FirstFT: UK business warned of delay to £150bn state energy support

Good morning. UK government officials have warned companies that they will have to wait longer than households for help from its energy package, which may not be ready until November.

The prospect of weeks of delays is increasingly worrying business leaders. Hundreds of thousands of companies reach the end of their fixed-price energy contracts at the start of October.

Companies have urged the government to act quickly to help them cover the soaring “costs of doing business”, with lobby groups in hospitality and manufacturing warning businesses are at risk of failure this autumn.

A support package for Britain’s 28mn households, limiting yearly gas and electricity bills to £2,500 on average, will be in operation from October 1.

But a separate scheme for businesses is more complicated because there is no system for companies comparable to the rolling price cap operated for households by Ofgem, the energy regulator.

Experts have warned that Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will struggle to hit his target of boosting annual economic growth to 2.5 per cent ahead of a mini-Budget next week, with few available means to achieve the goal.

• Opinion: Downing Street should take advantage of the incentive for some energy producers to agree to new fixed-price contracts, writes Helen Thomas.

Thank you for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa. How has the rising cost of doing business affected you or your work? Share your stories at firstft@ft.com and they might be featured in a future edition of the newsletter — Jennifer

Five more stories in the news

1. Wall Street suffers worst sell-off since June 2020 The benchmark S&P 500 index tumbled 4.3 per cent yesterday, with 99 per cent of its companies sliding in value after US inflation increased unexpectedly in August from the previous month. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.2 per cent as investors braced for more aggressive Federal Reserve rate rises ahead.

2. King Charles to ‘seek the welfare of all’ in Northern Ireland The monarch vowed to follow the “shining example” of the late Queen, who played a significant role in reconciliation in Ireland, during his first visit to the region after taking the throne. Should King Charles speak up on political issues? Vote in our poll.

• On the Commonwealth: King Charles faces the delicate task of stewarding the 56-member organisation of former British colonies, as they question its future and the role of a hereditary monarch in the 21st century.

3. Ukraine pushes east into Donbas Ukraine’s armed forces are battling for control of a string of towns in Donbas as the counteroffensive pushes east. Officials said the lightning counter-attack has flipped the battlefield dynamic, making it all but impossible for Russia to encircle Ukrainian forces in the region.

4. EY’s break-up plan raises fears over audit business The Big Four firm’s radical plan to break itself up risks stripping its audit business of the expertise needed to vet the complex accounts of the world’s largest multinationals, industry executives have warned. Partners begin voting next month on the proposal to spin off and list the advisory business.

5. Aston Martin faces £150mn lawsuit over Valkyrie hypercar The luxury carmaker is facing a lawsuit from two former dealers who claim they are owed millions for underwriting the development of the troubled £2.5mn hypercar.

The day ahead

Queen lying-in-state King Charles will lead a procession to deliver his mother’s coffin to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament, where the late Queen will lie in state from today until her funeral on Monday, allowing visitors to pay their final respects.

Sweden election result The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats surged ahead in Sunday’s poll to become the largest rightwing opposition party, which now holds a slender lead over the ruling leftwing bloc. The poll’s full outcome is due today.

State of the EU speech European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will outline a co-ordinated approach to tackling high prices and preventing an “ice-cold winter” when she delivers her State of the Union address to the European parliament in Strasbourg.

Xi Jinping’s first trip abroad since Covid China’s president will be among allies, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, when he travels to Kazakhstan today before attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which begins tomorrow.

Economic indicators The UK’s Office for National Statistics publishes August consumer and producer price indices, plus its monthly house price index. The CPI in July hit 10.1 per cent from a year before, up from 9.4 per cent in June. The US releases its August PPI; prices rose 9.8 per cent in July. (FT, WSJ)

What else we’re reading

Globalisation is not dying, it’s changing Evidence suggests that natural economic forces have been largely responsible for past changes in world trade. While concern over the security of supply chains will no doubt add to these changes, whether the result will be “reshoring” or “friendshoring” is doubtful, writes Martin Wolf. More likely is a pattern of diversification.

Will growth investors keep the faith? Some investors are, by nature, optimistic, believing that a small group of outlier technology companies can make exponential gains by shaping the future. But over the past year, that philosophy has run into rising interest rates, inflation, war and a possible recession. Now they are adapting to a new reality.

What grief does to those left behind The late Queen Elizabeth II spent the last 16 months of her life mourning the loss of Prince Philip, her beloved consort of 73 years. The death of a spouse is not merely a psychological trauma: evidence suggests it can measurably harm the physical health of the surviving partner, writes Anjana Ahuja.

Italy’s government faces familiar business dilemmas Whatever emerges from the fractious coalition building likely after national elections, there will be two business tests of its credentials: the futures of lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena and restructured national carrier ITA.

Jean-Luc Godard, film-maker, 1930-2022 If any film-maker deserved the title “founder of modern cinema”, it was Jean-Luc Godard, who has died at the age of 91. He was an original and provocative voice in the French New Wave, which triggered a cataclysm in postwar film with titles such as À bout de souffle (Breathless).

Wellness

The Theragun massage device, which promises to relax and tone facial muscles, was been championed by the likes of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Therabody is determined to own the sports recovery market. Can it hit the perfect pressure point?