Good morning.
Thousands of homes in Britain face energy bills of £7,000 as soon as price rises come into force in October.
Forecasts from Nationwide show that the least energy efficient households face a huge rise in bills of £2,700. This is far more severe than the £1,250 increase faced by the average household.
The figures also showed surprisingly resilient growth in house prices in August. They rose 0.8% from the previous month after posting growth of just 0.2% in July.
But a combination of higher interest rates and rising energy bills means a market slowdown is still expected.
5 things to start the day
1) Executives working from holiday homes fear tax crackdown: Brits on post-pandemic ‘working holiday’ face threat of tax rule change
2) ONS inflation ruling will cost households millions in higher rates, phone and broadband contracts: The official statistics body rules that the £400 discount on the energy bill will not act to reduce inflation figures
3) John Lewis offers free English breakfasts to Christmas workers: The retailer is offering free meals as it embarks on a recruitment drive for 10,000 festive workers
4) Incomes to sink to 2003 levels as inflation hits living standards – Households facing worst impacts for a century, warns Resolution Foundation
5) Gazprom hands Kremlin £8.5bn dividend after record profits: Shares in the state-owned energy giant soar 20% as a global rise in gas prices gives it a half-year profit of £36bn .
What happened during the night
Tokyo stocks opened lower this morning, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 down 1% and the broader Topix index down 0.8%.
Hong Kong stocks also opened higher with losses. The Hang Seng index plunged 1 point.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second bourse was also down 0.2%.
It arrives today
Corporate: PPHE Hotel Group (interim results); Kainos (business statement)
Economy: PMI manufacturing (UK, US, EU), unemployment rate (EU), jobless claims (US), retail sales (Germany)