Dire alert for UK businesses
You are staring down at the specter of stagnant inflation, a devastating combination of stagnant economic growth and rapid inflation. The country is experiencing the fastest consumer price growth in four decades – an inflation rate of 9%. Economic growth slowed down in February and eased slightly in March.
Rising prices are causing pain around the world, but there is concern that Britain faces more persistent problems than many of its neighbours. The country has a tight labor market – partly because Brexit has taken away a huge chunk of European workers, and partly because a protracted illness has left hundreds of thousands of people without work – and is causes of Europe’s energy crisis.
Disposable household income is expected to fall 1.75% this year, and as of April, consumer confidence is at a 14-year low. Businesses are having to calculate the complexity of how high they can push prices to offset their own rising costs without driving customers away.
Cost increase: Companies importing goods from the EU have complained that excess duct tape is increasing their costs. Economists say Brexit has pushed food prices up 6%. In October, household energy bills are expected to increase by £800, or $1000, to £2,800, or about $3,500, a year.
Politics: With a new electoral challenge looming and Britain’s economy in a downward spiral, there are few easy ways for Boris Johnson, Britain’s waning prime minister, to reverse his waning fortunes.
A difficult choice in Sievierodonetsk
Ukraine’s leaders face an important strategic decision: Retreat from Sievierodonetsk, the mid-sized city in eastern Ukraine that has been the focal point of both Russia and Ukraine for several weeks, or stay and risk processed body. “In the first option is the risk”. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine said. “In the second option there is risk.” Follow the latest updates from the war.
The situation reflects the choices the country has had to make since the invasion of Russia began – between creating the groundwork to prevent death and destruction in the short term and countering the long term odds with hope it will work. Ukraine’s position throughout the war was that it intended to hold its own sovereign territory, not yielding to Moscow.
Sievierodonetsk is the last major city in the Luhansk breakaway that has not been captured by the Russians; Capturing it would allow them to control almost the entire area. The pullback could demoralize Ukraine’s forces. And some Ukrainian soldiers argue that it is necessary to continue fighting to inflict more casualties on Russia’s already depleted forces.
Casualties: An official said more than 40,000 Ukrainians were killed or wounded in the war. The exiled leaders warned that Russian-occupied Mariupol is at risk because the epidemic broke out when the corpses were still on the street there.
Global growth will be stifled amid inflation and war
According to the World Bank, for countries large and small, the prospect of averting a recession is fading amid the war in Ukraine, supply chain stalemate, Covid-related stalemate in China. and the skyrocketing price of energy and food. David Malpass, the bank’s president, said in a statement.
World growth is expected to slow to 2.9% this year from 5.7% in 2021. The outlook, laid out in the bank’s Global Economic Outlook report, is not just optimal. than the level given six months ago, before Russia invaded Ukraine, but also below the International Monetary Fund’s April forecast of 3.6%.
Aside from a few oil-exporting nations like Saudi Arabia, which are benefiting from prices above $100 a barrel, nearly every country sees its prospects dim. In the most advanced economies like the US and Europe, growth is forecast to slow to 2.5% this year. China is forecast to see growth slow to 4.3% from 8.1% in 2021.
Emerging countries: The poorest countries will grow poorer, hungrier and less secure. About 75 million more people will face extreme poverty than was expected before the pandemic.
Refugee crisis: Nearly seven million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have crossed the border to avoid violence. Even as some have returned home, the sudden strain on EU budgets and resources continues to strain economies already under pressure.
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Around the world
The chicken mystery really has nothing to do with whether the egg came first. When, where and how does a wild bird descend the final path to a pot of chickens?
Two articles provide An updated origin story for the humble henput the appearance of domestic chickens about 3,500 years ago in what is now Thailand.
Ruth Negga on Lady Macbeth
Actress Ruth Negga has been nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth” at the Longacre Theater in New York. For The Times, Negga talked to Salamishah Tillet about playing the character. This is a slightly edited excerpt.
Even before I started rehearsals, I said, “What’s all this jazz about her being evil?” She is not evil; It was this archetype that chased after her: the deadly villain, the villain behind the man. That’s what she’s known for, and she’s been robbed of any personality or idiosyncrasies. But while we resist [Macbeth] As for his procrastination, I think she could have been a little more thoughtful.
The point is, time is not on her side. Here’s what happens when you just have all these ideas and they sound great and you’re really getting work done and you don’t have much time. I mean, she made a terrible mistake when you think about it. Very few people act from the core of evil or evil. I love her desire to live, to reach for things, to strive, and I’m excited to play someone who has a clear idea of what they think they deserve, especially someone women.
To me, her femininity is important because I’m used to the idea that she can be like some kind of austere, sexless, bloodless and lustless shell. That just doesn’t suit the Lady on the page, so I wanted her to be shameless, glamorous and lively, and really enjoy her sensuality and femininity, and not be afraid to stand out. in the middle of the crowd.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook?
Here bright summer pasta capture the flavor of eggplant Parmigiana without complicated frying, layering and baking.
