Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto tycoon, is expected to appear in court shortly in the US to face a range of criminal fraud charges.
Barbara Fried, the FTX founder’s mother, has arrived at the court in New York where her son is due to appear in one of the biggest corporate fraud cases in US legal history.
Mr Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and former best friend are poised to give evidence against him after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors.
Caroline Ellison, the ex-girlfriend of Mr Bankman-Fried and chief executive of his personal cryptocurrency hedge fund, and Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology, are both cooperating with the investigation, prosecutors in New York said late last night.
Mr Bankman-Fried is accused of overseeing one of the biggest investor frauds in US history and faces a raft of criminal charges that carry a potential sentence of 170 years in prison.
He allegedly used FTX customers’ deposits to fund risky bets on digital tokens at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, ultimately leaving an $8bn black hole in its accounts.
Read the latest updates below.
04:00 PM
Handing over
Right, that’s all from me today. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of our industry editor Howard Mustoe.
03:57 PM
Petrofac oil rig workers go on strike
Workers have started a 24-hour walkout at offshore rigs as a union boss accused the operating company of “revelling in playing Scrooge”.
Petrofac workers on Repsol installations in the North Sea started their strike across two-days today, Unite said, with a warning of more walkouts to come.
Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said the 170 workers involved are taking the “latest action due to a series of unacceptable pay offers”.
She added: “Unite’s members are watching offshore oil and gas giants mount up eye-watering profits.
“Instead of paying the workforce what they deserve because they are the ones ultimately generating these profits, Petrofac Repsol are revelling in playing Scrooge.”
03:31 PM
FTSE plummets amid US interest rate fears
The FTSE 100 lost all its gains and headed into negative territory after data showed the US economy grew more strongly than expected.
London’s internationally-focused blue-chip index was down 0.3pc to 7,478.64, while Wall Street stocks also slumped.
Investors are concerned that the Federal Reserve could keep tightening monetary policy as economic growth proved stronger than estimated.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 1.3pc to 32,943.81, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index shed 1.7pc to 3,813.52.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index has lost 2.3pc to 10,454.88.
The downbeat movements in the US came as companies like chip giant Micron reported disappointing results, with a worse-than-expected quarterly loss while it announced “decisive actions” to cut supply and expenses.
Auto retailer CarMax, which like Micron reported its results after the bell on Wednesday, saw sales hit by affordability pressures as well, analysts noted.
03:20 PM
Superdry secures refinancing and reveals higher sales
Superdry has revealed higher sales for the past six months driven by stronger trade in stores, as the fashion brand also secured a new £80m refinancing for the next three years.
The company told investors that group revenues lifted by 3.6pc over the six months to October 29, compared with the same period last year.
Its shares jumped 16pc on the news.
Julian Dunkerton, founder and chief executive, said:
I’m pleased with the performance of the business over the half.
It’s been well documented that conditions are extremely challenging which weren’t helped by the unseasonably warm weather in October and into November.
However, by combining great product with affordable prices, we managed to grow sales in the first half.
03:10 PM
Abrdn shares fall as Bruce to quit
The chief financial officer of abrdn is planning to leave in the coming months after a turbulent period at the asset manager and a drive to improve returns.
Shares in the investment company slid by 2.2pc following the news that Stephanie Bruce, one of the UK’s most high-profile women in finance, is stepping down from the role she took on in June 2019, after leaving accountancy firm PwC.
The Edinburgh-based business is searching for a replacement, with a spokesman saying Ms Bruce “initiated a conversation earlier in 2022”.
She leaves after a period of change under chief executive Stephen Bird to try to stem fund outflows of customer funds.
This included a rebranding from Standard Life Aberdeen to abrdn and the acquisition of platform Interactive Investor to drive digital sales.
03:00 PM
US third quarter growth driven by stronger consumer spending
The US economy expanded at a quarterly pace of 0.8pc in the third quarter, higher than earlier estimates of 0.7pc growth.
Economics editor Szu Ping Chan has this analysis on the news that has caused the pound to drop below $1.20:
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said the higher-than-expected growth was mainly due to stronger consumer spending and business investment.
This is in contrast to spending habits in the UK, where families and businesses are focusing on bringing down their energy bills to save money.
Disposable income was also higher than expected, according to the BEA, while US consumers were more willing to drive down their savings compared with families across the Atlantic.
Households saved half a trillion dollars in the third quarter, a downward revision of $12.9bn from the previous estimate.
