Money blog: Swifties fuming after paying £680 for 'lovely view of a tent' (2024)

After a very strong start to 2024, during which the UK economy achieved its strongest growth for two years, things stalled again in April.

That the economy flatlined during April was no surprise, though, given a couple of factors.

One was the early timing of Easter, which will have led some consumer spending that would normally have taken place in April to be brought forward to March.

The other, more pertinent factor, was the weather.

The Office for National Statistics notes in its release that rainfall during April was 155% higher than the long-term average - making this the wettest April in more than a decade.

The arrival of Storm Kathleen at the end of the first week of April brought heavy rain to Scotland, Wales, parts of Northern Ireland and the West Country.

In some parts of the country, things were even worse, with Edinburgh experiencing its second wettest April in 188 years. The last couple of weeks of April were also notably cooler than usual.

That all appears to have had a bearing on a wide range of sectors in the economy, including retail, construction - which was particularly afflicted by high winds - and pubs, restaurants and cafes.

The good news for the prime minister, such as it is, is that during the three months to the end of April, the economy grew by 0.7%.

That represents a modest degree of momentum being carried forward from the first three months of the year and is still a pretty reasonable clip given the recent past.

The better news is that things will probably have picked up in May.

Survey data for May, most notably the forward-looking purchasing managers index (PMI) survey, suggests that the services sector - which makes up just over three quarters of UK economic activity - continued to expand during the month while manufacturing looks set to have returned to growth as well.

Taylor Swift's Eras tour officially arrived in the UK last week, with tens of thousands of fans packing into Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to see the star perform.

For three nights, fans enjoyed a three-hour show, 45 songs, several costume changes and stunning set changes.

Tickets ranged in price from around £86 to more than £660.

While the reviews were glowing, some fans were left disappointed after spending more than £600 on VIP tickets to have their view blocked by a tent.

TikTok user @hollyheatherevans showed off her "£600 VIP view", which was blocked by a tower, a tent and what looked like a Portaloo.

"Was a great show Taylor, couldn't see you though. #obstructedview #errorstour," she wrote.

Another Swiftie, Pat Herb, told her TikTok followers she spent £680 for a "lovely view of a tent".

She said she "didn't see anything" on the stage.

"I did have fun and I am grateful to be there but this was not worth £680... so heartbroken," she added.

In the comments on her video, other fans shared their frustrations.

"Same thing over in E14. Couldn't see anything in the centre diamond due to the sound tower," one said.

"I was W15 Row K and in the same boat, I did ask to be moved though," another said.

By James Sillars, business reporter

The news dominating financial markets this morning is coming out of Brussels.

Shares in top European carmakers are taking a plunge on expectations the EU is about to impose tariffs on China-produced electric cars - after a similar move by the US.

Analysts expect additional duties of between 10% and 25% to be slapped on makers such as BYD and Geely due to anticompetitive Chinese state subsidies that keep prices down.

The penalties would also cover Western producers such as Tesla that export cars from China to Europe.

EU brands including big beasts such as Mercedes and BMW oppose the idea of tariffs as they fear retaliation from Beijing, which would hurt their own sales.

As such, their shares took a hit at the market open, with Porsche leading the way down almost 6%.

In London, the FTSE 100 opened 0.6% higher, with industrial and financial stocks on the charge.

Consumer-facing shares such as B&M, Ocado, Next and Frasers weighed, however, after the latest figures showed the UK economy flatlined as shoppers were put off by the rain in April.

The UK economy has flatlined, according to early official data that has been seized on by the government's critics as evidence the Tories' plan is not working.

The Office for National Statistics said there was zero growth in April, after the economy recorded its fastest growth in two years from January to March.

Experts have blamed a negative impact from wet weather, knocking both retail sales and construction output.

Despite the emphasis on the hit from rain, the numbers are still a setback for Rishi Sunak's key election argument that the economy is improving after successive hits from the COVID pandemic followed by the cost of living crisis.

