Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The UK economy returned to growth in November after a recovery in consumer spending driven by Black Friday sales, with shoppers hunting for bargains as the key Christmas shopping season got under way.
Gross domestic product rose by 0.3% on the month, after a decline of 0.3% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). City economists had forecast more modest growth of 0.2%.
Consumers report problems using bank’s app on one of the busiest shopping days of year, Black Friday
Thousands of HSBC customers reported they were unable to access its online and mobile banking services on one of the busiest online shopping days of the year – Black Friday.
More than 4,000 customers said they could not access their accounts via the HSBC app on Friday, according to Downdetector, which tracks and collates website outages and complaints.
An estimated £3.8bn will be spent on 26 December, down almost 4% on last year
Retailers are preparing for a quieter Boxing Day this year despite freedom from pandemic restrictions as the cost of living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets.
Spending is expected to hit almost £3.8bn on 26 December, according to research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes.
Lacklustre festive sales leaving retailers low on funds needed to cope when shoppers traditionally tighten belts in new year
The high street could face a “flurry of business failures” in the new year, as a lacklustre Christmas sales period is leaving retailers low on the funds needed to cope when households tighten their belts after the festive season.
“We can expect more consolidation and high street casualties as we head into the new year. It will be yet another tough year for retail and a case of survival of the fittest,” said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG.
Total sales rose by 4% but figures were helped by inflation masking lower volumes, says BRC
Britain’s retailers benefited from a November sales boost fuelled by Black Friday discounts and colder weather as consumers bought winter coats, hot water bottles and hooded blankets, according to industry data.
In its latest snapshot of high street and online spending, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales growth picked up last month compared with October, despite mounting concern over the cost of living crisis.
On one of firm’s biggest shopping days of year, employees demand better wages and conditions
Amazon warehouse workers in the UK and 40 other countries are to strike and stage protests timed to coincide with the Black Friday sales, one of the company’s biggest shopping days of the year.
Employees in dozens of countries, from Japan and Australia to India, the US and across Europe, are demanding better wages and conditions in a campaign called “Make Amazon Pay”.
CWU members to strike on dates around Black Friday and Christmas after spurning ‘final’ pay offer up to 9%
Strikes by postal workers around Black Friday and in the run-up to Christmas are to go ahead after their union rejected a pay offer that Royal Mail said was final.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will strike for 48 hours on Thursday and Friday and on 30 November and 1 December, and will also carry out single days of action on 9, 11, 14, 15 and 23 December and on Christmas Eve.
Australians have been warned not to leave their Christmas shopping until the last minute with the global supply chain crisis leaving retailers struggling to fill orders and keep shelves stocked.
The “dramatically bad” global supply chain situation in Asia could also see major Australian retailers dumping Black Friday sales as they are left with limited stock.
Wayfair is the latest company to self-declare its own holiday, which the company says will bring its lowest prices since Black Friday. Wayfair: New shopping holiday 'Way Day' coming April 25 Wayfair is the latest company to self-declare its own holiday, which the company says will bring its lowest prices since Black Friday.
London stocks were boosted by midday on Friday by a fall in the pound, which slipped following the release of disappointing retail data that added to the sector's woes alongside a profit warning from Carpetright. The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,723.66 as the pound fell 0.2% against the dollar to 1.3873 and 0.3% versus the euro to 1.1315.
Even though an estimated 115 million Americans rushed to malls and big box stores for Black Friday sales, others were reporting that the annual spend-a-thon has lost its bang.Gone is the thrill of the stampede, the fist-fights over a big screen, the trample to grab the last Soggy Doggy. In a Washington Post story, one Alabama veteran of weeklong parking lot campouts lamented that his Best Buy store had closed owing to Americans' changing spending habits.
A conservative group filed suit on Monday seeking to remove special counsel Robert Mueller from the Justice Department's investigation into Russian meddling. Conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, the founder of the watchdog group FreedomWatch, filed a complaint in U.S. district court that seeks to force the Justice Department to investigate leaks from the special counsel, as well as "the obvious conflicts of interest among staff."
Now, Time's not great at picking winners. So don't get your hopes up! They once specialized in dull-edged controversy but often retreat into daft cop-outs like, say, "anonymous Twitter accounts."
