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Next vows not to raise prices in 'zero inflation' pledge - latest updates

Next has promised it will not raise prices this year as factory gate prices stabilise for the first time in three years. The high street bellwether pledged there would be “zero inflation in our selling prices” as it said the cost of selling its own products was diminishing. The pledge comes despite it expecting to increase its wage bill this year by around £60m, which it will mitigate by increasing its margins by £17m. In a trading update, the retailer said: “Despite this increase in margin, we do not anticipate that selling prices will increase in the year ahead. “In fact, without the anticipated margin gain, prices would have…

Why Are Major Credible Organizations Like ICCT, SBTi & IMO Getting Energy…

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and others share a common affliction, a belief that some demand segments are going to increase as they have for the past 30 years. As a result, their analyses are skewed. Let’s start with the ICCT. They are an almost quarter century old Washington, DC headquartered think tank founded with good intentions and untainted money to focus on climate action in transportation, more than not. In the past few weeks, I’ve looked closely at their trucking, shipping and aviation analyses and found…

Queensland Treasurer confirms storm clean-up will be costly after intense damage

As Queenslanders start the mammoth clean-up after parts of the state were savaged by intense storms and a tornado, the cost of the recovery will be “significant”, Deputy Premier Cameron Dick warned. The Treasurer said his staff were working out the cost of the damage and clean-up following the Christmas Day storms that ravaged the southeast and the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Jasper in the state’s far north. “At the top level this is going to be a very significant event,” Mr Dick said. “It’s had a very significant impact on specific economies both in the south and the north of the state and the Treasury is currently doing an…

Insurers report tens of thousands of claims from wild east coast weather,…

Insurance giant IAG says the financial impact of the devastating Tropical Cyclone Jasper and wild weather on the East Coast last month is tracking below its allowances — which it has upgraded for the new year. IAG — which operates the NRMA, CGU and WFI brands, and the now-defunct SGIO — on Thursday said the ultimate costs of the disasters was still being determined. Wild weather has buffeted much of the east coast since just before Christmas, with heavy rainfall and winds causing havoc. Homes have been destroyed and people have been killed while hundreds of roads in Queensland alone has been damaged while the prospect of landslides…

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slumps as Its Weak Start to 2024 Carries Into…

NEW YORK—Stocks fell again Wednesday as Wall Street’s slow start to the year stretched into a second day. The S&P 500 lost 38.02, or 0.8 percent, to 4,704.81, though it remains within 2 percent of its record set exactly two years ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 284.85 points, or 0.8 percent, from its own record to 37,430.19. The Nasdaq composite led the market lower with a drop of 173.73, or 1.2 percent, to 14,592.21. Some of last year’s biggest winners again gave back some of their gains to weigh on the market. Tesla fell 4 percent after more than doubling last year, for example. It and the other six “Magnificent 7”…