Food brands ‘raised prices faster than their costs rose’; Saudi Arabia fund buys Heathrow stake – business live

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as UK competition regulator says makers of branded products have contributed to high food inflation

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets.

Food brands in the UK have pushed up their prices by more than costs increased, the UK’s competition regulator has said after examining the sector in response to concerns about “greedflation” adding to the cost of living crisis.

Food price inflation has put huge strain on household budgets, so it is vital competition issues aren’t adding to the problem. While in most cases the leading brands have raised prices more than their own cost increases, own label products are generally providing cheaper alternatives.

The picture is different when it comes to baby formula, with little evidence that people are switching to cheaper products and limited own label alternatives. We’re concerned that parents may not always have the right information to make informed choices and that suppliers may not have strong incentives to offer infant formula at competitive prices.

9:30am GMT: Bank of England consumer credit (October; previous: £1.39bn; consensus: £1.5bn)

9:30am GMT: Bank of England mortgage approvals (October; prev.: 43,328; cons.: 45,000)

10am GMT: Eurozone economic sentiment (November; prev.: 93.3; cons.: 93.7)

10am GMT: Eurozone consumer confidence (November; prev.: -16.9; cons.: -16.9)

10:30am GMT: Competition and Markets Authority chair at House of Lords committee

1pm GMT: Germany harmonised inflation preliminary year-on-year (November; prev.: 3%; cons.: 2.6%)

1:30pm GMT: US GDP second estimate (Q3; prev.: 4.9% annualised; cons.: 5%)