Evening Update Wednesday 1 February 2023

Eight of the largest French unions have called for two more days of industrial action on Tuesday 7 February and Saturday 11 February. According to the French government, 1.27 million people marched against proposed pension reforms yesterday, with unions saying that the figure was 2.5 million.

Road deaths in France in 2022 reached a level close to that before the health crisis according to government body Securite Routiere. According to estimates, 3,260 people lost their lives on the roads of mainland France in 2022, which is up by 10.7% from 2021 and up by 0.5% from 2019. The year 2022 was marked by the end of pandemic travel restrictions and telework with travel and accident rates have returned to a level close to that of before the pandemic.

The new bill on immigration has been presented to the French Council of Ministers. Provisions in the bill reportedly include a temporary carte de sejour for workers in industries which are experiencing a shortage of employees, the reform of the asylum system and the creation of a carte de sejour for those entering France from abroad to work in the medical or pharmaceutical fields. After being considered by the Council of Ministers the bill will be brought before the Senate and the National Assembly.

French government spokesperson Olivier Veran has said that only about half of those entitled have claimed the fuel allowance. Speaking this morning after the Council of Ministers meeting he said that seven million people are eligible for the financial aid but only three to four million had submitted an application. The allowance of 100 euros is paid to households with modest incomes.

 

BUSINESS

Tesla made a $140 million loss on its Bitcoin investments in 2022, according to filings. The electric car maker told the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it lost $204m on Bitcoin overall, though it gained back $64m through trading. Tesla put $1.5bn into Bitcoin in early 2021.

UK house prices have fallen for the fifth month in a row according to the Nationwide Building Society. It said that the price of the average UK property last month was £258,297, which is down by 0.6% on December, and that annual house price growth slowed to 1.1%, down from 2.8% in December.

 

SPORT

Football... Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Portugese club Benfica for a new British record fee. The 22 year old signed for Benfica from River Plate in July last year for 10m euros but has now signed to Chelsea in a £107m deal.

Yesterday was the deadline day in the transfer window. Total expenditure by top-flight clubs in January was a record-breaking £815m. More than £275m was spent on deadline day alone before the window closed for English clubs at 23:00 GMT last night.

Eight of the largest French unions have called for two more days of industrial action on Tuesday 7 February and Saturday 11 February. According to the French government, 1.27 million people marched in support of pension reform yesterday, with unions saying that the figure was 2.5 million.

Road deaths in France in 2022 reached a level close to that before the health crisis according to government body Sante Routiere. According to estimates, 3,260 people lost their lives on the roads of mainland France in 2022, which is up by 10.7% from 2021 and up by 0.5% from 2019. The year 2022 was marked by the end of pandemic travel restrictions and telework with travel and accident rates have returned to a level close to that of before the pandemic.

The new bill on immigration has been presented to the French Council of Ministers. Provisions in the bill reportedly include a temporary carte de sejour for workers in industries which are experiencing a shortage of employees, the reform of the asylum system and the creation of a carte de sejour for those entering France from abroad to work in the medical or pharmaceutical fields. After being considered by the Council of Ministers the bill will be brought before the Senate and the National Assembly.

French government spokesperson Olivier Veran has said that only about half of those entitled have claimed the fuel allowance. Speaking this morning after the Council of Ministers meeting he said that seven million people are eligible for the financial aid but only three to four million had submitted an application. The allowance of 100 euros is paid to households with modest incomes.

 

BUSINESS

Tesla made a $140 million loss on its Bitcoin investments in 2022, according to filings. The electric car maker told the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it lost $204m on Bitcoin overall, though it gained back $64m through trading. Tesla put $1.5bn into Bitcoin in early 2021.

UK house prices have fallen for the fifth month in a row according to the Nationwide Building Society. It said that the price of the average UK property last month was £258,297, which is down by 0.6% on December, and that annual house price growth slowed to 1.1%, down from 2.8% in December.

 

SPORT

Football... Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Portugese club Benfica for a new British record fee. The 22 year old signed for Benfica from River Plate in July last year for 10m euros but has now signed to Chelsea in a £107m deal.

Yesterday was the deadline day in the transfer window. Total expenditure by top-flight clubs in January was a record-breaking £815m. More than £275m was spent on deadline day alone before the window closed for English clubs at 23:00 GMT last night.

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