Author: Blake Anderson

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.UK food inflation has risen to the highest rate in more than a year as dry weather hits fruit and vegetable harvests and pushes up prices, according to industry data. The annual rate of food inflation was 3.7 per cent in June, up from 2.8 per cent in May and the highest since March 2024, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday.Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “In the UK, fruit and vegetable prices increased due to the hot, dry…

UK health secretary Wes Streeting has said the use of robotics will be at the heart of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS and the drive to improve productivity.Robot-assisted surgeries will become standard for certain procedures, such as ear, nose and throat operations, and hospitals that fail to use this technology will be paid less, he told the Financial Times a week before his blueprint for reviving the NHS is published. “The thing that gives me the most excitement about what the NHS could be is the revolution in medical technology,” including the expansion of “pioneering robotics”, Streeting said. “We want…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.UK vehicle production collapsed in May to the lowest level since 1949 after US President Donald Trump’s tariff war forced Aston Martin and other British carmakers to halt their shipments to the US.Car and van production at British plants fell 33 per cent in May from a year earlier to 49,810 units, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders released on Friday showed. Output declined for the fifth consecutive month, marking the worst monthly performance in 76 years, excluding when vehicle factories…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Nearly “one child in every classroom” is now born through IVF in the UK with egg-freezing hitting a record high, the fertility regulator has said, as people increasingly delay parenthood against a backdrop of historically low birth rates.More single patients and female same-sex couples are opting for assisted fertility treatments, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority found, highlighting how the sector “could develop in the years to come”, according to chair Julia Chain.“IVF is helping more people have babies, including patients of…

Rising aviation emissions risk jeopardising the UK’s climate targets, independent government advisers have warned, with flights now contributing more greenhouse gas than the entire electricity supply sector.In its annual assessment of the UK’s progress on its net zero emissions goals, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said emissions from flights jumped by 9 per cent in 2024, while recognising progress had been made across many parts of the economy.“If emissions from aviation continue to rise it could put the UK’s future [climate] targets at risk. This is something we need to watch,” said Emily Nurse, CCC head of net zero.The sector’s…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Dozens of Labour MPs opposed to Sir Keir Starmer’s legislation that would cut welfare benefits are seeking to block its passage through parliament, in what would be a major blow to the prime minister’s reform programme.Up to 100 Labour MPs including 11 senior parliamentarians are supporting a so-called reasoned amendment to the welfare bill that seeks to stop the legislation undergoing its first major vote in the House of Commons next week, according to rebels.The large number of Labour MPs willing to…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldGermany will boost defence spending by more than two-thirds by 2029, outpacing France and the UK as Chancellor Friedrich Merz drives a massive rearmament of Europe’s largest country in the face of an aggressive Russia and a volatile America.German military expenditure is projected to reach €162bn in 2029, up from €95bn this year, according to budget plans seen by the Financial Times which are due to be presented by finance minister Lars Klingbeil on Tuesday. The amount includes about €8.5bn…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldDonald Trump has signed an executive order directing US government agencies to implement his trade deal with the UK.The president’s order will “operationalise” the US-UK agreement, under which Trump agreed to cut a 27.5 per cent American tariff on cars to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 vehicles shipped from the UK each year. The deal will also ensure UK exports of jet engines and other aerospace parts to the US are spared from US tariffs, according to people…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The US has fallen out of the top three growth markets for UK manufacturers for the first time in nearly four decades, according to an industry survey that highlights the impact of higher tariffs.In May, just 18 per cent of British manufacturers expected “positive demand conditions” in the US over the next three months, less than 56 per cent for Europe, 23 per cent for the Middle East and 20 per cent for Asia, according to a quarterly survey by manufacturers association…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.VodafoneThree is aiming to more than double its broadband business by 2034, as the newly formed leader in the UK mobile market pledges to create thousands of jobs and upgrade its network. The company — formed last week by the £16.5bn merger of Vodafone’s UK operations and CK Hutchison’s Three UK — plans to grow its broadband customer base from 2mn to 4.3mn over the next eight years.Ahead of VodafoneThree’s launch event on Wednesday chief executive Max Taylor told the Financial Times…