More travel chaos looms as thousands of Network Rail staff threaten new strike

Good morning.

We begin the day with a stark reminder of how the cost-of-living disaster is consuming away at family budgets.

Actual-terms pay excluding bonuses tumbled 3.4pc in April, marking the most important decline since data started in 2001, in response to the most recent ONS figures.

Over the three months to April, they fell 2.2pc, which is the most important drop in a decade. Whereas bonuses are serving to to cushion among the blow, not all staff are benefiting.

The numbers present how pay rises are failing to maintain tempo with hovering costs, with general earnings rising at lower than half the speed of inflation.

The figures spotlight the problem confronted by the Financial institution of England forward of this week’s rate of interest resolution, because the MPC seems to stability spiralling inflation with the chance of a recession.

5 issues to begin your day 

1) Booming housing market creates 36,000 millionaires in a year  Britain now boasts 609,000 high-net-worth people 

2) Shell plans to expand amid energy market chaos  The FTSE 100 firm plans to speculate £20bn-£25bn within the UK 

3) How the Bank of England got it wrong again on Britain’s slide towards recession  Britain’s restoration from the pandemic has been derailed by the price of residing disaster 

4) Binance ‘pauses’ Bitcoin withdrawals amid market collapse  Markets in chaos as Bitcoin falls to its lowest degree since December 2020

5) Tesco accused of ripping off Lidl logo to ‘ride on discounter’s coattails’  Grocer hits again that the yellow circle trademark is ‘a figment of Lidl’s authorized creativeness’

What occurred in a single day 

Fairness markets tumbled once more on Tuesday to increase a worldwide rout fuelled by fears of recession, with the Federal Reserve getting ready to ramp up rates of interest as inflation exhibits no signal of slowing. 

That has ramped up fears that the world’s prime economic system is heading for a recession, and on Monday Wall Avenue plunged with the broad-based S&P 500 sinking right into a bear market after dropping greater than 20 p.c from its current peak.

And the promoting continued in Asia, with Sydney tanking 5 p.c at one level because it reopened after a vacation weekend to meet up with Monday’s drama, whereas Tokyo was off round two p.c and Wellington greater than three p.c.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Manila have been additionally deep within the crimson.

Arising immediately

• Company: Ashtead Group, FirstGroup, Oxford Devices, Paragon Banking Group (full-year outcomes); Crest Nicholson, discoverIE Group, Ferguson (interims); Bellway (buying and selling assertion)
• Economics: Unemployment fee (UK), claimant rely change (UK), common earnings (UK), inflation (Ger), financial sentiment (EU), producer value index (US)