Aurelia Butler

British consumer confidence has fallen to a near all-time low driven by concerns over the soaring cost of living, according to a closely watched survey, fuelling fears of a renewed economic downturn in the second quarter.The UK consumer confidence index, a measure of how people view the state of their personal finances and wider economic prospects, crashed seven points to minus 38 in April, its lowest level since 2008 when it was minus 39, according to research company GfK.Joe Staton, client strategy director GfK, said “the cost crunch is really hitting the pockets of UK consumers”. UK inflation rose to 7 per cent in March, reaching a 30-year high. The pressure on household budgets is expected to grow following a sharp jump in energy bills this month and the knock-on effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The consumer confidence score, based on interviews conducted in the first half of April, was close to the lowest level since records began in 1974 and worse than the minus 33 forecast by economists polled by Reuters. People’s confidence in their personal financial situation, which is closely linked to household spending habits, also fell. “There’s clear evidence that Brits are thinking twice about shopping,” said Staton, who attributed the trend to concerns over rising inflation and interest rates combined with low growth and declining incomes.Those factors coupled with an increase in national insurance contributions from this month have led many analysts to forecast that the economy will contract in the second quarter. The fall in consumer confidence bodes ill for future spending appetite. This matters because “how households respond to the fall in real incomes will go a long way to determining whether or not there is a recession”, said Ruth Gregory, an economist at Capital Economics.

Data from Deloitte, KPMG and Bank of America have shown similar sharp declines in consumer confidence. In a BoA survey, more than half of consumers said they had cut back on spending because of rising utility bills this month. Most households were seeking to save costs by reducing clothes shopping and eating out, found BoA and KPMG, while a third of consumers were dipping into their savings to offset living costs.Deloitte noted that saving patterns varied among income brackets. Its research showed that just 5 per cent of households with an income of £10,000 and under were able to save in the first quarter, compared with 38 per cent of households with an overall income of £100,000. Céline Fenech, consumer insight lead at Deloitte, said that “consumers are clearly feeling the pinch of rising living costs”, with inflation “affecting the lowest-income households the most”. More

(Reuters) -Elon Musk on Thursday said he has lined up $46.5 billion in debt and equity financing to buy Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) and is considering taking his offer directly to shareholders, a filing with U.S. regulators showed.Musk himself has committed to put up $33.5 billion, which will include $21 billion of equity and $12.5 billion of margin loans against some of his Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc shares to finance the transaction. He is chief executive officer of electric vehicle maker Tesla.Musk, the world’s richest person according to a tally by Forbes, on April 14 presented a “best and final” cash offer of $43 billion to Twitter’s board of directors, saying the social media company needs to be taken private to grow and become a platform for free speech.But Twitter failed to respond to his offer and adopted a “poison pill” to thwart him. Musk also is considering a tender offer to buy all company stock from shareholders but has not decided whether to do so, according to the filing on Thursday. Musk, Twitter’s second-largest shareholder with a 9.1% stake, has said he could make big changes at the micro-blogging company, where he has a following of more than 80 million users. Shares of Twitter rose less than 1% on news of the funding, indicating that the market is still skeptical about the deal.Shares of Tesla climbed more than 3% and the value of Musk’s 172.6 million Tesla shares rose by over $5 billion on Thursday following a strong quarterly report. On Wednesday, he qualified for compensation in the form of stock options now worth about $24 billion after Tesla hit profit and revenue performance targets.It is unclear whether Musk would sell shares in Tesla to cover the $21 billion equity financing. Musk “may sell, dispose of or transfer” unpledged Tesla stocks at any time, according to a margin loan commitment letter.Banks, including Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), have agreed to provide another $13 billion in debt secured against Twitter itself, according to the filing. A spokesperson for Twitter acknowledged receipt of Musk’s proposal.”As previously announced and communicated to Mr. Musk directly, the board is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive and deliberate review to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders,” the Twitter representative said in a statement.Ryan Jacob, chief investment officer at Jacob Asset Management, which holds Twitter shares, said Musk’s latest filing would push Twitter’s board to respond.”They had to consider the seriousness of the offer, and this filing may do that,” he said. “It’s going to be hard for them to ignore it.”Josh White, assistant professor of finance at Vanderbilt University and a former financial economist for the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the funding would likely “put pressure on Twitter’s board to either find a White Knight, which is unlikely, or negotiate with Musk to obtain a higher value and remove the poison pill.”The offer from Musk has drawn private equity interest in participating in a deal for Twitter, Reuters reported this week, citing people familiar with the matter. Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) Inc is considering ways it can provide financing to any deal and is open to working with Musk or any other bidder, while Thoma Bravo has informed Twitter that it is exploring the possibility of putting together a bid.The New York Post said on Thursday that Thoma Bravo was in talks with Musk for a joint deal. Thoma Bravo did not respond to a request for comment.Musk has made a number of announcements on the platform, including some that have landed him in hot water with U.S. regulators.In 2018, Musk tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private for $420 per share – a move that led to millions of dollars in fines and him being forced to step down as chairman of the car company to resolve claims from the U.S. securities regulator that he defrauded investors. More

