Brexit, HSBC, energy and pensions

Some gloomy news this morning as toy manufacturers and brewers announce price hikes to their products. The Guardian reports that the price of some toys, including Lego and Peppa Pig merchandise, could increase by up to 15 per cent as a result of the plunging pound. Natasha Crookes, spokeswoman for the British Toy and Hobby Association, said most UK toy makers, who typically design products in Britain but have them manufactured and imported from east Asia, had managed to contain price rises until now. Meanwhile, Heineken and Carlsberg have become the latest beer makers to raise prices, following MolsonCoors – maker of the UK’s most popular beer, Carling – and ABInBev, whose stable of brands includes Budweiser. According to The Guardian, brewers have signalled that far larger Brexit-related rises are on the horizon. In other Brexit news, ThisisMoney reports that US bank Citigroup will move some jobs out of London to a rival European financial centre because of Brexit.

James Cowles, Citigroup’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the bank had been in talks with governments and regulators in different countries, including Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Swiss