Gas prices jump to 2024 high after Ukraine attack

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Gas prices have jumped to their highest point this year following reports of Ukraine’s attack on Russia.
The European benchmark contract on Wednesday jumped as much as 5.7pc to €38.78 (£33.33) a megawatt-hour, surpassing the previous intraday high recorded in early June.
The surge came amid reports that Ukrainian troops have seized a key gas-transit point in the Russian town of Sudzha. The border town is the only remaining shipment point for the Russian natural gas passing through Ukraine to Europe. 
The update was posted on an unofficial Russian military blog and could not be independently verified. However, the reports raised alarm among traders who had been on alert for disruptions to fuel supply.
Ukraine’s gas transit operator on Wednesday said that Gazprom will continue to ship gas through the country to the continent despite the clashes.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, accused Ukraine of a “large-scale provocation” after sending hundreds of troops into Russia’s Kursk region, marking the biggest assault on Russian territory since his 2022 invasion of its neighbour. 
That’s all from us! I’ll leave you with this latest update: NASA is working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on back-up plans to return two astronauts to Earth.
The US space agency is working with the space craft manufacturer on contingency plans to bring the astronauts back to Earth if they’re unable to return on the troubled Boeing craft which initially carried them to space.
NASA on Wednesday said astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams could travel back to Earth around February with a two-person crew on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. 
The mission is set to launch to the International Space Station in September. 
Publishing immigration law firms as potential targets for disorder could be considered a terrorism offence, Britain’s top prosecutor has warned. 
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, said: 
“We’ve all read or seen on the news reports of far right groups publishing information about named individuals or immigration law firms, for instance, encouraging activity affecting those individuals.
“The fact that it’s organised groups that might be motivated by ideological reasons, the fact that they’re promoting potentially very serious offences – that’s the sort of instance where we might want to consider terrorism charges.”
Mr Parkinson, who is in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service, said that no terrorism charges had yet been brought in connection with violence across the country.
Gas prices have jumped to their highest point this year following reports of Ukraine’s attack on Russia.
The European benchmark contract on Wednesday jumped as much as 5.7pc to €38.78 (£33.33) a megawatt-hour, surpassing the previous intraday high in early June.
The surge came amid reports that Ukrainian troops seized a key gas-transit point in the Russian town of Sudzha.
Sudzha is the only remaining shipment point for the Russian natural gas passing through Ukraine to Europe. 
The update was posted on an unofficial Russian military blog and could not be independently verified. 
However, the reports raised alarm among traders who had been on alert for disruptions to fuel supply.
Ukraine’s gas transit operator on Wednesday said that Gazprom will continue to ship gas through the country to the continent despite the clashes.
Gazprom on Wednesday said it would send 39.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe through Ukraine, down from the 42mcm typically sent on a daily basis.
The FTSE 100 has closed up 1.75pc to 8,166.88 after being boosted by top risers Entain, Pershing Square and Vodafone. 
The midcap FTSE 250 index climbed 1pc to 20,576.03.
Brian Chesky, chief executive of Airbnb, has responded to the property company’s record share price slump:
I’m confident it’s a good time to buy
The holiday lettings business plunged as much as 14.9pc after it revealed bookings increased 8.7pc to 125.1m in the second quarter, which was well below analyst estimates.
The California-based company has since paired its losses, with its share now down by almost 13pc.
Bensons for Beds has bought 19 Carpetright stores following carpet retailer’s collapse. 
The bed specialist also said it hopes to create job opportunities for former Carpetright staff when it reopens the stores under its brand.
Carpetright entered administration last month after struggling in the face of weaker demand and a major cyber attack in April.
The company employed 1,852 people and operated 273 stores across the UK before entering insolvency.
Rival flooring company Tapi subsequently swooped in and bought Carpetright’s brand, intellectual property, plus 54 stores and two warehouses.
A recruiter who claimed she was unfairly forced out of her job for discussing her “gold star” sex life at work has lost a legal claim against her former employer.
Charlotte Tilley sued Gravitas Recruitment Group for sex discrimination, victimisation and unauthorised deduction from wages over her treatment, claiming she was hounded out.
Ms Tilley had been accused of making colleagues “feel uncomfortable by frequently hugging them from behind”, viewing “inappropriate imagery during working hours” and making “inappropriate comments” to her co-workers.
She was also accused of making graphic comments about her sex life.
