Money blog: Co-op makes major change to its meal deal selection (2024)

Cosmetics company Morphe has reportedly closed all its standalone stores in the UK.

It's changing its focus to wholesale and online.

All seven of its shops were closed on Wednesday, with 73 employees made redundant, Retail Gazette reported.

It still apparently has make-up counters in Boots, Superdrug, Selfridges, H Beauty and Flannels.

A spokesperson from Forma Brands, Morphe's parent company, told Retail Gazette its stores in Europe had faced "disproportionately high store rent obligations".

They added: "We have therefore made the difficult decision to close our seven UK and one Amsterdam retail locations.

"This move aligns with our strategy to prioritise and expand our successful wholesale and e-commerce operations, similar to our model in the US."

Co-op is adding bakery items to its meal deal range.

A trial will run for 12 weeks in stores across the country, with bakery lines classed as a side or a snack.

They'll include croissants, almond Danish pastries, and a cinnamon cruffin - a croissant/muffin hybrid.

The bakery lines can be included in both standard and premium meal deals, alongside a main and a drink, costing £4 and £5.50 respectively.

Co-op members can get a standard meal deal for £3.50 and the premium one for £5.

"Our latest offer will be available across all our delicious loose bakery items, providing an even wider choice of options to appeal to shoppers," said commercial buying manager Lyndsey Thornton.

By Ian King, business presenter

A very nasty summer sell-off has been under way now in stock markets around the world for the last 48 hours - and nervous investors got another reason to carry on selling today.

The US non-farm payroll figures – essentially a measure of how many jobs were added to the US economy last month and probably the single most-watched piece of economic data in financial markets – came in much lower than expected for July.

Some 114,000 jobs were created in the US economy during the month. That was significantly lower than the 175,000 jobs that Wall Street had expected to see created. It was the weakest figure since December last year and the second weakest since March 2020 – when the pandemic was just taking off in the West.

The June number was also revised lower from the previously healthy looking 206,000 to 179,000.

The figures, when taken alongside the number of people entering the workforce, mean the unemployment rate in the US in July rose to 4.3%. That again was worse than the 4.1% pencilled in by Wall Street.

And they have intensified fears that the world's biggest economy may be heading for a recession.

Those fears had already started to swirl when, on Wednesday evening, the US Federal Reserve declined to cut interest rates from the 5.25%-5.5% range at which they have been since July last year – only for some figures the following day pointing to a contraction in US manufacturing activity during July.

That had already put the skids under US equities even before the jobs data. All of the main US stock indices fell on Thursday – with the S&P 500, the most important index, falling by 2.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining by 1.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped by 3.3% and the Russell 2000, the main index of smaller US companies, slid by 3%.

Those falls were added to this afternoon – putting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on course for a third consecutive weekly fall. The index, which was also weighed down by some mixed trading updates from the big tech companies, is now at a level last seen in May and is officially in "correction" territory.

In other words, it has fallen by more than 10% from its most recent peak in July.

There were even more violent declines in some individual stocks with Snap, the owner of Snapchat, down 30% at one point and the chipmaking giant Intel down 28%. Shares of the British chip designer Arm Holdings, which is also listed on Nasdaq, fell a further 6% and has lost getting on for a quarter of its stock market value this week. Amazon, one of the tech heavyweights whose trading updates disappointed Wall Street overnight, fell by 12%.

Other asset classes are also falling. The price of oil – demand for which would be expected to fall in the event of a US recession – is on course to complete a fourth consecutive weekly reverse with a barrel of Brent crude this afternoon hitting $77.70, a level last seen un the first week of June.

To the upside, the price of gold, a traditional safe haven for investors, this afternoon is back at close to the all-time high of $2483.60 that it hit on 17 July.

And US Treasuries (US government IOUs) have also risen sharply. The yield (which falls when the price rises) on 2-year US Treasuries, which closely track interest rates, fell below 4% for the first time since May last year while the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell at one point to 3.79%, a level last seen in December last year.

Market commentators and economists now fully expect the Fed to cut interest rates next month.

Seema Shah, chief global strategist at fund manager Principal Asset Management, said: "Oh dear, has the Fed made a policy mistake? The labour market's slowdown is now materialising with more clarity. Job gains have dropped below the 150,000 threshold that would be considered consistent with a solid economy.

"A September rate cut is in the bag and the Fed will be hoping that they haven't, once again, been too slow to act."

