Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

GB News faces the prospect of a significant fine after failing in its legal challenge to stop an ongoing sanctions process by regulator Ofcom against the loss-making broadcaster.

On Friday the channel, which is co-owned by hedge fund boss Paul Marshall, was told by a judge at the UK Royal Courts of Justice it could not block the regulator’s sanctions process against it while a separate review takes place over Ofcom’s original decision that it broke the rules.

GB News had argued that the regulator acted unlawfully by commencing and then making public an investigation into the channel’s decision to hold a live debate featuring then-prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year.

On Friday, the court ruled that a judicial review into Ofcom’s decision could go ahead, in a ruling the broadcaster said it was “extremely pleased” with. Any sanction that Ofcom may impose would be subject to the outcome of GB News’ legal challenge.

In May, the media regulator provisionally said that the Sunak programme had broken broadcasting impartiality rules, which it said represented a serious and repeated breach and so the channel could face a statutory sanction.

Ofcom had since “provisionally decided” to impose a “significant statutory fine” on GB News as part of a preliminary view sent to the channel in June, according to filings to the court. The regulator has not yet come to a final decision over whether to proceed with these sanctions. Previous fines issued by the regulator to channels including Russia Today and Chinese state-owned groups have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

GB News had requested interim relief to prevent Ofcom from taking further steps in the sanctions process.

The broadcaster argued that it was planning to show a corresponding programme featuring Sir Keir Starmer to provide balance, but that Ofcom had stopped this from happening by coming to its decision over the Sunak debate. 

Ofcom’s decision prevented any clearly linked and timely programme that might have achieved the necessary due impartiality, GB News argued.

In its claim, GB News said that there was reputational harm should the sanctions process continue, although Ofcom asserts that much of the information related to its investigation is already in the public domain.

Ofcom argued that there was a clear breach of its rules and that there was no justification in preventing it from reaching a final decision on the imposition of sanctions.

Ofcom said in written submissions that this was the 12th breach since March last year, and that it was “not arguable” that the regulator had “erred in law” through its decision.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the court has rejected GB News’ attempt to suspend the sanctions process, and has recognised the significant public interest in Ofcom completing it.”

GB News said: “We believe some of its decisions [by Ofcom] in relation to GB News have been neither fair nor lawful and the court has recognised that there are serious arguable issues to be determined in this respect.”

The Financial Conduct Authority has charged two brothers for insider dealing.

Matthew and Nikolas West are jointly charged with conspiracy to deal in four stocks while having inside information.

Matthew West, 45, has additionally been charged with insider dealing in relation to two stocks.

While Nikolas West, 43, has been charged with dealing in those same two stocks based on that insider information.

The alleged offending took place between 2016 and 2020, and the West brothers made a profit of around £110,000.

They will appear at Southwark Crown Court on 31 October.

Insider dealing is a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years imprisonment.

Israel is considering strikes on Iran’s energy sector, a retaliatory option that has rattled markets and raised concerns that war in the Middle East could threaten global oil supplies.

Any Israeli attack that disrupted Tehran’s 1.7mn barrels per day of oil exports would have ramifications for global energy markets — while any Iranian retaliation targeting rival oil exporters in the Middle East would cause even more upheaval.

Such an uncontrolled cycle of attacks would risk a price surge in the world’s most essential commodity, reigniting inflation and hurting the global economy weeks before the US election, analysts said. But they said there were mitigating factors pointing to some underlying resilience in the market.

Will Israel strike Iran’s energy infrastructure?

Israel has been discussing strikes against Iran’s oil and gas industry with its US allies as it considers a potential response to Tehran firing 180 missiles at Israel this week.

When Iran launched a clearly telegraphed missile and drone attack on Israel in April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government responded with a strike on an Iranian air base. Neither side sought a further escalation.

This time, however, analysts forecast a more aggressive Israeli response, possibly targeting Iran’s key oil and gas industry.

“Israel is in what I call a ‘three eyes for one eye mode’. I have a feeling the response will be much bigger than in April,” said Bob McNally, founder of Rapidan Energy Group and a former energy adviser to US president George W Bush.

Washington is expected to urge Israel to limit its strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. But Israel sees the energy sector as the “ATM for the axis of resistance proxies”, said Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets and a former CIA analyst, referring to the network of Iran-backed militant groups in the region.

What sites could Israel target in Iran?

The Islamic republic’s most important piece of energy infrastructure is the Kharg Island export facility, about 25km off Iran’s southern coast, which handles about 90 per cent of its crude shipments.

“There is a lot of concentration risk for Iran at Kharg Island, which is essentially the nerve system of the Iranian oil sector,” said Croft.

Empty oil tankers that were close to Kharg have fled the area since Iran’s missile attack on Israel, said Samir Madani, chief executive of TankerTrackers.com, which reports on oil shipments.

He said Iran’s national tanker group “appears to be fearing an imminent attack by Israel”, adding that such an “overnight evacuation” had not been observed before.

