Late-November budget may affect Christmas shopping, says Aldi boss

The UK boss of Aldi has warned that the late November timing of the budget could hit consumer spending in the all-important run-up to Christmas.Giles Hurley, the UK chief executive of Aldi in the UK & Ireland, said that the uncertainty over the measures that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will take to address a fiscal hole in the government’s finances could affect festive season spending decisions by consumers.“There is no doubt the budget does create a bit of uncertainty,” he said. “If you ask customers across the length and breadth of the country they would say that inflationary pressures are persistent. Inflationary challenges are just tremendously challenging

Car seats being sold online in UK that risk lives of children, Which? finds

Unregulated children’s car seats are being sold by leading online retailers in the UK, a Which? investigation has found.The consumer group discovered products for sale on platforms including eBay, Shein, Wish, Little Dreams and ManoMano that did not carry the orange certification labels showing compliance with regulation. Without these markings, parents cannot be sure the seats have been tested to the legal standard.Which? said the car seats were putting children’s lives at risk. Many were priced between £12

UK and US line up string of deals to build modular nuclear reactors in Britain

Labour’s plans for a massive expansion of nuclear power have been given a boost with a string of transatlantic deals for new modular reactors announced before Donald Trump’s visit.The UK and US governments have promised to fast track safety checks, and announced several new private sector investment deals, with Labour emphasising the potential benefits for jobs and growth.In the biggest and most advanced commercial project, Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica will pair with the US reactor firm X-energy to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, announcing an investment that could create up to 2,500 jobs in the north-east of England.The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the US-UK agreement, expected to be signed off formally during the state visit, was a “landmark nuclear partnership” that would also power economic growth.He said: “These major commitments set us well on course to a golden age of nuclear that will drive down household bills in the long run, while delivering thousands of good jobs in the short term

Bank of England urged to slow bond-selling plan to help cut record UK borrowing costs

Andrew Bailey has been urged by former Bank of England policymakers to ease pressure on the government’s borrowing costs by cutting back its bond-selling plans.In a crunch week for the economy, four influential ex-members of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said a change in course was needed.Britain’s long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level in 27 years, intensifying the pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves before her 26 November autumn budget.Threadneedle Street has blamed the rise on global factors., triggered by Donald Trump’s trade war and his assault on the independence of the US Federal Reserve

Sainsbury’s talks to sell Argos to Chinese retailer JD.com collapse

Sainsbury’s hopes of offloading its retail business Argos to one of China’s biggest retailers have collapsed as talks ended on Sunday.The supermarket giant confirmed it was no longer in discussions with JD.com to sell Argos, the general merchandise arm it bought for more than £1bn less than a decade ago.On Saturday it had announced talks with JD.com for a sale that it said would speed up the transformation of Argos, whose business has gone increasingly online and within larger Sainsbury’s branches

Australia’s workers reaping greater share of national income than before pandemic

Workers are now receiving more of the “economic pie” than before the pandemic, with the increase in labour’s share of national income delivering an extra $28bn into the pockets of Australians over the past year alone.Pat Bustamante, a senior economist at Westpac, said his analysis suggested that the tighter post-Covid labour market was behind the greater share going to workers, from an average of 53.8% through the 2010s, to more than 55% now.While the movement in the division of national income appears small, even fractional changes translate to tens of billions of dollars in an economy of about $2.8tn