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Business live
UK economy grows by 0.4% in May; households face £94 water bill increase over next five years
Live  
UK economy grows by 0.4% in May; households face £94 water bill increase over next five years
UK economy resumes recovery from recession; 21% increase in water bills is less than water companies asked for
Headlines
Economics  
UK returned to growth in May
UK returned to growth in May
London Stock Exchange  
Stock market rules shaken up in attempt to stop firms moving overseas
Water industry  
South East Water says it needs cash injection to stay afloat
Trading standards  
Trader recommendation websites must vet firms, says watchdog
Oil  
BP predicts global oil demand will peak in 2025, bringing to end rising emissions
Technology  
Elon Musk beats $500m severance suit over mass Twitter layoffs
Postal service  
Royal Mail to stop using its own freight trains after almost 200 years
Construction  
Barratt to build fewer houses this year despite Labour pledge to fix shortage
Technology  
Microsoft drops observer seat on OpenAI board amid regulator scrutiny
London  
Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels will cost up to £4 at peak times, says TfL
Wetherspoon’s  
Boss Tim Martin praises economic ‘pedigree’ of Rachel Reeves
Samsung Electronics  
Workers to extend strike indefinitely
Football  
Amanda Staveley to leave Newcastle after three years at St James’ Park
Football  
Costs of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United buy-in rise to £39.9m
Today's agenda
The UK economy grew by 0.4% in May after showing no growth in April, resuming its recovery from last year’s recession, according to official figures.

April was a very wet month, putting consumers off from spending on the high street.

The outcome is better than the 0.2% growth forecast by economists.

GDP grew by 0.9% in the three months to May compared with the the three months to February, driven by 1.1% expansion in services output, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In May alone, services output rose by 0.3%, the same rate as in April (revised up from 0.2%), and was the biggest contributor to growth.

Production output grew by 0.2% in May following a drop of 0.9% in April, and posted zero growth in the three months to May.

Construction output grew by 1.9% in May, following a fall of 1.1% in April (revised higher from a fall of 1.4%), and declined by 0.7% in the three months to May.

In other news, the average water bill is set to rise by £94 over the next five years, the water regulator Ofwat said.

The 21% increase, or £19 a year on average, is intended to fund investment at water companies for improvements such as fixing leaking pipes and tackling the discharge of sewage into rivers and seas. Is is lower than water companies had asked for.

The increases range from £66 at Anglian Water over the next five years, £99 at Thames Water, £107 at Yorkshire Water and £199 at Southern Water.

Despite the increases, water bills bills are on average £44 per year lower than what companies proposed. Ofwat said: "This is mainly because we have challenged companies’ view of what they need to spend, and because some companies based their plans on an investor return above the level we think is fair."

The water regulator said companies should triple investment in new infrastructure and resources compared to 2020-25, to improve the environment, resilience, and service – from £11bn to £35bn. Nearly 90% of this investment is needed to meet legal requirements.

The agenda
• 1.30pm BST: US Inflation for June (forecast: 3.1%), core inflation (forecast: 3.4%)
• 1.30pm BST: US jobless claims

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Nils Pratley on finance
Opinion  
Do not let Thames Water’s bondholders wriggle off hook
Do not let Thames Water’s bondholders wriggle off hook
Opinion
Rachel Reeves says the UK’s public finances are in a dire state – but here’s why I’m cautiously optimistic
Larry Elliott
Rachel Reeves says the UK’s public finances are in a dire state – but here’s why I’m cautiously optimistic
Media
Hertfordshire  
Tributes paid to BBC racing commentator’s family killed in crossbow attack
Tributes paid to BBC racing commentator’s family killed in crossbow attack
Russia  
Moscow Times banned in crackdown on independent media
 
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Spotlight
Debt, sewage and dividends: the rising tide of Thames Water’s troubles
Water industry  
Debt, sewage and dividends: the rising tide of Thames Water’s troubles
In the second part of our focus on the water industry, we chart the decline of one of the UK’s major utility companies, now on the brink of restructuring or renationalisation
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