During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Baghdad threatened to destroy the Kharg facility and targeted tankers departing from the terminal.

Alternative, less significant energy targets could include the Abadan refinery — which accounts for 17 per cent of Iran’s refining capacity and 13 per cent of its gasoline supply, according to analysts at Kpler — and Mahshahr oil terminal. Major pipelines and storage depots near Hormozgan could also be targeted.

An Israeli strike against Iran’s minor oil infrastructure could cause a temporary loss of output of up to 450,000 b/d, Citi estimates. But an attack on Kharg would lead to a much larger, more prolonged loss of up to 1.5mn b/d, or about 1.4 per cent of global consumption.

Hitting refineries rather than oilfields or export terminals might have less impact on the oil price or even drive it downwards, since Iran would have more crude to sell overseas.

What could Iran do in response?

In retaliation, Iran and its proxies could look to internationalise the conflict by striking energy operations throughout the region, including operations of US companies or American allies in the Gulf. Any such moves, analysts warned, would represent a significant escalation.

“The risk is that it’s no longer a limited conflict between Israel and Iran. There’s now a wide arc of uncertainty,” said Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning energy historian. “There may be tits for tats. The danger is the tits and the tats could get a lot bigger.”

In 2019, the US blamed Iran for a sophisticated missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Khurais and Abqaiq oil facilities, which temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude production. Iran was also blamed for two sabotage attacks on tankers in the Gulf that year.

But a rapprochement since Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic relations last year means Saudi Arabia is now unlikely to be “at the top of the Iranian retaliatory strike list”, said RBC’s Croft. The two countries have been in constant contact since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered a wave of regional hostilities.

Iran might instead push its proxies to step up attacks on oil tankers, disrupting supply and forcing traffic to reroute. Houthi rebels in Yemen have for months been attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea, saying the assaults are in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

A “more extreme” scenario, said Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, would be choking off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane through which one in five barrels of global crude consumption passes each day.

During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Tehran mined the strait in what became known as the tanker wars.

In April — as it launched its first direct military strikes on Israel from Iranian soil in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria — it seized a vessel there. But despite threats by hardliners during periods of high tension, Iran has never blocked traffic through the strait.

Any effort to shut the strait would affect Iran’s own exports, which analysts say makes it unlikely. “I think that is a low probability event that would be difficult to implement, even if Iran wanted to,” said Bordoff.

What would be the impact on oil prices?

This week’s events have jolted markets from a relative calm, with sluggish demand from China weighing down prices. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has risen 8 per cent this week to nearly $78 a barrel.

Should the confrontation remain constrained to limited air strikes that do not hit energy infrastructure, Brent prices are unlikely to climb above $85 a barrel, said Henning Gloystein at Eurasia Group.

But successful Israeli attacks against Iranian oil assets would “almost certainly push prices above $85 a barrel and possibly towards $100”, he said. “Only if there’s then major Iranian retaliation that would seriously impact shipping through Hormuz would Brent likely go much higher.”

Analysts at Citi said a successful effort to choke off the Strait of Hormuz, although unlikely, would lead to a price increase “well past previous record highs”, even if only for a limited period. Brent’s all-time high was $147.50 a barrel in 2008.

Any jump in crude prices will ultimately feed through to petrol costs, which could affect the US presidential election in November. Rising prices can be a liability for the incumbent Democratic party.

What could stabilise the market?

Counteracting forces that were absent during previous conflicts should help to keep a lid on prices if the fighting escalates.

Two years of production cuts by Opec+ producers — particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — mean the group has more than 5mn barrels a day of spare capacity, which could be brought back if Iranian supply was suddenly disrupted.

“That’s a reassuring cushion to have in the market as we go into this very dangerous situation,” said Ann-Louise Hittle, vice-president for oil markets at Wood Mackenzie.

Western nations also hold significant strategic reserves that could be used to douse a price increase, after stockpiles were established following the price shocks of the 1970s.

A US-led release following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine helped cool prices in 2022. But the US stockpiles are now at their lowest levels since the 1980s.

China, the destination for almost all of Iran’s oil, has been building its reserves, which may help to smooth any supply disruption.

The prolific US shale patch also provides a buffer, with drillers in theory able to quickly increase output to douse prices. But their Wall Street owners will no longer tolerate costly new drilling campaigns.

“We’re beyond that period,” said Steve Pruett, chief executive of Texas-based Elevation Resources and head of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. “Capital markets have imposed a discipline and the leaders of these companies have accepted that discipline.”

HEATED airers are one of the best products you can use to dry your clothes over winter without hugely increasing your energy bills.

The gadgets work by heating up metal bars which you wrap your garments round – and they cost just pennies per hour to run.

7

But, like with any product nowadays, there are so many on the market and it can feel a daunting task to figure out which one to buy.

So, we’ve done some of the hard work for you to find the cheapest models out there.

Of course, make sure you do your own research as you might find a cheaper alternative, particularly as we only looked at winged heated airers.

Websites like Price Spy let you search the internet for a range of products, filtering from the cheapest to most expensive.

