Asda blames sales slump on Brexit uncertainty November 14, 2019 Asda said Brexit uncertainty is negatively affecting consumer spending as the supermarket giant reported a dip in sales in the third quarter. Like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, fell 0.5 per cent in the third quarter as Brexit and the upcoming general election ramped up the levels of uncertainty. Read more: Asda gives hundreds of employees extra [...]
Christmas adverts 2019: John Lewis unveils Excitable Edgar campaign November 14, 2019 John Lewis has unveiled its highly anticipated Christmas advert this morning, telling the story of a little girl and her accident-prone dragon Excitable Edgar. In the two minute 30 second clip, which marks the department store’s first joint Christmas marketing campaign with Waitrose, viewers see Edgar accidentally derail Christmas festivities with his fire breathing tendencies. [...]
Norwegian wealth fund blocks investment in security giant G4S on human rights concerns November 14, 2019 Norway’s £860bn sovereign wealth fund has blacklisted investment in one of the world’s biggest security companies, G4S, because of an “unacceptable risk” of human rights abuses against its workers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. London-listed G4S employs around 18,000 people in the two countries – part of its more than half-a-million global workforce [...]
How can you stop your credit card being sexist? November 14, 2019 Can a credit card be sexist? It’s not a question most people would have thought about before this week, but on Monday, the US financial regulator announced an investigation into claims of gender discrimination by Apple Card. The algorithms Apple Card used to set credit limits are, it has been reported, inherently biased against women. [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson promises “pent-up tidal wave” of new investment after Brexit November 13, 2019 Boris Johnson has promised voters there is a “pent-up tidal wave” of new investment waiting to flow into the UK once Brexit is done. Speaking from Coventry after visiting flood-hit communities in Yorkshire, the Prime Minister claimed the country would benefit from “tens of millions” that is being held back because of uncertainty. Johnson’s Brexit “is ready [...]
London’s New Bond Street has the most expensive retail rents in Europe November 13, 2019 London’s New Bond Street is the most expensive shopping street in Europe for retailers to rent store space. The street in the West End is more expensive than the Avenue de Elysees in Paris and shopping destinations in Milan, Zurich, Vienna and Munich. Read more: London falls on list of best cities for living and [...]
Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House could sell Jaguar Land Rover supply business November 12, 2019 Sanjeev Gupta’s industrial conglomerate Liberty House is considering selling a major automotive supplier to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Renault. The company has hired advisers from Grant Thornton to look into how to address market issues facing Liberty Pressing Solutions (LPS). Read more: GFG Alliance launches $15bn Liberty Steel Group One of the options on [...]
Tesco removes Mel B advert after Spice Girls star complains November 12, 2019 Tesco has removed an advert featuring an image of Spice Girls star Mel B after the singer complained about its use. The advert for Tesco’s new Clubcard Plus featured a picture of Scary Spice with the words “Stop right now. You get 10 per cent off two big shops a month for £7.99”, a play [...]
General Election 2019: Watch Boris Johnson urge voters to back Jeremy Corbyn in deep fake video November 12, 2019 Videos of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn apparently endorsing each other have been circulated online, in a bid to highlight the growing risk of misinformation. Voters are being warned not to trust what they read online, as increasingly sophisticated technology allows producers to create convincing deep fake videos. The videos, which were published online today, [...]