BUSINESS LIVE: CPI falls to 3.9%; Kin and Carta takeover bid upped; Home REIT value slumps

UK shoppers have lost almost £300 million to online shopping scams since 2019, new figures reveal today.

Ministers have been accused of overseeing an ‘epidemic’ of web retail fraud that has deepened since the Covid pandemic.

LBG Media shares fell over 5 per cent on Wednesday after the LADbible owner revealed weaker profitability in its Australian arm.

The group told investors it expects to report full-year earnings before nasties of £15.7million, reflecting growth of 8 per cent year-on-year, weighed by a roughly £3million fall in the profitability of its Australian arm.

Petrofac shares jumped by more than half on Wednesday after the group revealed a $1.4billion (£1.1billion) contract.

The London Stock Exchange Group will waive lock-up restrictions on shares linked to a management incentive plan, leaving ex-Refinitiv execs in-line for payouts.

Participants of the program will be able to dispose of their stocks held from 29 January, with the former management team at Refinitiv set to receive share awards.

Home REIT’s property portfolio is now worth less than half what the company spent to buy its estate, an independent valuer has determined.

London-based technology consultancy Kin and Carta has accepted a new and higher cash takeover deal offer by private equity firm Valtech.

Valtech will pay 130p per share to acquire Kin and Carta, formerly known as St Ives, valuing it at around £239million.

The so-called Santa rally was handed a boost on Tuesday after fresh data showed a shock slump in consumer price inflation last month.

Heading online to do some last-minute Christmas shopping is not without risk. But that’s just what millions of Brits are doing this week – and they will be hoping their presents arrive in time for the big day.

Some of the responsibility for that will fall to Royal Mail – with the postal service under huge pressure to perform better than it did last Christmas when strikes caused chaos.

The pound could hit $1.35 against the US dollar next year, experts at Goldman Sachs predict – but a top bond manager has warned the UK economy risks a ‘hard landing’.

A surge for sterling could boost British holidaymakers and would be a far cry from the aftermath of last year’s disastrous mini-Budget when it plunged to a record low of less than $1.04.

Asda’s co-owner has insisted he is the best person to run the debt-laden grocer as an 18-month hunt for a chief executive drags on.

Mohsin Issa led a highly leveraged takeover in 2021, backed by his brother Zuber and private equity group TDR Capital that saddled Asda with huge loans just before interest rates sky-rocketed.

Two women have emerged as front-runners to take over at BP after Bernard Looney was forced to quit in disgrace – though they face stiff competition.

The oil giant has been in turmoil since Looney resigned as chief executive in September for failing to be ‘fully transparent’ about personal relationships with colleagues.

Kevin Bright, global leader of the Consumer Pricing Practice at McKinsey & Company:

‘The prices of some staple ingredients are still significantly higher than they were two years ago. For example, the world commodity prices of sugar is up by 32% over this period, while UK sugar prices are up more than 69% over the same time frame.

‘At the same time, world commodity prices of wheat, sunflower oil, and palm oil, have fallen by 25%, 33% and 38% respectively. However, these declines are only just starting to find their way to the shelf. For example, wheat price decreases led to a drop in the price of bread and cereals of 0.8% versus October 2023.

‘One reason for this is because many consumer-packaged goods companies are yet to see their margins return to pre-inflation levels, with most still operating with margins that are 2-3% below 2021 levels.

‘These companies will look to recover this margin compression over time – but with there being a high level of “pricing fatigue” amongst retailers and consumers, these companies are looking to adjust promotion investments, reduce discounting, and shift to a more profitable product mix to rebuild margins. ‘

Thomas Pugh, economist at RSM UK:

‘Inflation is now almost a full percentage below the forecast the MPC made only back in November. If this trend continues it suggests that the MPC may be able to start cutting interest rates as early as May.

‘The sharp drop in inflation will also be important for the labour market. Real wage growth will pick up sharply in Q4, which should help the economy to avoid a recession at the end of the year. The sharp fall in November should also help to anchor inflation expectations slow nominal wage growth, reducing one of the key risks for the MPC.

‘Inflation will probably hover around current levels for the rest of the year before taking another leg down in the spring. However, while today’s data is good news for the economy it is worth sounding a note of caution. Services inflation at 6.3% is still far too high for the MPC to be comfortable with and unless wage growth slows sharply, the MPC may not be ready to cut interest rates as early as the market is now pricing in.’

A third of UK chief executives have considered moving their listing overseas, according to figures that deliver a fresh blow to London’s stock exchange.

The findings from advisory firm Teneo show 32 per cent of bosses have discussed with their board the possibility of moving away from the UK market.

It comes a day after a senior executive at US exchange Nasdaq admitted it was on the hunt for more British companies to list in New York.

Ed Monk, associate director at Fidelity International:

‘Another significant drop in inflation in November only adds to the case that interest rates will fall sooner than expected. The Bank of England has been talking tough, but price rises appear on a rapid decline back towards the Bank’s target range and it may soon be that the risk for rate-setters is not under-tightening but over-tightening.

‘The last portion of above-target inflation may still prove difficult to shift – wages may have peaked but remain high by historical standards – and the Bank of England will want to be sure that enough demand has seeped out of the economy before it eases borrowing costs.

‘For investors, today’s fall in inflation is good news and may add to the momentum in markets that has been gathering for the past month or so. However, markets are priced for perfection, with inflation falling back to target next year with no accompanying recession. Anything less than that could see a sharp correction to today’s market levels.

‘The further fall in inflation means cash savers should continue to see a real terms return on their money. Savers should understand, however, that falling inflation benefits not only cash returns but also those of risk-assets like shares, where returns this year have far exceeded those from cash accounts.‘

Consumer price inflation fell to 3.9 per cent in November, down from 4.6 per cent in October and lower than economist forecasts of 4.4 per cent, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics shows.