Boeing says it could halt production of 737 Max after grounding

The company lost $2.9bn in the three months to the end of June, compared to a profit of $2.2bn for the same period last year

Boeing said it could halt production of the 737 Max jet on Wednesday as it reported the company’s largest ever quarterly loss following two fatal accidents involving the plane.

The company lost $2.9bn in the three months to the end of June, compared to a profit of $2.2bn for the same period last year. Sales fell 35% to $15.8bn. Chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said production of the plane could be slowed or halted if regulators do not move to lift the ban on the plane.

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Capitalism gone wrong: how big pharma created America’s opioid carnage

A web of firms ramped up narcotic painkiller sales, creating the biggest drug epidemic in American history as profits surged

As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Mike Hunter laid out his indictment against one of the biggest corporations in America, he made a point of saying that he was not hostile to big business.

“The fact that I am a Republican, a conservative and a believer in capitalism and the marketplace does not require me to turn a blind eye when corporations hurt people,” Hunter told a state court.

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Nissan plans to shed 10,000 jobs worldwide, reports claim

Cuts would be twice as many as the carmaker announced in May and will increase fears of UK losses

The carmaker Nissan plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs around the world as part of efforts to turn itself around, Japanese media have reported.

Nissan announced in May it would cut 4,800 jobs from its global workforce of around 139,000 as it grapples with a fall in profits to a near-decade low amid “a difficult business environment”.

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BA loses legal action against pilot strikes

Holidaymakers’ flights could be disrupted as court rejects airline’s challenge to action

British Airways has lost its legal attempt to block planned strikes by pilots, which could take place next month and disrupt the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The airline had sought an injunction challenging the ballot in the high court. But the court ruled in favour of the union, Balpa, which can now call strike dates with two weeks’ notice. However, it has yet to set dates and both sides have said they remain open to talks.

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Donald Trump’s trade war hurting China more than US, says IMF

Brexit uncertainty and impact of Iran sanctions also likely to slow world growth, says Fund

Donald Trump’s claim that his protectionist measures are hurting China more than the US has received support from the International Monetary Fund in new forecasts showing how a fresh slowdown in the global economy has been concentrated in emerging economies.

The Washington-based IMF said the outlook was gloomier than it envisaged three months ago due to the tit-for-tat tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies, Brexit uncertainty and the impact of sanctions against Iran on oil prices.

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Equifax to pay $700m over breach that exposed data of 150m people

  • Credit agency exposed social security numbers and other data
  • Settlement to provide up to $425m in relief to consumers

Equifax will pay up to $700m to settle with the US and states over a 2017 data breach that exposed social security numbers and other private information of nearly 150m people.

Related: Equifax hack: credit monitoring company criticized for poor response

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Chinese tech shares leap up to 500% as Nasdaq-style market launches

Star listing of domestic tech firms is seen as an attempt to bypass US markets in trade war

China’s tech scene was handed a fresh vote of confidence as investors piled into Shanghai’s new Nasdaq-style stock exchange and sent shares skyrocketing up to 500%.

The launch of the Star listing of domestic tech firms is seen as China’s answer to the US’s Nasdaq, and an attempt to sidestep American markets in its long-running trade war with Washington.

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Ex-Unilever boss seeks ‘heroic CEOs’ to tackle climate change and inequality

Paul Polman also supports Bank of England-backed group promoting disability rights

The former boss of Unilever is seeking a team of “heroic chief executives” to drive a shift to a low-carbon, more inclusive way of doing business.

Paul Polman, who stepped down from the Anglo-Dutch owner of Marmite and Dove in November last year after a decade at the helm, warns that the rise of populism and Brexit are symptoms of capitalism’s failure to adapt. Bosses, he insists, must commit to fighting inequality and tackling the climate emergency.

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Margrethe Vestager scares the tech giants. If we leave the EU, we’ll miss her

Trump says the competition commissioner hates the US, but what she really hates is tax avoidance

The greatest economic threat facing Europe is of falling hopelessly behind the US and China in adopting the next generation of technology. That is the view of many across Europe’s industrial and financial sectors who watch with wonder the proxy battle between the US and Chinese administrations on behalf of their tech giants.

Business leaders from Dublin to Warsaw are open-mouthed – not so much at the often-bizarre tug of war between the two sides as at the fact that these economic blocs can lay claim to almost all the world’s tech giants.

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Boeing Max 737: airlines delay plane’s return until November

Southwest, American and United Airlines all put back return date for troubled jet

The swift return of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft to the skies was put further in doubt this week with airlines signalling that they do not hope to operate the plane any time soon.

With more than four months already elapsed since the plane was grounded by regulators, Southwest and American, two of the jet’s main US operators, followed United Airlines in saying they would be taking the Max out of their schedules until November.

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Asos issues third profit warning in seven months as shares fall

Online fashion retailer blames glitch in rollout of European and US automated warehouses

Shares in Asos tumbled on Thursday as the online fashion retailer issued its third profits warning in seven months, blaming problems with the rollout of its new automated warehouses.

The group said sales were hit by the overhaul of warehouses in Berlin and Atlanta, which left the firm struggling to keep up with demand. It now expects to make profits of £30m to £35m this year, far below City forecasts of £55m.

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Drug makers flooded US with billions of opioid pills as epidemic surged, data shows

Statistics are a blow to country’s biggest pharmaceuticals that paid millions of dollars in out of court settlements

Drug makers and distributors flooded the US with more than 75bn opioid pills in the crucial years when the country’s epidemic of painkiller addiction and deaths surged to record levels, according to previously secret data released by an American court.

The publication of the Drug Enforcement Administration statistics is a blow to some of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical firms that have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in out of court settlements in part to keep sealed evidence that they profiteered from escalating demand for opioids even as public health officials were declaring an epidemic.

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UK wage growth hits 11-year high as self-employment total surges – business live

British worker are getting the biggest pay rises in a decade, as jobless rate remains at 44-year low. But the market may be cooling....

New @ONS stats show that:

- the employment level is at a record high
- there are 3.7m more people in work than in 2010
- wages have grown faster than inflation for almost a year
- female unemployment has fallen to a new record low of 3.6% pic.twitter.com/V9C5NMXW9l

Andy Bruce of Reuters has also spotted that rising self-employment is making up for a drop in the number of employed workers.

Cause for concern?

That there was any employment growth at all in 3 months to May is down to a hefty increase in self-employment.

Employee jobs declined at fastest rate since 2011. pic.twitter.com/cg05f02Az2

Along these lines, looks clear that vacancies have peaked already. pic.twitter.com/t06diHVMRn

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Ryanair to cut flights due to Boeing 737 Max crisis

Budget airline says it plans to close some bases and will carry fewer passengers

Ryanair has warned delays to deliveries of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft will reduce passenger numbers next year and it plans to downsize or close bases at some airports as a result.

Europe’s biggest budget carrier has ordered 135 of the 737 Max models, which remain grounded after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. Boeing has yet to convince regulators that software modifications are sufficient to ensure the plane’s safety.

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Trump claims trade war is working as China’s growth hits 27-year low – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including reaction to the latest Chinese GDP report

Earlier:

If you’re just tuning in, here’s our news story on the Chinese growth figures.... and president Trump’s response.

Donald Trump has claimed that his tariff battle with China is working after official data from Beijing showed growth in the world’s second biggest economy dropping to its slowest pace since 1992.

The US president said the impact of his protectionist measures had been to cause an exodus of companies from China, as Beijing announced that its annual rate of expansion had slowed from 6.4% to 6.2% in the second quarter of 2019.

In tweets that were immediately challenged by economists, Trump said his tough action had forced China’s leaders to the negotiating table.

Related: Donald Trump claims trade war is working as China's economy slows

European stock markets ended the day higher, blown upwards by hopes of fresh Chinese stimulus measure to prop up growth.

After a brief stint in the red the FTSE has powered higher on Monday as risk on dominated. Better than expected results from Citigroup boosting Wall Street and the prospect of stimulus for China lifted the FTSE at the start of the week.

Chinese GDP data showed that the economy grew by 6.2% its lowest level of growth in almost a decade. However, rather than depressing the market, hopes of stimulus for the world’s second largest economy have boosted risk appetite, lifting demand for riskier assets such as stocks. Just as we are seeing with the US, the prospect of easing financial conditions is not being interpreted as bad news for stocks. Instead the prospect of cheaper borrowing in the case of the Fed and support from the PBOC is giving investors plenty of confidence to buy in.

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Boeing 737 Max ordered by Ryanair undergoes name change

Decision fuels speculation that troubled plane will be rebranded once it is given all clear to fly

A Boeing 737 Max due to be delivered to Ryanair has had the name Max dropped from the livery, further fuelling speculation that the manufacturer and airlines will seek to rebrand the troubled plane once it is given the all clear to fly again.

Photos have emerged of a 737 Max in Ryanair colours outside Boeing’s manufacturing hub, with the designation 737-8200 – instead of 737 Max – on the nose. The 737-8200 is a type name for the aircraft that is used by aviation agencies.

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$32m stolen from Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange in latest hack

Bitpoint suspends services after apparent theft of virtual monies including bitcoin

A cryptocurrency exchange in Tokyo has halted services after it lost $32m (£25m) in the latest apparent hack on volatile virtual monies.

Remixpoint, which runs the Bitpoint Japan exchange, discovered that about ¥3.5bn in various digital currencies had gone missing from under its management.

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Sole to the highest bidder: Sotheby’s to auction rare Nike sneakers

Nike’s famous ‘Moon Shoe’ and limited-edition trainers produced by Kanye West, Air Jordan and Adidas will be sold

Sotheby’s in New York has announced its first-ever auction dedicated to sneakers.

The auction house will sell 100 pairs of the rarest sneakers ever produced, including a sample of one of the first Nike running shoes with a pre-sale high estimate of $160,000.

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Social stock exchange idea highlights India’s move away from foreign aid

Proposal could provide cheaper funding for charities, says finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, but critics warn against greater government control of welfare projects

India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has called for the creation of a “social stock exchange”, allowing ethically minded investors to buy stakes in social enterprises, volunteer groups and welfare organisations.

The proposal would be a radical experiment in a country characterised by stark inequality and rapid economic growth.

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Deutsche Bank starts cutting London jobs with 18,000 at risk worldwide

Some staff in London reported to be in tears after hearing their jobs have gone

Deutsche Bank started slashing thousands of jobs in the City of London and in New York only hours after announcing a drastic plan to reduce its global workforce by 18,000.

Germany’s biggest lender employs almost 8,000 people in the UK, with 7,000 in London, which is one of the main hubs for its global investment bank, where the bulk of the job losses will be focused. The jobs being cut make up about a fifth of Deutsche’s global workforce of 91,500.

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