London — An error in car tax data provided by the British government caused the consumer price inflation rate to be overstated by 0.1 percentage points for the year to April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.
The retail price index, which is used to set payments on index-linked gilts, was also overstated by 10 basis points, as was the consumer price index including owner occupiers’ housing costs rate that includes home ownership costs, it said.
The ONS said the statistics would not be amended, but it was reviewing its quality assurance processes for external data in light of the issue.
The British statistical agency was already facing criticism over its unreliable labour market figures and the government in April launched an investigation into the effectiveness of the official economic data it publishes. Reuters
Monte dei Pasch CEO upbeat on Mediobanca bid
Milan — Monte dei Paschi CEO Luigi Lovaglio on Thursday expressed confidence on a high take-up for his bank’s bid for Mediobanca, though a level of 50% plus one share is sufficient to unlock tax benefits and reward investors.
Speaking to Sky TG 24, Lovaglio said he saw no reason banking supervisors should subject the Monte dei Paschi bid to minimum take-up thresholds.
“It hasn’t done so with any of the bids, so I don’t think it’s an issue. I’m confident we can launch the offer in early July and reach a good take-up,” he said. Reuters
Dr Martens forecasts a return to profit growth
Bengularu — Dr Martens plans to scale back discounting in its top markets including the US, the British bootmaker said on Thursday, as it forecasts a return to profit growth in this financial year.
Over past quarters, Dr Martens, grappling with weakening demand for its pricey boots, particularly in the US, its largest market, has been ramping up marketing investments and discount offers to revive demand.
The company, which makes most of its lace-up chunky boots in Vietnam, said despite rising costs and tariffs, it would not be hiking prices of its spring-summer collection as all of its stock is already in the US market.
Its shares jumped as much as 18% to 70.65 pence as the company also reported better-than-expected profit for the year ended March 31 2025 despite profit having fallen nearly 70%, the third year in a row profit has fallen. Reuters
Kimberly-Clark to sell Kleenex unit to Brazils Suzano
Bengaluru — Kimberly-Clark on Thursday struck a deal with Brazilian pulp maker Suzano to sell a majority stake in its international tissue business, valuing the business at about $3.4bn, the Kleenex tissue maker said.
The deal, structured as a strategic partnership, will form a new joint venture in which Kimberly-Clark would hold a 49% stake, while Suzano will pay about $1.73bn in cash for the 51% stake.
Suzano, which is one of the world’s largest pulp maker, will have the option to purchase Kimberly-Clark’s ownership interest under certain conditions, the Irving, Texas-based company said. The deal is expected to close in mid-2026. Reuters
Japanese refiner mum on unplanned shutdown
Tokyo — Japan’s biggest refiner, Eneos Corporation, experienced an unplanned shutdown of the 77,000 barrels per day No 3 crude distillation unit at its Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo starting on June 4, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.
The company declined to provide a reason for the shutdown or an expected timeline for resuming operation. Reuters
Chinese groups using ChatGPT ‘for covert operations’
San Francisco — OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its AI technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday.
While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based start-up said.
Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio.
OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms. Reuters
Central banks ‘set to acquire 1,000 tonnes of gold’
London — Central banks worldwide are on track to buy 1,000 tonnes of gold in 2025, which would be their fourth year of massive purchases as they diversify reserves from dollar-denominated assets into bullion, consultancy Metals Focus said.
Gold prices are up 29% so far this year after hitting a record high of $3,500/oz in April on geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty as US President Donald Trump continues to roll out his tariff policies.
The price rally has so far kept purchases by central banks, a crucial category of demand, unaffected with the first-quarter buying in line with the 2022-24 quarterly average, Metals Focus said in its annual report on Thursday. Reuters
Procter & Gamble plans to cut 15% of workforce
Bengularu — Procter & Gamble said on Thursday it would cut 7,000 jobs, or about 15% of its non-manufacturing roles, globally over the next two years as part of its noncore restructuring programme.
The company also plans to exit some categories, brands and product forms in individual markets, executives said at a Deutsche Bank conference in Paris, adding that the exits could also likely include some brand divestitures.
