SHOPPERS have been warned the rising costs of two ingredients will hike the price of chocolate this Halloween.

The ongoing cocoa crisis in West Africa and slump in sugar supplies means the cost of the key ingredients have soared.

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As a result, chocolate prices have increased by more than 10% in the last three months.

The price of cocoa in London has skyrocketed by nearly 45% since the start of the year.

As of September, it sits at £5,302 per metric tonne, according to trade journal Confectionery News.

In April, it had reached a record high of £10,265.

Poor harvests caused by unusual weather means cocoa supplies in the likes of the Ivory Coast and Ghana – which produces approximately 60% of the world’s cocoa – remain tight.

Nidhi Jain, commodity specialist at The Smart Cube, told the trade journal it’s a “dramatic rise”.

“Looking ahead, these supply issues are highly likely to keep prices elevated in the run-up to Halloween,” she said.

The expert added that sugar prices are also expected to rise over the rest of 2024 “due to supply distributions”, particularly in Brazil and India.

“Given the volatile costs of these two commodities, there will be unavoidable affects on the consumer, with manufacturers considering price increases to confectionery products,” continued Jain.

“Higher prices for sweets and chocolates seem inevitable as commodity costs rise.”

SUPERMARKET HIKE

The price of chocolate has risen by 11% in the year to August, according to a study by the consumer group Which?

This is compared to other food and drink products which grew by 2.7% over the same period.

These hikes can be seen in supermarkets’ own brand ranges and from manufacturers such as Cadbury and Mars.

An Asda spokesman said the supermarket is “consistently recognised as the best-value traditional supermarket in independent price comparison surveys”.

While a Morrisons spokeswoman said the company was “working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers”.

Sainsbury’s said: “While prices can go up and down for a range of reasons, we’re committed to offering our customers great choice and value when they shop with us.”

SHOP AROUND

Ele Clark, retail editor at Which?, explained that to ensure you get the best value for money on your Halloween chocolate, “shop around and compare the price per gram across different pack sizes, retailers and brands.”

This is known as unit pricing and is an easier way for shoppers to compare similar items of different sizes.

You should be able to see the product’s unit price where its price tag is shown – it may be in small print.

It displays the cost of different products by weight, or volume and helps you easily compare the prices of products, regardless of their respective sizes.

For example, Tesco is charging £1.29 per 100g for a four-pack of Twirls.

However, the supermarket charges £1.10 per 100g if you snap it up using the Tesco Clubcard.

How to save money on chocolate

We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.

Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…

Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.

Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.

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Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.

Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.

They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.

Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.

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So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.

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Nobody Wants This premiered on Netflix on September 26, and became the most watched show in the English language within its first week. A tidy 10-episode, Los Angeles-set romance, it tells a time-old tale of boy meets girl, where the boy is Noah (played by Adam Brody), a Reform rabbi, newly single following the break-up of a long-term relationship that didn’t lead to an engagement, and the girl is Joanne (played by Kristen Bell), a scrappy single podcaster and “shiksa” so unfamiliar with Judaism that she’s never heard the word “shalom” out loud.

The two share a sizzling chemistry, which is to be expected from two stalwarts of the television schedules. Bell (the voice of Gossip Girl and star of The Good Place) is a tiny, effervescent blonde with that strange blend of self-confidence and “crazy” that reads as California charming. He’s outrageously delicious, as would be expected from the actor who first won the hearts of millions as The OC’s favourite surf nerd, Seth Cohen. Bell, who was attached to the project from the outset, reportedly brought on Brody, a former co-star who is known to be cautious about being typecast as irresistibly handsome nice guys. Too bad, Brody: with Nobody Wants This he has reignited the OC fan base and beguiled a whole new generation.

Fleabag gave us the Hot Priest. Now Brody brings Hot Rabbi. In a world of acceptance where all barriers to love have been eroded, true faith is now the only obstacle to the fulfilment of any budding romcom. To misquote Notting Hill: “She’s just a goy, standing in front of a rabbi, asking him to love her.”

If Nobody Wants This has succeeded it is presumably because it is fun and cute, and unexpectedly well written. The writer Erin Foster, a spit for Bell, also hosts a podcast with her sister and converted to Judaism before marriage. NWT is largely drawn from her own experiences. I binge-watched the whole thing in two evenings and found it very compelling. But while the story retreads the formula of many standard romcoms, I found it most fascinating for the curious agelessness of its milieu and all its principal characters. Brody is now 44, and Bell likewise is in her mid-forties. Assuming both are playing people roughly in the same age bracket, NWT mirrors the worldview of the geriatric millennial. But none of the characters seem encumbered by the baggage of real adult responsibility. None seem to have much in the way of previous relationships, first wives, stepkids, mortgages or real jobs. Instead, they live in well-appointed villas in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, doing non-specific work and spending an inconceivable length of time hanging out with their respective parents.