Ourbusiness presenter Ian King said professional scientific and technical activity contributed positively to the economy, but the retail sector did "pretty badly".

He explained that growth was not expected by economists, and some had predicted a contraction.

"There will be certain parts of the country doing better than others," he added.

Every Wednesday we ask Michelin chefs to pick their favourite Cheap Eats where they live and when they cook at home.This week we speak to Vivek Singh from the Cinnamon Collection (home to popular restaurants including the Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Bazaar).

Hi Vivek, can you tell us your favourite places in Londonwhere you can get a meal for two for less than £40?

Everest Curry Kingis a Sri Lankan place in Lewisham - I will pretty much eat anything there. It is homemade in house and everything is fresh on the day then reheated to order. The dosa is made to order every time. You can definitely get a filling meal for two here for less than £40.

Babur is a southeast London institution to me. Some of the most-loved local restaurant's prices have crept up in the past 35 years, but Babur is still a great place to have a really decent meal for under £40 for two people.

It is especially great for lunch. You could get aloo gobi, mushroom corn saag, a side of pears and kadai paneer, a couple of breads (for example, a cheese and chilli naan), as well as rice and tomatoes all for under £40 for two people.

What's your go-to cheap meal at home?

My cheap eat to cook at home would be a chicken tikka and cheese toastie.

One tip that non-chefs might not know is everything tastes better between two slices of bread (haha).

If I have some leftover chicken tikka or have some from the deli, I'll get some chopped cheese, onion and ginger then I will pop it in a toastie and a little goes a long way.

We've spoken to lots of top chefs and bloggers - check out their cheap eats from around the country here...

The start of Euro 2024 this week is predicted to drive an increase in shoppers splashing the cash on new tech and food supplies.

According to a survey by the British Retail Consortium, 6% of shoppers say they expect to buy a new TV or device to watch the matches, and 4% are planning on buying official merchandise.

Meanwhile, some 13% of people said they're going to spend more on groceries, alcohol and takeaways for the month-long football fest.

The research reveals that younger people are most likely to fuel the spending boost, with nearly a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they'll spend more on their food shop, compared to just 4% of people aged 55 and over.

Kris Hamer, BRC director of insight, said the survey of 2,000 adults shows retailers "could score a hat-trick".

"After sluggish spring sales, shoppers are expected to kick off their summer spending at the Euros," he said.

"Here's hoping England and Scotland can make it all the way to the final."

Different figures from Adobe show there's been a 14% rise in spending on TVs, while online sales of England shirts and other team merchandised soared by 115% in May.

Argos predicts it will sell 180,000 televisions during the tournament - the equivalent of four every minute.

The retailer said demand appeared to be driven by people wanting to watch sports on larger TVs.

And while football fans in the UK are preparing to watch this weekend's games from their sofas, anyone lucky enough to have tickets to the tournament in Germany will benefit from the pound hitting its highest level in nearly two years against the euro.

The currency fell when Emmanuel Macron, the French president, called a snap election after his party suffered calamitous results in EU elections.

The euro dropped to as low as 84.53p yesterday morning - its lowest sinceAugust 2022 - so it's a good time to snap up that holiday cash if you're heading over there!

Many of us have dreamed about a life by the beach, so where's the most affordable place to buy a home?

The average coastal home is now £293,710, 4% lower than in 2022 but 48% higher than 10 years ago, according to figures from Lloyds Bank.

But if you head to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in western Scotland, you'll find the average price of a house there is £101,477.

In fact, the 10 cheapest coastal locations to buy a home are all in Scotland...

At the other end of the scale is Salcombe in Devon, the most expensive place in the UK to buy a home near the sea.

Properties in the town cost an average of £970,657, according to Lloyds Bank.

While that's down 22% (or £270,641 in cash terms) since 2022 when they cost more than £1.2m, it's still around nine times the price of a house in Rothesay.

Affluent Sandbanks in Dorset, home to celebrity residents including Harry Redknapp, is the second most expensive, with an average price tag of £957,739.

