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Eurozone GDP: French economy in stagnation; UK shop price inflation falls
Live  
Eurozone GDP: French economy in stagnation; UK shop price inflation falls
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as the latest eurozone GDP data shows France dodging recession
Headlines
Rail strikes  
Trains in south-east England halted as rolling stoppages begin
Trains in south-east England halted as rolling stoppages begin
Corruption  
UK falls to its lowest score on global index
Brexit  
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Elon Musk says Neuralink has implanted first brain chip in a human
Council tax  
Households in England face above-inflation £2bn raid
Music industry  
Singer Rebecca Ferguson tells of abuse in MPs’ report
Freeports  
Teesworks review criticises project’s secrecy and value for money
Technology  
Amazon drops $1.4bn deal to buy iRobot after EU veto reports
BP  
Oil company under pressure from hedge fund to ditch clean energy strategy
Retail  
Superdry considers store closures as part of cost-cutting plan
Telecoms  
Millions of BT customers could get up to £400 as ‘overcharging’ lawsuit begins
Airlines  
Ryanair cuts profits forecast after flights removed from online travel agents
The art market  
Near-record $7.9bn in sales marks second strong year in row for Sotheby’s
Today's agenda
France has avoided falling into a technical recession, after stagnating in the last half of 2023.

Statistics body INSEE has got eurozone GDP day (details here) up and running by reporting that France’s economy was stable in October-December, with growth of 0.0%.

Trade supported the French economy, while its domestic economy struggled.

France’s GDP for the third quarter of 2023 has been revised up too, to show zero growth, not the 0.1% contraction previously reported.

Over 2023 as a whole, France’s economy grew by just 0.9%, down from 2.5% growth in 2022.

Meanwhile, inflation across UK shops has fallen to its lowest level since May 2022, as households benefitted from a slowdown in price rises of food and other goods.

Annual shop price annual inflation eased to 2.9% in January, new data from the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ show. That’s down from 4.3% in December, meaning prices are still rising, but at a slower rate.

Food inflation decelerated to 6.1% in January, down from 6.7% in December, helped by a fall in the price of tea and milk, Alcohol, though, remained more expensive than a year ago due to increased duties, the BRC says.

Fresh food inflation dropped to 4.9%, down from 5.4% in December, while non-food inflation eased to just 1.3% in January, down from 3.1% in December.

This may cheer the Bank of England, which is due to set UK interest rates at noon on Thursday.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Some new year cheer as January shop price inflation slid to its lowest level since May 2022. Non-food goods drove the fall, as many retailers offered heavily discounted goods in their January sales to entice consumer spend amidst weak demand.

"Good news for the morning brew as the price of tea and milk fell, while evening tipples remained more expensive on the back of increased alcohol duties."

Also coming up
• 6.30am GMT: French GDP report for Q4 2023
• 8am GMT: Kantar’s latest UK grocery inflation data
• 8am GMT: Spanish GDP report for Q4 2023
• 8am GMT: Austria’s GDP report for Q4 2023
• 9am GMT: Germany’s GDP report for Q4 2023
• 9am GMT: Italy’s GDP report for Q4 2023
• 9.30am GMT: Portugal’s GDP report for Q4 2023
• 9.30am GMT: UK mortgage approvals for December
• 10am GMT: Eurozone GDP report for Q4 2023
• Noon GMT: Mexico’s GDP report for Q4 2023
• 1pm GMT: IMF to publish its January World Economic Outlook update
• 2pm GMT: US house price index for November
• 3pm GMT: Conference Board index of US consumer confidence
• 3pm GMT: JOLTS survey of US job openings

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Nils Pratley on finance
UK shareholders should vote against Flutter’s flight to the US
UK shareholders should vote against Flutter’s flight to the US
Opinion
Analysis  
Evergrande collapse means foreign investors in China face even greater uncertainty
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Explainer  
Why is minimum service law not being used for England train strikes?
Analysis  
How a decade of austerity has squeezed council budgets in England
Media
Daily Mirror  
Newspaper faces £2m in legal costs over Prince Harry phone hacking
Newspaper faces £2m in legal costs over Prince Harry phone hacking
Channel 4  
Broadcaster says it is to sell London HQ as it confirms jobs cuts
Spotlight
Nottingham residents rue swingeing council cuts
‘I’m scared for the city’  
Nottingham residents rue swingeing council cuts
Despite having the second highest rate of council tax in England, the city has withdrawn or scaled down many services
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