Is this series the result of algorithmic programming, in which shows are neutered of any age nuance in order to appeal to a broader demographic?

With the exception of Noah, who has to do rabbi work at what seems a sensationally liberal-minded temple (see the lively Reddit discussion board about whether he should be playing basketball on Shabbat), the other characters inhabit a world in which 90 per cent of one’s daily duties can be conducted from a deep 12-foot sofa. Marriage is depicted as something undertaken to satisfy religious expectation, and all the married couples live completely independent lives. Even parenting seems only to require the odd evening heartbreak consult.

I enjoyed NWT but I found its universe of kidulthood increasingly bewildering. Is this the result of algorithmic programming, in which the shows are neutered of any age nuance in order to appeal to a broader demographic? Or is this a reflection of a new world order in which wrinkles, offices and children are slowly being obliterated? Scrutinising Bell’s implacable forehead (the mask of modern Hollywood), I marvelled that her concerns about the future of their relationship didn’t raise the question of having babies. Instead, she worried about odd inanities such as “will you like my friends?”, who were similarly single, unencumbered and constantly available.

Typically, dramas about couples in their mid-thirties onwards have revolved around family life or the time bomb of fertility. But perhaps with modern medicine, and societal shifts, retaining friendships has indeed become the most pressing relationship dilemma. Birth rates in the world’s richest economies have more than halved since 1960, with fertility rates now well below the “replacement level” of 2.1 children per woman. Moreover, it’s not because they can’t that most people aren’t having children, it’s because they actually don’t want them.

Perhaps we are culturally transitioning into the world of the elder millennial — one that resembles the exact same world one lived in in one’s twenties, except now with salt-and-pepper hair and better furniture. Dating has become transactional, an app-based sex exchange, which means that actual relationships are a charming novelty. And while you may not live with your parents, you’re still so involved that your key relationships are primarily familial.

Or maybe this is the world according to Netflix. And like lovely Noah, it’s all a gorgeous fantasy.

Email Jo at jo.ellison@ft.com

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ONE MILLION workers could be set for a pay cut under Rachel Reeves’ budget “painful” budget plan.

The Chancellor could extend the freeze on income tax thresholds in this month’s Autumn Statement.

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In a bid to fill a £40billion black hole in the public purse, Rachel Reeves may be considering pushing the freeze beyond its current expiry date of 2028.

The move could raise £7billion , according to reports by the Financial Times.

Labour’s manifesto promised not to increase rates of income tax, but included no mention of tax thresholds.

Other measures reported to be under consideration include:

The Treasury has so far declined to comment on Budget speculation.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said that extending the freeze would pull 400,000 more people into paying income tax, according to The Times.

Plus, another 600,000 could be dragged into paying higher and additional rates by 2029-30 as wages rise.

This means a total of one million workers could be dragged into paying higher rates.

Freezing thresholds is a form of stealth tax – and helps governments generate higher tax revenue in a way that isn’t as obvious as a threshold change.

A person earning £50,000 a year now, who gets annual pay increases of 2%, will be earning about £55,000 by 2029-30.

This will have pulled them into the higher-rate tax band, making their income tax bill nearly £1,000 higher than if they paid the basic rate on their income, the newspaper said.

When asked about possible tax changes during a press conference in Berlin, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We are going to keep our manifesto pledges.”

He added: “I’m not going to pre-empt the individual measures that will be outlined by the Chancellor in due course.”

He went on: “This is going to be a Budget that will fix the foundations and rebuild our country.”

How do I calculate tax?

If you earn £12,570 or less, you currently pay no income tax.

On earnings between £12,570 and up to £50,270, you pay the basic income tax rate of 20%.

Wages of £50,271 and above are taxed at the higher rate of 40%.

And the additional rate of income tax, which applies to earnings above £150,000, is 45%.

The thresholds for income tax generally rise each year so that people can earn more without paying more tax.

However, the thresholds are now frozen until 2028, but this could be extended in the Budget.

What else could be revealed in the Budget?

The Autumn Statement will take place at around midday on Wednesday, October 30.

Multiple changes to inheritance tax are being considered by ministers.

It is not certain how many people will end up paying more money, nor how much more they might pay.

