Alcohol-free beer has been added to the UK’s official inflation basket, in a move that underlines changing consumer habits and the growing shift towards healthier lifestyles.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that the product will join more than 760 goods and services used to calculate key inflation measures, including the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and CPIH — its preferred gauge of price growth.

The inclusion reflects a marked rise in demand for low- and no-alcohol alternatives, with the ONS citing increased sales volumes, wider product ranges and greater shelf space dedicated to alcohol-free options across UK retailers. The move is widely seen as recognition of a broader cultural shift, particularly among younger consumers and professionals prioritising wellbeing.

Alongside alcohol-free beer, hummus and pet grooming have also been added to the basket, highlighting how evolving lifestyle choices are reshaping the cost-of-living calculation. The ONS said hummus had gained prominence due to its growing popularity among health-conscious consumers, with UK spending on the product estimated to have reached around £170 million in 2024.

Pet grooming, meanwhile, reflects the continued boom in pet ownership, particularly among smaller, high-maintenance breeds, and the increasing willingness of households to spend on services rather than just goods. Analysts note that services inflation has become a key driver of overall price pressures in recent years, making its accurate representation in the basket increasingly important.

The annual update to the basket is designed to ensure inflation data remains aligned with real-world spending patterns. Items that decline in relevance are removed to make room for emerging trends. This year, bottled premium lager purchased in pubs and restaurants has been dropped, alongside traditional sheets of wrapping paper, which are being replaced by rolls that better reflect modern purchasing behaviour.

Other additions include dashboard cameras and motorhomes, both of which have seen rising demand. Dashcams have grown in popularity as motorists seek to reduce insurance costs and improve security, while motorhomes have benefited from lifestyle shifts following the pandemic and a rise in early retirement trends.

The updated basket will be used in the next set of inflation figures, due to be published on 25 March, and comes at a time of heightened sensitivity around the cost of living. While inflation eased to 3 per cent in January, down from 3.4 per cent in December, economists expect renewed upward pressure in the coming months, driven in part by surging global energy prices linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The Bank of England, which targets inflation at 2 per cent, is widely expected to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent at its next meeting, as policymakers weigh the risk of rising fuel and transport costs feeding through into broader price increases.

In parallel with the basket update, the ONS is also modernising how inflation is measured. A new system will draw on vast datasets from retailers, analysing around 300 million price points across more than one billion products each month. This marks a significant shift away from traditional in-store price collection, which relied on around 25,000 manually gathered data points.

The move towards real-time, high-volume data is expected to improve the accuracy and responsiveness of inflation reporting, particularly in fast-moving sectors such as groceries, energy and consumer goods.

For households, however, the underlying message remains unchanged. Despite some easing in headline inflation, rising energy costs and global uncertainty mean the pressure on everyday spending is unlikely to disappear any time soon. The inclusion of alcohol-free beer, hummus and pet grooming may signal changing lifestyles, but it also reflects the broader reality that the cost of modern living continues to evolve.

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Shares of Alkyl Amines Chemicals tanked as much as 4% to their day’s low of Rs 1,212 on the BSE on Tuesday after the company said it has temporarily suspended the manufacturing of certain products at its Patalganga, Kurkumbh and Dahej plants due to the non-availability of ammonia, a key raw material used in the production of methylamines, ethylamines and their derivatives.

The company said the disruption stems from the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, which has affected global logistics networks as well as international crude oil and petrochemicals supply chains. The situation has also impacted the availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a critical input used in ammonia production.

As a result, several ammonia manufacturers have invoked force majeure and indicated their inability to supply the product during this period. Due to the shortage of ammonia, Alkyl Amines said this situation also constitutes a force majeure event arising from the ongoing geopolitical conflict.

Also read: IDBI Bank sale may stall as bids trail reserve price

However, the manufacture of other products at these sites that do not require ammonia will continue.

The company said the financial and operational impact of the ongoing force majeure event cannot be estimated at this stage. It added that it is closely monitoring developments and exploring alternative sourcing arrangements for ammonia, and will inform stock exchanges of any material updates.

Alkyl Amines share price performance

The stock has been a market laggard, plunging 19% in the last one month. The share price has fallen nearly 40% in the last six months and is down over 20% since the beginning of the year.

Alkyl Amines Q3 snapshot

Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 43 crore, marking a 1.4% decline from Rs 43.6 crore reported in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 4.6% year-on-year to Rs 354 crore, compared with Rs 371.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

EBITDA slipped 0.8% to Rs 67 crore from Rs 70.4 crore a year earlier, indicating some pressure on operating performance. As a result, EBITDA margin eased slightly to 18.9% from 19% in Q3 last year.

