Volvo Cars said on Thursday 2023 was likely to be another challenging year, despite healthy demand for its vehicles, as the Swedish carmaker reported a fall in quarterly profit.

Although Shell and BP have headquarters in London, they are multinational companies operating in many countries with different fiscal regimes.

Shoppers around the world will pay even more for groceries this year than they did in 2022, according to retailers, consumer goods firms and investors, unless commodity costs decline or the shift to cheaper store-brand products accelerates.

BP on Tuesday also said its carbon emissions would not fall as quickly as anticipated.

Reports estimate £4.3 billion was been written off as being lost to fraudsters since the start of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

The Bank of England has signalled the tide is turning in its battle against high inflation after a series of interest rate hikes - but it has also said it is too soon declare victory.

French railway worker Franck Viger-Brunet says he and his comrades have to count carefully the costs of going on strike to force President Emmanuel Macron to back down on plans to hike the retirement age by two years to 64.

The National Education Union declared seven days of walkouts in February and March after nine out of 10 union teacher members voted for strike action.

Since at least the early 1980s, household debt-to-income ratios have been increasing dramatically.

Since industrial action first started to gather speed last year, concerns have been raised about a wage-price spiral causing entrenched inflation.

British private-sector economic activity fell at its fastest rate in two years in January, a survey showed on Tuesday, as businesses blamed higher Bank of England interest rates, strikes and weak consumer demand for the slowdown.

The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the current year.

Pay growth in Britain - which is being closely watched by the Bank of England as it gauges how much higher to raise interest rates - picked up more pace in the three months to November, official data showed on Tuesday.

Strikes disrupting swathes of the British economy look likely to intensify this week, with teachers ready to announce industrial action, according to the Sunday Times, and nurses warning their strikes could double in size next month.

Britain's economy unexpectedly grew in November as consumers splurged during the World Cup, official data showed Friday, but analysts warned that it remains on course for recession due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Steps taken by the government so far to try to generate growth have been questionable.

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd on Wednesday said it would raise wages by as much as 40%, a clear sign that Japan's rock-bottom salaries may be starting to budge after decades of deflation and cost-cutting.

UK rail staff disrupted the New Year return to work on Tuesday in the latest strike action by workers in a range of sectors over the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

Military personnel stood in for passport control staff at UK airports on Friday as Border Force officers walked out in an escalating wave of public sector strikes over pay.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay, writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, accused the unions of making a "conscious decision" to "inflict harm" on patients.

British public borrowing unexpectedly jumped last month to hit its highest for any November on record, reflecting the mounting cost of energy subsidies, debt interest and the reversal of an increase in payroll taxes, official figures showed on Wednesday.

In Britain, the damage wrought by rampant inflation can be seen in the fate of the humble egg.

UK nurses stage unprecedented walkout

British inflation slowed more than expected in November but remained near the highest level in more than 40 years, official data showed Wednesday, as a cost-of-living crisis sparks fresh UK strikes.

The Bank of England will add another 50 basis points to Bank Rate next week and take borrowing costs to 3.50%, despite the economy falling into recession, as it battles inflation running at more than five times its target, a Reuters poll found.

Turkey's inflation slowed in November for the first time since May 2021, official data showed on Monday, delivering a boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of next year's election.

At a vast warehouse in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, automated cranes and driverless vehicles silently stack clothes for the French and Italian stores of retailer Primark, reducing the need for hard-to-come-by labour.

Wage increases are usually set by collective bargaining between the Austrian Economic Chambers and unions representing different branches.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt will bury Britain's failed "Trussonomics" experiment on Thursday by cutting spending and raising taxes, moves that he and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak say are needed to restore investor confidence.

Thursday's government budget is unlikely to be uppermost in the minds of people enjoying the annual light show on the seafront promenade of Blackpool.