HS2 boss says delays under consideration as inflation bites
The HS2 rail project could be delayed among a number of potential options being considered to curb rising costs, the project's boss has said.
In an interview with the BBC, HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said the impact of inflation on the project over the past year has been "significant... whether that's in timber, steel, aggregates for all the concrete we need to use to build the job, labour, all our energy costs, fuel".
Phase One of HS2 involves the railway being built between London and Birmingham, with the line extended from the West Midlands to Crewe in Phase 2a.
Phase 2b will connect Crewe to Manchester, and the West Midlands to the East Midlands.
The latest target cost of Phase One between London and Birmingham is £40.3bn at 2019 prices.
A budget of £55.7bn for the whole of HS2 was set in 2015.
Mr Thurston told the broadcaster HS2 was in discussion with suppliers and the Government on finding ways to minimise the soaring costs.
Good morning
Energy companies expect Jeremy Hunt to maintain his energy price guarantee at or close to £2,500 from April 1, sources have indicated to the BBC.
Some suppliers have started to amend future bills to reflect the possibility that Government subsidies will not change as expected.
Households are due to see bills rise by £500 from April 1 when the energy price guarantee increases the maximum average energy bill annually to £3,000.
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What happened overnight
Asian shares rose on prospects for a steady economic recovery in China and after Wall Street reversed losses overnight following remarks by the Atlanta Federal Reserve chief on interest rates.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief after Raphael Bostic said he favoured "slow and steady" quarter-point US rate increases to limit risk to the economy.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.7pc, on track for its first weekly rise in five. The index is up 1.6pc so far this month.
Japan's stocks ended higher, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index advancing 1.6pc to 27,927.47, while the broader Topix index added 1.3pc to 2,019.52.
Australian shares were up 0.4pc, helped by gains in miners and financials, while China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.2pc in afternoon trade while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4pc. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.9pc.
Stocks on Wall Street flipped losses to gains on Thursday, as Treasury yields retreated from earlier highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trading up 1pc at 33,003.57. The S&P 500 closed 0.8pc higher at 3,981.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite gained rose 0.7pc to 11,462.98.
Treasuries marched higher before pulling back following dovish reports that the Federal Reserve could pause interest rate hikes this summer.
Still, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes - the benchmark for global borrowing costs - reached a four-month high of 4.091pc. Meanwhile, the yield on two-year Treasury notes, which closely tracks short-term interest rate expectations, advanced to a 16 year high of 4.889pc.