Business
Food prices push yearly SPI to 35-week high | The Express Tribune
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), week ending Sep 04, 2025, increased by 1.29% week on week (WoW) and up 5.07% year on year (YoY), which is the highest YoY after 35 weeks.
Major increase was observed in the prices of tomatoes, wheat flour, onions, rice basmati broken, garlic, potatoes.
“Pakistan’s Weekly SPI for the period ending Sep 04, 2025, increased by 1.29% WoW while up 5.07% YoY, which is the highest YoY after 35 weeks,” noted Topline Securities.
The SPI rose by 1.29% for the combined consumption groups during the week ended September 4, 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The SPI was recorded at 335.41 points compared to 331.14 points in the previous week. On a year-on-year basis, the SPI registered an increase of 5.07%, the highest annual rise in 35 weeks, reflecting renewed price pressures in essential commodities.
The PBS noted that the inflationary burden was more pronounced for lower-income households. For the lowest consumption group with monthly expenditure by 2.01% to 327.73 points, while other quintiles recorded weekly rises of 1.90%, 1.61%, 1.48%, and 0.99% respectively. This indicates that households in the lower-income brackets continue to bear the brunt of price hikes, particularly in food essentials that form a larger share of their consumption basket.
Out of the 51 essential items monitored, the prices of 23 items or 45.10% increased, 4 items or 7.84% declined, while 24 items or 47.06% remained stable during the week under review. The steepest weekly increases were observed in the prices of tomatoes, which soared 46.03%, followed by wheat flour at 25.41%and onions at 8.57%. Other notable increases included rice basmati broken at 2.62%, garlic at 2.04%, potatoes at 1.38%, pulse moong at 1.29%, and bread at 1.19%. Non-food categories also saw moderate increases, with LPG rising by 0.88%, shirting by 0.27%, long cloth by 0.17%, and lawn printed by 0.07%. In contrast, bananas declined by 3.86%, diesel by 0.91%, sugar by 0.13%, and mustard oil by 0.10%, offering limited relief.
On a yearly basis, several items remained significantly higher than last year. Tomatoes registered the steepest jump at 83.45%, followed by ladies’ sandals at 55.62%, wheat flour at 30.27%, and gas charges for Q1 at 29.85%. Prices of sugar rose 27.43%, while gur, beef, pulse moong, firewood, vegetable ghee, and chicken all recorded double-digit increases. Lawn printed also edged higher by 7.72%, adding to household expenses. On the other hand, major yearly declines were recorded in onions, which fell 47%, garlic at 25.50%, pulse mash at 22.93%, potatoes at 19.25%, and pulse gram at 19.04%. Other notable declines included electricity charges for Q1 at 18.12%, tea packet at 17.93%, pulse masoor at 6.07%, rice IRRI-6/9 at 4.60%, and LPG at 3.71%.
Analysts point out that while weekly inflation is largely being driven by volatility in perishable food items such as tomatoes and wheat flour, the broader year-on-year jump raises concerns about persistent cost-of-living pressures. With inflation hitting its highest yearly spike in over eight months, the government faces a growing challenge in protecting lower-income households from food price shocks.
Mitchum has apologised to customers following reports of rashes, bumps and burning linked to the use of some of its roll-on deodorants.
TikTok users posted videos claiming they had experienced redness and irritation after using the brand’s 48-hour roll-on anti-perspirant and deodorant.
Mitchum UK confirmed that the problem was linked to a change in the manufacturing process affecting one of the raw materials used.
It said a select batch of the roll-ons sold in the UK, Ireland and South Africa was manufactured by the updated method, and the company had now reverted to the original process.
A Mitchum UK spokeswoman said: “We are aware of reports from some customers regarding reactions to select batches of Mitchum 48-hour 100ml roll-on anti-perspirant and deodorant sold in the UK, Ireland and South Africa.
“No other products in our portfolio are impacted.
“Consumer wellbeing is always our priority, and we are truly sorry some of our customers have experienced temporary irritation. This is not the experience they expect from us.
“We take this kind of feedback extremely seriously and have worked hard to investigate the cause.
“We want to reassure there has been no change to the formula of our products, but we have identified a change in the manufacturing process affecting one of our raw materials. This has impacted how the roll-on interacts with the skin of some users.
“We can confirm this issue has now been resolved and we are working to remove the small amount of product remaining on shelf. In addition, we have reverted to the original manufacturing process to ensure no other batches are affected.”