Michael Brown, market analyst at the trading platform Pepperstone, added: "The July US jobs report pointed to a continued cooling in labour market conditions. There is little in this report that is likely to dissuade the Federal Reserve open markets committee from delivering this cycle's first [interest rate] cut at the next meeting in September, as was hinted at in this week's statement."

European stocks, meanwhile, had already fallen on Thursday and continued those declines today. The FTSE-100 is down by 2.15% since Wednesday evening, a slighter fall than some of its peers in continental Europe, which have a greater exposure to tech stocks. The CAC-40 in Paris is off by 3.1% in the last two sessions and the DAX in Germany down by 4.1%. The MIB in Italy is down by 5.3% in the same period and the AEX in the Netherlands, an index dominated by ASML – the world's largest maker of equipment used to manufacture chips – is down by 3.9%.

Meanwhile, in the Asia Pacific region, Japanese stocks have seen a truly aggressive wave of selling.

This was due largely to a sharp rally in the yen against the US dollar following a surprise interest rate rise on Wednesday from the Bank of Japan. The weakness in the yen, which hit a 38-year low against the dollar in June this year, has been a major driver of gains for Japanese stocks this year and the currency's rally has sent the market slamming into reverse. The Nikkei 225 index, which contains Japan's top blue-chip companies, had already fallen on Thursday and today declined by a further 5.8% in its biggest one-day fall since March 2020. The Nikkei, which earlier this year hit an all-time high, is now down by 12% since 12 July.

Meanwhile the Topix, which is a broader index of Japanese stocks, fell by 6.2% in its worst one-day fall since 2016.

The interesting thing about this latest sell-off is that, during recent years when central banks like the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England kept their policy rates at ultra-low levels, bad news for the economy was taken as good news for markets on the basis that it would persuade central banks to hold rates lower for longer.

That all changed when, in December 2021, the Bank became the first major central bank around the world to begin raising interest rates and was followed soon after by the Fed.

Now, with the "normalisation" of interest rates under way for more than two years, bad news for the economy is back to being treated as bad news for the markets.

Korean Air has said it will stop serving instant cup noodles on board its planes for safety reasons.

The snack, known as ramyeon, requires boiling water.

The South Korean airline said the snack could be a scalding risk and it was making the change as part of its response to increased incidents of turbulence.

There has been concern since a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence in May.

The plane dropped 54m (178ft) in just four seconds.

Cup noodles have been apopular part of the airline'sin-flight service and featured heavily on social media.

They will not be served totightly seated economy classpassengers from 15 August.

Alternatives will includesandwiches and corn dogs, the airline said.

It announced last month that it would finishlong and medium-haul cabinservices 20 minutes earlier, ending 40 minutesbefore landing.

Being a TikTok presenter and a historic character at a theme park are among the most popular jobs this year, according to new research.

Data management officer positions are the most searched for roles, according to results from jobs site CV-Library.

Other popular searches include CCTV controller and train conductor.

Not everyone is chasing glory and Britons are keen to "make a difference", saidLee Biggins, the chief executive of CV-Library.

Emergency call handlers and social sustainability roles are "also high up the wish list", he added.

It demonstrates that job seekers are "looking for more than just money in 2024".

For employers keen to attract new talent he said that creating a "fun and supportive work environment" and having a "clear company mission" are useful.

Here's the top 10 most-wanted jobs of the year, according to CV-Library

1. Data management officer

2. Theme park historic character

3. TikTok presenter

4. CCTV controller

5. Customer contact adviser

6. Head of social sustainability

7. Packaging operator

8. Food and beverage team member

9. Manual line operator

10. Inventory operator

Packets of crumpets have been withdrawn because they may contain pieces of metal.

The Food Standards Agency said Morrisons Crumpets, Savers Crumpets and Best Crumpets with Sourdough, all with a best before date of either 6 or 7 August, may be "unsafe to eat".

The warning also applies to Hovis Crumpets with the same dates.

The FSA said: "Rathbones Kear is recalling various packs of crumpets because they may contain small pieces of metal.

"The possible presence of metal makes this product unsafe to eat."

It added: "Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling these products.

"These notices explain to customers why the products are being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the products."

Consumers are advised to return the products to the store they bought them from and claim a refund by showing their receipt.

The price of your coffee could have increased by as much as 57% - or an extra £1.24 a drink - in the past five years, new data shows.

Altindex looked at the cost of a regular cup of tea, americano, cappuccino, flat white, latte, single espresso and hot chocolate now compared to five years ago at Starbucks, Pret A Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Greggs.

