Business
Good for mortgages, bad for food prices – how inflation dip affects you
Kevin PeacheyCost of living correspondent
Getty ImagesWalking around your local supermarket and you’ll struggle to find much that’s healthy for your finances on the shelves – food price rises are accelerating.
The cost of the weekly shop is, and will continue to be, a worry for millions of people.
Beyond just food, prices of goods and services in general are going up, but the rate of those price rises have slowed.
And that is likely to bring better news for the cost of borrowing, in particular mortgage rates for homeowners and first-time buyers.
Are prices going up or down?
Prices pretty much always rise. Official statistics chart the movement in the cost of hundreds of goods and services in the UK.
It is the rate of increase that is crucial, and that inflation rate is published every month by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
On Wednesday, the ONS said the rate of inflation had fallen to 3.6%, which means prices are rising more slowly than they were and will foster hope that inflation has peaked.
Delve a little further into the data, and there are more details about what is behind the latest trends.
For example, fish, vegetables, chocolate and confectionary were among the products that rose in price, although fruit prices fell slightly.
Recent research by the Bank of England found that people on average are still buying the same amount of food, but paying more for it. That said, they are changing the way they shop.
“Concerns about rising food costs and utility bills still dominate conversations,” it said.
“Households continue to change their shopping habits to reduce spending, such as buying more vegetables and reducing meat consumption.”
Getty Images“Staples like bread, meat and potatoes all cost more than they did even a month ago,” says Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell.
But she does point to a silver lining – the dip in the inflation rate means the Bank of England is now more likely to cut interest rates in December.
The Bank uses its benchmark interest rate – which heavily influences the cost of borrowing for households and businesses – to try to bring inflation to its target rate of 2%.
“Inflation remains well above the Band of England’s happy place of 2%,” says Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest.
But, she says, the latest figures could pave the way for a sixth interest rate cut since August last year.
The prospect of an interest rate cut has seen lenders make changes already. In recent weeks, many major lenders have lowered their rates for people getting a new fixed-rate mortgage or renewing their current one.
“There has been particular emphasis placed on rates for home movers with some of the best rates available for purchases,” says David Hollingworth, of mortgage brokers L&C.
Data from the financial information service Moneyfacts shows that the average rate on a new two-year fixed deal has fallen to 4.88%, and is down to 4.93% for the average five-year fixed deal.
Average rates for those only able to put down a deposit of 5% or 10% – often first-time buyers – are now looking lower than they have been at any time in the last two or three years.
Why are lenders cutting rates now?
Inflation is only one factor in lenders’ decisions to cut mortgage rates now.
Generally, Christmas is a quiet time for the housing market as potential buyers and sellers concentrate on turkey and trimmings instead.
So, they may be lowering rates in a bid to stimulate custom.
The same cannot be said for savings rates. “Competition has been scarce,” says Caitlyn Eastell, from Moneyfacts.
That is compounded by the fact that many of those buyers, sellers and savers have put plans on hold until they find out what happens in the Budget delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 26 November.
The Budget looms large over the housing market, with talk of taxation on high value properties, as well as over economic activity in general.
Reeves wants to introduce measures to lower the rate of inflation, and help people with the cost of living. However, she also needs to bring in more money or cut government spending to meet her own fiscal rules.
It is a delicate balancing act that will affect individual and family finances, affecting the money people have to spend in the supermarket and the appetite they have to save, as well as buy or sell a home.
An Imax private screening for the movie “First Man” at an AMC theater in New York on Oct. 10, 2018.
Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The theatrical industry is in flux — and one stock is rising above the rest.
Imax saw its shares jump more than 44% in 2025, even before the company announced that it had generated a record $1.28 billion at the global box office for the year. Those ticket sales marked a more than 40% increase over 2024 and were 13% higher than its previous record set in 2019.
Meanwhile, shares of fellow theatrical stocks AMC, Cinemark and Marcus Theatres cratered in 2025. AMC was down more than 60%, Cinemark’s stock fell 25% and Marcus Corp., which operates theaters and hotel chains, slumped around 28%.
The sharp declines on Wall Street come as theater operators struggle to grapple with massive changes in the industry.
Domestic ticket sales have rebounded from the record lows posted during the Covid pandemic, but remain about 25% below the the record-breaking $11.8 billion collected in 2018. The 2025 box office fell short of the $9 billion analysts had projected heading into the year, signaling to industry watchdogs that post-pandemic hurdles could be more permanent than anticipated.