LONDON (Reuters) -British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland walked out of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington to protest the invasion of Ukraine when Russia’s delegate spoke on Thursday, a British finance ministry spokesperson said.Before walking out, Sunak “described (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s assault on Ukraine as an assault on the rules and norms that are the foundation of our economic way of life,” the spokesperson said.Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, who walked out of a G20 meeting in Washington on Wednesday for the same reason, said on Thursday there should be “no appeasement” of Russia due to the economic problems caused by the invasion of Ukraine.The G20 includes Western countries that have accused Moscow of war crimes in Ukraine, as well as China, India, Indonesia and South Africa which have not joined Western-led sanctions against Russia over the conflict.G20 finance ministers and central bank governors met on the sidelines of a semi-annual conference held by the IMF and World Bank in Washington, with the Ukraine war, food security and ongoing recovery from the coronavirus pandemic the key topics.After Canada’s Freeland returned to the meeting, she directly addressed Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who was attending virtually, a source familiar with what happened in the meeting room said.”It is perverse and absurd to hear you speaking today when your war is making us poorer,” she said, according to the source. “Your war is causing food prices to rise and will cause people to go hungry. Your war is causing energy prices to rise. Your war is driving inflation, which hurts the most vulnerable.”Canada’s finance ministry declined to comment.Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory, but to destroy its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent and has made impassioned pleas on behalf of the country, went on to speak about how women were “the particular targets of this war.””Rape is being used systematically as a weapon of war by Russia,” Freeland said, according to the source.Addressing Siluanov by name, she concluded by saying Ukraine would win the war and “Russia and the Russian leadership will bear full responsibility for the crimes being committed today”. Earlier on Thursday, Britain ramped up trade sanctions on Russia, targeting luxury goods including caviar, silver and diamonds through import bans and higher tariffs, seeking to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. More

