to TG Jones,The investment company Modella Capital, which bought WH Smith’s chain of 480 high street stores for £76m last year, blamed “weak consumer spending” as it set out the plan to landlords on Wednesday.Eight of the chain’s remaining 450 stores will close immediately, while Modella is demanding 100% rent holidays on about 100 more, as first reported by The Telegraph.The company also wants 5% rent reductions on hundreds more stores for a year, with cuts of between 15% and 75% beyond that period, according to a document seen by the Guardian. If landlords refuse the rent holidays and cuts, the stores could shut.When Modella acquired the chain – which employs 5,000 staff – the shops were renamed under the fictitious “family” brand name of TG Jones, ending 233 years of the WH Smith name on the British high street
US and tech firms strike deal to review AI models for national security before public release
The US government has struck deals with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI to review early versions of their new AI models before they are released to the public.The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US Department of Commerce, announced the agreements on Tuesday, saying the review process would be key to understanding the capabilities of new and powerful AI models as well as to protecting US national security. These collaborations will help the federal government “scale (its) work in the public interest at a critical moment”, the agency said in a press release.“Independent, rigorous measurement science is essential to understanding frontier AI and its national security implications,” said Chris Fall, CAISI director.CAISI is an agency meant to facilitate collaboration between the tech industry and the federal government in developing standards and assessing risks for commercial AI systems
OpenAI president’s ‘deeply personal’ diary becomes focus in Musk’s case against Altman
As Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI entered its second week, focus shifted to the company’s president, Greg Brockman. Over the course of several hours on Monday and Tuesday, Brockman faced questions about his emails, texts and one piece of evidence that has become central to the trial: his personal diary.Musk’s lawsuit revolves around his allegation that Brockman, OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, violated the founding agreement of the artificial intelligence firm by turning it into a for-profit entity. Musk argues that Altman and Brockman also unjustly enriched themselves in the process, essentially taking Musk’s money while deceiving him about their true intent for the business. He is seeking Altman and Brockman’s removal, the undoing of the for-profit restructuring and $134bn, which Musk wants distributed to OpenAI’s non-profit
The Spin | Dangerous, decadent, depraved: cricket’s love affair with the cover drive
Taunton, 3 April 2026. Somerset are hosting Nottinghamshire, the defending county champions, in their first fixture of the new season and are 20 for two having been sent into bat. It’s murky and cold. The batters wear cable-knit sweaters and the spectators in the crowd have wisely decided not to eschew their winter coats. Plenty peer out at the action from under tightly drawn hoods
Viral volleyball star Jordan Lucas: ‘I’m celebrating like NFL players, just in a more feminine way’
The Cal State Northridge player has attracted millions of views for his hair flicks and dismissive waves. He says navigating the fallout has been a career of its own“I think people are really enamored with me because you don’t often see someone like me – animated, flamboyant – but still able to back it up on the volleyball court,” says Jordan Lucas, the outside hitter for Cal State Northridge’s men’s team.Although college volleyball has a devoted following and can attract big crowds – 92,000 fans went to see Nebraska take on Omaha in 2023 – it doesn’t usually attract the same attention as basketball or football. That changed last month though when clips of Lucas’s “flamboyant” play – he’s fond of celebrating with a flick of his hair or a dismissive wave at his opponents – went viral, amassing millions of views on social media. College athletes enjoying social media fame is hardly new: stars such as Paige Bueckers, Harper Murray, Olivia Dunne and Shedeur Sanders all had their viral moments
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