Employment editor Lucy Burton has the full story
The so-called investor “fear gauge” has dropped sharply in the US as stock markets rallied around the world.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index – known as the Vix – has dropped by about 20pc today.
It surged by as much as 181pc on Monday as stocks were dumped around the world amid fears that the US economy was heading for recession.
The Vix recorded a 28pc drop on Tuesday as calm was restored and Bank of Japan officials insisted they would not raise interest rates while financial markets were in turmoil.
You can see the rapid drop in the index here. With that I am heading off as Adam Mawardi steps into the hotseat to send you live updates.
Airbnb shares have suffered their biggest drop since the company began trading in 2020 after it warned holidaymakers were leaving it until the last minute to book breaks.
The holiday lettings business plunged as much as 14.9pc after it revealed bookings rose 8.7pc to 125.1m in the second quarter, which was well below analyst estimates.
It warned of a “sequential moderation” in bookings growth in the third quarter, forecasting its slowest pace of growth in four years.
Airbnb said it’s “seeing shorter booking lead times globally and some signs of slowing demand from US guests”.
Second-quarter revenue beat estimates, jumping 11pc to $2.8bn (£2.2bn).
Stocks are bouncing higher on Wall Street again as a bit more fear washes out of global markets following their steep slides that began on Friday.
The S&P 500 was 1.4pc higher in early trading and on pace for a back-to-back gain of at least 1pc following a brutal three-day losing streak where it tumbled a bit more than 6pc. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 430 points, or 1.1pc, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.9pc higher.
The so-called “fear gauge” on Wall Street, known as the Vix index, was down nearly 19pc after jumping more than 181pc at one stage on Monday.
Almost a quarter of Gen Z claim to have long-term mental health conditions, new figures show, fuelling a surge in worklessness that threatens to derail Rachel Reeves’s growth plans.
Our deputy economics editor Tim Wallace has the details:
A survey carried out by PwC revealed that more than 1m 18 to 24-year-olds were struggling with their mental health, which accounted for 22pc of the Gen Z age group.
That is compared to an average of 8pc across the entire population, demonstrating the challenge facing the Government as it seeks to get youngsters back into work.
The current number of people who are economically inactive – defined as being of working age but neither in work nor looking for a job – is 9.4m, up from 8.4m before the pandemic.
This chart shows how mental health conditions are driving long-term sickness.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher as technology stocks gained after policymakers at the Bank of Japan calmed investor worries over interest rates after a surprise rise last week helped trigger a sell-off in global markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 232.4 points, or 0.6pc, at the open to 39,230.09.
The S&P 500 rose 53.1 points, or 1pc to 5,293.13, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 255.5 points, or 1.6pc, to 16,622.31.
Wholesale gas prices have risen amid reports that Ukrainian troops have seized a key fuel transit point.
Dutch front-month futures, the European benchmark, have climbed as much as 5.3pc after an unofficial Russian miliutaryt blog said the Russian town of Sudzha near the Ukraine border had been won.
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom declined to comment, as did Ukraine’s defence ministry, but the report raised alarm about disruptions to supplies.
Sudzha is the only remaining gas intake point for Russian pipeline gas going to Europe via Ukraine.
The UK’s equivalent gas contract has risen as much as 4.8pc.
Giorgia Meloni’s government has announced it will double its wealth tax on foreign residents in a blow to rich expats living in Italy.
Rome has announced that the €100,000 (£86,000) a year payment will rise to €200,000 (£172,000).
Although an initial blow to wealthy individuals, the payment exempts billionaires who have moved to Italy from taxes on overseas earnings, gifts and inheritance for 15 years.
The flat levy was introduced in 2017 and is now used by about 4,000 people.
Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told a press conference: “The measure that has caused a lot of noise is the doubling of the flat tax for billionaires who decide to transfer their tax domicile to Italy.”
Italy’s populist prime minister Ms Meloni has been looking for ways to raise more revenue amid a squeeze on Italy’s public finances before her autumn’s budget.
The pound has bounced back after suffered steep losses during the global financial turmoil.
Sterling was up 0.3pc against the dollar to $1.273, having fallen 2.5pc since breaking above $1.30 on July 17.
The pound was up 0.4pc versus the euro, which was worth to 85.8p.
Riots will not deter overseas investors from putting money into Britain, the boss of Legal & General (L&G) has said.
