The drop was “partly” due to a reduction in petrol prices, according to the ONS

Inflation dropped to its lowest point in nearly a year last month, according to recent data, further fuelling optimism that the Bank of England will reduce interest rates in March.

The headline rate decreased to 3.0 per cent in January, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from 3.4 per cent the previous month. This decline met City predictions and brought inflation to its lowest level since the previous March.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, stated the drop was “partly” due to a reduction in petrol prices, which fell 3.1 per cent month-on-month.

“Airfares were another downward driver this month with prices dropping back following the increase in December. Lower food prices also helped push the rate down, particularly for bread & cereals and meat,” he added, as reported by City AM.

Services inflation, which is closely watched by policymakers at the Bank of England as a reliable indicator of domestic price pressures, eased to 4.4 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously.

This was slightly stronger than many anticipated, and may cause the Bank to reconsider before cutting in March, but most analysts suggested the case for a cut remained strong given yesterday’s labour market data.

The data revealed that unemployment climbed to a post-pandemic peak at the end of last year whilst wage pressures significantly relaxed, which should help drive down inflation over the medium term.

“With the labour market data yesterday pointing to ongoing weakness in employment and a further softening in pay growth, most policymakers are likely to look through any short run stickiness in the services data,” Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen said.

The Bank of England anticipates that inflation will return to the two per cent target this spring, primarily due to reduced energy costs, which could clear the path for additional rate reductions in 2026.

Jonathan Raymond, investment manager at Quilter Cheviot, said: “As the economy barely kept afloat towards the end of last year, and the labour market and wage growth have cooled considerably, the Bank will likely feel increasingly comfortable cutting rates as 2026 progresses.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “Cutting the cost of living is my number one priority. Thanks to the choices we made at the Budget we are bringing inflation down, with £150 off energy bills, a freeze in rail fares for the first time in 30 years and prescription fees frozen again.”

Nomura

Uncertainty overdone: The brokerage said the disruption concerns oversimplify the role of IT services companies. “It is easier said than done that a SaaS product and IT vendors can be replaced by vibecoded apps, given that the enterprise IT buyers optimise for reducing risks of failures and not costs and innovations necessarily,” said Nomura’s analysts. “Tech adoption for newer and unproven technologies remains slow given concerns about compliance, regulatory, business and continuity risks.”

What should investors do: “The current sell-off in IT services stocks appears to be a case of front-loading of pains – pricing in extinction of old business models before gains from new business models emerge,” said Nomura’s analysts. “Transition period is painful, but high free cash flow and dividend yields (4-5%) will likely create a floor for stocks sooner than later.”

The brokerage said valuations are now trading below the last 12-year averages and at a 12-39% discount to last 5-year averages. Its top picks are Infosys, Coforge and eClerx.

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UBS
Terminal Value: The IT stocks sell-off has brought terminal value – the long-term cash-flow assumptions that drive a large part of valuations – into focus as investors are concerned over long-term earnings prospects and growth trajectory of these companies.
“Overall, while we believe there has been some near-term overreaction in our view, the questions around terminal growth cannot be ignored,” said UBS’s analysts. “Companies that accelerate the shift towards non-linearity, invest in IP/platforms, and help clients bridge the AI adoption gap will be the ones to defend terminal value.” Adaptability remains key: The brokerage said it will keep a close eye on how quickly and effectively the IT services companies adapt to pricing model changes, headcount and acquisitions in response to the structural changes.

“The prevailing tone in the market seems to presume a rapid, broad-based automation of enterprise workflows by agentic AI, rendering the traditional IT services model structurally weak,” said UBS’s analysts. “In our view, this isn’t an unfair assumption, but what we believe is that we will see a model transition from linear staffing to solutions and platforms, to outcomes and to problem solving.”

She also visited the Theatre Royal and the Holburne Museum during her trip

Queen Camilla travelled to Bath this week where she visited the city’s Holburne Museum, the historic Theatre Royal and an independent publisher that reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction mostly by women. During her trip to Persephone bookshop on Tuesday (February 17) the Queen, 78, met founder Nicola Beauman and managing director Francesca Beauman.

During the meeting, the trio discussed the importance of creating a 20th-century literary canon based around domestic feminist narratives. They also chatted about the need to rescue lost literary voices and how readers are more used to male literary perspectives on the First and Second World War than female ones.

The Queen also described the new Buckingham Palace library where she is planning to include her Persephone books.

Francesca Beauman said: “We were thrilled to welcome Her Majesty the Queen to Persephone Books. She came to Bath to visit the Holburne Museum, the Theatre Royal and us.

“We showed her round the bookshop, then she sat down at the ‘wrapping table’ and had a cup of tea (‘milk and one’). A tiny etiquette drama as we weren’t sure whether to pour the milk for her, or not! We had a delightful chat about, not to be immodest, why our books are so wonderful.”

She added: “There was a large and affectionate crowd waiting outside as she left, with three of our books, if she ever has time to read them: Crooked Cross by Sally Carson, They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple and Mariana by Monica Dickens.”

During her trip to Bath, the Queen also paid a visit to the Theatre Royal where she watched a preview of a community production of David Copperfield.

She also visited the recently completed Schroder Gallery at the Holburne Museum and toured new exhibitions, including A Life in Print by fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes and viewed photographs by Sir Don McCullin.

It was Queen Camilla’s second trip to the South West this month after she visited the HQ of Avon and Somerset Police in Portishead near Bristol.

Red Lobster is considering closing more locations as it continues to reevaluate its restaurant footprint in the wake of its 2024 bankruptcy.

The seafood chain shuttered roughly 130 restaurants when it went through the bankruptcy process and Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the company is continuing to review its locations and leases as it considers ways to curb costs.

