An industry-friendly budget? Don’t get your hopes up

Tackling inflation and restoring credibility are top of the chancellor's to-do list in the autumn statement. Business pleas may go unheeded

Looming recession, soaring inflation, worker shortages and evaporating business confidence provide a fairly sobering backdrop for Jeremy Hunt's autumn statement this week.

As the government goes back to the drawing board after Liz Truss's botched mini-budget, most of the problems that Britain's economy faced under her leadership are either still a big worry for company bosses or have been amplified.