NY Times business reporter Emily Steel tweets:

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Ruth Gregory, UK economist at Capital Economics, says the PMI figures point to a quarterly contraction in GDP of about 0.4%.

But she adds: "Activity for the whole of the third quarter may not be quite as weak as the July PMI suggests. Given that the survey was conducted fairly soon after the referendum (between 12 and 28 July) there is a possibility that this could reflect an initial shock factor. Meanwhile, other surveys haven’t been quite as downbeat... That said, with the mounting evidence of the initial hit to the economy following the Brexit vote, we doubt that the MPC will wait any longer before acting. We expect a 25 basis point cut in Bank Rate on Thursday alongside a £75bn expansion of the quantitative easing programme."

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Handout

“Switch” says the regulator. “Switch” say the energy companies. “Switch” say the consumer groups. Do it and you can save £300 to £400 every year. They have been singing from this particular hymn sheet for years.

Yet the CMA’s final report, external (paragraph 100, if you’re interested) says that more than a third of the 7,000 people they asked still did not realise switching was an option.

These people – delightfully referred to as “the disengaged” – tend to be on low incomes, have few qualifications, are tenants or are aged over 65, it concludes.

Unless they are on a prepayment meter, the pensioner from Penzance and the breadline family from Bolton are to receive prompts on their bills or letters from suppliers urging them to – you guessed it – switch.

Should they automatically be put on the cheapest deal, or at least on a cheaper default tariff than now? Ofgem makes it clear such a system will not be introduced.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Report author Professor Adrian Beck from the University of Leicester says customers have worked out it is easy not to scan certain items, and it is difficult to prove intent to steal.  

The New York Times has this resignation statement from Kevin Roberts, external:

“Fail Fast, Fix Fast, Learn Fast” is a leadership maxim I advocate.

When discussing with Business Insider evolving career priorities and new ways of work/life integration, I failed exceptionally fast.

My miscommunication on a number of points has caused upset and offense, and for this I am sorry.

I have inadvertently embarrassed Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis Groupe, two companies I love and have been devoted to for almost 20 years.

I have expressed my regret and apology to the companies for the furor my remarks and language stimulated, and I extend this to colleagues, staff and clients.

So that we can all move forward, I am bringing forward my May 1, 2017, retirement from the company, and will leave the Groupe on September 1, 2016.

There is a lot of learning to reflect on, and within the thousands of tweets, comments and articles there are many powerful and passionate contributions on the changing nature of the workplace, the work we do, what success really looks like, and what companies must do to provide women and men the optimal frameworks in which to flourish.

I believe that new thinking, frameworks and measures are needed to make more rapid progress on diversity in all its forms, in all professions and occupations. Hopefully, the focus on this serious and complex issue will gather momentum.

Image source, FBB

Ask any Berliner about the state of the city's new airport project and they're likely to roll their eyes and emit a long sigh. The Willy Brandt Brandenburg airport is supposed to be replacing the aging Tegel. It was initially meant to open in 2011, but has been repeatedly postponed due to funding and technical problems.

Some good news today however, from the European Commission, which has approved a €1.1bn package to help finish the project, ruling that it counts as a market investment, and not state aid, which is of course a big no-no at the EC.

So, watch this space...

The chairman of advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi has resigned after his comments on women at work caused controversy.

British-born Kevin Roberts had told Business Insider, external he did not think the lack of women in leadership roles "is a problem" in the advertising industry.  

Economist, and pro-Brexit voice Andrew Lilico tweets:

Image source, Reuters

The price of bitcoin has fallen more than 10% after the Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange Bitfinex said it had suffered a major hack.

The security breach led to the possible theft of bitcoin worth $65m (£49m).

Bitfinex told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that nearly 120,000 bitcoin were stolen from its exchange platform.

All transactions on the virtual exchange have been suspended while the security breach is investigated.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Standard Chartered shares have jumped almost 4% in London after the bank reported an underlying pretax profit of $994m (£745m) for the six months to 30 June as cost-cutting measures helped it recover from a huge loss in the second half of last year.  

However, that figure was still considerably less than the $1.8bn it posted for the first half last year, amid growing economic uncertainty worldwide.   

The Asia-focused bank reported a 13% fall in costs over the same period under chief executive Bill Winters.  

Although the lender mentions the UK's decision to leave the EU among its "principal uncertainties", it says the "first order impact of Brexit is not material" in terms of risks to future profits.

"The full impact of Brexit will only be known over the next couple of years as the negotiations progress with the European Union and other major trading partners," the bank added.

Markit chief economist Chris Williamson tweets:

Goldman Sachs strategists said shares on the midcap FTSE 250 are not fully reflecting the worsening state of the UK economy since the referendum, leaving them vulnerable relative to their counterparts on the FTSE 100, which are likely to benefit from a further weakening of the sterling. 

The FTSE 250 plunged in the wake of the Brexit vote, but had recovered all their losses by last week. Goldman told clients this performance does not reflect the worsening manufacturing data and argued that UK-focused companies were likely to cut profit guidance this year.

The investment bank was more optimistic on the FTSE 100, which it sees as a key beneficiary of a weaker sterling. Goldman thinks that sterling will fall to $1.20 in three months and then recover slightly to $1.25 in a year.  

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Ouch. Shares in Aggreko have plunged 12% after the temporary power provider said annual profits would be slightly lower than last year.

Profits fell 30% to £71m in the six months to 30 June, the company said, blaming challenging trading conditions in North America, where falling oil prices have hit demand.

The stock is still up 18% so far this year, though.

Chief executive Chris Weston said:

More from Kamal Ahmed:

PMI survey complier Markit said it was too early to know if the PMIs would remain weak, but added that confidence about the year ahead was at its lowest ebb since February 2009 among companies in the services sector - which accounts for more than two thirds of the UK economy. 

Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist, said: "A quarter-point cut in interest rates therefore seems to be a foregone conclusion ... though the extent and nature of other non-standard stimulus measures remains a far greater source of uncertainty." 

Economics editor Kamal Ahmed tweets:

The UK economy is shrinking at its fastest rate since the financial crisis, making a Bank of England rate cut tomorrow "a foregone conclusion", according to financial data company Markit. 

The full version of its monthly Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey released today a sharp hit to business activity in the wake of June's Brexit - in line with a one-off preliminary PMI figure issued two weeks ago.

July's PMI for the services sector was unchanged from the initial estimate of 47.4, down from 52.3 in June and the lowest since March 2009. 

The all-sector composite PMI was slightly weaker than first estimated at 47.3 - the lowest since April 2009 - following disappointing construction figures yesterday. The fall from 51.9 in June was the biggest since the survey started in 1998. 

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The sound of clinking champagne flutes across the City today may well be coming from the bankers who worked on the £24bn deal to sell UK technology giant ARM to Japan's Softbank. The likes of Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclay have bagged fees worth more than £200m, along with other financial advisers, according to documents released today.

The fees cover advice relating to the structure of the deal. The documents also show that public relations advisers Brunswick, Finsbury and Sard Verbinnen will walk away with up to £6m. 

Total fees and costs associated with the deal, including legal and accounting expenses, stand at £350m.

Other firms set to share millions from the deal include Softbank advisers Robey Warshaw and French bank Lazard, which is working with ARM. 

As part of the deal, SoftBank has pledged to double Cambridge-based ARM's 3,000 workers and to retain its management team. 

Image source, Getty Images

EDF Energy has responded to Ofgem's reaction to the CMA’s proposed remedies: