Britain isn’t working: The number of households in the UK that have never had a job has hit a 12-year high, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows this morning. In the first three months of this year there were 269,000 non-student households where no adult had ever been employed, the highest since spring 2012, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The figures also represent a 12% jump compared with the same period a year earlier, the ONS said. Between January and March, there were 4.3 million 16 to 64-year-olds living in households where no adult was employed, almost 300,000 higher than the end of last year and the highest total in seven years. Nationally, there were 9.4m working-age adults who were economically inactive at the beginning of the year, meaning they were neither employed nor looking for work, up by 832,000 compared with pre-covid lockdown levels.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the next Government to negotiate improved UK trading terms with the European Union (EU) to help boost trade and lift growth. Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC said: “The companies we represent are the drivers of economic growth and the employers of millions of people. They need to know that politicians have got their back”. “The EU is the UK’s biggest market, so we urgently need to get a better trading relationship with our closest neighbour. It’s not about rewriting the referendum result, it’s about cutting red-tape and promoting trade,” she added.

Consumer group Which? and debt charity StepChange are warning that supermarkets that reward shoppers with extra loyalty points if they hit spending targets could encourage people to spend more than they can afford. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all offer members of their loyalty schemes bonus points. The BBC asked all four for their response to these concerns. A Tesco spokesperson said its challenges were "all about rewarding customers for buying the products they regularly purchase". Sainsbury's said bonus points were "issued based on the number of shops customers complete, with a minimum qualifying spend of £1 per shop". Asda and Morrisons did not respond at the time of writing.

Junior doctors in England are going back on strike for five days immediately before the General Election on 4th July. The British Medical Association (BMA) said junior doctors - qualified physicians who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent a large share of the medical profession - will stage a full walkout from June 27 to early on July 2. Meanwhile, GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope tweeted this morning: “The head of the Royal College of Nursing has announced she is stepping down to try to become an MP for Sinn Fein in the General Election. Pat Cullen, who led nurses across the country into unprecedented strike action, said she is standing down from her role as chief executive and general secretary of the nursing union”.

House sales: More homes are now up for sale in Britain than in the past eight years, according to Zoopla. The average estate agent had 31 homes for sale in the four weeks to 19th May, up 20% on the same period last year, and the highest in data going back to 2017. A recovery in sales of houses with more than three bedrooms has also boosted the total value of property on the market to £230bn this month, up £45bn from a year ago, Zoopla said. Meanwhile, home ownership among millennials aged 25-34 is at its highest level in more than a decade after earnings among young people rose three times faster than the general population, according to research from The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Shell and ExxonMobil are nearing a $500m (£390m) deal to offload two gas sites in the North Sea, The Telegraph reports. the transaction involves the sale of the Clipper and Leman Alpha installations in the southern region of the North Sea to UK-based start-up Viaro Energy. ExxonMobil sold the bulk of its North Sea assets to private equity-backed Neo Energy in 2021 but retained a 50%c stake in the Clipper and Leman fields. A sale would mark the end of ExxonMobil’s involvement in the North Sea after nearly 60 years. US oil major Chevron is also leaving the North Sea after 55 years. The whole North Sea industry faces an uncertain future because of the General Election, as Labour plans to increase an already heavy windfall levy on profits made by oil and gas companies that was introduced by the Conservatives in 2022, and ban new drilling in the basin.

Auto Trader is leading the FTSE this morning, with shares up more than 12% after the FTSE 100 online car marketplace beat full-year profit estimates.

London's Evening Standard, a daily weekday newspaper founded almost 200 years ago, is planning to switch to a weekly format because the print edition is racking up heavy losses. In a memo to staff seen by Reuters, the newspaper's interim CEO and chairman Paul Kanareck told staff increased working from home, the introduction of Wi-Fi on transport networks and alternative content for commuters has led to “substantial losses accruing from the current operations” which meant it is “not sustainable”.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is training thousands of electric car mechanics to try and alleviate a shortage that is forcing drivers to pay more for repair costs, The Telegraph reports. JLR said today its has now trained 95% of the mechanics at its affiliated garages to handle electric vehicles (EVs), equivalent to more than 10,000 people globally. They include 1,651 mechanics across 136 JLR workshops in the UK. JLR is also training some 2,400 factory workers in Britain in EV production methods. The iconic firm is preparing to make the first all-electric Range Rover later this year. Only one in five car mechanics are currently trained to service EVs, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry, allowing garages who do have the expertise to charge higher fees.

Middlesex County Cricket Club have called the police in to investigate a feud between the club and its former CEO and Head of Finance Richard Goatley, City AM reports. The Lord’s-based club has been chasing Goatley for what they describe as “inappropriately claimed expenses” alleged to be in the sum of tens of thousands of pounds. Goatley, who insists he is innocent, last month lodged a civil personal injury claim against Middlesex in the High Court. Following an internal investigation into a £350,000 issue in the club’s pension scheme found “historic financial mismanagement” by the club, it was fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board in September. A statement issued at the time read: “[The] announcement from the ECB draws a line under the matter, and we accept their findings that historically, under previous administration, the club has been poorly financially managed over a number of years”. 

Dr Martens has posted a 42.9% decline in profit before tax for its year to 31st March, a larger-than-expected drop to £97m. Revenue fell 12% to £877m. The bookmaker has also announced a cost savings target of up to £25m from "organisational efficiency and design, better procurement and operational streamlining". "Our 2024 results were as expected and reflect continued weak USA consumer demand,” the firm said, adding that trading in this key market was particularly “disappointing,” with wholesale revenues down 32.7%. CEO Kenny Wilson is shortly to depart from the company, to be replaced by the business’s chief brand officer, Ije Nwokorie.

Boots UK has reported a huge surge in its pre-tax profit for its latest financial year. In the 12 months to the end of August 2023, pre-tax profits leapt from £4m to £60m on the back of a £500m increase in revenue to £7bn. The Nottingham-based firm files its accounts across three firms: Boots UK, The Boots Company plc and Boots Management Services. City AM says the separate accounts filed under The Boots Company plc also show a revenue increase to £179m, up from £166m, and pre-tax profits of £122m, up from £76m. According to Companies House, the listing for Boots Management Services says its latest accounts have been filed but are not shown, the newspaper says, In its prior financial year, Boots Management Services reported a revenue of £1.1bn and pre-tax profits of £56.9m, but even without those accounts, Boots’ revenue and pre-tax profit have already surpassed its total in the prior financial year. The results are especially interesting as Wallgreens Boots Alliance, which owns Boots, is said to have reignited its plans to float it on the London stock market with a £7bn price tag.

Funding Circle is to axe some 120 jobs as part of a cost-cutting and streamlining programme to save £15m. The commercial lender also announced the departure of CFO Oliver White. He will leave the board after the first-half results in September and be succeeded by Tony Nicol, currently director of finance and investor relations.

BHP has abandoned officially a £39bn takeover approach for rival FTSE 100 miner Anglo American after a plea to extend takeover talks was rejected. 

Renewi, the Dutch waste disposal firm, has offloaded its loss-leading British municipal division to competitor Biffa, paying £125m for it to be taken off its hands, saying the UK “unpredictable” and “onerous”. Renewi, which has also posted full year results in which it slid to into the red, also said its British portfolio had remained a “significant drag” on the group, costing it €28m (£23.8m) in the last 24 months. It added that the deal should improve free cash flow generation by €15-20m (£12.8m-£17m) a year. Its five bespoke contracts in the country, which are signed with individual local councils, span geographically disparate locations in England and Scotland.

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