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O’Leary blasts ‘not brightest’ air minister GUY TAYLOR RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary (pictured) took aim at British politicians yesterday, accusing them of over-egging the benefits of Brexit and describing the aviation minister as “not the brightest sandwich in the picnic”. O’Leary’s chief frustration is labour inflexibility which he says is stopping airlines staffing up quickly – an issue he says the government is not taking seriously. “We have had a number of meetings with the Department of Transport, and the Aviation Minister Baroness Vere, who is not the brightest sandwich in the picnic basket. She has had a distinguished career running girls schools, but aviation is not her forte,” he said at a conference in Dublin yesterday. Despite this, the aviation boss remained optimistic about the industry which is “still growing in the UK”, stating his surprise “at the strength of spending in the UK”. “For all the talk of fuel poverty and consumer price inflation, people are spending on travel." Demand for travel has defied the economic downturn, with Ryanair rival Easyjet yesterday predicting a bumper summer of bookings.
STICKIER THAN EXPECTED INFLATION RAISES EXPECTATIONS OF FIVE PER CENT BANK RATE JACK BARNETT UK INFLATION has smashed expectations to stick in the double digits, prompting markets to bet the Bank of England will hike interest rates to five per cent, in a sign that the cost of living crisis is set to maintain its grip on families. The rate of price increases trimmed to 10.1 per cent last month, down from a shock rise to 10.4 per cent in February, according to numbers yesterday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures were above the City’s expectations of a fall to 9.8 per cent. March’s inflation rate was held high by rapidly increasing food prices, which have jumped more than 19 per cent annually, the fastest acceleration since the 1970s.
Strong price pressures hidden within the headline numbers remain, with the rate of core inflation – which strips out food and energy price movements – still pretty high. It was unchanged at 6.2 per cent yearly in March and hit 0.9 per cent on a monthly basis. “Inflation continues to ease but the underlying momentum remains sticky,” Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said. Bank of England officials have stressed they need to see a reduction in underlying inflation before feeling comfortable to stop hiking interest rates. March’s overshoot unanimously tipped market expectations in favour of Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co lifting borrowing costs for the twelfth time in a row at their next
meeting on 11 May, likely by 25 basis points to a post-2008 financial crisis high of 4.5 per cent. “To address the underlying issues the [monetary policy committee] still needs to raise rates again when it meets in a few weeks’ time,” Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the business lobby group the Institute of Directors, said. Further hikes are priced in by markets beyond that, with borrowing costs projected by the City to peak at five per cent, bets not seen since the days after Liz Truss’s mini budget. Yet more pressure is therefore poised to be heaped on the housing market via further rate hikes, while FTSE 100 listed banks like Natwest and Barclays could receive a further boost from being able to charge even more for loans.
Every little helps: Lidl fights back against Tesco in blue and yellow logo battle SAMANTHA DOWNES THE BATTLE for grocery supremacy found its way from cut-price olives to the courts yesterday, with Lidl triumphing over Tesco in a trademark dispute over the use of a yellow circle on a square blue background. Lidl sued Tesco in 2020 shortly after
Tesco adopted a yellow and blue logo to promote its “Tesco Clubcard Prices” discount scheme. Judge Joanna Smith said in a written ruling that Tesco had “taken unfair advantage of the distinctive reputation” for low prices held by Lidl’s trademarks, though she rejected Lidl’s argument that Tesco had done
so deliberately. A Lidl spokesperson said in a statement: “We are pleased that the court has agreed with us and that it will now order Tesco to The yellow circle has proven divisive
stop using the Clubcard logo.” In February, supermarkets Tesco and Lidl began a High Court fight over the use of a yellow circle logo. German discount
chain Lidl said its trademark, and copyright, has been infringed, while Tesco had made a counterclaim. Tesco intends to appeal. Britain’s biggest grocer has retained its market share in the UK, while Lidl and German counterpart Aldi eat into competitors including Asda and Sainsbury’s.
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