Procter & Gamble had more than 100,000 employees since June 30 2024. Reuters
Grounded planes weigh on Wizz Air annual profit
London — Budget carrier Wizz Air reported an about 62% slide in annual operating profit on Thursday, citing capacity constraints due to grounded planes, sending its shares down 24%.
European airlines have warned of long-standing delivery delays and uncertainty around maintaining post-Covid demand amid the economic turmoil tied to US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. However, the sector has largely benefited from lower fuel prices.
Wizz Air in particular has been affected by repair problems with RTX-owned Pratt and Whitney engines, limiting its ability to increase capacity. It has issued two profit warnings in the past year. Reuters
British construction sector adjusts to weaker orders
London — British construction firms reduced staff numbers last month at the fastest pace in nearly five years, reflecting higher wage costs and reduced demand, a survey showed on Thursday.
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ index for Britain’s construction sector rose to 47.9 in May from April’s 46.6, a bigger increase than economists had forecast in a Reuters poll.
But it marked the fifth consecutive month that the index has been below the 50 level that divides growth from contraction.
“The construction sector continued to adjust to weaker order books in May, which led to sustained reductions in output, staff hiring and purchasing,” S&P Global economics director Tim Moore said. Reuters
Europe importing Russian steel, says Thyssenkrupp
Brussels — There is still Russian steel coming into Europe, Ilse Henne, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Materials said on Thursday during a conference with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic.
“There is still Russian steel coming into Europe. How much? Three to 4-million ... and it’s very easy to stop that,” Henne said. Reuters
JPMorgan Chase upbeat on Asia private credit market
Singapore — JPMorgan Chase said on Thursday it sees growth potential in Asia Pacific’s private credit market, focusing on countries across Asia and including Australia and India. The US bank has been actively building its private credit business in the region since 2019, targeting mid-sized companies without investment-grade ratings but with strong fundamentals,
Globally, tariff uncertainty and market volatility have sent some companies to seek private credit as a flexible funding alternative to traditional lenders, benefiting the $2-trillion private credit industry, which has grown from $500m over the past decade, according to analysts. Reuters
Petronas denies exiting its business in Canada
Kuala Lumpur — Malaysian state energy firm Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, will retrench about 10% of its workforce in a restructuring exercise, its CEO said on Thursday.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik also denied at a media briefing that the state firm was exiting its business in Canada.
Local media has previously reported Petronas as saying it needed to “rightsize” its workforce to ensure the company’s survival in the coming decades.
Petronas has nearly 50,000 employees, according to its website.
Bloomberg had reported earlier on Tuesday that Petronas is considering a sale of its Canadian company, formerly known as Progress Energy Resources Corporation. Reuters
Walmart’s Flipkart gets nod for direct lending in India
Bengaluru — Walmart’s Flipkart has secured a lending licence from the Indian central bank and banking regulator, enabling it to offer loans directly to customers and sellers on its platform, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and a source.
This is the first time the Reserve Bank of India has granted a large e-commerce player in India a nonbank finance company (NBFC) licence, allowing it to lend but not take deposits.
Most e-commerce platforms offer loans in tie-ups with banks and NBFCs, but a lending licence will enable Flipkart — India’s largest e-commerce firm — to lend directly, a more lucrative model for the group.
The central bank issued its certificate of registration — a document that officially recognises a company as an NBFC — to Flipkart Finance Private Limited on March 13. Reuters
Citi to cut 3,500 tech jobs in China
Hong Kong — Citigroup will reduce the number of employees at two of its technology centres in China by about 3,500, the bank said on Thursday, as it pushes to simplify and shrink global tech operations to improve risk and data management.
The reduction of staff at the China Citi Solution Centres in Shanghai and Dalian is expected to be completed by the start of the fourth quarter this year, it said in a statement.
Most of the affected jobs are full-time, a source said.
The bank said some of the roles would be moved to Citi’s technology centres elsewhere, without specifying the number of jobs or specific locations.
Last month, Citi announced it was cutting about 200 information technology contractor roles in China. Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.