Island In The Sun! 10 May 2024
Latest data from Knight Frank indicates that in Q1, Dubai’s ultra-luxury developments, (those residences valued at US$ 10 million plus), showed a 19% jump on the year to hit a new record high, with one hundred and five deals registered, driven by ongoing overseas demand. The total value of luxury homes sold in Dubai rose 6.0% to US$ 1.73 billion. The highest number of sales was recorded in the traditionally sought-after Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali districts. Last year, the emirate recorded four hundred and thirty-one home sales above US$ 10 million – 79.6% higher than London’s sale numbers, (two hundred and forty), and 104.3% better than New York (two hundred and eleven). More of the same is expected for the rest of the year, with foreign investor confidence in the emirate remaining high.
One consequence of the April storms is that property service charges could move higher, with Cushman & Wakefield Core noting that “we would see this impact be reflected in higher service charges and insurance premiums over the near term.” Short-term, the government has mandated all developers and community managers to conduct the cleaning and repairs for flood-damaged residences, free of cost. On top of that, top developers, Emaar Properties, MAG, Damac Properties, Nakheel, Dubai Holding, Union Properties, Dubai Investment Park inter alia, offered free services to tenants, impacted by the more than inclement weather that hit last month.
The consultancy also noted that nearly 8.4k units were handed over in Q1, with an additional 29.7k units expected to be handed over before the end of the year, bringing the total annual figure to 38.1k. Over the quarter, Dubai Statistics Centre posted that the population grew by 25.8k which would take up 6.0k of these new Q1 units. By this blog’s workings, if the 2024 supply chain came in at 38.1k, it will just be enough to meet an annual 165k population growth. (It must also be remembered that YTD, the population has already increased by 1.0% to 3.692 million and the percentage of a more affluent influx, compared to pre-pandemic, is a lot higher and would be more likely to buy property). However, this does not include the needs of domestic/international investors, (which grow every year), increased Airbnb owners and second-home buyers – all of which will stress the supply chain. According to Cushman & Wakefield Core, city-wide rents increased for the thirteenth consecutive quarter, rising by 20%, year-on-year, and by 72% higher than Q1 2020. An unfortunate side-line is that household income is lagging rising rents, but if mortgage rates eventually head south, then it could lead to increased property purchases, as end users will be better off, paying off a mortgage than forking out for extra rent.
Off-plan sales continue to dominate, accounting for around 75% of the total sales, with waterfront properties and branded residences attracting most attention. One of the main factors for higher prices in this segment is a marked limited supply of readily available units, particularly completed properties. Some of the factors that continue to see an increasing number of HNWI looking to Dubai for a home base include accessibility, (with Dubai’s direct links with most places in the world), modern infrastructure, lifestyle, safety, security, proactive government policies, ten-year visas, growing economy, friendly tax environment, high real estate returns and relatively low property prices, compared to most major global cities.
Q1 saw demand from Russian investors softening, offset by increased interest from European, American and Central/South American buyers – this trend is expected to continue for the rest of 2024. Apart from the ultra-luxury sector, there was strong interest noted in both the premium, (properties over US$ 2.72 million – AED 10 million) and luxury, (properties over US$ 1.36 million – AED 5 million) segments. The former saw a 76% surge in transactions in this price bracket, whilst the latter constituted 7.6% of total completed sales, surpassing last year’s average by 2.2%. Q1 witnessed nearly 1.7k sales of both ready and off-plan homes valued at over US$ 1.36 million, including one hundred property transactions exceeding US$ 8.17 million, (AED 30 million). There is no doubt that growth in the luxury market will continue into the year but there is some debate whether 2024 growth rate will be higher or lower than seen in the previous three years.
