Sadiq Khan has called on ministers to grant him powers to freeze private rents in London, amid a push by Labour over cost of living issues which also saw the party reiterate its call for the scrapping of the planned increase in national insurance contributions. The mayor has previously called on the government to allow him to put in place rent controls in London as a way to ease fast-rising costs, but has been rebuffed by ministers. – Guardian
Car manufacturers are facing soaring costs and supply issues after the price of nickel doubled to record levels in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prices passed $100,000 (£76,000) a tonne – driven up by buyers racing to cover short positions – before the London Metal Exchange (LME) suspended trading in nickel for the day. – Guardian
Russia has suspended the sale of foreign currencies until September in a scramble to steady its economy, as rating agency Fitch indicated that a sovereign default is imminent. Citizens will not be able to buy foreign currencies in local banks but they will, however, be able to change them into the local ruble unit. – Telegraph
Elon Musk has claimed he was forced to sign a settlement with the US government that kept him in charge of Tesla, saying the deal was necessary for “the immediate survival” of the company. The world’s richest man stepped up his campaign against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, asking a court to throw out the 2018 deal and accusing the agency of having a “vendetta” against him. – Telegraph
British companies posting messages for International Women’s Day are having their gender pay gaps exposed by a Twitter bot, leading some to delete their posts. Companies such as Ryanair, Barclays and outsourcer Capita, as well as universities and government departments, have been called out by the Gender Pay Gap Bot, which states in its Twitter biography: “Employers, if you tweet about International Women’s Day, I’ll retweet your gender pay gap.” – The Times
