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Customers with shopping bags after visiting a Primark clothing store on Oxford Street in London, UK, on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. U.K. retail sales rose by 2.5% in October, higher than the 1.6% growth of a year ago but below the three-month and twelve-month averages of 3.1% and 4.2%, respectively. The British Retail Consortium, which published the figures, said sales likely declined by volume because of the impact of inflation. Paul Martin, U.K. head of retail at KPMG, said sales "remained weak." As a result, the strong demand that has kept some retailers afloat over the last 18 months is now falling away."

Persons: Paul Martin, Martin, — Jenni Reid Organizations: Oxford, British Retail Consortium, Shoppers, KPMG Locations: London

U.K. retail sales increased by 2.7% in September, up from 2.2% growth the previous year but below the 12-month average growth of 4.2%, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. Food sales were up 7.4% as non-food sales fell 1.2%. "Sales growth in September slowed as the high cost of living continues to bear down on households," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer of the BRC. Dickinson said growth had been artificially boosted by high inflation over the last two years as sales revenues increased even as sales volumes decreased. — Jenni Reid

Persons: Helen Dickinson, Dickinson, Paul Martin, — Jenni Reid Organizations: British Retail Consortium, KPMG

☆ NASA spent billions on its SLS mega-rocket to take humans to the moon. It finally admitted it is 'unaffordable.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

NASA officials have said their SLS mega-rocket program is "unaffordable." Officials agree the SLS budget "needs to be improved," but it's not clear how, per a government report. The exact costs are unclearThe GAO says NASA has spent $11.8 billion since 2011 on the development of the integrated SLS rocket. NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft shown here being rolled of their assembly building ahead of the Artemis I mission. NASA's SLS is an anomalyPart of the criticism for the SLS program is that it sticks out as a "bit of an anomaly" in NASA's latest approach to project development, Rosseau previously said.

Persons: Artemis, Brendan Rosseau, Joel Kowsky, NASA's, Rosseau, it's, SLS's, pare, they've, Eric Berger, Paul Martin, Berger, Blue Origin's Organizations: NASA, Service, Orion, SLS, Office, GAO, Planetary Society, Elon, SpaceX, Harvard Business School, Origin, SpaceX's, SpaceX NASA, Ars Technica Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ 13 Hollywood production companies making brand films that streamers like Netflix and Apple want to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

said Marc Gilbar, who runs the brand division at Imagine Entertainment. Some are also looking to brand films to offset some of the revenue they're losing in the dual Hollywood strikes. (Brand films are often unscripted and thus aren't governed by the Hollywood unions.) They also see brand work being a positive for below-the-line workers who are idled by the work stoppage. Led by EVP Kate Oppenheim, Tribeca Studios' projects have included "We Could be King" (ESPN2) for Dick's Sporting Goods and P&G's Queen Collective series (BET).

Persons: Ben Silverman, Issa Rae's Hoorae, Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, Julian Jacobs, we've, Marc Gilbar, Samuel L, Jackson, Emma Stone, Zac Ryder, Olivia Wilde, Laurene Powell Jobs, Caitlin McGinty, It's, James Gay, Rees, Paul Martin, Kevin Hart's, Hart, Hartbeat, Brian Price, Chase Sapphire, Procter, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Fairbourn, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Ron Howard's, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gilbar, Rocco DiSpirito, General Mills, Rupert Maconik's Saville, Werner Herzog, Barry Levinson, Sugar23, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Trevor Noah's, he's, Kennedy, Matt Rotondo helms, Sugar, Mike Beck, Alexa Conway, Trevor Noah, Kate Oppenheim, HBO Max, Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney Ventureland, Kerstin Emhoff, Paul Hunter, John Battsek, Stacy's Pita Chips, Will, Jada Pinkett, REI, Gargi Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Mattel, Netflix, Apple, UTA, Imagine Entertainment, Producers, Adobe, IBM, Anonymous, HP, Afghan Girls National Soccer Team, Showtime, Pepsi Boardwalk Pictures, Relativity Media, Super, Pepsi, REI, Unilever, Marriott, Surf League, Major League Soccer, Sam's, Gamble, Weinstein Co, Hulu, Imagine, Paramount, Saville Productions, Disney, Time Studios, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser, Busch, InBev, CAA, Studios, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Tribeca Studios, Dick's Sporting Goods, HBO, CNN, Mobile, Stacy's, Everest, Vice Studios, Westbrook Media, Meta, Logitech, Samsung Locations: Hollywood, Subway, Magnolia