New analysis by Desert Safari Dubai Tours looked at Google search data over the past twelve months to find which holiday destinations were most popular in the UK. The most in-demand holiday destinations in 2024 were:
Amsterdam 57.5k Dubai 52.5k New York 51.2k Paris 43.3k Tenerife 43.3k Barcelona 41.7k Dublin 38.8k Gran Canaria 33.9k Milan 28.5k Istanbul 28.1k |
Latest figures from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, ahead of the thirty-first edition of Arabian Travel Market, starting last Monday 06 May, the emirate welcomed 5.18 million international overnight visitors in Q1 – an 11.0% annual rise over the 4.67 million tourist arrivals during the same period in 2023. Last year, Dubai registered a record 17.15 million international overnight visitors, with the growth in line with the ambitious goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, to further consolidate Dubai’s position as a leading global city for business and leisure. Dubai’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, noted that Dubai “had also invested for years in developing world-class infrastructure that serves citizens, residents, and visitors alike. The performance of various sectors has been enhanced in line with the highest international standards and best practices with the ultimate goal of becoming the smartest, most advanced and agile city, serving everyone who resides on its land or visits it as an honourable guest.” He also emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors to ensure that the emirate continued to retain its lead on the global tourism map in coming years as well. Sheikh Hamdan stated, “ensuring the highest levels of tourist satisfaction translates into each visitor becoming an ambassador for Dubai, carrying to the world the image of a city that spares no effort for the happiness and comfort of its guests”.
Dubai’s exceptional performance reinforced global recognition for the destination, having begun 2024 by being named the leading global destination for an unprecedented third successive year in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, the first city to achieve this unique accolade. Tourism has also been boosted by several major industry events, such as ATM, Arab Health, Gulfood and the Dubai International Boat Show, and new hotel openings including The Lana, (Dorchester Collection’s first property in the ME), SIRO One Za’abeel, Dubai’s first fitness hotel Marriott Marquis Dubai, and Hilton Dubai Creek Hotel & Residences.
In Q1, the following were the main contributors to Dubai’s tourism were:
- Western Europe region 1.138 million arrivals 22% overall share,
- South Asia 869k 17%
- CIS and Eastern Europe 817k 16%
- GCC 664k 13%
- MENA 605k 12%
- NE Asia/SE Asia 470k 9%
- the Americas 344k 7%
- Africa 202k 4%
- Australasia 70k 1%
With a brand-new identity, Jumeirah announced plans to double the size of its current property portfolio of twenty-six by 2030. It recently announced new properties including Jumeirah Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab in the UAE, and Jumeirah Le Richemond Geneva in Switzerland. The new strategy focusses more on boutique-style properties, targeting operators in gateway cities and resort destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
At the beginning of the year, flydubai introduced a multi-million dollar retrofit project of many its twenty-nine Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s; its eighty-six plane fleet also includes fifty-four Boeing 737 MAX 8s and three Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft; six new planes are expected to join the fleet by the end of the year. To date, eight aircraft have had a full cabin refresh with the installation of the carrier’s flagship lie-flat Business Class seats and the new economy seats from RECARO. The airline will retain an all-economy configuration on some of its aircraft and will upgrade the seats to the new RECARO economy seats with Inflight Entertainment. In the first four months of 2024, the carrier had carried almost five million passengers – a 13% rise in numbers on the year – and had expanded its network by adding Al Jouf, Langkawi, Mombasa, Penang, The Red Sea, Basel, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. As the summer season, (June to October), approaches, flydubai now operates to one hundred and twenty-five destinations in fifty-eight countries. CEO Ghaith al Ghaith noted that figures would be even higher had it not been for the ongoing delays in aircraft deliveries; however, he is confident that the carrier is “still on track for one of the busiest summers on record with the start of the seasonal summer schedule from June”. Summer flights will be introduced to locations including Batumi, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Olbia, Santorini and Sochi.
Emirates Airline has also confirmed plans to refit forty-three Airbus A380s and twenty-eight Boeing 777 aircraft, and on completion, the retrofit will have been carried out on one hundred and ninety-one aircraft. Its President, Tim Clark, noted that “the addition of more aircraft, fitted with our newest generation seats, updated cabin finishings and a contemporary colour palette also marks a significant step in ensuring more customers can consistently experience our premium products across both aircraft types.” The refurbishment includes updated first-class cabins, new business class seats and new premium economy seats. Emirates has also announced nine destinations for its new A350 aircraft that will fly to Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Colombo, Lyon, Bologna and Edinburgh.
