Your commercial news round-up: UK economy, climate crisis, ‘yellow cards’, TikTok ban

Reading time: four minutes

While the UK economy shows a modest recovery, concerns about prolonged stagnation persist. Meanwhile, a new report highlighted the potential for catastrophic climate shocks to halve global GDP by 2090 if immediate action isn't taken. Back in the UK, there’s been a call for fairer treatment of rail passengers who make honest mistakes when purchasing tickets. Plus, TikTok users in the US are flocking to the Chinese app RedNote as a potential ban looms. Dive into these pressing issues in this week’s commercial news round-up!

• The UK economy experienced a modest growth of 0.1% in November, marking its first expansion in three months. This slight increase was primarily driven by the hospitality and construction sectors, following contractions in October and September. Despite the growth, recent financial market turbulence meant that the figures fell short of forecasts. With tax hikes set to take effect in April, there are growing concerns about the potential for prolonged stagnant growth. Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged the need for the government to “do more to grow our economy” and reiterated her commitment to accelerating growth to improve living standards. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the November growth as a "step in the right direction" but reiterated that economic recovery would take time.
   
• Shifting focus to a wider perspective, a report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) warned that the global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 from the catastrophic shocks of climate change. The report, produced in collaboration with scientists at the University of Exeter, highlighted the urgent need for political leaders to take immediate action to decarbonise and restore nature. The IFoA's warning highlighted that the impacts of fires, floods, droughts, rising temperatures and natural system breakdowns could be much worse than previously thought. The report follows data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which showed that global temperatures exceeded the 1.5C target for the first time in 2024, intensifying extreme weather events. In addition, the report said that at 3C or more of warming by 2050, the world could face more than four billion deaths, significant sociopolitical fragmentation worldwide, the breakdown of several critical ecosystem services and extinction events. The report's lead author, Sandy Trust, criticised current economic predictions and said: “Nature is our foundation, providing food, water and air, as well as the raw materials and energy that power our economy. Threats to the stability of this foundation are risks to future human prosperity which we must take action to avoid.”
   
• Returning to the UK, train companies are being urged by Transport Focus, the rail passenger watchdog, to adopt a ‘yellow card’ system for passengers who travel without the correct ticket, rather than immediately issuing fines or prosecuting passengers. Transport Focus stated that a new system is required to ensure passengers who make honest mistakes aren’t unfairly penalised. Instances have been reported where passengers faced penalties or prosecution for minor errors, such as incorrect use of railcards that resulted  in fines exceeding £400 for savings of fewer than £2. Under the watchdog’s proposed nationwide yellow card system, first-time offenders would be notified of their mistake and have their details recorded, with fines imposed only for repeat offences. The director for rail at Transport Focus, Natasha Grice, highlighted the complexity of rail fares and the need for a fairer system: “We understand and support the principle that all users of rail should be paying for their ticket, but we want to make sure that passengers who make an innocent mistake aren’t punished unfairly.”
   
• Finally, with the threat of a potential ban on TikTok in the US just days away, users are migrating to the Chinese app RedNote. The move by the so-called ‘TikTok refugees’ made RedNote the most downloaded app on Apple's US App Store on Monday. RedNote combines features of TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest, allowing users to share lifestyle tips on topics ranging from dating to fashion. As for TikTok, the Supreme Court is set to rule on a law requiring TikTok to sell its US operations by 19 January or face a ban. TikTok has refused to sell, arguing that a ban would violate free speech protections for its 170 million US users. In addition, TikTok recently called a report that China is considering allowing a sale of the social media company's US operations to Elon Musk "pure fiction”.

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