The personal saving rate – measured as personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income – stood at 2.7pc in the third quarter, a downward revision of 0.1 percentage points.
02:50 PM
Pound drops sharply as US economy grows
The pound sharply lost ground after data showed the US economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2pc annual pace in the three months to September.
The data indicates the Federal Reserve may have to continue with its strong pace of interest rate rises to keep inflation in check.
Sterling briefly slipped below $1.20 but has clawed back a little ground and is down 0.6pc.
02:43 PM
YouTube signs £2bn-a-year deal to stream NFL games
YouTube has signed a multi-year deal to stream the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket package of games.
The Google-owned video service will pay an average price of about $2bn a year for the rights, the company said, in the latest shift of content to streaming from traditional TV.
Starting next season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels.
02:32 PM
Wall Street slumps at open
US markets opened down after a mini rally triggered by positive US economic data.
Stock markets have been volatile in recent weeks as investors weigh up global recession risks against the reopening of China’s economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 0.4pc to 33,233.35, slumped 0.7pc to 3,849.79 while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.4pc to 10,552.94.
02:21 PM
How Sam Bankman-Fried got to this point
Sam Bankman-Fried is the son of two Stanford Law School professors and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He rode a boom in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several times over as well as influential donor to US political campaigns.
But in early November, reports that he used customer funds from his FTX crypto exchange on risky bets with his Alameda Research hedge fund led to a wave of withdrawals from FTX.
It ultimately prompted the exchange – valued at $32bn as recently as January this year – to declare bankruptcy on Nov 11. Mr Bankman-Fried stepped down as chief executive the same day.
Since his arrest on Monday, Sam Bankman-Fried had been detained at the Bahamas Department of Corrections prison, known as Fox Hill.
A US State Department report in 2021 called conditions at the jail “harsh” though local authorities say the facility has since improved.
He was flown back to the US overnight.
02:08 PM
Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother arrives at US court
Barbara Fried, mother of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has arrived at court in New York where her son is due to appear.
He faces multiple fraud charges following the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX last month.
01:39 PM
Rail fare rises ‘a sick joke’
Labour has attacked the 5.9pc rise in rail fares due to come into force in March.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said:
01:25 PM
Wall Street expected to fall at opening bell
Wall Street is expected to open lower as a gloomy outlook from chipmaker Micron Technology knocked its shares in US premarket trading and weighed on other semiconductor shares.
US equity futures have struggled to hold the momentum that propelled the S&P 500 to its best daily gain in three weeks.
The S&P 500’s large overall decline this month contrasts with an average 1.5pc gain in the month of December since 1950.
Meanwhile concerns are growing that Japanese investors could be persuaded to bring home some of the trillions of dollars they have stashed in foreign stocks and bonds as the yen and local bond yields rise in the wake of this week’s hawkish pivot from the Bank of Japan.
Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures both fell 0.2pc, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.4pc.
01:05 PM
Passengers ‘not getting value for money’ as rail fares rise
David Sidebottom, director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, has called for rail fare reform following the announcement ticket prices will rise by 5.9pc next year. He said:
No one likes prices going up. In our latest research, less than half of passengers think the railway currently performs well on delivering value for money tickets.
After months of unreliable services and strike disruption, it’s clear that too many passengers are not getting a value for money service.
Capping fares below inflation and the delay until March is welcome and will go some way to easing the pain, but the need for reform of fares and ticketing in the longer-term must not be forgotten.
12:54 PM
Fortnum & Mason expects boost from China easing Covid measures
Fortnum & Mason welcomed China’s plan to cut quarantine requirements for overseas travellers, expecting the move to boost trade for its businesses in Hong Kong.
The 315-year-old retailer has a shop and a restaurant in Hong Kong which have been “very quiet” in recent years, chief executive Tom Athron said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
He said he is hopeful that the lifting of restrictions leads to a “real resurgence”.
Fortnum & Mason also opened a shop in Hong Kong airport earlier this month, demonstrating the retailer’s commitment to the region, Mr Athron said.
International trade has been key for Fortnums this year as the weaker pound and ease of travel encouraged shoppers particularly from the US and European Union, he added.
In the UK, it plans to use its website to attract customers who live far from the London stores. It’s also seeking to broaden its appeal outside the festive season.
12:26 PM
Rail fare rise linked to average earnings growth
The Government came to its figure to rail fare rises by aligning the increase to July’s average earnings growth instead of RPI, although it insisted this was for one year only.
Fares will officially rise on March 5 and like last year, the Government is freezing them for January and February.
