Rising unemployment could affect budget, interest rates, pay and more

There are significant implications from the latest unemployment figures showing a rise from 4.8% in August to 5.0% in September, not least for the 1.8 million people it directly affects.Rachel Reeves will be mulling over how to avoid depressing the economy and putting even more people out of work while raising tens of billions of pounds in extra tax in her upcoming budget

Wessex Water must pay £11m over wastewater failures, says regulator

Wessex Water has been ordered to pay £11m over wastewater failures and told to spend it on improvements to reduce sewage spills and other measures.Ofwat, the industry regulator for England and Wales, said that Wessex Water and its shareholders would fund a total enforcement package of £11m, none of which will be paid for by customers through bills.The watchdog found that Wessex Water failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network adequately to ensure that it could cope with the flows of sewage and wastewater.The company, which this year increased its bills by an average of 20%, or £113, serves households across Bristol, Dorset and Somerset, as well as most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire.The measures Wessex Water has been ordered to take include helping private landowners to seal their sewer pipes, reducing spills at specific storm overflows by bringing forward investment, installing additional monitoring equipment and helping customers to sustainably manage rainwater at their properties

Nexperia row shows how China is weaponising EU relationship - and winning

As interventions go it was pretty audacious. The Dutch government decision at the end of September to take over Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chip factory, almost brought the entire European car industry to a halt.Tensions between Europe and China de-escalated over the weekend as Beijing confirmed it would ease restrictions on automotive chip supplies to the EU, prompting sighs of relief in car factories around the world.But it has only intensified the questions about the EU’s asymmetric relationship with China, with many in industry, diplomacy and governments asking if Europe is no longer collateral damage in the wider Sino-American political war but a target in itself.“We can buy a bit of time, but there is a sense that we are entering into a situation where we are going to be dealing with rolling crises from now on and that things have really crossed a threshold with China,” said Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund thinktank and former China adviser within the European Commission

UK retail sales growth slows as shoppers await Black Friday and budget

Retailers suffered the slowest sales growth since May last month as shoppers were cautious in the run-up to expected budget tax rises and held out for Black Friday discounts.Sales rose 1.6% in October, a step down from 2.3% the month before, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the advisory group KPMG.Food sales growth posted the biggest slowdown, by 0

Can ex-Tesco boss Drastic Dave refresh the fortunes of drinks giant Diageo?

On landing a new job, nothing puts a spring in the step like knowing that news of your appointment has inflated the stock market value of your employer by more than £2bn.Dave Lewis could be forgiven for keeping that confidence-boosting figure front of mind as he faces up to the challenge of reviving Diageo.The London-based alcoholic drinks business runs a sprawling global empire upon which the sun never sets but whose glory has been on the wane.News that Diageo had not only ended an uncomfortably long four-month recruitment drive – but had sent for the man widely credited with saving Tesco – boosted the misfiring booze group’s shares by as much as 7% on Monday.When Lewis formally starts work in earnest, on 1 January, many customers will be recovering from an overindulgence in Diageo brands such as Johnnie Walker and Guinness

Troubled drinks giant Diageo names former Tesco boss to lead turnaround push

The executive credited with steering Tesco out of the worst financial crisis in its history has been handed the top job at the struggling Guinness maker Diageo.On 1 January, Sir Dave Lewis will become chief executive of the FTSE 100 drinks company, whose shares have fallen by a third this year.Lewis ran Tesco from 2014 to 2020 and previously spent nearly three decades at the Marmite maker Unilever. He revived Britain’s biggest supermarket chain after revealing an accounting scandal, which threatened the future of the business.His appointment marks a significant coup for the drinks maker, which owns more than 200 brands including Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Baileys Irish Cream and Don Julio tequila