Pop-up Frakta shop offering blue candy floss and mirrored room opens on site of delayed larger store
Glass cases house beautifully displayed arm-candy at the latest new entry on a reviving Oxford Street in central London.
This is not a designer handbag purveyor but a store dedicated to Ikea’s signature bright blue Frakta carrier bag – a pop-up shop paving the way for the home furnishing retailer’s delayed move into a larger store on-site, which is due to open next year.
Continue reading...London-listed company strikes deal with Fortress Investment Group, although shareholder approval needed
The cafe bar business Loungers has agreed to be bought by a US investment group in a deal that values it at about £338m.
Fortress Investment Group said it had made an offer for the UK hospitality group through a newly formed investment vehicle.
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Nuclear costings coming ‘in coming weeks and months ahead of election’: Taylor
The shadow treasurer was also asked when the Coalition would release the costings of its nuclear plan.
We will not be announcing it on your program this morning, as much as you might like me to.
Continue reading...Government faces risk of collapse over planned austerity budget
French sovereign borrowing costs have soared to the highest premium since the eurozone debt crisis amid political turmoil as the government faces the risk of collapse over a planned austerity budget.
The gap between French 10-year government bond yields and their German equivalent ballooned to as much as 90 basis points on Wednesday, the widest level in 12 years, while shares listed on the Paris stock exchange also tumbled.
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Labour market steadying as latest monthly CPI result looms
The consensus for much of the year has been the Reserve Bank’s 13-year high interest rates would squeeze demand in the economy, nudge up unemployment and help bring down inflation. And then it could start cutting its cash rate.
And then more recently, we’re actually starting to see [the labour market] tighten.
Continue reading...Sales of Christmas pet lines up 964% year-on-year at Waitrose online as people spend more on pet care
Unlike buying a present for a fussy father-in-law or an awkward aunt, a dog won’t complain if their treats aren’t the latest, and a cat is not likely to turn its nose up at a Christmas tree-shaped scratch tree.
Perhaps that’s why Britons are so happy to spend on their pets this Christmas, with sales of seasonal pet treats, toys and food booming.
Continue reading...Stellantis says it will shift production from Bedfordshire to plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
The owner of Vauxhall has announced that it plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of being cut or moving location despite the UK government preparing to relax rules on electric cars.
Stellantis said it would shift van production from Luton, Bedfordshire, to another factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, blaming the UK’s economic conditions and the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Continue reading...US president-elect posted on social media about plan to impose 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada over immigration
Justin Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with provincial premiers across Canada after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, threatened a 25% tariff on the United States’ northern neighbour.
Trump posted on social media that he would “sign all necessary documents” to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all goods products coming into the United States, adding the levy would remain in place until “such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”
Continue reading...Trade experts hail ‘new era of protectionism’ with targeted countries retaliating with their own tariffs
Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on goods imported into the US has set the stage for a bitter global trade war, according to trade experts and economists, with consumers and companies warned to brace for steep costs.
The president-elect announced on Monday night that he intends to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs on all their exports to the US – until they reduce migration and the flow of drugs into the country.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show syndicate placed bets with Sportsbet while using another person’s name
Banks and bookmakers that were hoodwinked by a gambling syndicate that created multiple accounts in other people’s names to hide their true identities may have breached their anti-money laundering obligations.
Guardian Australia has confirmed a gambling syndicate paid $1,000 to desperate men for their ID documents, which were used to create multiple bank and betting accounts in their names. Cash was deposited into these bank accounts and gambled with at least nine bookmakers.
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The independent MP Zoe Daniel was on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss her alternative to the under-16 social media ban, which she introduced as a private member’s bill yesterday.
Daniel said her bill would implement an overarching statutory duty of care on social media companies “that goes to safety by design – but that in and of itself is not enough”.
What you need to make that work is the companies to assess the risks, mitigate the risks, be transparent about how they’re doing that.
