China's consumer prices flat in July
The consumer price index was 0.0% last month versus a year earlier, compared with a 0.1% rise in June, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Saturday, beating a Reuters poll forecast for a 0.1% slide.
The CPI edged up 0.4% month-on-month, against a 0.1% drop in June and above an expected 0.3% rise.
A 3.6% decline in the producer price index in July on year missed economists' forecast of a 3.3% slide. It fell 3.6% in June too.
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Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Modi vows to deepen India-Russia ties despite Trump tariffs
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Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Man Utd splashing cash on new strikers adds pressure on Amorim to deliver
MANCHESTER, England, Aug 9 (Reuters) - After their worst season in 51 years last term, the only way is up for Manchester United. Complete with a new 200 million pound ($269 million) strike force, coach Ruben Amorim has the backing of fans to bring about lasting change. Now he must deliver. From the start, Amorim has always said, given the choice, he would not have taken on the monumental task of awakening English football's most successful club from its slumber when he did, mid-season. The Portuguese coach insisted he was given a "now or never" ultimatum before succeeding Erik ten Hag last November, taking an underperforming side to plentiful lows – worst finish, most defeats, fewest points and fewest goals in their Premier League history. Amorim asked supporters to judge him after he had a full pre-season to instil his ideas properly. Three new forwards gives him greater tools to succeed. Such spending comes as a surprise. New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe insisted only in March that the club were so low on cash when his company Ineos bought a minority stake in late 2023 they faced going "bust by Christmas". RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is expected to be confirmed as a United player this weekend and could be flanked for next week's season opener against Arsenal by exciting forwards Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who both have something United attackers of late have lacked – Premier League goalscoring pedigree. As United slumped to an unfathomable 15th last term, the concession of 54 goals was their joint-third worst defensive record in Premier League history. It was their inability to score that proved more damaging, however. They mustered a record-low 44 league strikes, five fewer than in any Premier League season. "The hardest part of last season was to go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive,' Amorim told reporters on the club's pre-season tour of the United States. "Nowadays I'm better, I'm more excited. I also think I learned a lot. We will be a better team. Not just because I truly believe that we can be better, but I truly believe that I will be better at managing this season. "Now we are in a better place, but we are just beginning. We have to perform. And I really like the pressure. If I have the feeling that before the game we are going to be competitive, we'll be OK. I just don't want to return to that feeling that we are thinking it's not a 50-50 game.' MAN UTD PULL STILL THERE Supporters have been buoyed that new signings have not been put off by the fact United will not be competing in any European competition this season for the first time in 11 years. Mbeumo and Sesko especially had plenty of other clubs reportedly interested in them, but the pull of United, despite being without a league title since 2013, remains. "From the start, I wanted to join this massive club," Mbeumo said after signing. "Now I'm here, I'm just really happy. For me, it's the biggest club in the world. The fans are crazy, the stadium is amazing. Every player wants to play here." More new signings are needed across the team for any major improvement this season, however. Skipper Bruno Fernandes labelled the last U.S. tour performance in a 2-2 draw with Everton as "lazy" and called on the club to make more additions before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month. Otherwise, their trip across the Atlantic was unanimously positive. With a starting line-up retaining nine of the team that performed so poorly in their Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, United looked energised and, at times, entertaining in a 4-1 win over Bournemouth, while also beating West Ham to finish unbeaten in their three-match series. Amorim faces some daunting early fixtures, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea in their opening five games. Nonetheless, he needs to harness some rare positivity gleaned from scoring some goals over pre-season to at least start setting United back on the right path. ($1 = 0.7438 pounds)
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Telegraph
Britain must copy China in net zero race, says Miliband's energy tsar
Britain must copy China and become a net zero 'electrostate', Ed Miliband's top civil servant has said. Chris Stark, the Energy Secretary's 'Head of Mission Control for Clean Power by 2030', said the UK needed to match the speed of electrification seen in China in order to become a new global super-power as the world moves towards net zero. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: 'China, still the world's largest consumer of coal, is now moving towards a cleaner future: laying vast networks of transmission lines, rolling out the world's biggest fleet of electric vehicles, and deploying solar and wind at a scale that now dwarfs the rest of the world. We ignore these changes at our peril.' Mr Stark argued that the world was moving from an era where petrostates, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, exerted significant global power thanks to their control of fuel sources, to one where clean energy economies will be dominant. He wrote: 'This isn't just about cutting emissions. It's about cold, hard economics. India, Sweden and China and many other countries recognise the future is electric – the blueprint for a more efficient economy and the basis for economic dominance in the decades to come. Britain should be among these new electrostates.' Mr Stark is one of the UK's most influential experts on energy and climate, and was formerly chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, the Government's advisory body. He is now one of Mr Miliband's closest allies, leading the 'control centre' set up by the Energy Secretary immediately after Labour came to power intended to 'turbocharge the Government's mission to provide Britain with cheaper and clean power by 2030'. His suggestion that Britain must copy China is likely to prove controversial. China is already the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and is still building coal-fired power stations. International Energy Agency data shows that its annual coal