Good morning. Today we're talking about another cinema chain in administration, signs of a cooling housing market and a lower than expected US jobs data.

Big Stories

Fallen Empire

Empire Cinemas has collapsed into administration, with six sites closed immediately leading to the loss of 150 jobs and a further eight sites under threat. The company said that the impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis had "significantly affected" its business. The closures leave Sunderland and Wigan without a main cinema. The remaining sites will remain open while administrators BDO look for a buyer. Empire Cinemas was founded in 2005 following the mergers of Odeon and UCI, and Cineworld and UGC. The company operated 12 cinemas under the Empire brand name and a further two under Tivoli. The collapse of the chain is the latest blow to the struggling UK cinema industry where audience have yet to return to pre-Covid levels while operators face higher labour, rent and energy costs. In January, Cineworld, the country’s largest cinema chain, also collapsed into administration.

House price slump

UK house prices are falling at their fastest annual pace since June 2011, according to Halifax, in the latest sign that soaring borrowing costs on mortgages is cooling the housing market. The average property price fell by 2.6% to £285,932 in June, the third consecutive monthly decline. The latest figures from consumer finance site Moneyfacts show an average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate is 6.54%, double where it was a year ago. Mortgage rates are expected to even higher in anticipation of the Bank of England raising base interest rates to curb stubbornly high inflation.

Mixed US jobs market

The US economy added 209,000 jobs in June, below economist estimates of 240,000 and the lowest number since March 2021. However wage growth—a key inflation indicator— edged up to 4.4% from 4.3% in May and was higher than anticipated. Analysts say the overall labour data suggests economic activity hasn't slowed as much as the Federal Reserve would like, keeping policymakers likely on track to raise interest rates at their upcoming meeting this month, following a temporary pause last month. The benchmark interest rate is currently 5.25%, a 16-year high. US inflation is currently at 4%, twice as high as the target and some economists have raised fears the central bank’s steep rate hikes could trigger job losses and a recession.

Elsewhere...

Closing business: OceanGate is ending its operations after five people were killed aboard its Titan submersible on a trip to the Titanic shipwreck in June.

Cash crisis: Discount retailer Wilko is racing to secure a cash injection as it prepares to launch a financial restructuring aimed at securing its future.

In fashion: 250-year-old sandal maker Birkenstock is considering a $6bn stock market listing.

Energy help: More than 700,000 households have missed out on £300m worth of support for energy bills, according to BBC analysis.

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