The levy does not affect the vast majority of the public at the moment, with only 4% of deaths resulting in an inheritance tax charge as the threshold for the 40% charge is an estate above £325,000.

The Chancellor is also expected to honour the previous Tory government’s plans to make around £3 billion of cuts to welfare by reforming work capability rules in the Budget.

Ms Reeves is also said to be considering bringing a stamp duty discount introduced by the Tories to an end, the Times reports, which is expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029.

Other reports suggest a tax on vapes could be raised, and that fuel duty could be hiked for the first time in 14 years.

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

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Nearly three dozen people were killed in an air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp on Saturday, as Israel pressed on with a punishing offensive in northern Gaza in the wake of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s killing.

According to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled enclave, 33 people died and dozens were wounded after the Israeli strike on several houses near the Nassar junction in Jabalia.

The fighting in Gaza underscored the difficulty for international mediators in renewing talks for a ceasefire, even after the death on Wednesday of Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 attack that triggered the war.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said on Thursday that the Israeli offensive would continue until the 101 hostages still held by Hamas were released. He offered the militant group an ultimatum: let the hostages go in exchange for a guarantee of physical security.

The Israel Defense Forces this month launched a renewed air and ground offensive on Jabalia and other parts of north Gaza, targeting what it said were efforts by Hamas to regroup in the area and launch attacks.

Israeli troops encircled the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia on Saturday and fired tank shells at the complex. The entrance to the nearby Kamal Adwan hospital was also hit, killing one person and injuring several others, according to local authorities and Palestinian media. Residents reported a partial telecommunications blackout.

Israel “is intensifying its targeting of the health system in the northern Gaza Strip . . . and its insistence on putting them out of service”, the Gaza health ministry said.

Israel has long maintained that Hamas and other militant groups use hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in Gaza as “command and control sites” and weapons storage facilities.

After confirming Sinwar’s death on Friday, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau based in Doha, said in a televised address that the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza would not be returned until Israeli forces withdrew from the strip. He also demanded that Palestinian prisoners be released from Israeli custody and the end of “aggression” against the besieged territory.

“Sinwar’s death and the deaths of other leaders . . . only makes our movement stronger and more committed to pushing on,” he said.

The war in Gaza has spread across the Middle East, leading to open conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hizbollah movement.

Israel intensified its offensive against Hizbollah last month in response to more than a year of rocket and drone fire from Lebanon into northern Israel. The IDF has conducted waves of air strikes across Lebanon and this month launched a ground invasion.

Hizbollah on Friday vowed that “a new and escalating phase in its confrontation” with Israel was in the offing and on Saturday alerts sounded across northern Israel warning of rocket and drone attacks.

The Israeli military said one drone hit a structure in the northern seaside town of Caesarea, where Netanyahu has his private residence. The prime minister’s office confirmed that the premier’s home was the target but that Netanyahu and his wife were not present and no one was hurt.

In Iran, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei eulogised Sinwar as “an outstanding figure of resistance and combat” against the enemy, who dealt “an irreparable blow” on October 7 that would be “remembered in the region’s history”.

Khamenei added that Sinwar’s death was “a painful loss for the resistance front but will never stop it” from advancing, vowing continued support from Iran.

Tehran is bracing for an Israeli response to a ballistic missile barrage it launched this month. Israeli leaders have promised a “severe” reaction that is “deadly and precise”.

Additional reporting Chloe Cornish in Beirut and Bita Ghaffari in Tehran

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Increasingly motorists are comparing car insurance to highway robbery. The average price of a new quote rose by nearly four times as much as inflation in the three years to June 2024. The government has pledged to tackle the problem. But are insurers really taking customers for a ride?

Some pricey policy add-ons fuel that perception. This week the UK financial watchdog launched an investigation into whether people are being overcharged to pay for car and home insurance in instalments. If the Financial Conduct Authority ends up imposing a 15 per cent annual percentage rate ceiling on premium finance, it could deliver an 8 per cent hit to the earnings of Admiral and Direct Line unless prices increase to replace the lost income, according to Abid Hussain of Panmure Liberum.

The FCA will also probe the puzzle of why motor insurance has risen by so much in the UK. Yes, costs have been driven up by supply chain disruption, energy costs and labour shortages. As cars use more sophisticated technology, they are more expensive to repair. Fraud — including “crash for cash” scams — and inefficient claims handling arrangements are piling on expenses. But why have rates risen by four times as much in the UK as the EU? They are up by 82 per cent compared with 19 per cent in the three years to June.