Boris Johnson has vowed that he will not retreat on his green agenda in spite of claims by parts of the Conservative party that the cost of developing renewable energy is driving up electricity bills.The UK prime minister, while on a trip to India, said the government was tackling the cost of living crisis and insisted that Rishi Sunak, the under-fire chancellor, would still be in his job to deliver a crucial Budget in the autumn.But Johnson rejected calls from some Tory MPs that he should scrap the “green levy” on electricity bills to help households immediately, as the squeeze on living standards intensifies. “I want to do everything we can to alleviate the cost of living,” he said on Thursday. “But there’s a lot of prejudice against the green agenda.” The so-called green levy is made up of several taxes used to help fund investment in low-carbon generation, including nuclear and wind farms, and paying energy companies to insulate homes for poorer households. Oliver Dowden, Tory chair, recently denounced “net zero dogma” while Conservative MPs and peers in the “Net Zero Scrutiny Group” have called for the scrapping of the green levy from consumer bills.The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that government officials were considering whether to scrap the levy. But Johnson insisted: “Actually green technology, green, sustainable electricity can help to reduce bills. Overall, if you look at what we have done with renewables it has helped to reduce bills over the last few years and will continue to do so.”Johnson’s allies say the prime minister has no intention of removing the green levy, arguing that the money would have to be found elsewhere, probably from general taxation.Electricity bills for most households jumped in April when the government’s energy cap increased 54 per cent to nearly £2,000. The levy currently makes up £153 of that figure. The main reason for the jump in bills, which are set to rise further in October by another estimated £600 when the cap is again increased, is the spiralling global wholesale price of gas, accentuated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The green levy is designed to subsidise a shift towards low-carbon, homegrown sources of power, which are less vulnerable to geopolitical events, according to the government. However, energy company chiefs have suggested shifting the levy to general taxation as one way to help hard-pressed households, along with cutting VAT on energy and increasing the “warm homes discount” for people on low incomes. In February, Sunak announced a package of council tax rebates and loans to help households, but has since acknowledged that this may need beefing up in the autumn. Johnson, asked whether the government would wait until then before launching a new package to help struggling households, said: “We’ll do whatever we can to help.”The prime minister tried to quell rumours that he could sack Sunak in a summer reshuffle, following criticism of the chancellor’s Spring Statement and a subsequent row over his wife’s tax arrangements.

Asked whether Sunak would deliver the autumn Budget, Johnson replied: “The answer to that is yes.” The chancellor, on a visit to Washington, refused on Friday to say whether he considered resigning after being issued with a police fine over the partygate affair.Meanwhile, Johnson declined to say whether he could offer the same job guarantee to other cabinet members, including Priti Patel, the home secretary, who has been criticised in the past for her handling of cross-channel migration.Johnson said Patel’s policy to ship migrants to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed was “a sensible, brave and original policy. I think Priti has come up with something that is extremely difficult to pull off. I think she has done an outstanding job.” More

How well did you keep up with the news this week. Take our quiz. Boris Johnson will offer increased defence co-operation to Narendra Modi during talks in New Delhi today, in a bid to break India’s reliance on Russian weaponry. The UK prime minister will hold out the prospect of closer military ties in talks with his Indian counterpart on the final day of his visit. He has already said he has no plans to confront Modi over India’s refusal to condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which supplies the majority of the country’s weapons.The talks will focus instead on boosting security and defence collaboration, as well as building momentum around an ambitious target to finalise a free trade agreement by the end of this year. “The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty. The UK’s partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas,” Johnson said.Do you think Johnson should confront Modi over India’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion? Tell me what you think at [email protected]. Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia. — EmilyThe latest from the war in UkraineMilitary developments: Vladimir Putin hailed Mariupol’s “liberation” after a two-month battle, a victory that would mark a major success, but Ukraine rejected the declaration.Sanctions: With Russia under intense pressure from western sanctions, analysts are assessing what the North Korean example can teach western policymakers — not least China’s role in alleviating economic pressure on Moscow.Energy: Industry leaders and economists say a German ban on Russian gas would be catastrophic for the country’s economy, but many companies expect it to happen anyway. For more subscribe to our Energy Source newsletter. Opinion: Heavy weapons and more far-reaching sanctions on Russia would help end its war of unprovoked aggression, writes Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal.Five more stories in the news1. Elon Musk unveils $46.5bn financing package to fund Twitter bid The billionaire chief executive of Tesla has lined up $25.5bn in debt — including a margin loan of $12.5bn against his shares in the electric vehicle maker — from a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, his financial adviser. Separately, he said he would provide $21bn of equity for the deal. 2. Goldman flagged Morgan Stanley block trades to Hong Kong regulator The US bank reported its Wall Street rival Morgan Stanley to Hong Kong’s financial regulator over a series of block trades, according to people familiar with the matter. News of the previously unreported discussion comes as Morgan Stanley faces a US federal investigation into its block trading business.3. Foreign investors ditch Chinese debt at record pace Foreign investors ditched a record $18bn worth of renminbi-denominated debt last month, with selling accelerating as soaring US bond yields dulled the allure of holding Chinese debt. Meanwhile, Jay Powell has sent his strongest signal so far that the Federal Reserve is prepared to raise interest rates by half a percentage point next month.4. China to launch private pensions China has said it will launch an official private pension scheme that aims to push more of the country’s vast household savings into the financial market, as the government grapples with an ageing population.5. Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton join bid for Chelsea FC The US tennis legend and British Formula One driver are backing the bid led by City grandee Martin Broughton and private equity billionaires Josh Harris and David Blitzer, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Sign up for our Scoreboard newsletter for more on the business of sport. The days aheadEuropean leaders in New Delhi Following UK’s Boris Johnson’s meeting India’s Narendra Modi today, the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen will be in New Delhi on Sunday. The visits come at a time of simmering anxiety over its relations with Russia. More details in the latest Europe Express. Opinion: As Boris Johnson visits India, there is a rare opportunity for a bilateral reset on trade and defence, writes Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, member of the UK-India Advisory Council.French presidential election France on Sunday will vote on whether to give President Emmanuel Macron a second five-year term or entrust the presidency to his rightwing challenger Marine Le Pen. In Thursday’s debate, Macron accused his rival of being beholden to Vladimir Putin and of risking civil war with her plans to curb Islamism. But there are signs French Muslims have lost faith in Macron.Poll tracker: The race is a repeat of the 2017 election, in which Macron decisively defeated Le Pen with 66 per cent of the vote. The latest polling points to a far narrower outcome in this election.

