BUSINESS LIVE: UK inflation rate falls to 3.2%; Entain hit by new gambling rules; ASOS posts another big loss

Inflation is finally nearing the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target, as latest figures show another drop in the headline rate.

This time last year, inflation stood at 10.1 per cent. The latest ONS figures now show the CPI index dropped from 3.4 per cent to 3.2 per cent between February and March.

A group led by West Ham shareholder and Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský submitted a proposed bid to acquire Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services earlier this month, it has been revealed.

EP Group said IDS rejected its initial proposal, but added that it ‘looks forward to continuing to engage constructively with the Board as EP Group considers all its options.’

ASOS has reported larger losses as continued cost-of-living pressures and stock reduction measures continued to weigh on sales.

The online fashion retailer revealed adjusted pre-tax losses climbed to £120million in the six months ending 3 March, from £87.4million over the same period last year.

Bank of America reported an 18 percent drop in profit for the first quarter of this year, as the company set aside more money to cover consumer credit card losses.

The bank said profit fell to $6.67 billion, or 76 cents a share.

Saga’s cruise and travel arms returned to profit last year, amid a strong uptick in demand, new results show.

Preliminary annual results show the group’s ocean cruise arm generated an underlying pre-tax profit of £35.5million in the year to January, against a £700,000 loss the previous year.

Ladbrokes owner Entain saw its UK in-store and online net gaming revenue (NGR) fall in recent months, amid tighter regulatory requirements.

The group, which also runs Coral, saw its NGR across the UK and Ireland fall by 7 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, comments on the latest UK inflation figures:

Inflation is moving in the right direction and anyone who has wheeled a trolly around a supermarket over the past few weeks will have noticed that prices aren’t delivering those checkout shocks in the same way they were this time last year.

Next month should look even better as the falling energy price cap is finally counted in the numbers, even if many households won’t have noticed much difference to their outgoings as their direct debits remain elevated to pay off outstanding balances.

But even in this set of figures there are a few troubling issues, notably the stickiness of service sector inflation. This could be exacerbated by the increase in the National Living Wage which is putting pressure on many businesses to hike prices again to balance their books.

We know stuff is costing less as the impact of all that post-pandemic supply chain disruption washes through the numbers. Just compare goods inflation of 0.8% with the 12.8% we were facing only twelve months ago.

But the oil price is still hovering perilously close to $90 a barrel and even many school kids now understand how the fluctuating price impacts more than just motorists.

Jeremy Hunt hailed brighter signs on the economy today as inflation dropped to the lowest level in two and a half years.

The headline CPI rate fell to 3.2 per cent in March, down from 3.4 per cent the previous month and driven largely by easing food prices.

Recruiters have been hit by a global hiring slowdown.

As stock markets around the world reeled from mounting global tensions and concerns over inflation and interest rates, Hays and Robert Walters became the latest headhunters to warn that conditions remain tough.

Elon Musk‘s announcement that Tesla will lay off ten percent of its workforce shocked many but it may be inline with figures that suggest the global demand for electronic vehicles is slumping across the world.

In the first quarter of 2024, the two biggest manufacturers of electronic vehicles, Tesla and its Chinese rival BYD reported dramatic sales drops compared against the same time last year.

Andrew Bailey last night hinted that the Bank of England could start cutting interest rates before the US Federal Reserve amid ‘strong evidence’ that inflation is falling.

The comments came as the governor’s Fed counterpart Jerome Powell warned that the US’s battle to tame price rises was ‘likely to take longer than expected’ – in comments that further riled already-volatile markets.

Craft breweries are under increasing threat as rising costs and lower demand push even more into insolvency.

The total number of business failures in the sector increased from 35 in 2022 to 52 in 2023, according to data from accountancy firm Price Bailey.

He is known as ‘the wolf in cashmere’ after turning LVMH into a £333billion luxury goods powerhouse through a string of ruthless acquisitions that helped turbocharge growth.

And now Bernard Arnault – who has made himself the world’s richest man in the process with a fortune of £175billion – is setting the scene for his five children to take over the empire.