The bill builds in penalties so if the companies do not comply, they could be fined up to 10% of global revenue. Also, their onshore executives could be held accountable for that … and the bill also has a provision to enable users to have control over the algorithm, as exists overseas, particularly in the EU …
[There are] obviously privacy concerns, and given the government’s had to pull their misinformation [and] disinformation – or their censoring the Australian public – bill from the Senate this week, we want to make sure we get strong, robust laws that don’t damage the [right to] privacy and make compulsory Australians having to have digital IDs.
Continue reading...President-elect attacks neighbors over immigration and accuses China over fentanyl entering US
Donald Trump has said that he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming in to the United States from Mexico and Canada, and additional tariffs on China, once he becomes US president again.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Continue reading...Survival International says Hongana Manyawa in Indonesia are at risk but mining company says the people in ‘voluntary’ contact with workers
Uncontacted hunter-gatherers in Indonesia “are facing a severe and immediate threat of genocide” because of mining for minerals on their lands for use in electric vehicles, a report claims.
In their own language, the Indigenous Hongana Manyawa people, of Halmahera island, call themselves “the people of the forest”. But their forest home is being destroyed in a rush for nickel, a crucial component in rechargeable batteries, campaigners say.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium figures come alongside data showing a fall in household disposable income
Shoppers’ ability to afford Christmas treats has been put under threat as retailers warned November could mark a turning point for inflation, with the recent fall in prices slowing amid increased fresh produce costs and fewer discounts on the shelves.
Shop prices fell by 0.6% in November, compared with a fall of 0.8% in October, according to the latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and research firm NielsenIQ. The slowdown in deflation was driven by non-food goods and a slight increase in fresh food prices, including seafood.
Continue reading...Figure costed for three multinationals repatriating to US after nomination for commerce secretary hits out at Ireland’s tax regime
Ireland’s prime minister has said the country could lose €10bn (£8.35bn) in corporate tax if just three US multinationals were repatriated to America under a hostile Donald Trump administration.
His remarks come just days after Trump nominated the Wall Street investor Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce with direct responsibility for trade.
Continue reading...Bank’s shares rise as it disputes FCA finding it should have disclosed more about deal during financial crisis
Barclays will pay a fine of £40m for “reckless” failures to disclose a fundraising deal with Qatar at the height of the financial crisis, after the British bank agreed to withdraw a legal challenge against it.
The FTSE 100 bank effectively won a discount of £10m by challenging the fine, but was found by the regulator to have committed serious misconduct. Barclays withdrew an appeal shortly before it was due to be heard on Monday by the upper tribunal, a court in London.
Continue reading...Workers and their representatives to press US retailer to respect their rights and take action on the climate crisis
Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries during Black Friday to press for better workers’ rights and climate action from the US retailer..
Workers and representatives from unions and workers’ groups intend to join protests against the Seattle-based company’s practices between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (29 November and 2 December), one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year.
Continue reading...The government claims to be fixing the economy but households may face more pressure in the months ahead
Labour swept to power in the wake of a cost of living crisis that hit households hard, with the price of food and energy rocketing alongside the impact of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget on mortgage rates.
At 2.3%, inflation is nowhere the 10% peak after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it is creeping up, and could hit 3% in 2025, say forecasters.
Continue reading...Despite new rules, many lenders have decided to implement the optional exemption
Some victims of bank transfer scams will not get a penny back despite beefed-up rules designed to better protect consumers from fraudsters, because several big banks have introduced an excess on refund claims.
New rules requiring banks and other payment companies to reimburse fraud victims who have been tricked into sending money to scammers took effect last month, and included an optional £100 excess that firms can apply to a claim.
Continue reading...British suppliers source from South Africa and South America as Spanish farmers struggle to harvest and ship
Some British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month’s catastrophic floods in eastern Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops.
Companies in the UK have moved to buying fruit from the southern hemisphere several weeks earlier than in a typical year to prevent gaps emerging on supermarket shelves and amid fears over the quality of Spanish produce.
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