consumption rose from 1.3m tonnes in 2000 to 5bn tonnes now. Claire Coutinho, the Conservative former energy secretary, now shadow energy spokeswoman, said: 'China, unlike Labour, isn't planning for a system that relies on wind and sun – they are still 60pc powered by coal and building more of it as well as every other type of energy. Living standards depend on having lots of cheap energy. That's why we should back the North Sea and build a lot more nuclear.' China has also been widely criticised for using 'forced labour' to accelerate its renewable energy programme, with its Uyghurs minority forced into labour camps to make solar panels. Mr Miliband had ignored the issue till a backbench rebellion earlier this year forced him to legislate to ensure UK supply chains remained free of slavery. Additionally, UK electricity costs four times more than gas, so such a shift could adversely impact bills. Ms Coutinho said: 'If you want people to use electric cars and home heating, then it's simple. You need to make electricity cheap.' Mr Stark claimed that becoming an 'electrostate' would eventually cut UK energy bills – currently among the world's highest. He said: 'Our once-in-a-generation investment in our electricity grid across the country will allow renewables and nuclear to fulfil their promise of lowering bills for households and businesses, ensuring Britain is no longer hostage to volatile global gas markets.' Britain must become an 'electrostate' like China By Chris Stark Two hundred years ago, Britain lit the fuse on the Industrial Revolution. Coal, steam and steel transformed our economy, powered factories and propelled Britain's global dominance. The countries who mastered these technologies have been the global leaders. Today, the world is on the brink of another transformation – one that will be every bit as profound – this time powered by clean abundant electricity. The global race is on to be among the first 'electrostates': nations whose economies run on abundant, affordable, low-carbon power, rapidly reducing their dependency on volatile, insecure oil and gas. And the stakes are clear: last year, $2 trillion poured into clean energy, double the investment in fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. Look at Norway, where almost every home is heated with electricity and nine in 10 new cars are electric. Sweden is producing fossil-free steel, aiming to dominate the industries of the 21st century. But it is Asia where we see the biggest changes, as growing energy demand drives a rapid shift towards clean energy. China, still the world's largest consumer of coal, is now moving towards a cleaner future: laying vast networks of transmission lines, rolling out the world's biggest fleet of electric vehicles, and deploying solar and wind at a scale that now dwarfs the rest of the world. We ignore these changes at our peril. This isn't just about cutting emissions. It's about cold, hard economics. India, Sweden and China and many other countries recognise the future is electric – it's the blueprint for a more efficient economy and the basis for economic dominance in the decades to come. Britain should be among these new electrostates. It makes economic sense but it is also an opportunity for better lives for people in Britain, whether that be warmer homes, cleaner air, new jobs and control over our energy. That's why over the past year I've been tasked with laying the foundations to lead this global race through our clean power by 2030 mission. We have approved clean energy projects that could power over two million homes, attracted over £50bn in private sector investment for clean energy industries, and backed nuclear power at scale – signing off a multi-billion-pound deal for Sizewell C that will deliver clean power for the equivalent of six million homes and support 10,000 jobs at peak construction. This complements work to launch first-of-a-kind carbon capture projects in the UK and introduced plans to upgrade millions of homes with clean technologies to cut bills for homeowners and renters. These are big and bold energy policy decisions that are required for Britain's reindustrialisation. We're going to be powered by electricity in the decades to come, so we need to start acting like it. This past week our annual renewables auction opened for applications. The Contracts for Difference scheme has been a notable British success in securing clean energy, creating jobs, strengthening local economies and attracting investment. Britain's greatest asset is our abundant offshore wind. Take Hornsea Two. Supported through the scheme, it now powers over 1.4 million British homes and supports 600 jobs in places like Grimsby and Hull. The Sofia offshore wind farm in the North Sea is projected to contribute £760m to the UK economy – up to £181m of that in Yorkshire and the Humber alone. These mega projects are drivers of growth. That's why investment in clean energy is so important. Our mission is the start of a new era of clean energy abundance, where plentiful British wind and solar drives down energy costs, creates jobs, and gives our industries a global competitive edge. Britain has a head start on the shift to clean power, but if we can't match – and in some areas beat – the pace of other countries' deployment, we risk the industries of tomorrow taking root elsewhere. We have every advantage – world-class engineering, a strong track record in renewables and some of the best natural resources for abundant power anywhere in the world. With the clarity of our clean power mission, we aim to secure the commitment of our clean industries and build their confidence to invest in Britain. This is the next chapter of Britain's industrial story. The scale of investment will bring new economic opportunities to communities in Wales, Teesside, Norfolk and the Humber. It will support new energy jobs in Scotland as our oil and gas resources begin to dwindle. Our once-in-a-generation investment in our electricity grid across the country will allow renewables and nuclear to fulfil their promise of lowering bills for households and businesses, ensuring Britain is no longer hostage to volatile global gas markets. Two centuries ago, Britain's embrace of coal and steam shaped the modern world. An industrial boom, based on domestically sourced energy and astonishing technological innovations. Fast forward to 2025, it is now clean power that provides the economic opportunity of the century. The more renewable and nuclear power we can connect to our grid, the quicker we will displace imported gas and decouple consumer prices from expensive imports. The faster we adopt electrical technologies, for our heating and cooling, for our transport and our industry, the easier it will be to maximise the use our domestic energy resources. The electrostates have already committed to a future powered by the wind, the sun and nuclear. That is Britain's path too. We must not watch from the sidelines as others claim the rewards.