Our reporter Michael Bow has the latest:
António Simões, chief executive of the pensions giant, said there was “no correlation” between the recent unrest seen across the country and the appetite of international companies to invest.
When asked whether foreign funds might steer clear of Britain, he said: “That’s not my view, I don’t see that. Most investors invest on the basis of the fundamentals of the economy.”
Britain’s brightening economic prospects, including high wage growth and falling inflation, were more important factors, he added.
Read about Mr Simões’ radical overhaul of Britain’s largest insurer and fund manager.
Disney returned to profit in the third quarter of its financial year as its streaming business started making money for the first time and the movie Inside Out 2 broke box office records.
The entertainment giant earned $2.6bn (£2.1bn), or $1.43 per share, compared to a loss of $460m (£361m) over the same period last year.
It revealed its combined streaming business became profitable for the first time, a day after announcing the price of a Disney+ subscription will climb by as much as 25pc.
The company has also been boosted by the release of Inside Out 2, which has become the highest grossing animated film of all time, making more than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) since it was released in June.
The release also helped drive more than 1.3m sign ups to Disney+ and 100m views of the original Inside Out.
Disney now anticipates full-year adjusted earnings per share growth of 30pc.
US stock indexes jumped in premarket trading as confidence returned after the steep selloff earlier in the week.
Big technology stocks extended their rebound, rising more than 1pc ahead of the opening bell.
Wall Street’s main indexes ended Tuesday with healthy gains after comments from Federal Reserve officials eased worries of a recession following lacklustre economic data last week.
The spotlight shifted back to company earnings, with Super Micro Computer down 12.7pc after reporting quarterly adjusted gross margin below estimates. Rival Dell Technologies dropped 2.4pc.
Airbnb slid 16pc after the company forecast third-quarter revenue below estimates and warned of shorter booking windows, suggesting travelelrs were waiting until the last minute to book due to economic uncertainty.
In premarket trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9pc, the S&P 500 had gained 1.3pd and the Nasdaq 100 had risen 1.5pc.
Oil has risen amid the wider recovery from the global market rout, although investors remain on edge over the possibility of a conflict in the Middle East.
International benchmark Brent crude was up 1.6pc towards $78 a barrel amid a stock markets rally. 
US-produced West Texas Intermediate was up 1.6pc to more than $74 but traders are bracing for a potential attack by Iran on Israel as payback for the assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. 
The broader region accounts for about a third of the world’s oil production.
Oil was also being held back by reduced production at Libya’s Sharara oilfield amid political protests. 
Hewlett Packard’s planned $14bn (£11bn) takeover of networking tools maker Juniper has been given the green light by regulators.
The Competition and Markets Authority cleared the merger after launching an initial investigation in June.
Hewlett Packard expects to double its networking business through the deal.
Asset manager H20 has been ordered to repay investors €250m (£215m) after regulators found it failed to carry out proper due diligence on high risk investments.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that the London-based asset management company had committed “serious breaches” on investments relating to the Tennor Group of companies owned by German financier Lars Windhorst.
The regulator said it had found at least 50 instances where staff at H20, which at one point had around €30bn (£27bn) of assets under management, had received hospitality that was not properly declared, including the use of a superyacht and private jet.
It said H2O also provided false and misleading statements and documentation to the regulator, such as fabricated records and minutes of meetings.
The FCA said it would have issued a “substantial fine” but has instead agreed the firm will make €250m available to all those whose investments remain trapped, while H20 will apply to cancel its UK authorisation by the end of the year. 
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement at the FCA, said:
H2O’s job was to manage its funds properly and protect investors. It failed to do this and, to make matters worse, it repeatedly provided misleading information to the FCA.
Through this settlement the FCA has secured money for affected investors and agreement that H2O will stop operating regulated business in the UK.
To recap where we are today, world shares have after a Bank of Japan official suggested the central bank would refrain from raising interest rates while markets are unstable.
Germany’s Dax added 1.3pc to 17,578.10, as an increase in factory output in June offset concern over weaker-than-expected exports.
The Cac 40 in Paris gained 1.6pc to 7,241.12.21. In London, the FTSE 100 was 0.9pc higher at 8,096.25.
US markets are on track to open higher later, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 1.2pc higher at 35,089.62. 
It soared more than 10pc on Tuesday, recovering a large share of the losses it suffered Monday, its worst day since 1987.