Dubai Taxi Company PJSC announced its Q1 financial results, posting revenue 16% higher, on the year, to US$ 152 million, driven by revenue improvement across all its segments; net profit was 15% higher at US$ 29 million, not helped by the introduction of corporate tax as well as by rising finance costs. Excluding the tax impact, net profit increased 26%, with free cash flow at US$ 33 million; it had a cash balance of US$ 12 million, including Wakala deposits. There was a 40% YoY increase in EBITDA to US$ 46 million, with a 30% margin – up 5% on the prior year. Its core taxi segment revenue came in 15% higher, attributable to increased trips and trip lengths, as well as higher tariffs, which was also supported by the additional taxis added to the fleet. There was a 7% increase – and 17% on the quarter – in its limousine segment, as its taxis and limousines completed twelve million trips, an increase of 8% on the year; it also acquired ninety-four new taxi licenses at the latest RTA auction. The bus segment revenue increased, on the year, by 28%, to US$ 10 million, also driven by the increase in fleet size and new service contracts. Revenue in the delivery bikes segment increased more than four times, on the year. The utility also added that, “in addition to our plans to grow further in Dubai, we see attractive opportunities to expand and broaden our services in neighbouring emirates.”
In Q1, Parkin Company posted an 8.0% hike in revenue to US$ 59 million, attributable to an increase in public parking revenue, issuance of seasonal permits, and developer parking demand. Net profit was up 5.0% to US$ 28 million, on a higher EBITDA, partially offset by an increase in depreciation and amortisation provisions, higher interest expense and the introduction of the new 9.0% corporate tax rate from 01 January. Being the sole operator of public parking spaces in Dubai, its public parking revenue rose 11% to US$ 27 million, equating to 46.1% of total revenue. Other revenue streams saw seasonal cards and permit revenue increasing 17% to US$ 10 million, developer parking up 13% to nearly US$ 5 million and a 1% rise in fines to US$ 14 million. Q2 results will be impacted by the April storm which the firm estimates will cut quarterly revenue by at least US$ 1 million.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has posted positive Q1 consolidated financial results, with increases in revenue of US$ 1.58 billion, (6.7%), EBITDA of US$ 708 million, (9.0%), operating profit of US$ 271 million, (11.6%), and net profit of US$ 177 million. This was driven by growth of 6.4% in electricity and 5.9% in water, as customer account numbers climbed on the year, by 4.7%, to 1.17 million. DEWA’s net cash from operations was 26.9% higher at US$ 900 million. Q1 saw DEWA’s gross power generation increasing 6.2% to 10.3 TWh, with the utility generating 1.46 TWh of clean power, 19.8% higher than that recorded in Q1 2023.
DEWA’s dividend policy mandates that a minimum annual dividend of US$ 1.69 billion should be paid out in the first five years of trading on the DFM, starting October 2022, with the dividends paid semi-annually in April and October. Last October and last month, two dividends, each totalling US$ 845 million, were distributed pertaining to the 2024 financial year. The next interim dividend, relating to H1 2024, is due to be paid this October.
On Thursday, Spinneys saw its first day of trading on the DFM, with the final offer price set at US$ 0.417, (AED 1.53) per share, at the top end of the offer price range, which raised US$ 375 million and implying a market cap of US 1.50 billion. By the end of the day, and the trading week, the stock was trading 4.6% higher at US$ 0.436 (AED1.60) with 55 million shares changing hands, valued at US$ 69 million.
Starting fiscal year 2024, Spinneys’ dividend policy is to pay dividends on a semi-annual basis and maintain a dividend pay-out ratio of 70% of annual distributable profits, after tax. The supermarket chain operates seventy-five premium grocery retail supermarkets under the Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair brands in Oman and the UAE, where it plans to open new stores this year. It has a 27% share in its target market in Dubai and 12% of the US$ 6.27 billion, (AED 23 billion) target market in the UAE in 2022, amid continued growth in its online sales, its private label brands and its fresh food offerings. Spinneys expects to expand its footprint in the UAE and Saudi Arabia because of the growing demand of retail products in the region. The latest Kearney’s report points to UAE whitespace projected to have an annual CAGR 2.2% growth rate over the coming years, driven by a robust economy, strong population growth and accelerating real estate development.
The DFM opened the week on Monday 06 May, 119 points (2.8%) lower the previous five weeks and gained 30 points (0.7%) to close the trading week on 4,173 by Friday 10 May 2024. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.19 lower the previous three weeks, gained US$ 0.06, closing on US$ 2.19 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.65, US$ 4.55, US$ 1.54, and US$ 0.37 and closed on US$ 0.64, US$ 4.56, US$ 1.54 and US$ 0.37. On 10 May, trading was at one hundred and sixty-nine million shares, with a value of US$ 83 million, compared to ninety million shares, with a value of US$ 61 million, on 03 May 2024.
