BUSINESS LIVE: UK inflation rises to 2.2%; Balfour Beatty profits rise; Flutter enjoys strong second quarter

The crisis affecting Asda has deepened amid a summer slump at the privately-owned supermarket.

In a grim update, research group Kantar said Asda’s sales fell to £4.26bn in the 12 weeks to August 4, down 6 per cent on the same period in 2023.

When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold: is the oft-quoted saying that reflects both the dominant role the US economy plays in the world and the importance of its stock and bond markets to the wealth of investors around the world.

Well, he may not have sneezed in the last few days, but he sure has a runny nose.

AstraZeneca has become the first UK company to be valued at £200bn after its ambitious drive to develop a line of cancer drugs came to fruition.

In another boost for chief executive Pascal Soriot, as well as an army of investors, shares in the pharmaceutical giant rose 1.1 percent, or 140 pence, to a record close of 12,920 pence.

Inflation rose above 2 percent in July, the first rise this year, official figures showed.

The Office for National Statistics said the consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate rose to 2.2 percent in the 12 months to July, up from 2 percent in June.