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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Wednesday 4th January 2023
5. US regulators have issued their first ever joint warning to banks over the risks associated with the cryptocurrency market.
The watchdogs told financial institutions to be wary of potential fraud, legal uncertainty and misleading disclosures by digital asset firms. Banks were also cautioned over the "contagion risk" from the sector.
4. A typical week in the office now runs from Tuesday to Thursday, a study of mobile phone activity suggests.
Analysts Placemake.io and Visitor Insights examined anonymised phone data from more than 500 UK high streets from 2019 to 2022. The study found increased activity in many suburban and small towns, which it linked to the trend for working from home.
3. Shoppers could be hit with even higher prices when the energy bill support scheme for businesses ends in April, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned.
Shop owners have been trying not to pass on record price rises to customers but may have no choice as bills are due to go up without future help, it said.
2. British manufacturers are starting 2023 on the back foot, after they reported one of their sharpest falls in activity since the 2008-09 recession last month, reflecting a sharp fall in new orders and ongoing job cuts.
The UK manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) sank to 45.3 in December from 46.5 in November, its lowest since May 2009 apart from two months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
1. Business groups are expecting government help with their energy bills to be halved after March, when the existing package of support expires.
Allies of the chancellor said the support would be significantly lower to protect the public finances from volatile energy markets.