Thu, Aug 11, 2022 page11

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  CHINA

  CPI jumps on pork prices

  Consumer inflation last month rose to a two-year high, official data showed yesterday, with a surge in pork prices pushing up the cost of food. The consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of retail inflation, grew less than expected at 2.7 percent from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data showed. The CPI rose slightly “due to an increase in prices of pork, fresh vegetables and other food, as well as seasonal factors,” senior bureau statistician Dong Lijuan (董莉娟) said in a statement. Food prices were up 6.3 percent, with pork spiking 20.2 percent last month, she added.

  FINANCIAL SERVICES

  UK firms cannot fill posts

  British finance firms are struggling with the worst job vacancy rates on record, underlining a skills shortage caused by the digitization of banking, investing and insurance. The industry had more than five vacancies unfilled for every 100 jobs between April and June, data compiled by the British Office for National Statistics showed. That is the highest since records began in 2001, and puts the sector behind only the hospitality and tech industries. The data underlines the continuing tightness of the jobs market even at a time of wider economic stress.

  FOOD DELIVERY

  Deliveroo losses spike

  Deliveroo, the international delivery food app, yesterday announced a big increase in losses as investment costs ate into rising revenues, saying it planned to exit its struggling Netherlands market. Loss after tax jumped 41 percent to ￡153.8 million (US$186.1 million) compared with the first six months of last year, the British group said in a statement. Revenue grew 12 percent to ￡1 billion, despite the easing COVID-19 curbs and controversy over the treatment of its riders. Deliveroo said the outlook was clouded by strong inflation and the war in Ukraine.

  TOURISM

  TUI bookings improve

  TUI, the world’s largest tourism operator, yesterday said booking levels were closing on pre-COVID-19 levels as it reduced its losses for the quarter. Between April and June, the travel group made a net loss of 356.7 million euros (US$364.7 million), after losing 934.8 million euros in the same period last year. About 5.1 million people traveled with TUI in the quarter, an 84 percent increase on last year. At the same time, the group’s revenues climbed to 4.43 billion euros, “almost seven times more” than last year. TUI said that it expects a “strong” European travel summer on the back of rising demand.

  PHILIPPINES

  Telecoms sue newcomer

  The Philippines’ two biggest telecoms, PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc, have separately accused new entrant DITO Telecommunity Corp of “fraudulent” calls made through its network, heightening a public disagreement. Globe on Tuesday said that it has asked the telecommunications regulator to require DITO to pay 622 million pesos (US$11.2 million) in penalties over alleged contraventions of interconnect rules. PLDT unit Smart Communications said that DITO “has failed to prevent its network from being misused for fraud.” Smart said it has incurred “huge monetary losses” as DITO SIM cards were supposedly “masking international calls as domestic.” DITO earlier this week filed complaints against Globe and Smart before the antitrust body for “possible anti-competitive practice in their interconnection agreements.”
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