One explanation is that these statistics overstate the problem. They measure quotes to new customers which appear to have risen particularly steeply following a 2022 ban on “price walking” — the practice of offering better rates to new customers than existing ones. Using a broader measure that includes renewals, premiums are at present £12 lower than inflation-adjusted peak prices in late 2017, according to the ABI. Moreover, UK prices fell more than EU ones in the pandemic, accentuating the subsequent rise.

Another possibility is that motor insurers are making excessive profits from underwriting. But that does not stand up to scrutiny. The sector reported an underwriting loss in both 2022 and 2023.

Some of the pressure is easing. Premiums edged downwards between the first and second quarter of this year. But they have already risen enough to return insurers to profit. EY forecasts a net combined ratio — claims and costs as a percentage of premiums — of 96 per cent this year.

Even so, a concerted push to improve efficiency and drive down costs is vital. This is a multi-faceted problem that is not for the industry alone. Some of the remedies — from policing thefts to repairing potholes — are in the hands of the government. Just leaning on insurers will not move the dial.

vanessa.houlder@ft.com

SHOPPERS are “absolutely gutted” as a fashion chain with 345 branches shuts a beloved store for good today.

Fans of the budget retailer cried “nothing will be left” as their County Durham high street waved goodbye to another shop.

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The Peacocks store, located in Consett, sadly announced their closure date last month.

A message plastered to the window read: “As of September 22 there will be no further refunds done at this store.

“This is due to store closure on October 19, 2024.”

They went out with bang and offered a 30% discount on all goods before the shutters were permanently pulled down.

For those who still want to shop at Peacocks after the closure, their nearest outlet can be found in Bishop Auckland.

It appears a Farplace charity shop will be moving in to take the place of Peacocks.

News of the closure prompted huge reaction on social media, with many expressing their disappointment.

One member of the Facebook group ‘The Consett Chatterbox’ stated: “Absolutely gutted loved Peacock’s especially with Christmas coming up.

“They always had lovely stock in, ridiculous that Consett’s losing yet another good shop.”

Another local questioned the decision saying: “Absolutely crazy it’s been there forever, love Peacocks, why can’t they just move somewhere else in Consett?

“There’s plenty of empty shops?”

Someone else added: “Nothing going to be left. Our high street now is so very run down.”

“Unfortunately another retailer going. Use it or Lose it’ springs to mind,” another member replied.

“What an absolute shame,” agreed a fourth.

“Another to bite the dust,” penned another.

One member added: “They went into administration a few years ago and were saved. Nothing going to be left in our high street not just Consett everywhere is suffering.”

In July earlier this year Peacocks announced they would be strategically closing stores as they launched a new website.

The fashion retailer revealed an annual turnover of £238million for the year to February 2023, with £14.65million in profits for the same period. 

The company said the hike in profits was due to an investment in its store estate, which saw the opening of new stores in “key retail locations” and the strategic closure of stores on high streets where ”the impact of the pandemic has been irreversible”.

Group CEO Steve Simpson said: “In the last two years, we have been focused on a strategy of offering our customers exceptional quality and value for the whole family.

“With the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, we have been committed to offering our customers even better products than we have done before, still at low prices.

Retailers closing stores in 2024

RETAILERS have been hit by soaring inflation and a downturn in spending due to the cost of living crisis.

High energy costs and a move to shopping online are also taking their toll.

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Some high street shops have closed due to businesses opening up in different locations such as larger retail parks.

Shops may also close due to a number of other reasons, such as rising rents.

We explain which retailers are closing in 2024:

• Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
• B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, with two stores closing this year due to leases not being renewed. It has plans to open more in 2024 too.
• Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
• Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
• Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
• Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
• Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
• M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops.
• Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
• WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shut eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.

“We have welcomed into the Peacocks family our stylish celebrity ambassadors of Louise Redknapp and Michael Owen.

“Their style credentials have resonated strongly with our customers and helped improve our style perception, delivering strong growth in their ranges across ladieswear, menswear and lingerie.

“As we celebrate our 140th year we remain focused on expanding our product offering to our valued customers.”

Peacocks was originally bought out of administration in 2021, saving 2,000 jobs.

The brand was saved by investors led by Edinburgh Woollen Mill’s chief operating officer Steve Simpson.

It comes as closures have rocked high streets across the UK in recent years.

Devastated shoppers cried “what a tragedy” as a beloved shop of 33 years is set to pull down the shutters for good.

Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses, in the Brighouse town centre, West Yorkshire, has been a hailed part of the high street for decades.