You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.

Register here to attend the FT’s first Crypto and Digital Assets Summit on April 26-27. Be sure to check out the full line-up of events, including remarks from Changpeng Zhao, founder and chief executive of Binance.What else we’re readingThe Climate Game — can you reach net zero? Today the FT launches a game that puts you in charge of solving climate crisis. Can you cut emissions to net zero by 2050 while protecting nature and preserving livelihoods?

Global demographic trends create tough choices Richer countries that welcome and successfully integrate migrants will be able to smooth many of the financial pressures of ageing. Others will try to offer financial incentives to increase birth rates, even though they have scant evidence of their effectiveness. Cultural change to make lives easier for parents, especially mothers, will also be needed, writes Chris Giles.Will women leaders change the future of management? Office temperatures (mostly set at levels that suit men better than women) are a tiny reflection of a startling larger truth: the minimal imprint women have so far left on the “official” theory and practice of management. And as the technology of work directly affects the daily life of every employed human on the planet, that matters.Welcome to libertarian paradise The island of Sark in the English Channel is independently governed as part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, one of Britain’s three Crown dependencies. It has no income tax, no inheritance tax, no capital gains tax, no VAT and no employment laws of any kind. But is it the Ayn Rand-style haven it’s cracked up to be?Few galleries selling NFTs, despite the hype According to the 2022 Artsy Gallery Insights report by online sales platform Artsy, only 11 per cent of galleries sold NFTs in 2021, while 67 per cent say that their clients hadn’t even asked about them. Of those that did sell NFTs, half say their total sales value was $5,000 or less.Food & DrinkSince the invasion of Ukraine, bars and retailers have been delisting Russian brands in protest and, in some cases, theatrically pouring the liquor down the drain. What’s the alternative? Kyiv vodka, of course. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A White House adviser on Thursday suggested the United States could lower tariffs imposed on a host of non-strategic Chinese goods such as bicycles or apparel to help combat inflation.Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh said tariffs imposed by the former Trump government may have given the administration some negotiating leverage, but these tariffs served no strategic purpose, and China had similar non-strategic retaliatory tariffs in place.”So that’s the opportunity,” he told an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee. “It could be that in this moment of elevated inflation and China having its own very serious supply chain concerns … maybe there’s something we can do there.” Inflation is a critical concern for President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings are falling as the costs of energy, food and other staples increase, and his Democrats are at serious risk of losing their majorities in Congress in midterm congressional elections in November.U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has restarted an exclusion process that could lower tariffs on some Chinese goods, but has made no major moves to wholesale remove tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.The United States could use tariffs to advance strategic priorities such as strengthening critical supply chains and maintaining U.S. preeminence in foundational technologies and to support national security, Singh said.”For product categories that are not implicated by those objectives, there’s not much of a case for those tariffs being in place,” he said. “Why do we have tariffs on bicycles or apparel or underwear?” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in December said lowering Trump-era tariffs on imported goods from China through a revived exclusion process could help ease some inflationary pressures, although she stressed it would be no “game-changer.” Singh’s comments come as Washington is urging Beijing to refrain from undermining sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine.Singh said the Biden administration believed Chinese banks and companies were largely being cautious and steering clear of helping Russia to evade Western sanctions, and underscored China’s interest in continuing to trade with the West.Singh said it was clear that Chinese President Xi Jinping wanted to achieve supremacy through economic and technological dominance, but there were areas where the two countries could cooperate, including to combat climate change.He said Xi was likely to continue to rely on state-owned enterprises and national champions, and they would continue to receive very heavy government subsidies. More