Adamolekun said in the interview that visits have risen, with sales up about 10% from last year, but they haven’t recovered to pre-bankruptcy levels and many of the chain’s locations need upgrades.

“There’s a lot of positive signs, but we inherited a very damaged brand, so there’s still work to do to repair all of that,” he told the Journal.

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Red Lobster is weighing additional location closures as it continues to restructure its business. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after it racked up steep losses amid reduced sales and losses generated from an endless shrimp deal that was originally priced at $20. 

The company is also dealing with the fallout from a 2014 move that sold off ownership of the chain’s real estate and saddled the company with lease payments. 

Some of those leases involve multiple restaurants, which Adamolekun said has made it difficult to close some poorly performing locations because their lease is linked with higher performing ones.

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Damola Adamolekun was named CEO of Red Lobster in August 2024. (Fortress Investment Group)

The Journal reported that people familiar with the company’s discussions said Red Lobster would ideally have dozens fewer restaurants in its portfolio so that it could focus on higher-performing locations.

Adamolekun was hired as CEO by the chain’s new ownership in August 2024 after he led a restructuring effort at P.F. Chang’s. 

The company has cut roughly 10% of its corporate staff in recent months and the Journal’s report noted that Red Lobster is negotiating with seafood vendors as tariffs have pushed the costs of imported seafood higher.

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A waitress carries a tray of a lobster kettle and a crab trio dish at a Red Lobster restaurant in Yonkers, New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Adamolekun told the Journal that once the company has dealt with struggling locations, Red Lobster could look to expand in upstate New York and New England, where it has a limited presence. 

He’s also considering franchise deals for international locations as well as selling more Red Lobster-branded products, like Cheddar Bay Biscuit mixes, through retail channels.

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FOX Business reached out to Red Lobster for comment.

Cheerios maker General Mills cut its annual sales and profit forecasts, citing weak consumer sentiment and a shift toward healthier and lower-cost food options that are pressuring demand for packaged products.

“Weak consumer sentiment, heightened uncertainty, and significant volatility have weighed on category growth and impacted consumer purchase patterns, resulting in a slower pace and higher cost of volume recovery than initially expected,” the company said in a statement ahead of its presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference on Tuesday morning. 

The shifting consumer landscape, driven in part by the growing preference for healthier options and increased adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, is adding further pressure to packaged food demand.

Packages of Cheerios, a brand owned by General Mills, are seen in a store in Manhattan. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

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General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said during the company’s presentation at CAGNY that the growing competition for protein options is also a factor. General Mills has its own line of protein cereals.

“We expect GLP-1 and other anti-obesity medications to have a lasting influence in the food and nutrition landscape, nudging some consumers toward smaller portions and more nutrient-dense protein and fiber-forward foods,” Harmening said.

The chief executive also said the company recognizes that its lower- and middle-income consumers have increasingly focused on value as economic pressures continue to weigh on their budgets.

“Cost of living and housing pressures are reshaping spending patterns and value is a core expectation that is here to stay,” Harmening said.

Cheerios for sale at a grocery store on Dec. 22, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, PepsiCo cut prices on core brands such as Lay’s and Doritos by up to 15% following a consumer backlash against earlier price hikes.

Peer Conagra, maker of Slim Jim meat snacks, has maintained its annual sales and profit targets despite reporting a muted second quarter.

General Mills, which left its annual outlook unchanged in December, has been grappling with muted demand as Americans curb discretionary spending and shift to cheaper pantry staples.

A woman shops for Cheerios at a Price Chopper supermarket in South Burlington, Vermont, Nov. 6, 2017. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

General Mills now expects annual sales to decline 1.5% to 2%, compared with its prior range of down 1% to up 1%.

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The company also forecast annual adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share will fall 16% to 20% in constant currency, versus its previous outlook for a 10% to 15% decline.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

Tesla will avoid a 30-day suspension of its dealer and manufacturer licenses in California after complying with a state order to stop using the term “autopilot” when marketing its vehicles, state regulators said Tuesday.

The decision comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) found in December 2025 that Tesla violated state law by misleadingly marketing its electric vehicles with the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving.”

The regulator said Tuesday that Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company took “corrective action” and had stopped using the term “autopilot,” and noted that Tesla already modified its use of the term “full self-driving” by clarifying that driver supervision is required.

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Tesla avoided a 30-day suspension of its California sales licenses after regulators said the company complied with an order to stop using the term “autopilot” in its marketing. (Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto / Getty Images)

“The DMV is committed to safety throughout all California’s roadways and communities,” California DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a statement. “The department is pleased that Tesla took the required action to remain in compliance with the State of California’s consumer protections.”

According to the DMV, Tesla’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) marketing materials beginning in 2021 used the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving capability,” along with the phrase, “The system is designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.”

However, the DMV said the vehicles “could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles.”

The DMV filed accusations against Tesla’s manufacturer and dealer licenses in November 2023, and the automaker Tesla discontinued use of the term “full self-driving capability” after noting that the system required driver supervision.

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California regulators said Tesla took corrective action in its marketing of driver-assistance features, avoiding a temporary suspension of its sales licenses. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Last year, the California Office of Administrative Hearings held a hearing before an administrative law judge, who issued a proposed decision in November finding that the term “autopilot” violated state law.

The DMV had given Tesla 60 days to take corrective action. By complying, Tesla avoided a temporary suspension in California — its largest U.S. market.

According to its website, Tesla’s “autopilot” feature allows vehicles to match the speed of traffic and assists with steering within a marked lane.

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Tesla, led by Elon Musk, complied with a state order to stop using the term “autopilot” in California advertising, regulators said. (Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The “full self-driving (supervision)” feature alerts drivers of stop signs and traffic lights, and can slow the vehicle to a stop while approaching the signal, all with driver supervision.

FOX Business reached out to Tesla for comment.