Introduction: Energy price cap rises today Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. It’s October, which means the nights are drawing in, the temperature is dropping, and arguments can begin about when to turn the heating on. But flicking the boiler on has just become…

The British handbag maker Mulberry has rejected an £83m takeover proposal from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group as too low, insisting instead that it would push on with a planned fundraising to support a turnaround. The luxury brand said it had considered the approach carefully and consulted its 56.1% majority shareholder Challice, controlled by the Singaporean…

This summer I set off on what I had hoped would be the holiday of a lifetime to Greenland. Sadly, just two days into the trip, my mother died. I cut short the holiday and went on to make a claim on my Big Cat Travel Insurance ­policy for £6,000 and supplied the death certificate,…

Some of the busiest ports in the US were braced for crippling disruption after about 45,000 port workers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began walking off the job after their contracts expired at midnight. Talks over a new union contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) broke down on…

Toys inspired by screen favourites such as Moana, Stitch and Bumblebee are expected to feature heavily on Christmas lists this year, according to expert buyers at Hamleys. A £30 singing Moana that belts out her How Far I’ll Go anthem when you press its flashing necklace is expected to be a hit this Christmas, with…

Prices in UK shops are falling at the fastest rate since 2021 despite an increase in fresh food inflation as wet weather hit UK production while the cost of olive oil and sugary snacks continues to be affected by the climate crisis. Overall shop price deflation was 0.6% in September compared with 0.3% in August,…

Dish’s Charles Ergen Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Dish’s “Seinfeld” strategy appears to have ended quite like the actual show — with its finale a generally-accepted disappointment. In 2011, Dish cofounder Charlie Ergen first mentioned “Seinfeld” on an earnings call, responding to an analyst’s question about his company’s mixed bag of assets. Ergen…

Hamid Akhavan, EchoStar CEO, speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Sept. 30, 2024. CNBC EchoStar is selling its Dish TV provider and digital business Sling to rival DirecTV in a deal announced Monday that brings together two of the largest pay-TV providers. EchoStar shares fell more than 11% Monday. DirecTV agreed to pay…

Alex Tovstanovsky, owner of used-car dealer Prestige Motor Works, checks on inventory with his general manager Ryan Caton in Naperville, Illinois, May 28, 2020. Nick Carey | Reuters DETROIT — The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years is expected to eventually boost new vehicle sales,…

Just before Britain’s last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, powered down for the final time, Madeleine Finlay travelled to Nottinghamshire with energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose for a last tour of the site. Britain is the first major economy to move away from coal entirely as it strives to meet the target of net zero by 2030.…