Category Archives: Business

M&S faces ‘gathering storm’ as joint venture with Ocado makes loss

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Marks & Spencer profits fall by almost 24%, although clothing, food and international sales rise

Marks & Spencer has said it faces a “gathering storm”, with next year likely to be more challenging than this after reporting a near 24% fall in profits.

The clothing, food and homewares retailer said sales rose 8.8% to £5.6bn in the six months to 1 October but underlying pre-tax profits sank 23.7% to £205.5m as its Ocado online grocery joint venture fell into the red and it pulled out of Russia.

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Made.com enters administration, putting about 500 jobs at risk

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Online furniture retailer’s brand, domain names and intellectual property bought by Next

The online furniture retailer Made.com has collapsed into administration after weeks of speculation, putting about 500 jobs at risk and leaving customers disappointed.

The company’s brand, domain names and intellectual property were immediately bought by the fashion and homeware retailer Next.

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Lively guinea pig and giraffe toys flagged as ‘Christmas bestsellers’

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Toy Retailers Association selects likely ‘must-haves’ for British market with eye on strained budgets

An interactive guinea pig which has babies and a “booty shaking” disco giraffe are predicted to be among the bestselling toys this Christmas as retailers battle for custom with toy ranges tailored to suit “every budget”.

With the cost of living crisis looming large, the DreamToys list drawn up by the Toy Retailers Association (TRA), features a selection of cheaper toys this year, with eight of the top 12 under £35. The cheapest item on the list is an £8 Squishmallow, a cuddly toy expected to be a popular stocking filler.

Barbie Cutie reveal doll £33

Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse £80

Goo Jit Zu figurine £11

GiGi the Giraffe £28

Mama Surprise £65

Magic Mixies Mixlings Magic Castle £30

Paw Patrol Big Truck Pups vehicle £18

Pokémon Elite Trainer set £42.50

Rainbow High fashion doll £32

Sink N’ Sand game £20

Original 7.5in Squishmallows £8

Lego Star Wars Hoth AT-ST £45

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Zayn Malik urges Rishi Sunak to give free school meals to all children in poverty

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Bradford-born singer who relied on free school lunches urges PM to extend provision to all families on universal credit

Zayn Malik has called on Rishi Sunak to “give all children living in poverty” free school meals during the cost of living crisis.

The former One Direction singer, 29, who relied on free school lunches as a child growing up in Bradford, recently became an ambassador for the Food Foundation and is backing its Feed the Future campaign.

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Germany keen to discuss natural gas pact with UK amid supply risk

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Officials interested in deal that would allow two countries to bail each other out in event of shortages

Germany is keen to talk to Britain about a solidarity pact that would allow Europe’s largest consumers of natural gas to bail each other out if an extreme cold snap were to create shortages this winter, German officials have said.

Such an agreement could be mutually beneficial for both London and Berlin, the German civil servant in charge of rationing in the case of a supply crisis told the Guardian in an interview.

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Twitter bans comedian Kathy Griffin for impersonating Elon Musk

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Users adopt Musk’s name after he announces suspension of accounts pretending to be someone else

Elon Musk has banned a US comedian’s Twitter account after taking on users who impersonate him on the platform.

Twitter’s new owner announced an immediate ban on accounts pretending to be someone else without flagging them as parodies. The move resulted in the removal of an “Elon Musk” account held by the comedian Kathy Griffin, who had changed her account name to match that of the Tesla chief executive.

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UK house prices fall after ‘significant shock’ of mini-budget

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Halifax reports steepest monthly drop since February 2021 amid interest rate rises

UK house prices fell by 0.4% in October after Liz Truss’s mini-budget drove a sudden rise in mortgage rates, the lender Halifax said.

The decline in the average price to £292,598 was the third in the past four months and the steepest since February 2021. The annual rate of growth in house prices slowed to 8.3% in October from 9.8% in September.

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Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock oppose Labor ‘rushing through’ workplace bill

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Albanese government has agreed amendments to get business on board but independent senators won’t be bullied into passing omnibus legislation

The Albanese government is ratcheting up pressure on Senate crossbenchers to support its contentious industrial relations legislation after Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock signalled concessions to employers were not enough to expedite the bill’s passage.

Labor used the resumption of federal parliament on Monday to welcome last week’s 15% pay rise for aged care workers and declare that other workers battling escalating cost-of-living pressures needed industrial regulations that worked in their interests, given inflation was now forecast to peak at 8%.

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Apple warns iPhone shipments will be delayed due to Covid restrictions at Foxconn plant

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Tech company says customers will experience longer wait times as the plant in China is operating at reduced capacity

Apple has said it expects fewer iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated as Covid-19 restrictions temporarily disrupt production at an assembly facility in Zhengzhou, China.

“The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,” Apple said in a statement. “Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”

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We need serious public policy, not more printed money – the US economy is in tatters

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Decades of bailouts have convinced some that the Fed will always come to the rescue – but this only papers over the fundamental flaws of the US economy

With the Federal Reserve leading the world’s central banks in a tightening cycle of interest rate rises, the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2006, commentators across the political spectrum are noting the fondness of the Fed chair, Jerome “Jay” Powell, for his legendary predecessor, Paul Volcker. On the left, the comparison is fearful; on the center and on the right, it’s one of admiration. But circumstances don’t really support the comparison.