Sensex, Nifty today: Catch all the LIVE stock market action here

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

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IDBI Bank shares plunged more than 17% on Monday, extending their one-month decline to nearly 30%, after The Economic Times reported that the government’s strategic stake sale in the lender could stall because the financial bids received were reportedly below the floor price set for the deal. As the divestment process, which began nearly five years ago, continues to drag on and has tested investors’ patience, market experts that ETMarkets spoke to, remain divided on what investors should do with the stock. Here’s what they opine.

The news of the disinvestment process likely stalling dealt a fresh blow to investors, with the stock already down 17% over the past month going into Monday’s session. They hurried to offload IDBI Bank’s shares soon after the market opened and over 12.5 crore shares traded on the exchange during the session, the NSE data revealed.

Citing a source, the report further said if the government still intends to pursue the strategic sale, it will have to start the bidding process afresh, which will take time.

Also read: IDBI Bank sale may stall as bids trail reserve price

Meanwhile, IDBI Bank issued a statement, clarifying that the proposed divestment is a confidential process being undertaken by the Government of India (GOI) and the lender is not in a position to either confirm or deny media reports.

The government’s equity in IDBI Bank as of December 31, 2025 stood at 45.48% while state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) held 49.24% as on this date. Together, they held a 94.71% stake and aim to offload a 60.72% stake—30.48% by the government and 30.24% by LIC.
Kranthi Bathini, Director-Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities said that the news was a big sentiment dampener for investors who have been waiting a long time to get the process through. “It has really tested their patience, failing to meet the set timelines,” he said. Moreover, the overall weak market sentiments and selling pressure in bank stocks have dented investors’ confidence, he added.
Nifty Bank is down 11% in a month, with stocks falling as much as 25% in this period.

IDBI Bank disinvestment timeline

The proposed strategic disinvestment is being undertaken through a competitive bidding process and not through negotiations, keeping the lender out of the process, the company filing said.

On May 5, 2021, IDBI Bank received an in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for its strategic disinvestment along with the transfer of management control in IDBI Bank.

The government appointed KPMG India as the transaction advisor and Link legal as the legal advisors on October 7, 2022 for providing advisory services and managing the transaction.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved the reclassification of GOI as public shareholder upon completion of the sale on January 5, 2023. It later allowed the reclassification of LIC as a public shareholder upon completion of the sale.

Also read: QSR stocks slump up to 47% as weak investor appetite, rising fuel risks dent mood. Time to bottom fish?

What should investors do?

Shares of IDBI Bank are trading below their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of Rs 105 and Rs 98, respectively, according to Trendlyne data.

Experts hold a divergent view on what to do with the stock.

Sunny Agrawal, Head – Retail Fundamental Desk at SBI Securities advised investors to buy on dips, expecting the price to stabilise around the Rs 65-70 band (at FY26E 1.0x – 1.1x PBV multiple).

Bathini of WealthMills said that the fundamentals of the lender remain intact, notwithstanding the correction. He recommends investors hold the counter while saying no to fresh additions.

Lender’s December quarter standalone net profit stood at Rs 1,935 crore compared to Rs 1,908 crore reported in the year-ago period, rising by 1.4% year-on-year. However, the profit after tax was down 47% on a sequential basis compared to Rs 3,627 crore in Q2 of FY26.

The lender earned an interest income of Rs 7,074 crore in the quarter under review, which was down 9% versus Rs 7,816 crore in the year-ago period. It was marginally down by 0.4% versus Rs 7,104 crore in Q2FY26.

Decoding the charts, Nilesh Jain, Vice President – Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Centrum Finverse said he sees weakness, going forward. His suggestion to investors is to ‘Sell’ on rise.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Realtors’ body Naredco has tied up with realty portal Magicbricks for data analytics, research and market intelligence.

According to a joint statement, Magicbricks has signed a partnership agreement with the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) to institutionalise research-led conversations, structured policy dialogue, and large-scale knowledge dissemination.

Under the one-year memorandum of understanding (MoU), Magicbricks will serve as the knowledge partner and official broadcast partner via MBTV for Naredco initiatives. They will bring research reports and various monthly co-branded newsletters.

Naredco Chairman Niranjan Hiranandani said: “The Indian real estate industry stands at a pivotal juncture, transforming into a transparent, data-driven, and institutionally robust sector. With tightening regulatory frameworks and more organised capital flows, access to accurate and timely market data has become indispensable”.

The partnership aims to empower consumers, investors, and policymakers alike to navigate a complex market with clarity and confidence.

Naredco President Parveen Jain said, “Our partnership with Magicbricks enables us to combine on-ground developer insights with robust market intelligence and digital reach”.
Magicbricks has monthly traffic exceeding 2 crores and an active base of over 15 lakh property listings. It also provides other real estate services, including home loans, interiors, movers & packers, and expert advice.