| Here's something the UK government will want to talk about — at last it has been accepted into a trade pact with several countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Japan and Australia. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an agreement between 11 nations. As Ellen Milligan and Brendan Murray report, the government sees membership as a boost for both economic growth and geopolitical relations. The expectation is that this deal will bring in growth of £1.8 billion each year over the long-term, a figure that could rise if other countries join. It should also give the UK a role in setting regional trade rules over the coming decades, and a say over China's future accession to the bloc. There's no denying this is a boon for the UK — which has been struggling for success stories since leaving the EU. Much of it is about positioning, as Rishi Sunak called it: "Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the center of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join." The more of these trade pacts struck individually, the harder to reverse Brexit becomes. But while this is a positive story today, it will not bring immediate rescue to the UK's struggling economy. "This is not a deal about tomorrow, it's a deal about the future," said Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch this morning. Laudably long-termist but is it enough in the context of dire growth projections and an economy which is, as the chairman of the OBR recently put it — 4% smaller since Brexit?£1.8 billion each year barely scratches at the surface of the £100 billion of lost output which Bloomberg's team says Brexit is costing the UK each year. If all those figures are too miserable to start your weekend, here are some more positive figures from Ellen Milligan. The UK's National Living Wage will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour, boosting the pay of millions of Britain's lowest paid workers in the face of double digit inflation. "The high levels of inflation are felt more acutely by those on low pay who spend a higher proportion of their income on energy and food." said Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, an independent body that advises the government on the minimum wage. "We remain confident that this increase is unlikely to have a detrimental impact." Because the property market is so rocky, partly due to rising interest rates, homeowners are having to do something radical just to make their money back when selling up, reports Helen Chandler-Wilde. Instead of just touching up the paintwork in their properties, there are a growing number of people who are turning to renovation firms and staging companies to help sell in a choppy market. | 
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