After examining the prices, the results showed some hefty increases at nearly all the brands, with Pret A Manger rising by 57% on average in those five years.

Here are the prices from 2019:

Some of you who regularly grab a hot drink on your way to work may be surprised to see a latte for as little as £2.60 in places like Starbucks.

That'll be because you're paying the prices listed in this table below...

This final table shows the increase across that five-year period...

Caffe Nero comes in as the second most expensive chain according to price rises, with drinks up by an average of £0.94, or 39%, while Costa's drinks have risen by an average of £0.91 or 38%.

Starbucks is the second cheapest coffee chain when it comes to its basic drinks, with prices up by an average of 25% in the last five years (£0.57), while Greggs comes out as the cheapest by far - with an average rise of only 7%.

Other food items have rocketed in price in recent years, including ice cream - with some brands charging nearly 40% more than they were two years ago.

Olive oil has also risen by some 110% since 2021, and you can read the unlikely story behind that number here.

Sky News has reached out to all the brands mentioned for comment, and is yet to receive any responses.

The general election appears to have reduced the number of people going to the shops, new data suggests.

Footfall was "particularly weak" during election week (beginning 1 July) saidHelen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

That was when "political electioneering peaked, creating uncertainty for many consumers", Ms Dickinson added.

Political change appears to have contributed to a fall in footfall for the 12th consecutive month.

In July, total UK footfall was down 3.3% year on year, despite the warmer and drier weather, the BRC said.

Shopping centres were particularly badly hit - with footfall down 3.9% compared with last July.

High street football was up 2.7% in July, however.

Many people have chosen to increase spending on "holidays and leisure activities rather than shopping", Ms Dickinson said.

The ScottishRetail Consortium echoed that view, saying Scots wereprioritising "experiences, eating out and holidays" over shopping trips.

Andy Sumpter, from Sensormatic Solutions which provided the data, said the cost of living crisis has a "long tail" which is "continuing to rattle consumer confidence and is likely to prompt spending caution for some time to come".

By Nick Lester, business reporter

Shares in leading UK-listed companies dipped in early trading after the Bank of England warned against making further interest rate cuts too quickly.

The blue-chip FTSE100 index was down 0.24% while the domestic-facing FTSE250 was off 1%.

Markets initially rose after the Bank cut rates to 5% - a quarter point drop.

But after governor Andrew Bailey later struck a note of caution, banks and financial firms fell into the red.

There are also wider concerns among investors over signs of weakness in the US economy, reflected through a fall in world shares.

On the currency markets the pound was down 0.06% at $1.273 and down 0.2% at 1.17 euros.

Elsewhere, outsourcing giant Capita said it was "on track" with cost-cutting plans, including slashing around 900 jobs.

The major contractor for the government and local authorities told investors it had taken action to cut around £100m as part of a £160m savings target by June 2025.

The group reported a pre-tax profit of £60m for the first half of 2024, up from a £67.9m loss a year earlier, helped by savings and the sale of parts of the business.

Meanwhile, Virgin Money has said it lent less to customers in recent months but reported stronger demand for savings, as the bank readies itself to be taken over by Nationwide by the end of the year.

Total lending to customers fell by 0.9% to £72bn between April and June, compared with the first half of its financial year.

Mortgages reduced by 1.1%, which the bank said was partly driven by the impact of more customers paying off their mortgage in full, as people took steps to avoid rolling on to deals with higher interest rates.

It also reflected more "disciplined" lending as the bank tried to protect its finances.

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) has also seen a boost to its shares after it scrapped a deal to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa.

IAG stocks rose 5% in early trading after it confirmed the takeover was off.

The airline group, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, said it had given up on efforts to buy Air Europa after EU regulators raised competition concerns over the deal.

The London Museum has undergone a rebrand and its new logo has raised eyebrows.

Formerly the Museum of London, the institution has changed its logo to a clay statue of a white pigeon standing over a splat of glittery poo.

It said it decided on the logo after consultations with focus groups of 500 Londoners and tourists.

It's fair to say the logo has divided opinion, with some calling it "utter nonsense".

The museum, which worked with the Uncommon Creative Studio to develop the logo, has said it used a pigeon as its new logo because for more than 1,000 years "these birds have watched London change and grow" and have become "a symbol of the city in the process".

It explained that since their ancestors escaped Norman dovecots, feral pigeons have "flourished in London".

"The pigeon is a symbol which unites our city. It's a link between past and present. And we're proud to have it as our London Museum icon," the museum said on its site.

Here are some of the bemused responses online...