Up to 90 per cent of British fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers that retailers are warning could batter the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Britain will issue up to 10,500 temporary work visas to lorry drivers and poultry workers to ease chronic staff shortages, the government announced Saturday, in a U-turn on post-Brexit immigration policy.

Uber Technologies said it would start rolling out its pension plan to all eligible drivers in the United Kingdom, months after the ride-hailing service granted workers’ rights to its drivers in the country.

Britain is looking at temporary measures to alleviate an acute shortage of truckers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said on Friday, to smooth disruption to food and petrol supplies which retailers have warned could impact Christmas.

Britain, which faces soaring natural gas prices, has been forced to run coal-fired power stations in order to secure energy supplies, electricity generation company Drax said on Thursday.

Major UK-based companies on Friday urged the government to accelerate the nation’s shift away from fossil fuels for electricity generation, amid turmoil over surging gas prices.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it is poised to validate  “short-term temporary measures” to tackle the effects of a global energy crisis -- while keeping an eye on long-term climate goals.

Nigeria said Wednesday it aims to produce 1.88 million barrels per day of crude oil next year and the budget will be based on the benchmark price of $57 per barrel, calling it a  “very conservative” output goal as the country’s economy struggles.

The Bank of England is expected to stay the course on interest rates and stimulus on Thursday, despite soaring inflation and fears of runaway domestic energy costs.

Economic growth in the eurozone stumbled in September, a closely watched survey said Thursday, as supply chain bottlenecks, high prices and the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant hurt output.

Battery power may be the frontrunner to become the car technology of the future, but don’t rule out the underdog hydrogen.

Britain’s government does not expect a gas supply emergency during the winter as soaring prices threaten energy groups, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted on Monday.

World stocks sank Monday as trading floors were gripped by contagion fears from the expected collapse of debt-plagued Chinese property giant Evergrande, with investors also on red alert over spiking wholesale gas costs.

Britain is considering offering state loans to energy companies that take on customers from firms which go bust due to soaring wholesale natural gas prices, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Tuesday.  

The United States’ decision to lift restrictions on incoming travellers vaccinated against Covid-19 was met with a sigh of a relief by the global airline sector, which has been dealt a body blow by the pandemic.

The OECD warned Tuesday of an  “uneven” global economic recovery as it lowered its 2021 growth forecasts for the world and the United States while raising the outlook for Europe.

Just two years after first entering the Bangladesh market, German sportswear giant Puma is going to further expand its horizon in the country.

Deep in the Oman desert lies one of BP’s more lucrative projects, a mass of steel pipes and cooling towers that showcases the British energy giant’s pioneering natural gas extraction technology.

Britain will look to break down digital trade barriers to help its businesses export their services, the country’s newly appointed trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan will say on Monday.

Sterling hit fresh lows against a broadly stronger dollar and rose versus the euro on Friday as some investment banks brought forward their forecast for a Bank of England rate rise.