By Friday, 10 May 2024, Brent, US$ 6.72 lower (7.5%) the previous week, gained US$ 0.09 (0.1%) to close on US$ 82.78. Gold, US$ 111 (4.7%) lower the previous fortnight, gained US$ 65 (2.8%) to end the week’s trading at US$ 2,368 on 10 May 2024.
With Boeing having acknowledged several employees had committed “misconduct” by falsely claiming tests had been completed, the Federal Aviation Administration has opened a fresh investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The main checks are to see whether Boeing completed inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings of certain 787 Dreamliner planes join the fuselage, and “whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records”. The government regulator noted that the embattled carrier is “reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet” while the investigation is taking place. Boeing confirmed that after receiving the report “we quickly reviewed the matter and learned that several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test but recording the work as having been completed”. At a recent Congressional investigation, a quality engineer, and whistle-blower, at the company said that Boeing was taking shortcuts to bolster production levels that could lead to jetliners breaking apart, and that excessive force was used to jam together sections of fuselage. To add to their on-going, self-inflicted problems, last Tuesday, Boeing had to call off its first-ever astronaut launch, at the final moment, after discovering a valve problem in the Atlas V rocket. It is the latest delay for Boeing’s Starliner after the project was delayed for years because of problems with the capsule.
The latest whistle-blower, Santiago Paredes, who worked for Spirit AeroSystems, has claimed that parts left the factory with serious defects. The former quality inspector at the firm, which used to be owned by Boeing, was nicknamed “showstopper” for slowing down production when he tried to tackle his concerns. In the twelve years, until 2022, he worked for the company and claimed he often found up to two hundred defects on parts being readied for shipping to the plane maker. He was accustomed to finding “anywhere from fifty to one hundred, two hundred” defects on fuselages – the main body of the plane – that were due to be shipped to Boeing, and “I was finding a lot of missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts.” Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing have both come under intense scrutiny after an unused door came off a brand new 737 Max shortly after take-off in January, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane. According to investigators, the door had originally been fitted by Spirit, but had subsequently been removed by Boeing technicians to rectify faulty riveting. The incident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to launch an audit of production practices at both firms which found multiple instances where the companies failed to comply with manufacturing control practices.
Wednesday was another bad day for the plane maker when the front of a Boeing 767 FedEx cargo plane was seen dragging its nose across a runway after landing in Istanbul, causing sparks to fly out underneath it. The captain could only use its back landing gear to land, with the plane eventually dipping its nose onto the runway.
Although Q1 operating profit jumped 39.0%, to a record US$ 11.22 billion, (driven by a significant increase in income from insurance underwriting), Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc posted a 64.6% slump in net income; the main driver behind the fall was much lower unrealised gains, from its common stock holdings, as the share price of Apple declined. During the period, it also repurchased US$ 2.6 billion of its own stock. An accounting rule requires Berkshire to report unrealised gains and losses with net results, and Buffett urges investors to ignore the resulting volatility.
Earlier in the week, Which? listed the results of a survey that priced the value of sixty-seven popular groceries last month in eight of the leading UK supermarkets; Aldi has come out as the cheapest, as it has been every month this year. As can be seen from the table below, the gap between Aldi and Waitrose, (the most expensive), was GBP 31.23.
Supermarket | GBP | ||||
Aldi | 112.90 | ||||
Lidl | 115.23 | ||||
Asda | 126.98 | ||||
Tesco | 128.17 | ||||
Sainsbury’s | 131.02 | ||||
Morrisons | 134.87 | ||||
Ocado | 136.86 | ||||
Waitrose | 144.13 |
Food inflation has slowed to 4.5% – its lowest level in over two years. According to research by Kantar, Waitrose and Ocado were the only UK grocers to win new shoppers in Q1.
Going against the trend, brewing giant Heineken will reopen sixty-two pubs that were closed in recent years and invest US$ 62 million in refurbishing more than six hundred sites across the UK; the cash injection will be invested into its 2.4k Star Pubs & Bars chain and will create more than 1k new jobs. By the end of the year, the UK operation will have reopened one hundred and fifty-six pubs over the preceding two years. The brewer will select locations it said reflect how many of its customers have cut back on how often they commute into city centres, and its “major refurbishments will concentrate on transforming tired pubs in suburban areas into premium locals.” Last week, major pub chain Greene King, with brands such as Abbot Ale, Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen, said it would open its new US$ 50 million brewery by 2027.
