Business
More workers needing food banks – Wolverhampton support group
BBC News, West Midlands
Anna-Mhairi KaneThe founder of a support group says she feels more working people and volunteers are facing “desperate times” amid the cost of living crisis.
During the pandemic, Leanne McDonald, from Wolverhampton, set up Simple Acts of Kindness in a bid to help people who were in difficult financial situations.
The group helps up to six or seven families every week across the city, Birmingham, and the Black Country, by distributing donated household items, including furniture and clothing, and acting as a signpost for other services.
Ms McDonald said she was seeing more people coming to them who were in employment, including full-time workers, seeking help.
Among them were teachers and nursing staff, many of whom were asking where they could access food banks.
“They’re highly skilled but unfortunately the wages just aren’t there…it was a surprise to me that many are struggling to feed their families,” she said.
“I feel that we are in quite desperate times at the moment.”
Stuart AndersonMs McDonald, who runs the charity alongside her full-time job at a training academy, said it was especially frustrating to her that teaching staff could not afford to pay for essentials like food and household goods.
“It’s really disheartening to see because we’re relying on these people to teach our children and provide care and support to families,” she added.
The rising cost of living also had an impact on the support group itself, Ms McDonald said, with volunteer numbers dropping from about 10 to three.
She said this was partly down to some taking on extra paid work after struggling with finances themselves.
Simple Acts of Kindness currently does not have a base and is mostly run from Ms McDonald’s family home, while she rents a storage space for donated items.
Despite the extra pressure from the demand and decreasing number of volunteers, Ms McDonald said she would persevere as the support was “still needed”.
“I’ve had to find a good balance – my family are really understanding,” she said.
“My children live in a house where we have constant people dropping items off or collecting items.”
In a bid to try and raise more funds to cover the group’s costs, Simple Acts of Kindness has organised a fun day, at the Golden Bar and Grill in Wolverhampton, on 30 August.
‘Breaking point’
Ms McDonald’s comments came after Citizens Advice warned people on the lowest incomes were “running out of options” in the face of rising bills.
A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research in March showed households in the lowest 10% for income spent about 41% of their earnings, after housing, on water, energy, broadband and car insurance.
That compared to 11% for those on middle incomes, with those in the top 10% of earners spending 5%.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “For those on the lowest incomes, these unavoidable costs are already eating away at their finances, leaving their budgets stretched beyond breaking point.”
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a fresh increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), raising the cost for both domestic consumers and commercial users.
According to the notification issued, the LPG price has been increased by Rs7.39 per kilogram, setting the new rate at Rs209 per kg for December. As a result, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder has risen by Rs87.21, bringing the new price to Rs2,466.10.
In November, the price of LPG stood at Rs201 per kg, while the domestic cylinder was priced at Rs2,378.89.
The latest price hike is expected to put additional pressure on households already grappling with rising living costs nationwide.
Business
Private sector data: Over 2 lakh private companies closed in 5 years; govt flags monitoring for suspicious cases – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said that over the past five years, more than two lakh private companies have been closed in India.According to data provided by Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, a total of 2,04,268 private companies were shut down between 2020-21 and 2024-25 due to amalgamation, conversion, dissolution or being struck off from official records under the Companies Act, 2013.Regarding the rehabilitation of employees from these closed companies, the minister said there is currently no proposal before the government, as reported by PTI. In the same period, 1,85,350 companies were officially removed from government records, including 8,648 entities struck off till July 16 this fiscal year. Companies can be removed from records if they are inactive for long periods or voluntarily after fulfilling regulatory requirements.On queries about shell companies and their potential use in money laundering, Malhotra highlighted that the term “shell company” is not defined under the Companies Act, 2013. However, he added that whenever suspicious instances are reported, they are shared with other government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department for monitoring.A major push to remove inactive companies took place in 2022-23, when 82,125 companies were struck off during a strike-off drive by the corporate affairs ministry.The minister also highlighted the government’s broader policy to simplify and rationalize the tax system. “It is the stated policy of the government to gradually phase out exemptions and deductions while rationalising tax rates to create a simple, transparent, and equitable tax regime,” he said. He added that several reforms have been undertaken to promote investment and ease of doing business, including substantial reductions in corporate tax rates for existing and new domestic companies.
Pakistan’s textile exports surged to $6.4 billion during the first four months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, marking the highest trade volume for the sector in this period.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), value-added textile sectors were key contributors to the growth.
Knitwear exports reached $1.9 billion, while ready-made garments contributed $1.4 billion.
Significant increases were observed across several commodities: cotton yarn exports rose 7.74% to $238.9 million, and raw cotton exports jumped 100%, reaching $2.6 million from zero exports the previous year.
Other notable gains included tents, canvas, and tarpaulins, up 32.34% to $53.48 million, while ready-made garments increased 5.11% to $1.43 billion.
Exports of made-up textile articles, excluding towels and bedwear, rose 4.17%, totaling $274.75 million.
The report also mentioned that the growth in textile exports is a result of improved global demand and stability in the value of the Pakistani rupee.
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