The gains followed remarks by a Bank of Japan official who noted that even though the central bank had raised interest rates a week earlier – to 0.25pc from 0.1pc – monetary policy remains lax.
The interest rate hike last week set in motion a domino effect of selling by traders to adjust to higher costs for carry trades — a favourite trade for hedge funds and other investors — due to higher interest rates and a rise in the value of the Japanese yen against the US dollar. 
That accentuated the scale of the declines, especially in Tokyo.
EasyJet cancelled plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv amid mounting concern about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Our transport industry editor Christopher Jasper has the details:
The discount airline has said that it will no longer fly to the Israeli city this winter. Services that were scheduled to resume on Oct. 27 have been put back more than five months to March 29, which marks the start of its summer 2025 season.
Customers with bookings between the two dates will be offered a full refund, according to EasyJet, which pulled out of Israel in April after a series of drone and missile strikes by Iran.
The decision comes after Virgin Atlantic revealed that executives will meet to reconsider its resumption of flights to Tel Aviv, currently scheduled for Sept. 5. Virgin hasn’t served the route since the Hamas attacks on southern Israel last October.
International carriers including United Airlines, Delta and KLM that had already restarted flights suspended them this week amid concern that the Gaza conflict may be about to erupt into a regional war. Lufthansa said it will also avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until next Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Iran and its proxies may attack Israel in the coming days following the assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander and Hamas’s top political leader, leading to likely retaliation from Benjamin Netanyahu.
British Airways is continuing to serve Tel Aviv, with crews overnighting crews in Cyprus to guarantee their safety, though a spokesman said it is closely monitoring the situation. Wizz Air briefly suspended flights from Luton this week but later resumed operations.
Honda revealed record quarterly profits after strong sales of its hybrid vehicles in the US and Japan.
The firm said net profit rose 8.7pc to 394.6 billion yen (£2.1bn) in the three months to June, while sales jumped 16.9pc to 5.4 trillion yen.
It maintained its annual net profit target of 1 trillion yen on sales of 20.3 trillion yen.
Honda said its car business was “robust” during the quarter, helped by price increases for hybrid models at home and the United States, along with a weaker yen.
But overall vehicle unit sales fell because of weaker sales in China, where the company reported intensifying competition.
In its motorcycle operations, global sales volume increased, mainly in India and Brazil, while sales fell in Thailand.
Japanese investment giant SoftBank reduced its losses in its financial first quarter and announced a major share buyback to reassure investors and help finance a pivot into artificial intelligence.
SoftBank posted a net loss of 174.3bn yen (£930m) in the three months to June, a big improvement on the 477.6bn yen (£2.6bn) loss seen a year earlier.
It announce a share buyback worth up to 500bn yen following pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, Bloomberg News reported.
SoftBank, which was founded by the charismatic Masayoshi Son, made its name through spectacularly successful bets on tech giant Alibaba and internet pioneer Yahoo.
But other investments have also catastrophically failed, most notably in office-sharing firm WeWork.
Me Son, 66, now wants to pivot towards investments in artificial intelligence firms, with its coffers boosted by proceeds from the initial public offering of chip designer Arm in 2023.
Rachel Reeves has urged UK pension schemes to invest more in the British economy and told them to take inspiration from funds in Canada, as she meets with bosses of retirement funds in the country.
The Chancellor called on pension funds to “learn lessons from the Canadian model and fire up the UK economy”.
She will host a roundtable with the so-called ‘Maple 8’ group of Canadian retirement funds in Toronto today, who have invested billions of pounds in the UK economy in recent years.
Ms Reeves said:
The size of Canadian pension schemes means they can invest far more in productive assets like vital infrastructure than ours do.
I want British schemes to learn lessons from the Canadian model and fire up the UK economy, which would deliver better returns for savers and unlock billions of pounds of investment.
We’re already beginning to see schemes announce plans to invest. That’s a vote of confidence in our work to fix the foundations of the economy, rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.
The US will avoid a recession, the boss of Goldman Sachs has said, as the turmoil in global markets shows signs of easing.
David Solomon said the Federal Reserve would resist announcing an emergency cut in interest rates despite the fears of a downturn which helped trigger a sharp sell-off in stocks around the world.
At one point on Monday, derivatives markets indicated there was a 60pc that the Fed would announce a rate cut within a week.
Traders are pricing in 100pc chance of a rate cut at the next meeting in September, with a 58pc chance that the reduction will be by half a percentage point.
