Thursday 25 May 2017

The TUC says a “surge” in household debt is “putting the economy
in the danger zone”. The group said the next government must act to
boost pay after it was revealed that average unsecured debt per
household stood at £13,200 last year – just £100 short of level
before 2008 economic crisis. The TUC wants a higher minimum wage
and an end to the pay curbs in the public sector.

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says Donald Trump’s
budget proposal contains an “egregious” maths error. Pointing out
that the spending plan double-counts $2tr (£1.5tr), he said the
figures were “simply ludicrous”. Writing on his blog, he added: “It
appears to be the most egregious accounting error in a presidential
budget in the nearly 40 years I have been tracking them.”

Car production fell by almost a fifth last month compared to the
same month in 2016, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders. Around 122,000 cars were built, down from 149,000 in the
same month last year. Analysts blame the timing of the Easter bank
holiday – the festive weekend, which fell in March last year,
reduced the number of active production days in April.

Dixons Carphone said it expects “no let-up” in consumers’ “very
rational view that price and service are critical factors in
deciding where to shop”, as it revealed a 9% increase in revenues
for the year to April, with like-for-like sales up 4%. Seb James,
chief executive, said that “despite a lively political backdrop”,
the retailer had been able to continue to develop its business.

Aston Martin has posted a first-quarter profit for the first
time in a decade. Amid strong sales of its new DB11 model, the
sports car marker enjoyed a pre-tax profit of £5.9m and saw its
revenues more than double to £188m in the quarter. The company,
which has gone bankrupt seven times since its formation, has made
an annual loss for each of the past six years.

“He has an obsession with me… he’s nuts.” Israeli mining
magnate Beny Steinmetz accuses George Soros of destroying his
company’s hopes of developing a giant iron ore mine in Guinea.

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