Jeremy Hunt says ministers committed to HS2 running ‘all the way to Euston’ – business live | Business

More evidence of slowing US inflation: data just out shows that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose at an annual rate of 5% in December, the lowest since September 2021. Inflation measured by the core index was 4.4%, bang in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Personal spending fell 0.2% in December from November.

Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said:

Core PCE inflation fell to 4.4%, from 4.7%, and the three-month annualised rate dropped to 2.9%. The latter is still higher than the Fed’s 2% target but was nevertheless a near two-year low. With higher interest rates evidently weighing heavily on demand now, we expect core inflation to continue moderating this year, which will eventually persuade the Fed to begin cutting interest rates late this year.

Kalyeena Makortoff

The chancellor made no secret of the government’s hopes of attracting more tech talent to the UK this morning.

Jeremy Hunt used his speech to issue a plea to leading tech firms – including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Google – asking them to commit to investing and growing in the UK in hopes of developing the “world’s next Silicon Valley”.

He also singled out banking and payment apps Monzo and Revolut as “shining examples” of the UK’s “world-beating fintech sector” and said that in exchange for local investment, they could expect support from both the City and government.

If anyone is thinking of starting or investing in an innovation or technology-centred business, I want them to do it here [in the UK]…

If you do, we will put at your service not just British ingenuity – but British universities to fuel your innovation, Britain’s financial sector to fund it and a British government that will back you to the hilt.

That will be welcome news to bosses like the co-founder and chief executive of Revolut, Nik Storonsky, who met Hunt for the first time on the sidelines of the event.

Storonsky, who is trying to secure a banking license in the UK, also got some facetime with business secretary Grant Shapps who was holding a roundtable with venture capital and global tech CEOs on helping firms ‘Start Up and Scale Up’.

Jeremy Hunt has signalled tax cuts will only come “when the time is right” and be matched by “spending restraint”, as he sought to temper restive Conservative backbenchers’ expectations ahead of the budget in March.

However, the chancellor hoped to inject what he said was much-needed optimism about the country’s future, saying he wanted Britain to “have nothing less than the most competitive tax regime of any major country”.

He has finally publicly stated that he has never paid a tax penalty, when asked by BBC News – the third time he has been asked that question today.

I don’t normally comment about my own tax records.

But, I am chancellor, so, for the record: I haven’t paid a HMRC fine.

Back to HS2. Jeremy Hunt has now said that ministers are committed to HS2 going through to central London.

In an interview he said did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which HS2 would not run to its planned Euston terminus, following reports that because of cost cutting measures, the north-south railway route could terminate to the west of London.

Asked by BBC News after his Bloomberg speech whether ministers were committed to HS2 going “all the way to Euston”, said:

Yes we are.

And I don’t see any conceivable circumstances in which that would not end up at Euston.

And indeed I prioritised HS2 in the autumn statement. We have not got a good record in this country of delivering complex, expensive infrastructure quickly, but I’m incredibly proud that, for the first time in this last decade, under a Conservative government, we have shovels in the ground building HS2 and we’re going to make it happen.

Bestway, the owner of the Costcutter chain, has taken a near £200m stake in Sainsbury’s and said it could seek to increase its stake further.

The privately owned Bestway, which is one of the UK’s largest grocery wholesalers and also owns the country’s third-largest pharmacy chain and more than 2,700 convenience stores under the Costcutter and Best-one brands, has bought almost 81m shares, giving it a 3.45% stake in the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain.

“Bestway Group intends to hold its shares in Sainsbury’s for investment purposes and looks forward to supporting the executive management team,” the company said. “Bestway Group may look to make further market purchases of Sainsbury’s shares from time to time, subject to availability and price.”

Phillip Inman

At the Bloomberg event, during the Q&A session Jeremy Hunt also reiterated his commitment to the HS2 rail project, without commenting specifically on whether HS2 will run all the way through to London Euston. He said:

HS2 was a specific priority for me in the autumn statement.

It is a source of national embarrassment that the Japanese opened their first high speed line between Tokyo ands Osaka in 1964, two years before I was born.

And I am incredibly proud that under a Conservative government, for the first time, we have shovels in the ground for the London to Birmingham part of HS2. We are absolutely committed to showing we can deliver big important infrastructure projects.

By the way I think they are incredibly important for levelling up.

The boss of the UK motor and home insurer Direct Line, Penny James, has stepped down, a fortnight after the company released a fresh profit warning and ditched its dividend.

James, who joined Direct Line as finance chief in late 2017, became chief executive in May 2019 and steered the insurer during the pandemic when the number of drivers on the road fell sharply, leading to fewer accidents and insurance claims.

More recently, the insurer has hit a rough patch. A spell of freezing cold weather in December pushed up the cost of home claims, exacerbated by the soaring cost of motor claims, and sent its shares sharply lower.

The company appointed chief commercial officer Jon Greenwood as acting CEO.