The number of firms falling into insolvency increased in January against the same month last year, according to official figures, the Independent reported. Total company insolvencies in England and Wales hit 1,671 over the first month of 2023, the Insolvency Service said. It represented a 7% rise against January 2022 and was 11% above pre-pandemic levels from 2020. Experts said the rise pointed towards the toll of higher borrowing costs and continued elevated levels of inflation for businesses.

British inflation fell by more than expected in January and there were signs of cooling price pressure in parts of the economy watched closely by the Bank of England, adding to signs that further hefty interest rate hikes are unlikely, Reuters reported. Annual consumer price inflation (CPI) cooled to 10.1% last month, the lowest reading since September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday.

Frederick Barclay, the reclusive tycoon who owes his former wife £100 million ($121 million), is discussing a financial settlement with her after being threatened with bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The 88-year-old is yet to pay a penny of the divorce award, according to a lawyer for Hiroko Barclay, who told a London court on Monday her legal team was left with little choice but to prepare a bankruptcy petition against the “completely unrepentant” tycoon. The settlement offer to end the divorce fight was made on Feb. 10, the same day as Frederick was set to meet his nephew Howard.

Britain's economy showed zero growth in the final three months of 2022 - enough for it to avoid entering a recession for now - but faces tough prospects in 2023 as households continue to wrestle with double-digit inflation, Reuters reported. Monthly gross domestic product data for December - when there were widespread strikes in the public sector, rail and postal services - showed a 0.5% contraction, the Office for National Statistics said, larger than the 0.3% forecast.

Shoppers around the world will pay even more for groceries this year than they did in 2022, according to retailers, consumer goods firms and investors, unless commodity costs decline or the shift to cheaper store-brand products accelerates, Reuters reported. Retailers and consumer goods producers have been stuck in tough price negotiations for more than a year now, with friction beginning in 2021 over COVID-related supply chain logjams.

Tax revenues from the country’s oil & gas sector will fall as fossil fuel prices drop, the UK government expects, restricting Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spending power in the budget next month, Bloomberg News reported. Treasury officials estimate tax revenues in 2023-2024 from oil & gas will be £12.7 billion ($15.3 billion) lower than forecast in November as a result of the lower gas price, two people familiar with the matter said. That would wipe out the saving the government is due to make on supporting household energy bills as a result of the same price decrease, they said.

Tees Valley Lithium struck a preliminary deal to supply raw materials to the preferred buyer of collapsed UK battery startup Britishvolt Ltd., Bloomberg News reported. The early-stage lithium refiner signed a memorandum of understanding to supply toll-processed lithium to Recharge Industries, which has been selected as the preferred bidder for the majority of the insolvent battery firm’s business and assets. Tees Valley plans to produce the lithium at a refinery in the northeast of England that’s set to start operation in 2025.

Two Bank of England officials warned that Britain’s departure from the European Union is helping to stoke inflation and is one of the factors pushing up interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. Chief Economist Huw Pill said Monday the trade blow dealt by Brexit adds to risks of the UK economy overheating. Policy maker Catherine Mann earlier in the day said Brexit was a “unique” shock that’s fueling inflation in the UK.

British consumers would be limited to holding a maximum of 20,000 pounds ($24,000) each if the Bank of England goes ahead with a digital version of the British currency, BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Britain's government said on Monday that it and the BoE were pressing on with work on a possible digital pound that was likely to enter circulation in the second half of this decade, though no final decision has been made on whether to go ahead.

Britain's financial watchdog warned crypto businesses on Monday to get ready for a rule change on advertising later in the year, warning that any breaches by company officials could mean up to two years in prison, Reuters reported. Britain's finance ministry said last week it would set out secondary legislation this year to allow crypto firms which comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's anti-money laundering safeguards to issue their own promotions until new crypto regulation is introduced, probably sometime in 2024.