You can try having a quick scan of the internet using Google‘s Shopping/Product tab as well.

Always read product reviews too so you know what you are getting for your money.

Here are the cheapest heated airers we found this week.

Aldi – £34.99

7

Discount supermarket Aldi’s £34.99 heated airer is always welcomed back by customers with open arms, and it is the cheapest we could find this week.

The retailer started re-stocking the gadget on September 19, so you’ll want to be quick as it typically flies off shelves.

Aldi’s heater costs roughly 6p an hour to run and can hold 10kg of washing, including towels and bedding.

If you want to buy one of the heated airers, you’ll have to head to your nearest Aldi branch as the retailer doesn’t do home deliveries.

You can find your nearest Aldi store by using the branch locator tool on its website.

George at Asda – £40

7

George at Asda‘s heated airer comes in at £40 – £5 more expensive than Aldi’s.

It is made of aluminium, comes with a 100-day warranty and has plenty of five star reviews on the Asda website.

The airer also has foldable arms which make it easy to pack away when you’re done drying all your bits.

Click and collect is currently unavailable on the product online, while delivery costs from £3.75.

Dunelm – £40

7

Dunelm shoppers can snap up this heated airer for the same price as Asda’s – £40.

The retailer says it costs just 5p an hour to run as well, which is 1p cheaper than it costs to run Aldi’s winged airer.

The airer has a 10kg washing limit with a combined 12 meters worth of bar space to hang your pants, socks and other clothes.

You can click and collect one for free from your local branch or delivery costs from £3.95.

You can find your nearest Dunelm branch by using its store locator.

Homebase – £40

7

Advertisement

Homebase has slashed the price on this heated airer from £60 to £40 – a 33% discount.

One massive perk is that it comes with a cover included, which helps lock in any heat produced to dry your clothes quicker.

It comes with 10.9metres of drying space across all the bars and can hold up to 10kg of your garments.

Bear in mind delivery will set you back a whopping £6 – although click and collect is free.

You can find your nearest Homebase branch by using the store locator tool on its website.

The Range – £37.99

7

The Range has slashed the price of this winged heated airer from £44.99 to £37.99, or you can buy one with a cover for £47.99 – an extra tenner.

It comes with foldable wings so you can store it away easily after use plus delivery is also free as well as click and collect.

You can find your nearest The Range branch by using its online store locator tool.

Bear in mind though, if you do want free delivery, you may have to wait over a week for it to arrive.

Robert Dyas – £39.99

7

Robert Dyas has discounted this heated airer by £7, putting it just under the £40 mark.

One advantage to the airer compared to the others we found is that it can hold 15kg worth of clothes making it slightly sturdier.

It also comes with 18 heated bars and a foldable rack making it easy to stash away.

Robert Dyas’ website is offering shoppers who enter a specific code free delivery too.

Or, you can try finding it in your local Robert Dyas store, by using the retailer’s store locator tool.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Shein’s reclusive Chinese billionaire founder has travelled to the UK to meet investors in anticipation of a possible listing of the fast-fashion group on the London stock exchange, according to two people with knowledge of plans.

Sky Xu’s presence underscores Shein’s hope that it will receive the necessary regulatory approvals in China and the UK to move forward with a London listing.

Xu was accompanied by his finance chief and bankers at one of the meetings, one person with direct knowledge of the discussions said. The talks were focused on Shein’s growth prospects rather than its listing process, they added.

The meetings were informal and not an official investor roadshow, the second person said. They added that if Shein were to get the green light for an IPO in the UK, a listing would be more likely early next year than this year.

The Singapore-based entrepreneur has never given a media interview and speaks patchy English. He will also travel to the US for meetings one of the people said. Meanwhile, US-based executive chair Donald Tang, a former investment banker and media mogul, has become the face and the most visible leader of the company since he joined in 2022.

The Chinese-founded group, valued at $66bn during its latest funding round, has disrupted the garment industry with its model of shipping cheap clothes directly from factories in China to western shoppers. However it has also faced allegations of forced labour in its cotton supply chain and of having lax environmental standards, both of which it denies. 

The company launched its plan for an IPO at the end last year, at first targeting New York but shifting to London after being rebuffed by US regulators.

Shein, which is now based in Singapore, is still waiting for Chinese regulators to give approval for it to list overseas, with them having been unhappy with the company’s move to sever its ties with China, where it has the vast majority of its manufacturing and operational staff, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Shein declined to comment.

Over the summer, the group filed confidential paperwork with the UK’s financial regulator for a listing and is undergoing due diligence.  

Xu, who has changed his English name from Chris to Sky, is so elusive employees joke that they do not recognise him at the office, according to several people who have worked with him in recent years.

He was born in Zibo, a manufacturing city in China’s Shandong province, where his parents were workers in state-owned factories. His mother was a garment worker, a fact that would later help him when he was teaming up with clothing factory workers to establish Shein’s supply chains. 

Additional reporting by Ivan Levingston and Emma Dunkley