In fact, all the top 10 are in the South West.

Padstow in Cornwall, with its renowned Seafood Restaurant by Rick Stein, is third, with homes costing around £701,979.

"These pricier areas can result in a lack of affordable homes for first-time buyers, a problem often exacerbated by high levels of second-home ownership, meaning that many who have grown up in the area may find themselves priced out of owning their own home locally," Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Lloyds Bank, said.

Since the pandemic, almost 800,000 people have fallen out of employment into "economic inactivity", a catch-all definition that covers the nine million people of working age not able or looking to work.

That includes students, early retirees and stay-at-home parents and carers, but the biggest and most pernicious reason is long-term sickness, which now accounts for more than 2.5 million people, an increase of more than 400,000 since COVID, driven largely by mental health conditions.

Business correspondentPaul Kelsotravels to Middlesbrough to hear the stories behind the numbers.

Michael is fair haired and frail, with a face that tells a story.

Until seven years ago, his life was perhaps as he imagined it. He was married and working for a fancy food shop in his home town in North Yorkshire.

Then something happened. He is reluctant to share the full details but his marriage broke down, he lost the job, and was left with a choice: "It was to be homeless, or move to a bedsit in Middlesbrough."

Which is how we come to be speaking in the Employment Hub on Corporation Road, opposite Middlesbrough's Jobcentre.

A council-backed centre, it offers help and guidance to anyone looking to get back into work.

Young adults making the leap from education to employment; older people who want or need to earn again; and clients like Michael, who fall somewhere in between, derailed by illness or personal circ*mstances.

The prospect of an interest rate cut when Bank of England officials meet next week has been dealt a blow after data showed basic pay is still rising.

Wages continued to grow at 6% in the three months to April - more than double the rate of inflation, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% over the same period, up from 4.3% in the three months to March and the highest level since September 2021.

What does this mean for the Bank of England as it weighs cutting interest rates? Business reporter James Sillars has the latest...

The final set of employment figures before polling day will be monitored by the Bank before it decides on whether to cut rates - we'll get the announcement next Thursday.

The Bank has hinted an interest rate cut is likely in the coming months but it remains worried about sticky services inflation and the pace of wage growth fuelling more price rises in the economy.

There were 14 consecutive interest rate increases from December 2021 up until last summer, aimed at dampening demand to help bring price growth down.

The rate hikes drove up the cost of borrowing, with mortgage holders facing bills of hundreds of pounds more a month as low fixed-rate terms expired.

With the main consumer prices index measure of inflation running at 2.3% - above the Bank's 2% target - members of the rate-setting committee have acknowledged progress but are unlikely to follow the European Central Bank in cutting rates this month.

Even before the ONS data was released, financial markets projected just a 10% chance of a rate cut from 5.25% to 5% on 20 June.

Most of the money is on September. However, those predictions could yet shift.

The ONS is also set to publish this week the preliminary growth figures for the economy in April.

They are predicted by economists to show zero growth for the month, largely due to the impact of poor weather.

And next Wednesday, the day before the interest rate decision, the latest inflation figures will be published - another key factor for the Bank.

BP staff will have to disclose intimate relationships under a new policy.

The rules, which put employees at risk of being sacked if contravened, have come into force after thedismissal of former boss Bernard Looney.

Previously, employees only had to disclose relationships if there was a conflict of interest risk.

So-called "Super-ATMs" are going on trial in England to provide a cash lifeline to residents without a local bank branch.

Customers with multiple banks will be able to make deposits at one machine in a UK industry first.

The ATMs are already up and running in Athersone, Warwickshire, in Heathfield, East Sussex, and in Swanage, Dorset.

Fish and chicken bought from Sainsbury's will soon come in recyclable card trays.

The supermarket believes it can slash almost 700 tonnes of plastic packaging per year on its own-brand products.

Sainsbury's says it is a "UK retailer first" decision.