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Business Today
Business live
UK economy contracts 0.5% in July amid strikes and bad weather; BP boss Looney quits
Live  
UK economy contracts 0.5% in July amid strikes and bad weather; BP boss Looney quits
All three main sectors of the economy in decline after strikes by doctors, radiographers and teachers, while construction and retail hit by wet weather
Headlines
BP  
Boss Bernard Looney resigns after failing to reveal relationships with colleagues
Boss Bernard Looney resigns after failing to reveal relationships with colleagues
‘I feel anger; it never needed to have happened’  
Wilko workers lament closures
‘You could get everything here’  
Wilko customers make final shopping trip as closures begin
Wilko  
Poundland moves to buy 71 sites with possible jobs guarantee for staff
Transport  
Pothole repairs on local roads in England sink to lowest level in five years
Pensions  
Treasury officials mull one-off break from triple lock
Groceries  
More than a fifth of UK shoppers’ favourite items at climate breakdown risk
iPhone 15 launch  
Apple adopts USB-C and boasts better cameras
Football  
American firm 777 Partners in advanced talks to buy majority stake in Everton
US  
Microsoft president and Nvidia chief scientist testify in Senate AI hearings
Australia  
High court rules Qantas illegally outsourced 1,700 jobs during pandemic
Environment  
EU states must bridge ‘planning gap’ in order to hit climate targets, report warns
London  
Record numbers expected as Europe’s biggest arms fair opens
Google  
Firm monopolised internet search for a decade, landmark antitrust trial hears
Single-use vapes  
Ban in UK may ‘flood market with illegal products’
Today's agenda
The UK economy shrank by 0.5% in July, with all the main sectors declining, partly because of strikes and poor weather.

This came after 0.5% growth in June, the Office for National Statistics said, and was worse than expected. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a smaller contraction of 0.2%.

The services and construction sectors declined by 0.5%, while production fell 0.7%.

Darren Morgan, a director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "In July, industrial action by healthcare workers and teachers negatively impacted services and it was a weaker month for construction and retail due to the poor weather. Manufacturing also fell back following its rebound from the effect of May’s extra bank holiday.

"A busy schedule of sporting events and increased theme park visits provided a slight boost."

In the three months to July, the economy eked out growth of 0.2%, with all three main sectors expanding.

The chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said: "Only by halving inflation can we deliver the sustainable growth and pay rises that the country needs.

"But there are many reasons to be confident about the future. We were among the fastest in the G7 to recover from the pandemic and the IMF have said we will grow faster than Germany, France and Italy in the long term."

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor for the opposition Labour party, said: "Today is another dismal day for growth, and the British economy remains hostage to the Conservatives’ low growth trap that is leaving working people worse off.

"After 13 years of instability, the Conservatives have left the British economy weaker and families having to cope with higher taxes, higher mortgages and higher food and energy bills.

"Labour’s plan for the economy is about boosting growth so we can improve wages, bring down bills and make working people in all parts of the country better off."

The pound fell after the announcement of the 0.5% contraction in the UK economy in July.

Sterling lost 0.3% against the dollar to $1.2459, putting it on track for its biggest daily drop in a week, and slipped 0.2% against the euro to €1.1592.

In a surprise move, the chief executive of BP quit last night, less than four years into his tenure, after admitting that he failed to fully detail relationships with colleagues.

Bernard Looney, who spent his entire career with BP, departed the £88bn company immediately. BP informed investors that Looney “did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obliged to make more complete disclosure”.

The company said that Looney disclosed “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO” during a review last year, triggered by information from an anonymous source.

The agenda
• 9am BST: International Energy Agency oil market report
• 10am BST: eurozone industrial production for July
• 1.30pm BST: US inflation for August (forecast: 3.6%)

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Opinion
Analysis  
The pensions triple lock has been halted before – just not this close to an election
The pensions triple lock has been halted before – just not this close to an election
Analysis  
UK interest rates: will the Bank listen to business and halt the rises?
 

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Spotlight
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British Business Bank chief Louis Taylor says he values roles that are ‘beyond the pure profit motive’
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