Mr Solomon told The David Rubenstein Show:
I don’t expect that you’ll see anything before September. 
The economy will chug along and we probably won’t see a recession.
Based on the economic data we’re seeing now and the messaging from the Fed, I think it’s likely that we’ll see a cut or two in the fall.
Vodafone has said it will hand €500m (£430m) back to shareholders over the coming months, as part of a broader plan to boost investor returns.
The telecoms giant said the latest stage of its share buyback programme will last until November 29, and that it had hired Goldman Sachs to carry it out.
It comes after Vodafone committed to return €2bn to shareholders in March, after selling its Spanish business earlier this year.
Shares rose 2.1pc on the news.
Vodafone is midway through a turnaround plan which has included selling off its Italian and Spanish businesses and cutting thousands of jobs.
The FTSE 100 has rebounded as markets stabilised after a global stocks rout earlier this week.
Britain’s flagship index gained 1pc as it was boosted by financial stocks, with the midcap FTSE 250 adding 0.7pc.
Banks jumped 1.8pc amid the renewed stability, having fallen sharply at the end of last week and beginning of this week amid expectations that the Federal Reserve would implement swift interest rate cuts to avoid a US recession.
Wealth manager Quilter gained as much as 5.7pc after it beat half-year earnings forecasts and reported stronger net inflows of cash.
Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP surged as much as 14.9pc after a rise in its half-year pre-tax profit, further supporting the financial sector. The stock tops the FTSE 250 index.
Homebuilders advanced as much as 1.8pc after data from Halifax showed that housing prices rose by the most in six months in July.
WPP fell 1.8pc after the ad group cut its annual revenue growth forecast and agreed to sell its controlling stake in FGS Global to KKR for $775m (£610m).
Bottler Coca-Cola HBC fell as much as 2.8pc to the bottom of the FTSE 100 despite boosting its annual operating profit and revenue forecast and a higher first-half revenue.
Novo Nordisk shares plunged after it missed estimates for its second-quarter operating profit.
The Danish drugs maker’s shares fell as much as 6.6pc in Copenhagen, having 27pc this year, after the obesity drugmaker posted quarterly operating profit below expectations and also cut its annual profit outlook.
The Ozempic maker said operating profit will grow 20pc to 28pc, down slightly from its earlier forecast.
Elsewhere in Europe, the continent-wide Stoxx 600 was up 0.5pc, with the Cac 40 in Paris up 0.5pc and the Dax in Frankfurt gaining 0.3pc.
Shares of Roche gained 1.6pc following a report that the Swiss pharmaceutical company is considering divesting in Flatiron Health.
Among other notable moves, car parts maker Continental jumped 5pc after it trounced expectations for second-quarter results.
Bucking the trend, Puma lost 12.5pc after the German sportswear maker narrowed down its outlook for full-year core profit.
Commerzbank, one of Germany’s best-known banks, lost 5.5pc after its second-quarter net profit dropped 5pc.
Sony raised its full-year profit forecast after a solid performance in the first quarter, predicting strong sales in its video game, music and image sensor sectors.
The yen’s weakness against the dollar in recent months has boosted takings for the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate.
Music streaming services have been a money-spinner for Sony, which has an impressive back catalogue and whose current roster includes top artists such as Beyonce and Lil Nas X.
In the three months to June, the company logged a 6pc jump in net profit to 231.6nn yen (£1.3bn), beating analyst estimates.
Sony now forecasts net profit of 980bn yen in 2024-25, which would be a 6pc rise on the previous year and higher than the previous estimate of 925bn yen.
Europe’s main stock markets rose at the start of trading following gains in Asia and on Wall Street as fears of a US recession eased and the Bank of Japan sought to calm investors.
The Paris Cac 40 index advanced 0.5pc to 7,165.01 points and Frankfurt’s Dax gained 0.5pc to 17,437.93.
Britain’s economy growth in 2022 has been revised sharply upwards by statisticians after they struggling to measure  the nation’s performance during the Covid years.
Our senior economics reporter Eir Nolsøe has more:
GDP figures – which have been revised up from 4.3pc to 4.8pc for 2022 in the UK – tend to get revised in subsequent years, especially after turbulent times.
The Office for Statistics Regulation last year found that upgrades by the ONS were of “similar magnitude” to revisions by other countries. 
