BUSINESS LIVE: GDP shrinks 0.1%; Oil prices rise; Retail sales volumes jump

Oil prices tipped above $80 per barrel on Friday after shipping firms reduced their traffic through the Red Sea following a series of attacks.

Brent Crude futures were 0.9 per cent up at $80.32 in morning trading, its highest price since the end of November, before dipping back to $79.76 during the early afternoon, according to Morningstar.

Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S, more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot.

Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems.

A visitor levy in Scotland would be ‘unlikely’ to have a detrimental impact on local authority areas, a Holyrood committee has said in a report.

The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee published its stage one report on the Visitor Levy Bill on Thursday.

AMTE Power bit the bullet and filed for administration this week, bringing a seemingly inevitable close to the lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells manufacturer’s tribulations.

In a statement, the group said it had appointed FRP Advisory after failing to secure funding from an investor.

(PA) – Unilever has agreed to buy fast-growing premium haircare brand K18 as it continues to shake up its stable of brands.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes after Unilever sold off some of its weaker performing brands in recent months.

Earlier this week, the consumer giant announced it will sell a group of more than 20 brands including Timotei shampoo and Impulse body spray to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners.

The firm also sold off its Dollar Shave Club business in October.

K18 meanwhile is a rapidly growing business specialising in hair masks and other products to address hair damage, with celebrity fans including Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez.

The brand, which was founded in 2020 by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox, has been buoyed by surging popularity through social media, recording around 20 billion TikTok views.

Vasiliki Petrou, Unilever Prestige chief executive officer, said: “We are thrilled to continue to grow our Unilever Prestige portfolio in high-growth premium spaces with the addition of K18.

“This acquisition complements our fast-growing portfolio of premium, culturally relevant consumer brands.

“What Suveen, Britta and the team have created is a testament to the importance of brands built on unparalleled science, product efficacy and community love.”

Retail purchases increased faster than expected last month as British consumers opted for early Black Friday and Christmas shopping.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that UK retail sales volumes grew by 1.3 per cent in November, far surpassing the 0.4 per cent rise economists were predicting.

There are some potential bank launches in the pipeline for 2024 and savers could see three new banks coming to the market next year, a banking insider says.

At a time when fixed-rate bonds are being cut, one of them could start off by launching fixed-rate bonds.

eremy Hunt today said lower interest rates could give him room to cut taxes in the spring Budget ahead of the general election.

The Chancellor insisted the Government plans to reduce the tax burden ‘if we are able to’ – but warned he will not know what is possible until the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts next year.

Ask the average founder or chief executive what gets them out of bed, and most mumble a mistruth about making a difference, while quietly pocketing a seven-figure salary.

Not Charlie Mullins. ‘Money motivates me,’ declares the spiky-haired entrepreneur who sold Pimlico Plumbers to US home services giant Neighborly in 2021 for £140million.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor:

‘UK retail sales rose by 1.3% month-on-month in November, outpacing analysts’ expectations for a rise of 0.4%. However over the three months to November, sales dropped by 0.8% versus the previous three months.

‘The Black Friday, Cyber Monday shopping weekend provided a much-needed boost to the languishing retail sector, particularly household goods retailers, clothes shops and department stores. Supermarkets also benefitted with shoppers stocking up on specialist food and drinks for the festive season.

‘Consumers, who are particularly price sensitive amid the cost-of-living crisis have been capitalising on these discount opportunities, carrying out their Christmas shopping in November, earlier than normal. While there was a notable pick up in spending in November versus October, the broader trend continues to point to a slowdown in retail spending with January likely to be even more difficult for the sector, which is having to rely more and more on discounts and promotions, which eat into margins.’

Stanley Gibbons looks set to fall into administration as part of a plan to secure the future of the 167-year-old rare stamp dealer.

The firm, which one of the most prominent names in the stamp and coin collecting world, will appoint administrators at PricewaterhouseCooper as soon as today.

Deciding on where to put your money at the moment isn’t easy.

Thomas Pugh, economist at RSM UK:

‘The sharp rise in retail sales volumes in November should help to allay fears that the economy contracted again in Q4 after shrinking by 0.1% in Q3.

‘The fact that retail sales were strong across the board chimes with many surveys, including the RSMUK MMBI Q4 results, which suggests that the economy continued to eke out some growth in the final quarter of the year. Indeed, there are good reasons to expect consumer spending to rise in Q4 and through next year. The sharp fall in inflation in November means real wages are now rising and should increase sharply over the next year as inflation drops more steeply than wage growth.

‘What’s more, consumer confidence has almost completely recovered from its sharp drop in October, although it is still below its pre-crisis level. That will prompt consumers to spend more rather than save.

‘However, for a large portion of households any increase in incomes will just be eaten up by higher mortgage and rent costs, reducing their disposable income. As a result, while we do expect consumer spending and retail sales volumes to gradually rise, we aren’t expecting a boom in consumer spending.’

Shares in Britain’s biggest North Sea oil and gas producer soared after a near-£9billion deal put it on course to become a major global player.

On a bumper day for investors ahead of the Christmas break, Harbour Energy jumped 21.1 per cent, or 51.5p, to 295.5p after it agreed to buy Wintershall Dea’s non-Russian assets for £8.8billion.

Two of the world’s biggest film and TV studios, Warner Brothers and Paramount, are in talks to merge to take on rivals such as Netflix and Disney.

David Zaslav, the head of Warner, met Paramount chief executive Bob Bakish in New York this week to discuss a tie-up, according to reports.

While the discussions are thought to only have been an expression of interest, a merger would create a media titan worth nearly £30billion.

Oil prices are up as much as 1 per cent today as tensions persist in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, although Angola’s decision to leave OPEC raised questions over the group’s effectiveness in supporting prices.

Brent crude futures were up to $80.09 a barrel by 7am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.9 per cent to $74.55 a barrel.

Both of the contracts have risen for a second week, each up over 4 per cent, as the shipping concerns buoyed prices.

A major investor in payments app Revolut has admitted being ‘impatient’ at its prolonged attempt to gain a UK banking licence.

The fintech firm insisted in March it would be granted a licence imminently – but 297 days later it is still waiting.

The ONS also reported that UK retail sales volumes rose by 1.3 per cent in November compared with the month before, beating economist forecasts of 0.4 per cent growth.

Retail sales were 0.1 per cent higher than in November 2022, far exceeding forecasts of a 1.3 per cent slump.

Excluding sales of petrol, sales volumes rose 1.3 per cent on the month and were 0.3 per cent

higher compared with November 2022.

The UK economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, revised down from previous estimates of flat growth for the period, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics shows.