“In an environment where consumer spending headwinds and economic concerns forced consumers to be choiceful with their entertainment spending, streaming services continue to represent an attractive option,” Eric Wold, executive director of equity research at Texas Capital Securities, told CNBC.
At the same time that consumer habits have shifted toward the home entertainment market, Hollywood is producing fewer films.
A combination of Wall Street penny-pinching, studio mergers and lingering production shutdowns from the pandemic and dual labor strikes has led to a significant drop-off in the number of movies hitting theaters.
“I think investors are still struggling with, and frankly, what everyone within the industry is still trying to figure out is, what is the real new normal for box office?” said Robert Fishman, senior research analyst at MoffettNathanson.
The winnowing of theatrical has left Imax ahead of the pack.
Move toward premium
When the theatrical slate is thin, Imax benefits, because when moviegoers do decide to leave their couches they are opting more and more for premium large format experiences.
In 2025, more than 16% of tickets sold for domestic showtimes were for these types of theaters, according to data from EntTelligence. That’s up from 15% in 2024 and 13.8% in 2023.
Often called PLFs, premium large format auditoriums are considered an elevated viewing experience, with bigger screens and higher-quality sound systems and seating options — and they come with higher ticket prices.
In 2025, general movie tickets averaged $13.29 apiece, while PLF tickets went for around $17.65 each, EntTelligence data showed. For comparison, premium tickets in 2024 averaged around $16.88 apiece.
As Hollywood shifts toward producing more big-budget blockbuster features — while medium-to-low-budget films are more often sent to streaming — PLF screens will become increasingly important.
After all, the films that benefit the most from PLF ticket sales have been Hollywood’s biggest releases, as audiences want to see explosive action movies and dazzling spectacles in the most state-of-the-art locations.
ScreenX is the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270 degree field of view.
CJ 4DPLEX
On the docket for 2026 is Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Universal and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” Netflix and Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” and Warner Bros. and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three.”
All of these films were shot with Imax film cameras and will have theatrical releases on Imax screens.
The company has forecast its 2026 global box office haul at a new record of $1.4 billion.
“We see no signs of slowing down given a very promising slate ahead and the consistency of our market share gains, as filmmakers, studios, and audiences worldwide continue to gravitate toward the Imax experience,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, in a statement Wednesday.
As of the end of September, Imax had more than 1,700 locations and a backlog of 478 contracts to build Imax screens. Notably, Imax screens represent less than 1% of the total movie screens worldwide.
Putting up profits
AMC, Cinemark and Marcus all have premium large format movie screens as part of their suite of theaters as well and have invested in creating more of these spaces in their cinemas.
But the chains are playing a game of catch-up.
AMC, in addition to its existing partnership with Imax, has plans to add more Dolby Cinema theaters to its U.S.-based locations as well as Screen X and 4DX auditoriums globally. Cinemark, too, made investments in the last year to add more Screen X theaters to its portfolio.
Of course, these upgrades can be expensive. In the case of AMC, renovations prior to the pandemic saddled the company with billions in debt, which was exacerbated during Covid-related shutdowns. The company is still dealing with this debt load.
Working in Imax’s favor is the fact that the company is notably asset-light, meaning it has minimized its ownership of physical assets like buildings by leveraging its technology and partnering with other companies.
Instead of costly real estate leases, Imax makes deals with cinema chains to install its equipment into their auditoriums and then takes a share of the box office receipts for films screened in those theaters.
AMC, Cinemark, Marcus and other theater operators, on the other hand, have the financial burden of rent and utility payments, which are only partially offset by ticket sales that they split with studios. Concessions — popcorn, soda and specialty food — have become the means for these businesses to drum up enough funds to cover expenses.
But, if the production slate isn’t strong and cinemas don’t have enough content to draw in moviegoers, then profitability is at risk.
In the first quarter of 2025, all three cinema stocks posted net losses. Marcus and Cinemark rebounded to profitability in the second and third quarter, as the calendar of films improved, while AMC posted two more periods in the red.
Imax, on the other hand, was profitable in all three quarters. Through the first nine months of 2025, Imax reported net income of $43 million, up 67% from the same period in 2024.
The theater stocks will all report fourth-quarter results in the coming weeks as earnings reports roll out.
Business
India outlook: Reforms put wind in its sails amid global headwinds; PMO’s Shaktikanta Das maps the road ahead – The Times of India
India is at the cusp of a historic economic journey, with government policies and reforms giving the country “wind in its sails” even as global trade uncertainties intensify, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.Delivering the inaugural Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture, Das said India has emerged stronger from successive global shocks and is now positioned to pursue sustained growth despite a fragmented global economic order, PTI reported.