This gives passengers more time to purchase cheaper flexible and season tickets at the existing rate.
Taxpayers have subsidised the running of the railways to the tune of £31bn since the pandemic.
12:14 PM
Rail fare rise biggest since 2012
The biggest rail fare rise since privatisation in 1996 occurred in 2011 when they rose by 6.4pc.
Today’s increase of 5.9pc is the biggest since the 6.2pc rise in 2012.
12:08 PM
Rail fares rises as strikes bring services to standstill
Commuters will bemoan the rise in rail fares, with services hit by the biggest industrial dispute for three decades.
Chief business correspondent Oliver Gill has this analysis:
The increase is significantly higher than the 3.8pc rise last year – the biggest hike in almost a decade.
By the end of the year, nationwide strikes will have brought services to a near standstill in 18 days while causing widespread disruption on the days that follow.
Commuters had been nervously eyeing changes to rail fares with inflation raging near 41-year highs.
Since privatisation rail fares have risen at either RPI, RPI plus one percentage point, or RPI minus one percentage point.
12:03 PM
Commuters hit with 5.9pc rail fare increase next year
Rail fares will rise by 5.9pc next year in what ministers claim is the biggest Government intervention in the sector since privatisation.
In a move that will heap pressure on warring rail unions, ministers have decided to abandon the traditional link with the retail prices index.
The rise will be implemented at the end of March rather than December, as was the case prior to the pandemic.
Had fares been pegged to the traditional July rate, they would be increased by 12.3pc.
In the 26 years since the railways were privatised, ticket prices have risen by RPI 10 times, by RPI plus one percentage point 11 times, and by RPI minus one percentage point five times.
Next year’s fares will rise by RPI minus 6.4 percentage points.
The biggest rail fare rise since privatisation in 1996 occurred in 2011 when they rose by 6.4pc. Today’s increase is the biggest since the 6.2pc rise in 2012.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “This is the biggest ever Government intervention in rail fares. I’m capping the rise well below inflation to help reduce the impact on passengers.
“It has been a difficult year and the impact of inflation is being felt across the UK economy. We do not want to add to the problem.
“This is a fair balance between the passengers who use our trains and the taxpayers who help pay for them.”
11:58 AM
Minister says ‘always more’ to do on cutting EU red tape
The Government will continue efforts to cut UK-EU red tape, a junior minister has said, amid warnings that a significant number of businesses are still struggling with the Brexit deal.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is calling on the Government to look again at how trade with Europe can be improved, two years on from the deal agreed by Boris Johnson.
The business organisation has warned that Brexit is not helping its members to expand or boost sales.
Food, farming and fisheries minister Mark Spencer told Times Radio that there is “always more” that the Government could do to reduce trade friction.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, called for an “honest dialogue” on improving the UK-EU trading relationship.
11:45 AM
Chancellor wants ‘people’s wages to go further’
Jeremy Hunt has said making people’s money go further is his “top priority” after data showed the scale of cost of living crisis.
The price of food and non-alcoholic drinks increased over the last year at their fastest pace since 1989, according to the Office for National Statistics, which also revealed today that the economy shrank more than expected in the third quarter.
The Chancellor said:
High inflation driven by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is slowing economic growth across the world. No country is immune, least of all Britain.
Getting prices down so people’s wages go further is my top priority, which is why we are holding down energy bills this winter and providing extra cost of living payments for the most vulnerable.
To get the British economy back on track, we have a plan that will help to more than halve inflation next year, while laying the foundations for long-term growth through record investment in infrastructure and new industries.
11:24 AM
Rail budget deficit could force Sunak to backtrack on Truss plans
Rishi Sunak could yet spring a surprise on beleaguered commuters with the rise in rail fares expected to be announced today.
Chief business correspondent Oliver Gill has this analysis:
The Telegraph reported in October that ministers were to scrap the traditional link to the previous July’s retail prices index (RPI).
Officials had thought that increasing fares by 12.3pc would deter more passengers from the railways, and encourage them to either work from home or travel by car.
But the rail sector is grappling with a £2bn annual budgetary deficit.
With pay offers of 8pc to train operators and 9pc to Network Rail staff snubbed by trade unions, the Prime Minister may have no choice but to backtrack on his predecessor’s plans.
11:02 AM
Oil prices rise as US stockpiles decrease
Oil prices have climbed today, aided by a weaker dollar and decreasing stockpiles in the US.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up by 1.7pc to $83.56, also helped by China pressing on with its easing of zero-Covid restrictions.