Shoppers hunting for Black Friday deals seemed to include a record number of those in the market for firearms; the FBI says it fielded 203,086 background check requests for gun purchases on the day after Thanksgiving - the highest daily total ever, reports USA Today . "Background checks are considered the best available proxy for gun purchases since overall sales numbers are not made public," reports NPR's Uri Berliner .
The number of firearms sold Friday is likely higher because multiple firearms can be included in one transaction by a single buyer. Dozens of semi-automatic rifles line a wall in a gun shop Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Lynnwood, Wash.
Black Friday mayhem: One shot outside Missouri mall as brawls close Alabama shopping center after stores open their doors early Terrifying moment a screaming 22-year-old woman is robbed at gunpoint on her own doorstep by armed duo is captured on security cameras Google shows a FAKE advert for Amazon's Black Friday sales that tricks visitors into giving hackers access to their PC and handing over money Charlie Rose was an 'unmitigated douchebag' who 'tried to get a woman writing a profile on him in trouble with her new boss at Vogue, Anna Wintour' Al Franken admits he 'crossed a line while giving hugs and taking pictures' after two more women come forward to claim the senator 'touched their buttocks' during campaign events 'I'm glad it's going slowly - you don't deserve a bullet': Uma Thurman uses emotional Thanksgiving post to suggest she has been a victim of 'Harvey Weinstein and his ... (more)
Black Friday mayhem: One shot outside Missouri mall as brawls close Alabama shopping center after stores open their doors early Terrifying moment a screaming 22-year-old woman is robbed at gunpoint on her own doorstep by armed duo is captured on security cameras Google shows a FAKE advert for Amazon's Black Friday sales that tricks visitors into giving hackers access to their PC and handing over money Charlie Rose was an 'unmitigated douchebag' who 'tried to get a woman writing a profile on him in trouble with her new boss at Vogue, Anna Wintour' Al Franken admits he 'crossed a line while giving hugs and taking pictures' after two more women come forward to claim the senator 'touched their buttocks' during campaign events 'I'm glad it's going slowly - you don't deserve a bullet': Uma Thurman uses emotional Thanksgiving post to suggest she has been a victim of 'Harvey Weinstein and his ... (more)
Stores open their doors early for Black Friday as experts predict Americans will splash out $20BILLION over the weekend He has a '5th degree black belt when it comes to sexual impropriety': Billy Baldwin claims Trump came onto his wife at The Plaza when he showed up uninvited to his party Al Franken admits he 'crossed a line while giving hugs and taking pictures' after two more women come forward to claim the senator 'touched their buttocks' during campaign events 'Do you think they'll get the president?' Jared Kushner concerned Mueller's widening investigation could hit Trump, claims new report Terrifying moment a screaming 22-year-old woman is robbed at gunpoint on her own doorstep by armed duo is captured on security cameras Paul Manafort 'had taken 18 trips to Moscow and was in contact with Putin's allies for more than a decade before running President Trump's 2016 election campaign' ... (more)
Stores open their doors early for Black Friday as experts predict Americans will splash out $20BILLION over the weekend He has a '5th degree black belt when it comes to sexual impropriety': Billy Baldwin claims Trump came onto his wife at The Plaza when he showed up uninvited to his party Al Franken admits he 'crossed a line while giving hugs and taking pictures' after two more women come forward to claim the senator 'touched their buttocks' during campaign events 'Do you think they'll get the president?' Jared Kushner concerned Mueller's widening investigation could hit Trump, claims new report Terrifying moment a screaming 22-year-old woman is robbed at gunpoint on her own doorstep by armed duo is captured on security cameras Paul Manafort 'had taken 18 trips to Moscow and was in contact with Putin's allies for more than a decade before running President Trump's 2016 election campaign' ... (more)
Stores open their doors early for Black Friday as experts predict Americans will splash out $20BILLION over the weekend He has a '5th degree black belt when it comes to sexual impropriety': Billy Baldwin claims Trump came onto his wife at The Plaza when he showed up uninvited to his party Al Franken admits he 'crossed a line while giving hugs and taking pictures' after two more women come forward to claim the senator 'touched their buttocks' during campaign events 'Do you think they'll get the president?' Jared Kushner concerned Mueller's widening investigation could hit Trump, claims new report Terrifying moment a screaming 22-year-old woman is robbed at gunpoint on her own doorstep by armed duo is captured on security cameras Paul Manafort 'had taken 18 trips to Moscow and was in contact with Putin's allies for more than a decade before running President Trump's 2016 election campaign' ... (more)