Customers experiencing issues have been urged to contact Mitchum UK’s customer care team.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing competes during the British Grand Prix, the 12th round of the Formula 1 World Championship, at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, United Kingdom, on July 06, 2025.
Rasid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Images
Carlyle is set to announce a new partnership with Formula 1 team Oracle Red Bull Racing as private markets firms aim to ramp up their exposure to the high-net worth and retail investor cohorts, CNBC has learned.
The agreement will plaster Carlyle’s branding on Red Bull’s RB21 challenger, drivers’ team kits, the pit wall and the garage, the two companies said Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Our industry is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, fueled by greater access to private markets and growing interest from a new generation of investors,” Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with one of the most illustrious brands in global sport to engage new audiences and create long-term value together.”
F1 teams have been raking in sponsorship dollars as the league soars in popularity. Last year, the teams generated a combined $2 billion in sponsorship revenue, according to a recent report by SponsorUnited. That surpassed every league except for the NFL, according to the report. And F1 generated the highest average sponsorship deal size at $6 million last year, which was about eight times the average for the NFL.
The private markets industry has been inking partnerships — particularly with certain sport franchises — in order to bring more brand awareness to firms as the industry evolves toward funding from individual retail investors. Other firms, such as Apollo and Blue Owl, have pursued sponsorship deals within professional golf and tennis.
Wealth has been one of the fastest-growing areas within Carlyle, raising more than $60 billion since inception and nearly doubling the segment assets under management in two years. In the release, Carlyle said it’s Red Bull’s exclusive partner in the investment management industry and that their alliance is the first between an F1 team and a “major global private markets firm.”
“As an iconic firm in global finance, Carlyle brings a long-term perspective with an expansive network, and we look forward to building a powerful partnership on and off the track,” Laurent Mekies, Oracle Red Bull racing CEO and team principal, said in the release
The SponsorUnited report said the technology sector drove the most F1 team sponsorship revenue, contributing $543 million. Financial services came in second, with $379 million, the report showed. AIX Investment Group recently sponsored driver Pierre Gasly for the 2025 season, featuring its logo on the side panel of his helmet.
National Express owner Mobico has seen shares plunge after posting a drop in half-year earnings.
The coach and bus giant reported a worse-than-expected 12.7% fall in underlying operating profits to £59.9 million for the six months to June 30, down 4.8% on a constant currency basis.
It also remained in the red with statutory pre-tax losses of £7.1 million, although this was narrowed from £29.3 million a year earlier.
Shares in the firm plunged more than 20% at one stage in morning trading on Tuesday as the earnings disappointed.
The company flagged increasing competition in the UK coach sector, while it also put the earnings drop down to issues with two contracts at WeDriveU, its North America transit and shuttle services business, which have been hit by temporary operational troubles.
It posted operating losses of £9.6 million for the UK, against losses of £12.6 million a year ago, as revenues fell 3.3%.
Revenues were weighed down by a 7.2% drop in the UK coach arm, although it said this was partly due to a strong performance a year earlier when trading was boosted by rail strikes.
In a statement, Mobico said: “The competitive landscape in the UK coach sector has undergone significant change, marked by increasing competitive intensity.
“Additionally, modal competition is increasing from other sectors including rail as it recovers from industrial action and staff shortage issues.”
The group will merge the UK coach operations within its better performing Spanish Alsa business from January next year, with aims to drive cost savings and share best practice.
Despite the half-year knock to earnings, the group said it remained on track for full-year guidance.
It will look to ramp up cost cutting going forwards, it added.
Phil White, Mobico executive chairman, said: “Although our operating profit performance in the first half was mainly impacted by the under-performance of two contracts in WeDriveU, due to operational issues and a competitive trading environment in the UK, we remain confident of achieving our full-year, adjusted, operating profit guidance of between £180 million and £195 million.”
“We see significant opportunities to simplify and strengthen the group and are taking decisive action to sharpen our operational and financial performance, including additional, cost reduction plans and further leveraging Alsa’s best practice across the business,” he added.
Mr White, who had been chief executive of the then National Express Group between 1996 and 2006, returned to take the helm at the business earlier this year after former boss, Ignacio Garat, left in April following a series of profit warnings.
Shares have been severely under pressure this year due to the profit alerts and Mr Garat’s departure, with the latest declines leaving the stock down nearly 60% in the past six months.
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