LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
JUST HOPE YOU DON’T DRAW QATAR... ALL YOU NEED FOR THIS YEAR’S WORLD CUP OFFICE SWEEPSTAKE P24 WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022
ISSUE 3,862
CITYAM.COM
UNIONS STRIKE AT HEART OF ECONOMY
AFTER A SPRING, SUMMER, AND AUTUMN OF DISCONTENT, UNION BOSSES’ NEW THREAT: WE’LL SET A NEW RECORD THIS WINTER
JACK BARNETT AND REPORTERS
UNION leaders have warned industrial action could hit the highest level this century by the end of the year, after new figures revealed more than half a million working days have already been lost to a wave of strikes. Business leaders warned persistent walkouts would scar the UK economy at the worst possible time. “During the cost of doing business crisis, the cumulative effect of these strikes
continues to be disastrous for business,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, told City A.M. Firms including Royal Mail and BT have suffered from strike action this year and earlier this week even the factory producing Jacob’s Cream Crackers saw staff walk out. Rail strikes have also been a constant thorn in the side of commuters and weekend leisure travellers. The industrial action has been driven in large part by complaints on pay, with
inflation increasing the cost of living. A Communication Workers Union spokesperson told City A.M.: “By the end of 2022, Britain will likely have seen the biggest number of days lost to strikes in this century so far.” London’s consumer-facing businesses have been hit particularly hard by travel disruption, with one hotelier claiming he had seen around £500,000-worth of bookings across rooms and events cancelled as a result of recent industrial action.
Yesterday Rishi Sunak weighed into the row over pay, telling the bosses of the UK’s biggest firms to look at capping their pay due to tough economic times. Speaking to broadcasters, Sunak said: “In a situation like this, I’m sure executives of most companies will be thinking about pay settlements for senior management, for their workers and making sure they’re fair.” “Of course I would say to all executives to embrace pay restraint at a time like this,” the Prime Minister added.
FREE STERLING RECOVERY
Pound hits three-month dollar high JACK BARNETT THE POUND climbed to its highest level against the US dollar in three months yesterday, driven higher by the prospect of the Federal Reserve cooling its aggressive interest rate hike campaign. Sterling strengthened as much as 2.3 per cent against the greenback, up to its highest level since the summer. A string of consumer and business inflation figures across the pond have come in much lower than analysts expected, raising hopes Fed chair Jerome Powell and co will either slow the pace of rate rises or not send borrowing costs to a high peak. Last week, numbers showed consumer prices climbed 7.7 per cent over the last year, while monthly core inflation halved to 0.3 per cent. Yesterday, figures revealed US factory prices climbed eight per cent over the last year, the lowest level since July 2021 and below the 8.3 per cent consensus forecast. “The market is now looking for the Fed to do the walking, having done some (dovish) talking,” Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index, told City A.M. The pound’s gain marks a big turnaround after it fell to its lowest level ever against the dollar following September’s ill-fated mini-budget.
Russian missiles kill two people in Poland as crisis tips over the border - reports EMILY HAWKINS RUSSIAN missiles are believed to have killed two in Poland, a NATO member, according to multiple reports on the ground. Missiles reportedly hit a farm in Przewodów, Lublin, a village near the border with Ukraine, according to
Polish media. Late last night it remained unclear whether the missiles were deliberately launched into Poland, whether they were aimed at Ukraine and had gone offcourse, or whether as some Polish journalists were reporting last night they
had been intercepted by Ukrainian air defence systems and had been diverted over the border. The Russian defence ministry denied missiles had been fired at Ukraine and described reports as “provocation”. An anonymous source
in the Polish Prime Minister’s office described the situation as “informational chaos” to the BBC. It came at the end of a day in which Ukraine was the subject of a renewed wave of missile attacks from Russia with at least 100 hitting the capital Kyiv yesterday. Poland is a member of NATO, and
a deliberate assault on Polish territory by Russian forces would force the western alliance to consider invoking what is known as Article 5, essentially a clause which considers an attack on one as an attack on all, potentially justifying a military response. However, Article 5 is not an automatic trigger.
INSIDE WHAT’S TO COME IN THE AUTUMN BUDGET P3 OIL PAYOUTS SURGE P8 MOET SHORTAGES AS PARTY SPIRIT REMAINS STRONG P10 MARKETS P17 OPINION P20 SPORT P26