Should companies do more to ease the cost-of-living crisis?

Prioritising social considerations

The cost-of-living crisis shows little sign of abating. Inflation remains uncomfortably high and continues to surprise to the upside.

The energy crunch is proving alarmingly persistent, with OPEC+ determined to keep oil prices higher through a commitment to production cuts. In domestic energy markets, governments have intervened to shield consumers from some of the impact of rising prices, through measures such as capping unit energy costs and nationalising energy companies (as with EDF in France). Energy, however, is an exceptional case. UK retail sales fall in November as cost-of-living bites household finances Governments have acted because energy companies enjoy uncontested demand which enables them to pas...