Today's business and finance round up 28th April 2022
European gas prices spike as Russia starts cutting supply
28th April 2022
Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond
Good morning Kellogg’s is taking the UK government to court over new rules that would prevent some cereals being sold in highly visible part of stores because of their high sugar content. The maker of Cornflakes, Coco Pops and Frosties says the rules ignore the nutritional value of adding milk to cereal, something it claims 92% of consumers do. This raises a couple of questions: 1) will changing the location of unhealthy food do enough to tackle obesity and 2) who are the 8% of the population eating dry cereal?!
Today's stories
European gas prices spike as Russia starts cutting supply
Mixed earnings fortunes for Big Tech
RUSSIAEuropean gas prices spike as Russia starts cutting supply
What’s going on?
Why is this important?
Since March Russia has demanded that “unfriendly” nations – that is those who are critical of its invasion of Ukraine - pay for gas in rubles. But they’ve refused to do so stating that the contracts call for payment in euros or dollars.But on Wednesday Russia went through on its threat and cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. This sent European gas prices as much as 24% higher in anticipation that Russia will start halting shipments to other countries as well. Poland said it was prepared for the move and could cope without Russian gas by using supplies from the US and Middle East. 90% of Bulgaria’s gas comes from Russia and it said it was working on alternative sources but for the time being no restrictions on gas use was needed.Following the invasion of Ukraine, Western allies have sought to distance themselves from Russia by imposing tough economic sanctions including freezing the assets of wealthy Russians and excluding the country from international payment systems. But there was a reluctance to outlaw Russian gas as the EU is heavily reliant with 40% of supplies coming from the country.
Zooming out
Other stories to keep you in the loop
Highest starting salaries in the UK revealed
UK retail sales slump as soaring energy prices hit households
Post-Brexit trade barriers increase price of food imported from EU
GlaxoSmithKline sales boost from shingles jab and Covid antibody treatment
Spotify’s subscribers rise to 182m despite Joe Rogan controversy
KPMG to cash in on tech funding boom with new venture
Tasty year for Gousto as revenues surge to £315m
Thousands of consultants now working to achieve Chartered status, one year after qualification’s launch
TECHMixed earnings fortunes for Big Tech
Stat of the day
In 2021 89% of UK adults listened to the radio at least once a week, the same proportion as 30 years ago
Interesting links from around the web
The Twitter thread that will make you better at Excel
How to put your diet on autopilot
A breakdown of what everyone gets paid at the biggest investment banks