Boris Johnson is to order another delay to the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on goods entering Britain from the EU, in an admission that piling new costs on imports would exacerbate the cost of living crisis.Full checks on imports from the bloc were supposed to come into effect on July 1, but the prime minister has sided with Tory rightwingers who argue that Brexit is an opportunity to cut red tape at the border.Johnson’s allies said it was “inevitable” that checks would be delayed again — for the fourth time since the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020. There is a live debate on the length of any new grace period.The prime minister signalled the move on a visit to India. “I’m generally in favour of minimal friction at all junctures between the UK and the EU,” he told reporters.“New technology will make some of the checks we have obsolete.” That was a reference to a promise by the government to create “the world’s most effective border” by 2025.Johnson’s allies confirmed one option being considered by ministers — and promoted by the likes of the Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg — was to refrain from new checks until the new border systems were in place.“Now is not the time to be piling new costs on companies,” said one colleague of the prime minister. It could mean that EU goods would enter the British market with minimal checks for years after the UK had left the bloc.Critics of Brexit have noted the irony that British exporters now face border costs when selling goods into the EU, while their counterparts in mainland Europe have their products waved through at the UK border with only loose checks.Goods arriving from the EU are not subject to safety and security declarations, while food and plant products are not physically checked. Rees-Mogg and former Brexit minister Lord David Frost have urged Johnson to extend the border checks “grace period”, which has been largely welcomed by companies that rely on a pan-European supply chain.But it is contentious within government with industry executives reporting that both the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade initially resisted a fourth delay.

Agrifood industry groups have broadly welcomed the move, given the additional pressures on supply chains caused by the Ukraine crisis.Dominic Goudie, head of international trade at the Food and Drink Federation, said that Ukraine was causing ingredient shortages and rising costs across the food and drink industry, with wheat, sunflower oil and white fish particularly affected. Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, added that a decision to delay checks again comes as no surprise, given that not all government systems and sites would be fully ready by July. “On balance, it’s better that these checks are introduced when preparations are fully complete,” he added. Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said that while a further delay entrenches unfairness between UK food exporters and EU-based businesses importing into UK, it was the correct move.“We import at least three times as much food from the EU than we export. The impact of additional cost and uncertainty for our imports will be felt across the UK food supply chain if the checks go ahead,” he added.The CBI, the employers’ organisation, said that while the move was “understandable”, given the strains on supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, in the longer term not applying checks “disadvantages UK exporters at a time when trade is already acting as a drag on growth”. More