US-produced West Texas Intermediate moved toward $80 a barrel, extending a more than 5pc rally in the week’s first three sessions.
The Energy Information Administration reported a 5.9m-barrel draw in US commercial stockpiles last week, with nationwide holdings at the lowest level for this time of year since 2014.
The US currency also weakened on Thursday, making commodities more attractive for overseas buyers.
Giovanni Staunovo, a commodities analyst at UBS, said:
Strong oil inventory draws we had this week in the US, Europe and the Middle East are helping crude prices.
The market will closely follow a likely-bumpy road of the reopening in China and how much Russian oil exports fall.
10:44 AM
Amazon may be responsible for allowing Louboutin knock-off ads, says EU judges
Amazon may be deemed responsible for advertising of counterfeit Christian Louboutin shoes which found its way on to its platform, according to a preliminary ruling from European judges.
The Court of Justice of the European Union said it is now up to the two national courts to decide whether this is indeed the case.
Louboutin brought two cases against Amazon in a Belgian and a Luxembourg court in 2019, saying the company regularly displayed advertisements for red-soled shoes put on the market without Louboutin’s consent.
Louboutin’s signature red sole is registered as a trademark within the EU.
In its ruling on Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union said the world’s biggest online retailer, as an online sales platform, may be considered responsible for the intellectual property breaches involved in the advertisements of counterfeit products that feature Louboutin’s trademarked red sole.
10:24 AM
Tesla forced to discount some car models as demand slows
Tesla is offering $7,500 (£6,205) discounts on Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles delivered in the United States this month, amid concerns the automaker is facing softening demand.
The discount showed on its website is up from the $3,750 (£3,102) credit it has offered on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered before the end of the year.
It has also recently started offering free supercharging for 10,000 miles (16,093 kms) for the December vehicles.
The latest discount came just days after the US Treasury Department delayed restrictions on electric vehicle incentives until March, meaning Teslas and other US-made electric vehicles are likely to qualify for the full $7,500 credits temporarily.
Customers have cancelled their orders and held off their purchases until the new credits take effect in January, weighing on Tesla demand.
Analysts also worry that rising interest rates and CEO Elon Musk’s controversial Twitter management could hurt the Tesla brand and sales.
09:56 AM
Adults buying less food as inflation bites
Shoppers are buying fewer things to eat as the cost of living crisis takes hold, according to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics.
According to the Food Standards Agency’s Consumer Insight tracker, 81pc of people reported concerns about food prices over Christmas and the New Year in November. That was up from 62pc the previous year.
09:47 AM
Vegetable oil, pasta and tea among largest price rises
The Office for National Statistics has used experimental methods to try to track the cost of 30 everyday grocery items, covering fresh fruit and vegetables, cupboard staples and chilled products.
The majority of lowest-cost everyday grocery items have been rising in price over the last year.
Although not directly comparable, the rise in prices for these items is similar to the 15pc rise in the official measure of inflation for food and drink, reported in September 2022.
09:41 AM
Food and drink prices rising at fastest pace in more than 30 years
The price of food and non-alcoholic drinks increased over the last year at their fastest pace since 1989.
The cost of basics like vegetable oil rose by 65pc in the year to September, while the pasta shot up by 60pc, and tea rose by 46pc.
Staple foods, such as breads and cereals, have seen the largest price increases in the last month alone, rising by 1.9pc.
This contributed to a 16.4pc increase in food and drink prices in the year to November – the highest in 45 years according to the CPI rate of inflation.
It is the highest rate since at least 1989 according to the CPI measure of inflation.
The most vulnerable appear to be the hardest hit, with 61pc of those in the most deprived areas buying less food compared with last year, as opposed to 44pc in the least deprived areas, according to the ONS.
The inflation gap between low-income and high-income households is the largest it has been since March 2009.
In the year to October, annual inflation for low-income households stood at 10.5pc, while the figure for high-income households was 9.1pc.
However, overall inflation including housing costs decreased from 9.6pc in October to 9.3pc in November.
09:10 AM
Twitter launches search tool for company financials
An interesting new innovation on Twitter.
When you tweet the symbol of a major stock, ETF, or cryptocurrency with a $ in front of it (like $BTC), people on Twitter see a clickable link that takes them to search results.
Starting today, these search results will include the pricing graphs for major stocks.
Chief executive Elon Musk tweeted: “One of many product improvements coming to financial Twitter! Nice work by Twitter team.”
