Costs

Pemantau wawasan konsumen menunjukkan 85% khawatir tentang harga pangan dan mayoritas berpendapat ekonomi akan memburuk Tiga juta rumah tangga di Inggris terpaksa melewatkan makan karena konsumen mengambil langkah-langkah drastis untuk mengatasi kenaikan biaya, menurut laporan Which? yang diterbitkan pada hari Kamis. Konflik di Timur Tengah dan lonjakan harga minyak serta bahan baku setelahnya telah menyebabkan pelaku bisnis bersiap menaikkan harga, memberikan tekanan lebih besar pada keuangan rumah tangga dan memukul kepercayaan konsumen. Lanjut membaca...

• Harga gas telah melonjak di atas $4 per galon dan harga penerbangan meroket karena blokade Selat Hormuz berdampak pada pasar energi di tengah perang AS-Israel dengan Iran, mengikis keunggulan politik utama Trump. • Lebih dari tiga perempat pemilih terdaftar—termasuk lebih dari separuh Republik dan 82% independen—kini menyalahkan Trump atas krisis biaya hidup yang memengaruhi bahan bakar, bahan makanan, perumahan, dan layanan kesehatan. • Rating persetujuan masa jabatan kedua Trump telah turun jauh lebih cepat dibandingkan presiden sebelumnya setelah penghentian operasi pemerintah (government shutdown), tarif, dan serangan gabungan AS-Israel terhadap Iran, dengan Ketua Federal Reserve Jerome Powell memperingatkan bahwa perang tersebut memicu inflasi.

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults worry about affording health care costs, with 30% very worried, topping affordability concerns over gas prices. • Health care affordability remains the public's primary worry despite other economic pressures. • Poll highlights ongoing financial strain on households amid rising medical expenses.

Brown calls for police to look into former prince’s use of public funds as he says he had colleague raise issue in 2008Gordon Brown has revealed he ordered that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor be questioned about incurring “unacceptable costs” as a trade envoy in 2008, as he called for the police to widen their inquiry to include the use of public funds.The former prime minister said he asked a colleague from the business department to question Mountbatten-Windsor about his travel expenses. Continue reading...

Insolvency firm points to tax rises, staff costs and shaky consumer confidence after number increases to 62,193The number of UK businesses in “critical financial distress” has risen by more than a third over the past year, according to insolvency practitioners, as companies contend with a “slew of increased taxes” and the impact of the Middle East conflict.Hospitality and leisure firms have been faring particularly badly because of shaky consumer confidence, and rising taxes and staff costs, according to research by the restructuring company Begbies Traynor. Continue reading...

Fishing companies can also access up to 70% subsidies, in loosening of state aid rules for ‘most exposed sectors’Business live – latest updatesThe EU is to subsidise up to 70% of the extra cost of fuel and fertilisers caused by the Iran war for farmers, fishing businesses and road hauliers as part of a package of emergency measures unveiled on Wednesday.Individual companies can claim up to €50,000 each between now and the end of the year with minimum paperwork, a measure the EU hopes will remove what it sees as an existential threat to hauliers and farmers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report shows cost of first appointment rose $20 in one year, with steeper rises in Western Australia, South Australia and TasmaniaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPatients are increasingly going without medically necessary dermatological care, the head of the Consumers Health Forum said, as new report reveals the rising cost of the specialty in Australia.Dermatology is expensive and getting pricier, with an average first visit now costing an adult patient without concessions $230 out-of-pocket, while follow-up appointments cost almost $190, the report from health directory Cleanbill found. Continue reading...