With Bethesda itself already facing cuts announced earlier in the year, Microsoft is closing three studios – Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin and Alpha Dog – with Roundhouse Games being absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer, ZeniMax Online Studios. Microsoft has yet to announce how many jobs will be lost but they will all be made at subsidiary Bethesda – which the tech giant bought for US$ 7.5 billion in 2020. This is but the latest string of cuts to come in an industry that has already seen tens of thousands of jobs lost, with more to come.
International Airlines Group posted a US$ 73 million profit, well up from the US$ 10 million posted in Q1 2023. While IAG’s fuel costs were 5.0% lower, operating costs were higher given the increasing number of flights; employee costs jumped by more than 14%, due to staff wages being pushed up and the recruitment of more staff before what is predicted to be a busy summer schedule. IAG, which not only owns BA and Iberia but also Iberia and Vueling, indicated that it was continuing to register a rebound in leisure travel, especially between European cities, and is expecting a profitable summer. It was noted that whilst leisure travel was performing well in a competitive market, business travel was lagging and recovering more slowly, after Covid had paralysed the sector. Q1 passenger revenue per available seat kilometre was 4.4% higher than in the same period last year.
As it tries to regain its former iconic reputation, tarred by the actions by some former senior staff, Qantas has agreed to pay US$ 66 million to settle a legal case accusing it of selling thousands of tickets for flights it had already cancelled. However, by the time Alan Joyce stepped down in September 2023, (earlier than his expected retirement date), Qantas was facing growing public anger over expensive airfares, mass delays and cancellations, and its treatment of workers. In a deal with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australia’s biggest airline will also launch a plan worth up to US$ 25 million to compensate affected passengers. Its Chief Executive, Vanessa Hudson, who took over from Alan Joyce late last year, acknowledged that the move represented an important step toward “restoring confidence in the national carrier.” She also said the company had revamped its processes and invested in technology to avoid a repeat of the problem. Known as the “ghost flight” case, the ACCC claimed that in some instances, Qantas had sold tickets for flights that had been cancelled for weeks.
Because 1k artistes were played often enough to generate US$ 125k in royalties, Spotify confirmed that it has paid royalties in the UK, of US$ 937 million, to UK recording artists. The Swedish company was unable to say how much of those royalty payments actually went to musicians because of contracts having different T&Cs. Some estimates note that the average artiste’s share is about 16%. 75% of all the royalties paid to UK artists came from international listeners. It seems that Spotify has about a 50% share of the UK music streaming market, which means artistes could make the same amount again via platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal. No UK performer was in Spotify’s Top 10 most-played chart, with the three best being Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Harry Styles with 6.35 billion, 5.58 billion and 5.11 streams respectively. No guesses who was top of the list – Taylor Swift (29 billion streams) – which also featured Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny, Mexico’s Peso Pluma and Colombia’s Karol G.
A lot has happened to online used car retailer Cazoo since Alex Chesterman, (who also founded the property website Zoopla and LoveFilm, a predecessor of Netflix), launched the company in 2018. A beneficiary from the pandemic, when car buyers were forced to make their purchases online, it saw its market cap on the New York Stock Exchange at a staggering US$ 7.5 billion – now it stands at just US$ 30 million. Never having turned in a profit in its history, it posted 2022 and 2021 losses of US$ 880 million and US$ 680 million respectively. Last December, it restructured US$ 630 million of debt. Its workforce in 2021 was 4.5k and the current 1k are in danger of losing their jobs, as Cazoo closes in on administration, with the SEC ordering it to find administrators within the next ten days.
Struggling fashion chain, Ted Baker, could well be on its way to having a new owner, Mike Ashley. Reports indicate that his Frasers Group has emerged as the preferred partner for the chain, following the collapse of No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), Ted Baker’s existing UK licensing partner. Earlier in the year, the likes of Next and OSL, Ted Baker’s US licensing partner, had been in contention but subsequently pulled out. The billionaire retailer has many brands in his portfolio including Evans Cycles, Gieves & Hawkes, House of Fraser, Jack Wills and Sports Direct. Eighteen months ago, Ted Baker delisted from the London stock market after being bought by ABG, for US$ 262 million.