Atmanirbharta as resilience, not isolation“At a time when the consensus that powered globalisation in past decades has frayed and multilateral cooperation has become harder to achieve, India has embraced Atmanirbharta as the overarching principle of our policies,” Das said.Clarifying the approach, he added: “Atmanirbharta is not being isolationist, but a strategy to build core competence and resilience. Economic Atmanirbharta means developing the capacity to produce critical goods and technologies at home and reducing over-reliance on foreign sources.”A self-reliant economy, backed by strong domestic capabilities and an autonomous foreign policy, provides India greater strength to sustain growth and navigate external challenges, he said. “Together, they ensure that India’s rise is resilient, sustainable and beneficial to us and to the world.”From global shocks to ‘wind in our sails’Das said India has successfully emerged from what appeared to be “perfect storms” triggered by multiple global shocks since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.“And now with the policies that the country has adopted, the wind is in our sails. We are indeed on our path to Viksit Bharat,” he said.India, he noted, stands at an inflection point where shifting geopolitical alignments and trade policies are reshaping the global economic landscape.“India stands today at the cusp of a historic journey — from being an incredible India to a credible India. There will be headwinds and challenges emanating from known and unknown sources,” Das said.Fragmenting world, India’s strategic responseDas flagged the strain on global institutions and multilateral frameworks, saying traditional multilateralism is increasingly being sidelined by geopolitical rivalries, protectionism and fragmentation.“Key international institutions are struggling to deliver on their mandates… Trade and supply chains, once seen as neutral conduits of globalisation, are increasingly being utilised as instrumentalities of disruption and dominance,” he said.Reshoring, friend-shoring and restricted technology flows are fragmenting global networks, reflecting broader geo-economic fragmentation, Das added.Against this backdrop, India’s approach is pragmatic. “India stands for a cooperative and rules-based global system; but at the same time, we are proactively forging partnerships and strategies to secure our national interest in a world where power is more diffused,” he said.“We, of course, acknowledge that the multilateral system must be revitalised, even as we adapt to new alignments,” Das added.
President Droupadi Murmu has approved the summoning of both Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session 2026 from January 28 on the government’s recommendation, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Friday.
“On the recommendation of the Govt of India, Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji has approved the summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session 2026. The Session will commence on 28 January 2026 and continue till 2 April 2026. The first phase concludes on 13 February 2026, with Parliament reassembling on 9 March 2026, a vital step towards meaningful debate and people-centric governance,” Rjiiju said in a post on X.
According to reports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to table the Budget on February 1, which falls on a Sunday — a rare occurrence that would require special arrangements.
The Economic Survey, providing a comprehensive review of the economy, is anticipated to be laid before Parliament on January 29 or 30.
The Budget Session traditionally begins with the President’s address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, outlining the government’s policy priorities and vision.
This address will take place on the opening day, January 28.
The announcement sets the stage for one of the most important parliamentary events of the year, during which the Union Budget for the financial year 2026-27 is expected to be presented.
Rijiju’s post stressed the government’s commitment to transparent and effective legislative processes.
The two-phase format allows for initial discussions on the Budget and other key matters, followed by detailed scrutiny in standing committees during the recess, before final deliberations and passage of financial bills.
This session comes at a crucial time as the government focuses on economic growth, fiscal consolidation, and addressing emerging challenges in sectors like infrastructure, employment, and sustainability.
Parliamentarians from across parties are expected to engage in intensive debates on taxation, expenditure, and policy reforms. The formal approval by President Murmu marks the procedural start of preparations for the session, with both Houses gearing up for what promises to be a packed legislative calendar.
Sialkot to announce logo and name of franchise president today
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Is Discounted on Amazon
Home-field advantage isn’t what it seems in the first round of the NFL playoffs
-
Entertainment2 days agoDoes new US food pyramid put too much steak on your plate?
-
Politics5 days agoChina’s birth-rate push sputters as couples stay child-free
-
Sports5 days agoVAR review: Why was Wirtz onside in Premier League, offside in Europe?
-
Politics2 days agoUK says provided assistance in US-led tanker seizure
-
Entertainment5 days agoMinnesota Governor Tim Walz to drop out of 2026 race, official confirmation expected soon
-
Sports5 days agoSteelers escape Ravens’ late push, win AFC North title
-
Business5 days agoAldi’s Christmas sales rise to £1.65bn
-
Business2 days agoTrump moves to ban home purchases by institutional investors