☆ ‘Break Point’ Just Might Be the Best Way to Watch Tennis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jake Nevins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“By the way,” Tomljanovic says at one point, “do we have a room?” Shortly after his daughter sealed her spot in the final eight of the world’s pre-eminent tennis tournament, Ratko was seen on booking.com, extending their stay in London. This is not the stuff of your typical sports documentary, but it is the life of a professional tennis player. “Break Point,” executive-produced by Paul Martin and the Oscar-winning filmmaker James Gay-Rees, arrived this year as a gift to tennis fans, for whom splashy, well-produced and readily accessible documentaries about the sport have been hard to come by. Perhaps this is because the narrative tropes of the genre tend toward triumphs and Gatorade showers, while the procedural and psychological realities of professional tennis lie elsewhere. The 10 episodes of “Break Point” render tennis unromantically: This is the rare sports doc whose primary subject is loss.

Persons: Ajla, Ratko, Chris Evert, ” Tomljanovic, Taylor Fritz, Paul Martin, Oscar, James Gay, Rees, splashy, Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic —, Michael Jordan’s, Nas, Isiah Thomas, “, ” Barack Obama, Andre Agassi’s, ”, Stefanos Tsitsipas Organizations: Netflix, Tennis, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, Gatorade Locations: London, Chicago

☆ Food prices squeeze consumers in June, hot weather boosts summer spending: BRC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The BRC said retail spending increased by 4.9% in annual terms in June - roughly in line with its average this year, though stronger than May's 3.9% and a 1.0% drop a year earlier. However, the BRC data is not adjusted for inflation, so last month's increase in spending still reflects a fall in the volume of goods purchased. Previous BRC data showed prices among its members were up by an annual 8.4% on average in June, rising to 14.6% for food, despite a drop in the cost of some food products. Over the second quarter as a whole, food spending was up 9.8% while non-food spending grew just 0.3%. Paul Martin, UK head of retail at accountants KPMG, who sponsor the data, said stubborn food inflation was reducing shoppers' ability to spend on non-essential items.

Persons: Paul Martin, Martin, Will Hobbs, Hobbs, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: British Retail Consortium, KPMG, Consumers, Bank of England, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ UK consumers slow spending in May as rising food costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The BRC said spending in its members' stores increased 3.9% in annual terms last month, well above the 1.1% fall a year ago. May's retail sales growth was the slowest since the 1.6% recorded in October 2022 when consumers cut back on purchases as inflation soared to a 41-year high of 11.1%. The BRC data is not adjusted for inflation, so May's sales growth reflects a fall in the volume of goods purchased. Food was almost the only area where consumers spent more last month, due to higher prices as well as celebrations to mark the coronation of King Charles. Separate figures from Barclays on Tuesday also showed high inflation and rising food prices continued to eat away at consumers' spending power.

Persons: BRC, King Charles ., Paul Martin, Silvia Ardagna, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: British Retail Consortium, Food, KPMG, Bank of England, Barclays, Thomson

☆ Jordan Neely: Man dies after being put in a chokehold by another rider on New York City subway, officials say. The DA is investigating
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Brynn Gingras Laura Ly Maria Santana | Brynn Gingras | Laura Ly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Manhattan prosecutors are conducting a “rigorous ongoing investigation” into the death of a man seen in video being put in a chokehold by another rider on the New York subway. Jordan Neely, 30, died Monday due to “compression of neck (chokehold),” a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said. Another rider then approached Neely from behind and put him in a chokehold, Vazquez said. New York police officers respond after a man riding the subway was placed in a chokehold by another passenger. The man who put Neely in the chokehold has been identified as a 24-year-old from Queens, a law enforcement source said.

☆ Take a look back at 24 Sussex Drive, the iconic residency of the Canadian PM now abandoned and overrun with rodents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, is in total disrepair. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien meets with Premiers and Territorial leaders Chretien's residence in Ottawa, February 4, 2003. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin (L) holds a First Ministers' meeting at his official residence in Ottawa, January 30, 2004. Conservative leader and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper reacts in between songs while practicing with his band "Herringbone" at 24 Sussex Drive, Harper's official residence, in Ottawa April 22, 2011. Since taking his post as head of state, prime minister Trudeau has opted to live in Rideau Cottage, just less than a mile away from 24 Sussex Drive.

☆ New: The First Signs of a Ponzi Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNew: The First Signs of a Ponzi SchemeVenture capitalist Paul Martino explains when he first began to suspect that Jason Van Eman and Ben McConley were running a Ponzi scheme.