This reflected the “challenges they encountered in measuring these early estimates during the latter part of Covid-19 when countries were beginning to lift restrictions”.
This means that while the upgrades for 2022 are significant, other countries may follow suit with similar adjustments to their own figures. 
UK stocks moved higher as trading began after the Bank of Japan eased concerns that the global turmoil in markets could deepen.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.5pc to 8,070.38 while the midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.6pc to 20,487.32.
Ofwat is seeking to hire a staff member to act as a watchdog within Thames Water and report back on the water company’s efforts to turn around the business among a mounting debt pile.
The regulator said it intends to appoint an independent monitor who would have access to the company’s financial information.
The appointment comes after Thames Water’s credit rating was downgraded twice by ratings agencies Moody’s and S&P in July.
David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: 
We are clear that Thames Water needs to remedy its licence breach, turnaround its operational performance and secure backing from investors to restore its loss of investment grade credit rating.
These enforceable commitments will include our putting an independent monitor into the business, to report back to us on what is happening to drive meaningful change in performance, and to ensure appropriate expertise is added to their Board.
We will continue to monitor progress very closely and will not hesitate to take any further action if necessary.
The maker of the Ozempic and Wegovy raised its sales forecast amid surging demand for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which is Europe’s most valuable company, said its profit after tax reached 20bn Danish kroner (£2.3bn) between April and June, up 3pc from the same period last year.
However, profits were lower than analysts expected, despite a 25pc jump in sales to 68bn kroner.
Novo Nordisk’s bottom line took a 5.7bn kroner hit from the failure of the clinical trial of a hypertension treatment.
The company, however, raised its sales forecast for the full year as “increased demand” for its diabetes and obesity treatments boosted sales.
Chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said: “We are pleased with the sales growth in the first half of 2024, which has enabled us to raise the outlook for the full year.”
The drug maker said it now expects sales to grow by between 22pc and 28pc in 2024, up from a previous forecast of 19pc to 27pc.
Advertising giant WPP has agreed to sell its stake in corporate adviser FGS Global for around $775m (£610m), it has announced.
The deal was made with a group of investment funds managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR).
WPP said selling its 50pc share in the company, which provides public affairs and media advice to large corporates, was an “excellent outcome” for the global business.
The deal would value FGS Global at about $1.7bn (£1.3bn).
The UK economy grew by 4.8pc rather than 4.3pc in 2022, a revision by the Office for National Statistics shows. 
Our senior economics reporter Eir Nolsøe has the details:
The ONS said it now knows the economy was bigger that year because it has richer figures available from annual surveys and administrative data. 
The change means that real gross domestic product (GDP) per head grew by 0.1pc in 2022 rather than flatlining. 
There were also some minor revisions in 2020 when GDP fell slightly less than expected by 0.1 percentage point to 10.3pc, while it grew by 0.1 percentage point less in 2021 at 8.6pc.
Upward revisions mean the UK economy grew by 2.1pc beyond its pre-Covid level rather than 1.3pc by the end of 2022. 
Until last year economists thought the UK was the only economy to remain smaller than its pre-Covid level among other G7 countries until ONS revisions put it ahead of Germany. 
We’ve released our annual revisions of the UK’s GDP covering the period up to 2022. As more data have become available, we’ve been able to refine our initial estimates and update our assumptions about the relative size of each sector since the pandemic. https://t.co/y3W0bklEvF pic.twitter.com/JqznubSDR2
Glencore has announced it will retain its coal and carbon steel business as its boss seeks to boost profits for shareholders.
The FTSE 100 mining giant had set out plans to spin off the segment after acquuring a majority stake in the steelmaking coal business of Canada-based Teck Resources for $6.9bn (£5.5bn) last year.
Glencore’s chief executive Gary Nagle said that after “considering both risk and opportunity scenarios” the board had decided to retain the coal business.
He said doing so “should enhance Glencore’s cash-generating capacity to fund opportunities in our transition metals portfolio, such as our copper growth project pipeline, as well as accelerate and optimise the return of excess cash flows to shareholders”.
Mr Nagle has previously complained that European investors are overly focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures as opposed to profits.
The miner increased revenues by 9pc in the first half of the year to $117.1bn (£92.2bn) but saw underlying profits drop by a third to $6.3bn (£5bn).
Mr Nagel said this was down to “lower average prices for many of our key commodities during the period”.