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has warned the Australian government that the country will miss its 2029 target, to add a further 1.2 million new homes to the nation’s portfolio. It warned of deteriorating conditions across the housing system, unless the government fulfils all of its promises. Describing Australia’s housing market as inequitable, unaffordable and undersupplied, it noted that its housing system was very far from healthy. It is estimated that there are 170k on wait lists for public housing and another 122k homeless people experiencing homelessness. To meet its five-year target, it seems inevitable that the administration will have to double its US$ 6.60 billion, (AUD 10 billion) investment. The much-undersupplied market sector is not being helped by lagging construction times, a rising population, an underinvestment in social housing for many years and unaffordable mortgages and rents.
The US government says it has revoked some licences that allowed US chip makers to export certain goods to Chinese technology giant Huawei but has yet to be specific about which ones. This follows Huawei’s release of an AI-enabled computer, powered by a chip created by Intel. For the past five years, the Commerce Department had restricted technology exports, such as computer chips, to Huawei, citing alleged ties to the Chinese military. In 2019, during the presidency of Donald Trump, US officials added Huawei to a so-called “entity list,” which led to US companies having to apply for licences from the government to export or transfer some technologies. Despite this hurdle, licences have been granted to some US companies, including Intel and Qualcomm, to supply Huawei with technology that was not related to 5G.
Following the expected BoE decision to keep rates on hold, Andrew Bailey has said it needs to “see more evidence” that price rises have slowed further before taking action to cut interest rates, (currently at 5.25%), but that he was “optimistic that things are moving in the right direction”. The central bank’s governor also said he expected inflation, which currently stands at 3.2%, would fall “close” to its 2% target in the next couple of months. However, he did warn that “we need to see more evidence that inflation will stay low before we can cut interest rates”. After falling into a technical recession, he expects that the Q1 economy would show a 0.4% expansion, (up from an earlier 0.1% forecast), helped by to the size of the population increasing and some measures in the government’s spring Budget, such as the cut to National Insurance; its Q2 prediction is 0.2%. It noted that “consumer confidence has been on an upward trend during most of the past year,” but added that businesses investment remained “subdued” due to lower demand and “uncertainty”.
At the beginning of the week, more worrying news for the Sunak government emanated from ONS data showing productivity in the public sector, dominated by education and healthcare, was 6.8% below pre-pandemic levels, at the back end of last year. Figures like this show that the public sector is indeed a drag on the UK’s economy which is still not firing on all cylinders. The data showed that between Q3 and Q4, there was a 1.0% decline and 2.3% on the year, with long-term sickness one of the main drivers, along with a seemingly big increase in strikes seen in the NHS and other public utilities, including education and transport.
However, things got better for the embattled Rishi Sunak by Thursday, with The Office for National Statistics Stronger noting that, after falling into a minor recession late last year, the UK economy grew by 0.6% in Q1 – the fastest rate for two years, Yesterday, the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, commented that the economy had turned a corner, but that it was not yet a strong recovery. It is expected that this improvement will continue for the rest of the year, and ahead of the year-end general election, with inflation dipping and wages heading higher. Most of the economy – including services, retail, public transport, car manufacturing and health – came to the party, the construction sector is still struggling. There is every indication that things are getting better and business picking up again and these results must have thrown a spanner in the works for Kier Starmer.
A week after the collapse of Bonza, Australia’s newest budget air carrier, Australian tourists are stranded in tropical South Pacific Vanuatu, after the country’s national airline cancelled international flights for four days. It is understood that the carrier had debts of US$ 77 million, of which US$ 51 million were loans. Its fleet of five Boeing 737s have already left the country – one returned to its lessor, Canada’s Flair Airline, and the other four, (Bazza, Shazza, Sheila and Malc) returned to AIP Capital. There are some twenty parties which could be in interested in saving the carrier. Yesterday, Air Vanuatu confirmed that all international flights until Sunday were cancelled, and flights after that day are “under review”. The airline confirmed its owner, the Vanuatu government, is considering putting it into voluntary administration. Meanwhile some lucky tourists are in limbo awaiting what will happen on the Island In The Sun!