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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Thursday 2nd February 2023
5. British Steel is considering 800 job cuts centred on its Scunthorpe plant.
The company has started to develop the plans, though the paperwork required before a consultation on redundancies has not yet been submitted.
4. Water bills are set to get the biggest increase in almost 20 years from April.
The annual bill for an average household in England and Wales will hit £448, industry body Water UK has said. The 7.5% increase means customers will pay on average £31 more than last year.
3. British house prices dropped by a bigger-than-expected 0.6% in January and are now 3.2% below their peak in August, following a surge in borrowing costs and broader inflation pressures, mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society said.
January's decline in house prices was the fourth drop in a row - the longest unbroken run of declines since 2009 - and the fall was twice the size expected in a Reuters poll of economists, adding to signs that the market is slowing rapidly.
2. British Gas has suspended the force-fitting of prepayment meters, after a report said it imposed them on vulnerable customers.
The Times reported a company employed by British Gas had broken into homes to fit the meters, despite signs children and disabled people were living there.
1. The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates for the 10th time in a row later, but analysts predict it is nearing the peak.
The benchmark rate is widely expected to go up from 3.5% to 4%, after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The rate is already at its highest level for 14 years.