House prices jumped last month as borrowers reduced mortgage rates ahead of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England, according to lender Halifax.
Property values rose by 0.8pc in July compared to June, while prices were up 2.3pc compared to the same time last year – the fastest pace of growth since January.
It means the average home is worth £291,268, compared to £289,042 in June.
Both NatWest and Nationwide now offer mortgages with rates below 4pc, and brokers predict borrowers could see rates as low as 3.5pc by the end of the year.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said:
Last week’s Bank of England Base Rate cut, which follows recent reductions in mortgage rates, is encouraging for those looking to remortgage, purchase a first home or move along the housing ladder. 
However, affordability constraints and the lack of available properties continue to pose challenges for prospective homeowners.
Against the backdrop of lower mortgage rates and potential further Base Rate reductions, we anticipate house prices to continue a modest upward trend throughout the remainder of this year.
The global stocks rout has steadied after the Bank of Japan insisted it will not raise interest rates while the financial markets are unstable.
Asian markets extended their rally overnight as deputy governor Shinichi Uchida sought to calm investor nerves after Tokyo’s benchmark stock index suffered its worst points drop in history on Monday.
The Nikkei 225 was up 2.3pc, with South Korea up 2.5pc and Taiwan surging 3.4pc as the speech quelled concerns about the unwinding of the so-called “carry trade” which has seen investors dump stocks as the surging value of the yen squeezed their margins.
The yen leapt higher after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the second time in 17 years last week.
Mr Uchida said: “As for the future conduct of monetary policy, in a nutshell, I believe that the Bank needs to maintain monetary easing with the current policy interest rate for the time being, with developments in financial and capital markets at home and abroad being extremely volatile.”
He added that the yen has in recent days “appreciated significantly against the US dollar, since large positions that had been built up on a weaker yen are being unwound”.
Following the comments, the yen was last down more than 2pc at 147.69 per dollar – its largest drop since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index, said: “I cannot fathom why they needed to say that they won’t hike rates in turbulent times, unless of course the goal is to signal no more hikes and to weaken the yen they just strengthened.”
Rong Ren Goh, a portfolio manager in the fixed income team at Eastspring Investments, added: “Uchida has saved the carry trade – for now.
“There are also other moving parts, but yes, Japan policy is one of the important moving parts of the overall risk structure in the market. The other important ones would be US economic data, which in turn informs Fed policy trajectory.”
Thanks for joining me. Shares advanced in Asia, with Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index falling shortly after the open and then bouncing after comments from the Bank of Japan’s deputy governor helped calm the global stocks rout.
The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher, while European shares were mixed after Shinichi Uchida said the Bank of Japan should keep interest where they are while financial markets are volatile.
1) Falkland Islands ends £120m floating dock talks in blow to Titanic shipbuilder | Loss of work piles further pressure on Harland & Wolff as it battles for survival
2) Thames Water faces new cash crunch after £104m fine | Ofwat punishes utility giant for ‘catalogue’ of sewage failures
3) How short-sighted computers fuelled the stock market crash | Traders forced to watch from their sun loungers as algorithms deepened a global sell-off
4) The August tremor on world markets is a stark recession warning | The immediate storm may be passing – but dark clouds have gathered over the US economy
5) HSBC hires former Blair adviser amid brewing China tensions | Top diplomat David Quarrey to become bank’s new head of public affairs
Asian shares rallied after the Bank of Japan’s deputy governor said it won’t raise interest rates if markets are unstable, comforting investors unnerved by a recent surge in the yen.
The Nikkei index in Japan closed up 1.2pc at 35,089.62, after soaring more than 10pc on Tuesday, recovering a large share of the losses it suffered Monday, its worst day since 1987.
Bank of Japan’s Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida noted the recent volatility in Japanese markets, saying the BOJ’s rate path will shift if there’s an impact on the policy outlook. 
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.3pc to 2,579.10 and the benchmark in Taiwan jumped 3.6pc. Both markets were among the biggest losers in Monday’s sell-offs due to heavy weighting of technology shares that have seen the biggest losses in the past few weeks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased early losses and rose 1.6pc to 16,917.49. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4pc, to 2,879.15.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.8pc at 7,738.20.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose on Tuesday — following a Japan-led rebound in Asia — with both climbing 1pc after a global meltdown. 
Treasury 10-year yields rose two basis points in Asian trading after jumping 10 basis points to 3.89pc Tuesday.