On taking office in October 1979, Volcker declared “the standard of living of the average American has to decline” as a consequence of the war against the chronic inflation of the 1970s. He quickly set to work making that happen by driving interest rates up towards 20% and creating the deepest US recession since the 1930s.

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UK mortgage rate rises ‘will put extra 400,000 people in poverty’

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Analysis from Joseph Rowntree Foundation comes after Bank of England raised base rate

Higher monthly home loan costs will pull another 400,000 people into poverty in the coming year as the fallout from dearer mortgage rates ricochets through the housing market.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said an extra 120,000 households, the equivalent of 400,000 people, will be plunged into poverty when their current mortgage deal ends.

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Netflix with ads draws some big brands – but others are unimpressed

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L’Oréal and Budweiser owner advertise on Basic with Ads but high prices for slots put off some agencies

Netflix has launched its first subscription package featuring ads in a drive to reignite growth by attracting cost-conscious users, but the hurried launch, high prices for slots and accompanying demands have left some advertisers unconvinced.

Basic with Ads, which went live in 12 countries this week, costs £4.99 a month in the UK – £2 less than its cheapest ad-free package – and hopes to lure households whose budgets are shrinking in the cost of living crisis.

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US adds 261,000 jobs in October as unemployment rate rises slightly

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Final jobs report before midterms shows unemployment rate at 3.7%, a day after Federal Reserve announced further raise hike

The US economy added 261,000 jobs in October, the labor department announced on Friday in its last snapshot of the health of the employment market before next week’s midterm elections.

The latest report confirmed the remarkable strength of the US jobs market. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, still close to a 50-year low. The news comes after the Federal Reserve once again raised interest rates in a bid to slow investment and bring down inflation, a move that economists and the Fed predict will eventually cost jobs.

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Non-dom tax breaks being reviewed by the Treasury in effort to raise revenue

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Officials are also looking at incorporating cut in tax-free allowance for dividends into autumn statement

Treasury officials are examining whether the autumn statement could include changes to non-dom status and moves to raise taxes on dividends by cutting tax-free allowances.

No final decisions have been taken but Whitehall sources said options were being examined by the Treasury’s high net worth individuals policy team.

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Canada orders China to divest from country’s mining companies

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Move comes after ‘multi-step’ review by Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies

Canada has ordered China to immediately sell its holdings in three Canadian mining companies, as the need for investments in the extraction of critical minerals clashes with growing concerns over national security.

On Wednesday Canada’s industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said three Chinese companies would be required to divest from junior mining companies.

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Tory-linked lobbying firm agreed to help swing DRC election, leak suggests

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Exclusive: CT Group, co-owned by Lynton Crosby, planned secretive African campaign on behalf of Canadian mining giant

A lobbying firm with deep ties to the Conservative party planned a secretive campaign to influence elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in exchange for millions of pounds from a mining company.

Leaked documents suggest the influential firm co-owned by the veteran Tory strategist Sir Lynton Crosby agreed to help the mining company swing a presidential election in the central African country.

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Proposed work-from-home tax changes would mean lower deductions or more paperwork

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If adopted, Australian Tax Office draft guidelines would cut 80c flat rate to 67c and affect tax returns from next July

People working from home would lose hundreds of dollars in tax deductions if new draft guidelines released by the Australian Tax Office are adopted.

Under the proposed changes, those working from home would not be able to claim expenses such as internet, electricity and mobile separately using the popular shortcut method, which sets out a flat rate for hours worked at home, rather than calculating the actual costs.

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Insurance firms must lower premiums as government funds disaster prevention, minister says

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Murray Watt says Canberra is funding disaster mitigation infrastructure and ‘expects the insurance industry to fulfil its end of the bargain’

Insurance companies need to reduce premiums for customers in disaster-prone regions now the federal government is investing heavily in infrastructure to minimise loss during extreme weather, the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, says.

Ahead of confirming funding on Friday for 34 new mitigation projects to reduce the impact of coastal erosion accelerated by the climate crisis, Watt used an insurance industry conference to put the sector on notice.

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Fed announces sixth consecutive hike in US interest rates to fight inflation

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Fed officials have now imposed the sharpest increases in interest rates since the 1980s, as the cost of living crisis batters consumers

The Federal Reserve stepped up its fight against a 40-year high in US inflation on Wednesday, announcing its fourth consecutive three-quarters of a percentage point hike in interest rates but signaling the pace of increases may soon slow.

With the cost of living crisis battering consumers and Joe Biden’s political fortunes, Fed officials have now imposed six rate rises in a row, the sharpest increases in interest rates since the 1980s, when inflation touched 14% and rates rose to nearly 20%.

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TikTok tells European users its staff in China get access to their data

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Privacy policy update confirms data of continent’s users available to range of TikTok bases including in Brazil, Israel and US

TikTok is spelling out to its European users that their data can be accessed by employees outside the continent, including in China, amid political and regulatory concerns about Chinese access to user information on the platform.

The Chinese-owned social video app is updating its privacy policy to confirm that staff in countries, including China, are allowed to access user data to ensure their experience of the platform is “consistent, enjoyable and safe”.

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