09:01 AM
Spending power falls for fourth straight quarter
Household disposable incomes fell for a fourth straight quarter in the three months to September, underlining the impact of the cost of living crisis.
Real households’ disposable income fell by 0.5pc in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The economy was 0.8pc smaller than before the pandemic, confirming that Britain is the only G7 nation whose output is smaller than before Covid hit.
Thomas Pugh, economist at auditor RSM, said:
The upshot is that the UK is almost certainly already in a year-long recession that may prove deeper than that experienced in the early 1990s.
The squeeze on household real incomes will intensify as rising interest rates join soaring inflation.
08:48 AM
Strikes close airports for second time in a week
Three island airports are closed for the second time this week as workers take strike action in a dispute over pay.
Barra and Benbecula airports in the Outer Hebrides and Sumburgh airport in the Shetland Islands are shut today after members of the Unite union walked out.
Bosses at Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) said that Stornoway Airport on the Isle of Lewis will be open from 1pm to 7.45pm and Kirkwall Airport on Orkney will open from 7.15am to 1pm, and only for inter-island flights.
The other Hial airports at Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Tiree, Wick and John O’Groats are operating as normal.
The walk-out comes after workers took strike action on Monday.
08:38 AM
Retailers the biggest gainers on markets
Retailers continued to lead the way on the FTSE 100 after a strong day on Wednesday, buoyed by stronger than expected sales figures from the Confederation of British Industry.
Shares in JD Sports have risen 1.3pc, while B&Q owner Kingfisher has jumped 1.2pc and Ocada Group gained 1pc.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4pc to 7,526.89 in early trading, with the heavy lifting done by oil producers Shell and BP, as well as HSBC and mining stocks Glencore and Rio Tinto.
Ben & Jerry’s maker Unilever was also a strong performer, hitting its highest level in a year to £42.31 a share.
Among the midcaps, Moonpig shares gained 2.4pc in the run-up to Christmas.
The FTSE 250 was up 0.2pc to 18,906.69.
08:28 AM
Business investment slumps in third quarter
Business investment fell by 2.5pc in quarterly terms, according to revised estimates for the third quarter of the year from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This was compared with a previous first estimate of a 0.5pc drop.
While the dominant services sector expanded 0.1pc in the quarter, declines in manufacturing and construction dragged the headline figure down.
All 13 manufacturing sub-sectors declined in the third quarter, the ONS said, while inflation-adjusted household disposable income contracting for a fourth quarter.
Gabriella Dickens, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said:
Looking ahead, the UK likely will continue to underperform.
We expect Britain to suffer the deepest recession among major advanced economies in 2023, due to the severity of the headwinds from both monetary and fiscal policy.
08:12 AM
Pound hold gains despite gloomy economic data
The pound has held onto its gains despite statisticians revealing the British economy shrank by more than expected in the third quarter of the year.
Sterling was up 0.4pc against the dollar in early trading to stay above $1.21. It was flat against the euro, which is worth 87p.
08:03 AM
Markets edge higher at open
Markets are attempting a brief Santa rally ahead of Christmas despite figures showing the UK economy contracted by more than expected in the three months to September.
The FTSE 100 opened 0.1pc higher to 7,508.14.
However, the domestically focused FTSE 250 has yo-yoed, opening up 0.1pc before surging 1.8pc to 18,876.06. It quickly fell back to a 0.1pc gain again.
07:47 AM
Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and FTX co-founder plead guilty to fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and one of his closest associates have pleaded guilty to fraud and are cooperating with US authorities investigating the collapse of FTX.
Senior technology reporter Matthew Field has the latest:
The revelation came as Mr Bankman-Fried was due to arrive in New York to face one of the biggest ever US fraud trials over the demise of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The 30-year-old agreed to be extradited from the Bahamas earlier this week and could appear in a US court as soon as Thursday.
Mr Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, 28, who was joint chief executive of Alameda Research, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, 29, pleaded guilty to defrauding investors.
Their pleas were announced by Manhattan Attorney Damian Williams in a video posted on Twitter on Wednesday night.
Read how Mr Williams urged others involved in the alleged fraud to come forward.
07:41 AM
Deloitte fined over accounting failings
The auditing watchdog has fined Deloitte £906,250 over failings in its accounting for building materials firm SIG.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) first launched a probe into the Big Four auditor in 2018 after it had been sacked by SIG after it admitted to irregularities in its accounts.
