UK economic outlook brighter as new government measures will boost growth, says OECD – as it happened

<p>Oil prices reverse earlier declines to rise above $100 a barrel again</p><p>The <strong>Co-op</strong> has called on <strong>Andy Burnham</strong>’s government to “create an environment where we have confidence and certainty to invest” which it needs to support “lifeline stores” in urban and rural communities across the UK.</p><p><strong>Kate Allum</strong>, the interim chief executive of the mutual who stepped in after the unexpected departure of Shirine Khoury-Haq last year, said:</p><p>We have no intention of closing any lifeline stores.</p><p>We have a big estate and we want to continue to invest but what we need is confidence. We don’t want unintended consequences of decisions.</p><p>consumer confidence is pretty uncertain. We talk to our members all the time and the cost of living has been their number one concern for a significant period of time.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2026/sep/23/oil-prices-fall-us-iran-talks-stock-markets-saudi-pipeline-latest-news-updates">Continue reading...</a>