UK retail sales growth holds steady as Brexit day approaches October 17, 2019 Growth in UK retail sales held steady in the third quarter of the year, official figures have shown, as shoppers remained cautious in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline. Read more: UK unemployment rate rises as Brexit fears hit labour market Britons bought 0.6 per cent more goods in the second quarter than in [...]
British Airways boss says electric planes idea won’t fly until 2050 October 17, 2019 The boss of British Airways has thrown doubt over predictions electric planes could enter service over the coming decades. Alex Cruz, BA’s chief executive, said there was “limited opportunity” for electric aircraft entering the market up until 2050. When pressed on the matter, he said BA had consulted with academics and come to the conclusion [...]
Unilever misses estimates amid slowdown in emerging markets October 17, 2019 Consumer goods giant Unilever missed City estimates this morning as tough weather comparatives and a slowdown in several emerging markets dented sales. The Ben and Jerry’s ice cream maker has posted underlying sales growth of €13.3bn (£11.5bn) for the third quarter, marking a 2.9 per cent rise that narrowly came below consensus expectations. Read more: [...]
Three down: Customers demand refunds as mobile network outage wipes out data and minutes October 17, 2019 Thousands of customers took to Twitter to complain after Three failed to acknowledge a mobile network outage that wiped out data and calls after occurring last night. People were unable to receive 4G data or mobile phone signal to make calls across the UK, but Three was tight-lipped on the root cause of the problem. [...]
WH Smith ramps up overseas drive with $400m US deal October 17, 2019 WH Smith has revealed plans to snap up a US travel company for more than £300m as the retail giant looks to broaden its scope beyond the UK high street. In a deal that will double the size of the firm’s international business, WH Smith is buying Marshall Retail Group for $400m (£312m) to ramp [...]
Brexit: ‘We will negotiate until the last second’, says Angela Merkel October 17, 2019 Angela Merkel has said Brexit negotiations will continue “until the last second”, and raised the possibility of a “special summit”, in a bid to secure a deal before Halloween. This morning the DUP appeared to scupper hopes of a last-minute breakthrough, saying they could not back the deal as agreed in Brussels “as things stand”. [...]
Domino’s Pizza UK to quit international markets October 17, 2019 Domino’s UK has announced that it will close its international operations, where the pizza delivery firm said performance had been “disappointing”. Read more: Why Domino’s sell off was overcooked Chief executive David Wild said said the decision to shutter its operations in Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden came after it decided “we are not the [...]
Pound sinks as DUP says it ‘cannot support’ Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal October 17, 2019 The DUP said today that “as things stand” it cannot support Boris Johnson’s proposed Brexit deal, sending the pound tumbling against the dollar. The Northern Irish party said: “We will continue to work with the government to try and get a sensible deal that works for Northern Ireland and protects the economic and constitutional intergrity [...]
Boris inches closer to new Brexit deal October 17, 2019 A Brexit breakthrough was in touching distance last night, but critical issues remain unresolved both in Brussels and Westminster ahead of tonight’s European Council. Boris Johnson held his third meeting in three days with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) yesterday as he sought the support of the Conservative party’s informal partners. DUP leader Arlene Foster [...]
Hearthstone is caught in a Blizzard over Hong Kong protest October 17, 2019 The protests in Hong Kong have featured prominently in the news cycle since kicking off in March. All across the world, we’ve seen extensive coverage of the outbreaks of violence, as well as the excessive use of force by police to suppress the demonstrations. It’s likely that you’ve been following the story, but what you [...]