The regulator also handed a £36,250 sanction directly to Deloitte’s audit engagement partner working on the account, Simon Manning, over his involvement in the breaches of auditing rules.
Jamie Symington, deputy executive counsel at the FRC, said: “These breaches concerned two discrete areas of the audit of a particular subsidiary of SIG plc.
“They involved contraventions of requirements which are fundamental to the role of the independent auditor and were associated with material mis-statements in SIG plc’s accounts which had to be corrected.
“The breaches in respect of supplier rebates were made all the more serious by the fact that the FRC had highlighted these complex supplier arrangements as requiring particular attention from auditors.”
07:27 AM
UK economy shrinks by more than first estimated
The UK economy shrank by more than previously thought in the three months to September as the cost of living hit families and businesses.
Soaring energy prices saw many households and firms reduce their usage, prompting the fall in Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The economy contracted by 0.3pc in the third quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is more than the previous estimate of a decline of 0.2pc and weaker than analysts expected.
Statisticians said the revisions reflected bigger falls in manufacturing and production than previously estimated. It added that the reduction “might reflect changes in business and consumer behaviour in response to higher energy prices” after the regulator’s energy price cap shot up in April.
The ONS also revised down its estimates for growth across 2022, meaning the UK economy remains 0.8pc smaller than it was before the pandemic.
Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Our revised figures show the economy performed slightly less well over the last year than we previously estimated, with manufacturing and electricity generation notably weaker.
“Household incomes continued to fall in real terms, albeit at a slower rate than in the previous two quarters, while – taking account of inflation – household spending fell for the first time since the final Covid-19 lockdown in the spring of 2021.”
The ONS said the economy also grew less than first estimated throughout the first half of the year, with revisions showing the UK managed growth of 0.6pc in the first quarter and 0.1pc in the second quarter.
The ONS has previously said growth stood at 0.7pc and 0.2pc in those quarters respectively.
07:24 AM
Households saving more of their money, data shows
Household savings shot up over the quarter, though this was largely the result of higher pension savings as the mini-budget turmoil that pushed up borrowing costs also left many schemes in a better financial position due to higher government bond yields, writes Szu Ping Chan.
The ONS said investment income on pension entitlements reached the highest level on record at £30.5bn, increasing by £7.6bn compared with the previous quarter. This pushed up the saving ratio – which measures the amount British households have available to save as a share of total disposable income – to 9pc in the third quarter, up from 6.7pc.
Stripping out growth in pensions, the ONS said household savings grew slightly, as people squirreled some of their government cost of living payments away. Private sector wage growth also helped to bolster savings.
The ONS data also suggested that people cut back on overseas holidays in the three months to September as budgets became more stretched. Expenditure abroad by UK residents fell by £2.9bn compared with the previous quarter.
07:15 AM
Good morning
Another day, another set of gloomy statistics for Britain.
Britain’s economy contracted by more than first thought in the third quarter of the year, deepening concerns that Britain is already in a recession.
The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3pc in the three months to September, a larger fall than the 0.2pc contraction initially estimated by the Office for National Statistics.
The economy is now 0.8pc smaller than it was before the pandemic.
Output shrank by 0.3pc in the three months to October, suggesting the economy is already in recession.
Two consecutive contractions would mean the economy is in recession.
The economy grew by 0.2pc in the second quarter of 2022, according to a revised estimate by statisticians, after an initial projection of a 0.1pc contraction.
5 things to start your day
1) FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was due to fly back from the US last night, after agreeing to be extradited from the Bahamas
2) Accountants cheated in online ethics exams after switch to Covid home working
3) The boss of Royal Mail has been forced to use a security escort as strikes turn ugly. Simon Thompson has been supported by guards as violence erupts on picket line
4) Pret A Manger is axing most of its vegetarian-only stores as the novelty of meat-free branches wears off. The company will shut or rebrand 75pc of its Veggie Pret stores six years after they first launched.
5) Britain’s space industry gets ready for blast off. Rocket companies battle bureaucracy to launch the first mission from British soil
What happened overnight
Hong Kong shares began Thursday with strong gains following a rally on Wall Street as traders welcomed forecast-beating US earnings and a pickup in consumer sentiment.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.97pc to 19,537.45, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.57pc to 3,085.80 and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange gained 0.54pc to 1,980.33.
Tokyo stocks also opened higher as the yen steadied following a shock Bank of Japan monetary policy tweak.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.71pc at 26,574.56 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.50pc at 1,902.84.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-economy-shrank-more-first-071535615.html