but not fast enough to keep up with price rises. our economics correspondent, andy verity, has more details. all good? business has been challenging, up and down. it has been consistently inconsistent. one day we are super busy, we can t keep up. the next day we don t have any work on. a year ago, construction companies like this builder of grand design style renovations, based near heathrow airport, were struggling to cope with the surge in demand for new projects as the economy bounced back from the pandemic. there was no lack of work, but profits were squeezed by the rocketing cost of raw materials and the shortage of skilled staff that sent wages soaring. it is difficult to meet demand when there is also less money in the jobs because the cost of labour has risen so much. so we have labourers earning the money which plumbers and carpenters were earning, like, two and a half, three years ago. but everybody wants the job to be cheaper because they have no certainty and the
correspondents in russia and in ukraine. also this lunchtime. a fresh earthquake in turkey and syria leaves more people dead, two weeks after the tremors that killed tens of thousands. a claim that the clock is ticking for british farmers as they struggle with high inflation, labour shortages and climate change. and it s empty desk friday the world s biggest trial of a four day working week where you do fewer hours for the same pay. and coming up on the bbc news channel england take on pakistan in theirfinal women s t20 world cup group game looking to win and remain unbeaten in the tournament. good afternoon. the russian leader vladimir putin has accused the west of starting the war in ukraine. almost a year after launching the invasion, mr putin has made a two hour state of the nation address delayed from december. he claimed the west is seeking to destroy russia in a global confrontation. the existence of our country is at stake, he said. he also announced he s suspendi
against pre trial detention. after six months of bird flu restrictions, poultry will shortly be allowed out again heralding the return of free range eggs. and coming up on bbc news, after protesters disrupted play last night, the world snooker championships resumed today but with heightened security checks at the crucible. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the treasurer of the scottish national party, colin beattie, has been arrested by police investigating the party s funding and finances. it comes two weeks after peter murrell, the snp s former chief executive who s married to nicola sturgeon, was arrested by officers who searched his home in glasgow and the party s headquarters in edinburgh. mr murrell was later released without charge, pending further investigation. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has the latest. colin beattie has been the snp s treasure for almost the entire duration of his party s climb to dominance in scottish politics. its r
poll revealing 75% say the country is going in the wrong direction. you are watching fox & friends first on this friday morning i m carley shimkus. hey griff. griff: hey carley, i m griff jenkins in for todd piro. while biden s away, by the way, the white house launching a victory tour to celebrate all of his so-called accomplishments over the past 18 months, that s said to include the massive spending bill which will likely pass in the house today and head for biden s desk. carley: kevin corke is live in washington with more details on the bidens. kevin, good morning. kevin: carley, good morning to you. voter dissatisfaction abounds as most don t see an economic rebound. that according to the very latest fox news survey with large majorities rating the economy negatively, including, get this, over half of democrats. joining almost all republicans and independents in being dissatisfied. so while the president spent his weekend, as you pointed out, on a luxury island ins