Crypto News: DIY drop shows Britain needs a fix

Hi there, it's Jamie Nimmo, global business editor in London. Hope you enjoy today's Readout.

As the row rages on over whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves knew how bad the economy was before the general election, the best barometer for the current state of the nation can be found in the depths of the Bloomberg Terminal.

Look, for example, at today's trading update from Wickes, when the DIY group made some rather worrying comments about how consumers are still refusing to splash the cash.

"DIY sales remain in moderate decline as customers continue to focus on smaller projects," the company told investors. Money-conscious consumers also meant that its design and installation services – where customers can get specialists to help conceive and build a bespoke kitchen, bathroom or home office – suffered, reflecting what it said was "continued soft consumer appetite for larger ticket purchases."

Comments about business outlook in corporate updates like these are important, given they can be an indicator of how the economy is performing overall.

A Wickes DIY store, Martlesham Photographer: Geography Photos/Getty Images

And the message coming from this update is that inflation is easing — but British consumers are still chary of spending their pennies, which should worry Reeves now she's in charge of the country's coffers.

A survey from PwC released yesterday showed consumer confidence was at a three-year high, with Brits splashing out on travel and fashion. And yet there was still a lingering sense of carefulness, and almost three-quarters of Brits still plan to cut back on spending in the next three months.

There was also caution this week from the British Retail Consortium, which warned that while inflation was at its lowest in almost three years in July, food costs could rise again given current higher commodity prices.

The ongoing wariness is perhaps not a surprise: The effects of higher interest rates have a long tail, with many homeowners only just now feeling the pinch as their old mortgage deals end.

Pace yourselves: We're only halfway through earnings season. There is plenty more to come, including a second-quarter update from Next tomorrow that will likely give another indication of consumer sentiment.

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After pollution in the Seine delayed the men's triathlon by a day at the Olympics, both individual events took place this morning without a hitch. I say without a hitch; the swim looked tortuous with strong currents, and they slid all over the road in the cycling after heavy downpours overnight.

But we can't exactly criticize: Water quality isn't much better on this side of the Channel, with record levels of sewage pumped into British rivers last year.

The financial state of the water companies may well be an even bigger concern. Thames Water, which serves London and much of southern England, was cut to junk last week by ratings agency Moody's.

Competitors jump into the Seine in the men's individual triathlon today Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

David Black, the chief executive of regulator Ofwat, spoke to Bloomberg's Jess Shankleman in an interview today and said Thames Water could be put into a Turnaround Oversight Regime within months to ensure it can fix chronic leaks and sewage spills. These special measures are an attempt to prevent Britain's biggest water company from being temporarily nationalized — but they could lead to a breakup.

Mind you, it would take a lot more than that to get me swimming in the Thames.

$3 billion

Noel Quinn ended his final quarter as boss of HSBC by announcing the bank will return $3 billion to shareholders after above-expectation earnings.

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The Thames Estuary in Leigh Photographer: John Keeble/Getty Images

The answer to Britain's housing problems might be to build an entirely new city offshore in the Thames Estuary. So suggests Ian Mulcahey, Global Leader of Cities & Urban Design practice at global architecture practice Gensler.

With the UK's housing shortfall so acute that it would need construct another London-sized city to meet it, Mulcahey believes that the new government's building plans — which involve new towns, peripheral urban expansion and infill — risk neither solving nor necessarily easing the problem. The river waters and banks just to London's east could provide enough space to genuinely tackle the issue, while also being located in the part of the country whose economic vibrancy means such a plan could be implemented without heavy government subsidies. Mulcahey says the cost is that of building a new city, but he's still working on an estimate.