☆ Valentine's Day spending boosts British retail sales in February - BRC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman photographs a Valentines Day floral display attached to the facade of a restaurant in London, Britain, February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Peter NichollsLONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Valentine's Day helped to boost British retail sales in February but volumes remained down on last year as households cut back on non-essential items, a survey published on Tuesday showed. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said spending in store chains increased 5.2% in annual terms last month, well below the 6.7% rise in February 2022. The BRC figures are not adjusted for inflation, meaning the rise in sales masked a much larger drop in volumes. "Popular trends this month include buying 'dupes' of popular products, shopping at discount stores, and limiting Easter spending."

☆ 55 years after sending a hit squad on a deadly raid in Seoul, North Korea has found new ways to threaten South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In January 1968, North Korean commandos slipped across the border into South Korea. Infiltrations into South Korea, both across the DMZ and by sea, by North Korean agents and commandos were also increasing. After cooperating with South Korean authorities, Kim Shin-jo was released in 1970 and received South Korean citizenship, which led North Korean officials to execute his parents and siblings. In December, a North Korean drone flew into a no-fly zone around South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's office in Seoul. It was one of five North Korean drones that flew into South Korea, the first to do so in five years.

☆ Boeing's role in building NASA's new rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

The mobile launcher with NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I worked over 50 Space Shuttle launches,” Boeing SLS program manager John Shannon told CNN by phone. Though more than 1,000 companies were involved with designing and building SLS, Boeing’s work involved the largest and most expensive portion of the rocket. The SLS rocket ended up flying its first launch more than six years later than originally intended. All of the “major components” for a third SLS rocket are also completed, Shannon added.

The leaks were different from those that forced NASA to call off the first two Artemis launch attempts. As part of the Artemis program, NASA envisions regular missions to the moon to establish a base camp on the lunar surface before the agency eventually ventures to Mars. Martin added that each Artemis launch is expected to cost around $4.1 billion. If successful, Artemis I will be followed by a planned Artemis II test flight, tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2024. After that, NASA said the Artemis III flight will include the first woman and first person of color to land on the moon.

In Germany, the HDE retail association is forecasting the strongest slump in Christmas sales since 2007, with retail sales in the crucial November-December period seen dropping by 4% year on year on a price-adjusted basis. In the United Kingdom, a raft of surveys indicate half or more Britons plan to spend less this Christmas. Should September's sharp drop in retail sales be repeated in December, it would be the worst outcome since comparable annual records began in 1989. Official data showed UK retail sales volumes, excluding fuel, dropped 6.2% year on year in September. Another association Acotex expects retailers to offer slight discounts during the holiday season as consumer demand slows.

The company's content moderation team is expected to be a target of the cuts, tweets from Twitter employees suggested on Friday. Twitter employees vented their frustrations about the layoffs on the social network, using the hashtag #OneTeam. User Rachel Bonn tweeted: "Last Thursday in the SF (San Francisco) office, really the last day Twitter was Twitter. The company's office in Piccadilly Circus, London, appeared deserted on Friday, with no employees in sight. Employees told Reuters they were left to piece together information through media reports, private messaging groups and anonymous forums.

☆ Air fryers, blankets and warm clothes: Brits stock up ahead of tough winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — U.K. retail sales rose in September, data published Tuesday showed — but the details highlighted the multitude of challenges facing the public heading into the winter months. And consumers eschewed big purchases like computers, TVs and furniture, instead boosting sales of items like blankets, warm clothing and energy-efficient household appliances, such as air fryers. watch nowDickinson said the retail sales data showed households were preparing themselves for the higher energy prices. A survey by consultancy GFK showed U.K. consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level since it began readings in 1974 for the fourth time in a row in September. Figures also published Tuesday showed U.K. unemployment fell to 3.5% in the period from June to August, and the number of unemployed people per job vacancy was at a record low of 0.9.

☆ Britons turn to electric blankets and candles as winter looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Market research released on Tuesday showed that grocery inflation hit another new record of 13.9% in September, deepening the cost-of-living crisis, while BRC-KPMG data showed people were investing in items to help them save cash. Nine out of 10 people surveyed by Barclaycard in Britain from Sept. 23-26 said they were concerned about household energy bills. Over half of those surveyed by Barclaycard said they were planning to cut down on discretionary spending so they can afford their energy bills this winter, with nights out most likely to be canned. Rival JD Wetherspoon's said last week that its sales had been boosted by young people drinking cocktails and spirits. Coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger said on Tuesday that it would raise staff pay for a second time this year.

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