‘Ben & Jerry’s tendencies’ of woke businesses attacked by Kemi Badenoch

Retail sales are dropping at the fastest rate since Britain was in the clutches of lockdown as surging inflation and a deepening cost-of-living crisis force shoppers to tighten the purse strings. 5 things to start your day 1) Euro tumbles to the brink of parity with the dollar over fears Putin will cut off gas The single currency fell to a fresh 20-year low against its US counterpart following the shutdown of Russia's main gas pipeline to Germany. 3) Bank of England governor slaps down Tory leadership contender Andrew Bailey warns against attacks on Threadneedle Street's independence after Tom Tugendhat claimed it had stoked inflation with quantitative easing. 4) Macron pumps taxpayer money into microchip plant to escape clutches of China French facility comes as Britain's biggest microchip factory faces being sold off 5) Biggest railway strikes for 25 years as drivers and station staff back walkouts Aslef, the drivers’ union, said its members had voted for industrial action at eight train companies, marking the first national walkout since 1995. What happened overnight Asian shares fell this morning, weighed down by the prospect of further monetary policy tightening by central banks, China's renewed Covid outbreak and Europe’s energy shortage, which also left the euro a whisker from parity with the safe haven dollar.