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UK retailers have urged the government to help out Britain's high streets after revealing 85,000 jobs were cut in the sector over the past year.
Employment in retail dropped 2.8 per cent in the most recent quarter compared to the same period last year. Elsewhere, Twitter's shares plunged 17 per cent after quarterly profits came in way below expectations.
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Superyachts, Mayfair mansions and private jets are among the £300bn of booty stashed away by the world's kleptocrats, oligarchs, embezzlers and thieves that have been revealed in a new report out today.
Transparency International analysed 400 corruption cases and found UK companies at the heart of many of them.
In these cases alone, 421 houses worth a staggering £5bn have been bought with dodgy money. Not to mention the education of 327 children at Britain's elite private schools.
The report states: "The UK is a hub for corrupt wealth from around the world. This money is acquired with the aid of companies incorporated in the UK and in its offshore financial centres, invested into luxury property here, and used to buy access to prestigious institutions and privileged lifestyles."
Pound latest
Sterling is down 0.23 per cent against the dollar - $1.289
And down 0.2 per cent against the euro - €1.158
Tesla smashes profit expectations
Tesla proved its critics wrong in its latest set of financial results, unveiling an unexpected profit and record car deliveries, and announcing that it is ahead of schedule on a new model and a new plant.
The company delivered 97,000 cars to customers in the period to 30 September, comfortably surpassing the previous record of 95,356.
Tesla now expects to launch the Model Y, an all-electric SUV, by the summer of 2020, months earlier than originally planned, and its new “gigafactory” in Shanghai has already started trial production.
Manufacturing in China enables the carmaker to avoid import duties and offer lower prices in one of its most important markets.
Following the news on Wednesday, Tesla’s shares jumped nearly 21 per cent after market close to levels last reached in February.
“Tesla nails it at last,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com.
Elon Musk's reaction:
Ian Shanks: Scientist awarded £2m compensation decades after he invented diabetes test
A scientist who nearly 40 years ago invented pioneering technology to test blood sugar levels has been awarded £2m in compensation by the UK’s highest court.
Professor Ian Shanks, 71, developed a new system for measuring the concentration of glucose in blood and other liquids while working for a subsidiary of multinational giant Unilever in Bedfordshire in the 1980s.
Using plastic film and glass slides from his daughter’s toy microscope kit and bulldog clips to hold it together, in 1982 Prof Shanks built the first prototype of what is now known as the electrochemical capillary fill device (ECFD).
His ECFD technology eventually appeared in most glucose testing products, many of which are used by diabetics to monitor their condition.
Prof Shanks first applied for compensation in 2006 and lost every step of the way in his 13-year legal battle.
Expedia profiting from suffering of 500 dolphins forced to entertain holidaymakers, report says
Travel giant Expedia is profiting from the suffering of hundreds of captive dolphins forced to entertain holidaymakers, a report has claimed.
The popular website sells tickets to “demeaning” shows that exploit about 500 dolphins at 32 venues, the group World Animal Protection (WAP) said.
It claims that millions of animal lovers every year buy tickets, believing dolphin experiences are cruelty-free, educational and good for conservation efforts, “but this could not be further from the truth”.
The report, Behind the Smile, the most comprehensive assessment of captive dolphins to date, says that globally:
- There are 336 dolphin entertainment venues in 54 countries that keep at least 3,029 of the animals
- Venues featuring captive dolphins annually generate up to $5.5bn (£4.3bn)
- Nearly two-thirds of captive dolphins are kept by just five countries: China, Japan, the USA, Mexico and Russia
RBS slumps to loss after setting aside extra £900m for PPI compensation
Royal Bank of Scotland has fallen back into the red after setting aside a further £900m to deal with a surge in PPI claims before the August deadline.
The majority taxpayer-owned bank posted an £8m loss in the three months to September compared with a £961m profit in the same quarter last year.
RBS also blamed its worse-than-expected performance on a “particularly challenging” quarter for its investment banking division.
Brexit is taking its toll, RBS said, as it revealed it had set aside another £55m to cover the cost of political and economic uncertainty.
The results mark a blip on RBS' long and painful road to recovery. Last year, the lender delivered its first full-year profits since from a £45bn taxpayer bailout in 2008
Brexit 50p: Millions of commemorative coins thrown into doubt as delay looms
Plans for millions of 50p coins to commemorate Brexit day have been thrown into doubt after MPs derailed Boris Johnson's chances of fast-tracking his deal through parliament by Halloween.
Sajid Javid, the chancellor, announced plans for new coins to mark Brexit earlier this year – shortly before Mr Johnson won the Conservative leadership contest – following enthusiastic calls from Conservative MPs.
But with the prime minister’s Brexit timetable in doubt, and the UK awaiting a verdict from the EU on the length of a third extension, the Treasury refused to confirm whether production had begun on the first tranche of coins.
The confusion came after it emerged that three million of the coins were to be imprinted with the Brexit date of 31 October and ready to spend by the end of the month.
The peculiar phenomenon of America's political merchandise industry
"On Monday this week, I met with a contact in the Democratic Party at a coffee shop near Union Square in Manhattan to talk about the 2020 election.
"He’s been helping put together some key policies for a couple of candidates; I’ve been asking him for tips every so often, as well as contacts close to other strategists.
"We were having a perfectly amiable discussion about which contender for the president was probably going to triumph in the primaries when he suddenly went quiet.
Mario Draghi's eight years as European Central Bank chief comes to an end
(AP) - European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, whose vow to do "whatever it takes" is seen as a turning point the eurozone's debt crisis, presides over his last policy meeting and news conference today amid questions about unusually strong internal opposition to the latest stimulus package that will be part of his legacy.
Joining the meeting of the 25-member governing council as an observer will be Draghi's designated successor, former International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, who takes office 1 November after being chosen for the post by eurozone governments.
The defining moment of Draghi's eight years in office was his statement on 12 July, 2012 that the ECB would "do whatever it takes to preserve the euro, and believe me, it will be enough." That vow, backed up by a promise to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds if needed to lower excessive borrowing costs, has been widely credited with calming financial market pressure on indebted governments such as Italy and thereby rescuing the currency union from the brink of disaster.
Yet Thursday's news conference may focus on more current issues. In his last days in office, Draghi has faced unprecedented pushback from among the bank's own officials against the latest stimulus moves announced 12 September. The bank cut the rate on overnight deposits from banks to minus 0.5% from minus 0.4%, announced 20 billion euros ($22 billion) per month in bond purchases starting Nov. 1 and lasting indefinitely, and said rates will stay at current lows until things have definitely taken a turn for the better.
Emmanuel Macron picks CEO of outsourcing firm Atos to be EU Commissioner
Emmanuel Macron has nominated the longtime CEO of outsourcing company Atos to be France's new EU commissioner.
The president's office said on Thursday morning that Thierry Breton would be France's new pick, after his first choice was rejected by MEPs.
A former finance minister under Jacques Chirac, Mr Breton went on to run Atos from 2009 onwards. If confirmed by the European Parliament he would be in charge of the EU's single market.
Atos, which holds billions in UK government contracts, has a controversial reputation in Britain.
The firm became the subject of protests while it ran disability benefits assessments for the DWP: a contract it quit early in 2014 after more than 600,000 appeals were lodged against its decisions. Four in 10 of Atos assessors' original decision were overturned, costing taxpayers £60m a year.
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