Fans were saddened to learn the store would be waving goodbye forever on December 31.

Elsewhere, a much-loved tea room is being forced to close having been in business for 34 “happy and successful” years.

The family-run Two Hoots Tea Room is situated in one of Wales’ most-visited tourist spots and they say they are devastated after they were ordered to pull down the shutters for good.

Meanwhile, customers were left devastated after a family-run clothing shop was forced to close after 144 years.

And, closures are affecting various industries across different sectors as a historic city brewery, with a legacy spanning 150 years, is also set to close.

The Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) has confirmed plans to close Wolverhampton’s Banks’s Brewery.

Why the high street still rules!

Fabulous’ Fashion Director, Tracey Lea Sayer shares her thoughts.

I WAS 10 when I first discovered the utter joy of high street shopping for clothes with my mum and nan.

Going into town on Saturday became a family tradition – a girls’ day out we would look forward to all week.

My mum’s favourite shop was M&S, where she would gaze at jackets with big shoulder pads and floral sundresses, while my nan would make a beeline for John Lewis and their classic coats and elegant court shoes.

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I was all over Tammy Girl – Etam’s little sister – and Chelsea Girl, which was later rebranded to high street fave River Island.

I would spend hours in the changing rooms, watched keenly by my two cheerleaders, who gave the thumbs up – or thumbs down – on what I was trying on.

Frilly Ra-Ra skirts, duster coats, polka dot leggings, puff balls, boob tubes… I tried them all, often making my nan howl with laughter.

Fashion wasn’t so fast back in the 1980s and every item was cherished and worn until it fell apart – literally – at the seams.

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At 18, I went to art college and my tastes became more refined.

Extra cash from a part-time job in a bar meant I could move on to slightly more expensive stores, like Warehouse, Miss Selfridge and the mecca that was Topshop.

I knew at this point I wanted to work in fashion because the high street had totally seduced me.

One day, I wrote an article for a competition in a glossy mag about my love of retail therapy and my favourite LBD – and I won!

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That led me to where I am today – Fashion Director of Fabulous.

It’s not just me that loves the high street – big-name designers are fans, too. When ‘Cool Britannia’ hit in the Nineties, they all turned up in one big store.

‘Designers at Debenhams’ was a stroke of genius by Debenhams CEO Belinda Earl, designer Ben de Lisi and fashion director Spencer Hawken, who introduced diffusion ranges from John Rocha, Matthew Williamson and Betty Jackson to name a few.

This meant we could all afford a bit of luxury and wear a well-known designer’s signature style.

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Years later I hosted a night with Debenhams and Fabulous for 250 readers, who were in awe meeting all the designers. It was a real career highlight for me.

In 2004, H&M started rolling out their international designer collabs.

Karl Lagerfeld was first, followed by Roberto Cavalli, Marni, Stella McCartney, Maison Martin Margiela, Sonia Rykiel, Comme des Garçons, Balmain, Versace and many, many more. I could barely contain myself!

Then in 2007, Kate Moss launched her first collection with Topshop, with thousands queuing along London’s Oxford Street.

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I remember sitting behind Ms Moss and Topshop boss Philip Green at a London Fashion Week Topshop Unique catwalk show.

I had my three-year-old daughter, Frankie, in tow and we both made the news the next day after we were papped behind Kate, my supermodel girl crush.

At the time, the high street was on fire. Who needed designer buys when Mango stocked tin foil trousers just like the designer Isabel Marant ones and you could buy a bit of Barbara Hulanicki’s legendary brand Biba from Topshop?

High street stores even started to storm London Fashion week.

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Although Topshop Unique had shown collections since 2001, in 2013 River Island showed its first collection in collaboration with global superstar Rihanna, who was flown in by a friend of mine on a private jet. KER-CHING!

A whole new generation of high profile high street collabs followed.

Beyoncé created Ivy Park with Topshop’s Philip Green and I even flew to LA for Fabulous to shoot the Kardashian sisters in their bodycon “Kollection” for Dorothy Perkins.

I am pleased to say they were the absolute dream cover stars.

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Fast forward to 2024 and while the high street doesn’t look exactly like it did pre-Covid, it has made a gallant comeback.

Stores like M&S, Reserved and Zara, and designer collabs like Victoria Beckham X Mango and Rochelle Humes for Next are giving me all the feels.

The supermarkets have really come into their own, too, smashing it with gorgeous collections that look expensive, but at prices that still allow us to afford the weekly shop.

The last 30 years of high street fashion have been one big adventure for me. Bring on the next 30!

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