Tuesday newspaper round-up: UK inflation, landlords, City AM

(Sharecast News) - Businesses will receive reduced support for their energy bills from the end of March as the Treasury attempts to cut the cost of compensating for soaring gas and electricity prices, the UK government has confirmed. James Cartlidge, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said on Monday that the government would provide £5.5bn of "transitional support" for businesses over 12 months from 1 April 2023. - Guardian The Bank of England's chief economist has warned high rates of UK inflation could persist for longer than expected, despite a fall in wholesale energy prices in recent weeks and the economy on the brink of recession. Huw Pill said the slowdown in the British economy and sharp fall in European gas prices could help to take the sting out of the highest rates of inflation in more than four decades. Threadneedle Street forecasts headline inflation - which was running at 10.7% in November - will ease from the middle of this year. - Guardian

Nicola Sturgeon and Andy Burnham are plotting to force ministers to spend at least £3bn on making HS2 services run to Scotland. Ministers last summer culled a section of HS2 designed to allow Scotland to benefit from the controversial high-speed rail line, amid concerns that costs were spiralling out of control. - Telegraph

City AM, the free London business newspaper, has shut down its Friday print edition as it blamed a shift to home working among bankers in the Square Mile. The publication said it will become digital-only on Fridays to respond to the shift in working habits and lower demand from advertisers. - Telegraph

The value of commercial properties in Britain fell by £130 billion last year as landlords were hit by rapidly rising interest rates and the prospect of a recession. Commercial property capital values dropped by 3 per cent last month alone, according to the latest monthly index from CBRE, the real estate and investment company. The monthly fall in December means that commercial properties lost 13.3 per cent of their value in 2022, wiping about £130 billion from the value of Britain's £1 trillion estate of commercial warehouses, shopping centres and offices. - The Times