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☆ How Pinterest became a secret weapon for a social-media marketer and boosted her revenue by $30,000 a month
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-08 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That's what 23-year-old Kenda Laney thinks of when she reflects on the start of her career in social media. When Laney was later asked if she could look into Pinterest, which she only used for fun, she was intrigued. In July, about $29,000 of the $109,000 in revenue she made from these purchases was driven by Pinterest. AdvertisementFor creators who want to start using Pinterest, Laney advises them to do their due diligence on search-engine optimization, or SEO, for their content niche. "Hyperfocus on how your content is an answer to someone's question rather than just describing what your content is," Laney said.

Persons: Kenda Laney, Laney, Laney Media's, Pinterest Organizations: Service, Business, Laney Media, Pinterest Locations: Colorado

☆ This start-up is making artificial hair from bananas
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Leah Collins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Some people complain that synthetic hair can irritate their scalp and a study of synthetic hair in Nigeria found the presence of potentially harmful heavy metals and chemicals. We want to empower women to make informed decisions about what hair they use and what’s best for them.”Tumusiime says that, unlike synthetic hair, her product is biodegradable, durable and can be easily styled, treated and colored. Since it’s made from discarded banana stems, she adds, it’s also a way to help curb that waste. In the US, St.Louis-based Rebundle also sells hair extensions made from banana fibers, while Nourie Hair offers a hair alternative for braiding made from Ginseng root extract and rosemary. But synthetic hair can be bought for as little as $1 for a bundle.

Persons: Juliet Tumusiime, Tumusiime, Cheveux, ” Tumusiime, it’s, Spiro, Clement Di Roma, Simon Maina, Prince William’s, James Oatway, there's, Edwin Maina, Cheveux Brown, Juliet, Cheveux Organique, “, I’m, ” Organizations: CNN, USAID, Research, Getty, Reeddi Technologies, The Royal Academy of Engineering, Kenyan, Economic Locations: Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Benin, Kenya, AFP, China, Cameroon, Rwanda, France

☆ Twitch terminates all members of its Safety Advisory Council
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Twitch on Friday will terminate all members of its Safety Advisory Council, according to sources familiar with the situation and documents viewed by CNBC. The council is a resource of nine industry experts, streamers and moderators who consulted on trust and safety issues related to children on Twitch, nudity, banned users and more. The Amazon -owned game-streaming company formed its Safety Advisory Council in May 2020 to "enhance Twitch's approach to issues of trust and safety" on the platform and guide decisions, according to a company webpage. "Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors," the email, viewed by CNBC, stated. Payment depended on the length of the contract, but council members were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 per 12-month period, according to a source familiar with the contracts.

Persons: Twitch, Sameer Hinduja, Emma Llansó, T.L, Taylor Organizations: Advisory, CNBC, Council, Twitch, Cyberbullying Research, Center for Democracy, SAC

She's the player with the best 3-point contest performance in NBA or WNBA history. Ionescu talked to Curry's girls that night and neither they, nor their dad, forgot that act of kindness. This is what sports is about.”Here's how we got here: Ionescu put on a shooting show for all-time in the WNBA's 3-point contest last summer. She had just scored 37 shootout points; Curry's best in the NBA version of the 3-point contest is 31. It is already sounding like this one will be the matchup maybe everyone wants to see on the All-Star stage.

Persons: He's, who's, Sabrina Ionescu, Stephen Curry, She's, Steph, Sabrina, “ It's, ” Ionescu, “, Ionescu, they've, Curry, ” Curry, you’ve, ”, Brandin Podziemski, I’ve, Podziemski, there's Mac McClung, there's Victor Wembanyama, “ We're, ” Dallas, Irving, she's, It's, Kevin Durant, ” Durant, Ionescu’s SI20, I’m Organizations: NBA, WNBA, New York Liberty, Golden State Warriors, Warriors, Cal, Sacramento, Ionescu’s, State Farm, NBA Foundation Locations: Indianapolis, Oregon, ”

☆ How Trump's 'I'm rich!' boasts are coming back to bite him in court
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The day before awarding Carroll $83.3 million in damages — Trump's penance for calling her a lying "whack job" when she told the world he'd sexually assaulted her — jurors heard, firsthand, how rich he was. AdvertisementTrump's "I'm rich" boasts hurt him in both the Carroll verdict and the upcoming fraud trial verdict, Snell said. Punitive damages in defamation cases are supposed to have a deterrent effect, to stop the defamation from happening again. AdvertisementTrump's wealth also illustrates why the jury imposed enormous punitive damages compared to the $18.3 million to compensate Carroll. The Carroll jury also heard Trump boast about the value of his "brand."

Persons: Donald Trump's, Jean Carroll, Donald Trump, Carroll, Roberta Kaplan, Trump, Letitia James, I'm, Tristan Snell, General's, Snell, Trump's, —, Kaplan, J, Erik Connolly, Connolly, Stephanie Keith, There's, We've, that's, Forbes, Timothy A, Clary, didn't, Chris Mattei, Alex Jones, Mattei, Arthur Engoron, Engoron Organizations: Carroll, Trump, New York Attorney, New, New York, Trump University, Disney, Benesch, NEW, Manhattan Federal Court, E, MSNBC, Trump Organization, Forbes, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Manhattan, Smartmatic, New York City, AFP, New York

☆ Has the LA scene fizzled? SoCal has fallen further behind the Bay Area, NYC and Boston for startup funding: 'People deep in AI are just not in LA'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But last year, the LA tech scene stalled, according to Carta data. Startup funding plummeted everywhere, but nowhere experienced a steeper decline than LA, where funding declined 65% from 2022. CartaLA's startup funding dropped 65% last year, a steeper decline than the Bay Area, New York or Boston. "They're very deep AI companies, but they're being applied to a vertical, which is one of the strengths of LA," Ingersoll said. Bird goes bust and Snap snaps backThere was more bad news for LA's startup scene in 2023 than just the dismal funding numbers.

Persons: Ethan Aldrich, Aldrich, there's, Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, Katia Ameri, Ameri, VCs, Nikita Bier, Bier, Mark Suster, Suster, LA's, we're, Palmer Luckey, Minnie Ingersoll, Ingersoll, Bird, Zillow, Spencer Rascoff, Evan Spiegel ERIC PIERMONT, Ishan Singh, Singh Organizations: Stanford, Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, LA Tech, LA, Carta, Honest Company, New, Boston, Microsoft, Clark, SpaceX Locations: Santa Monica, Southern California, LA, Santa, Hayes, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, New York, Boston, Carta, San Diego, Seattle, Hawthorne , CA, Costa, Bay

☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

☆ UK's musicMagpie will keep seeking buyers as BT ends talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - MusicMagpie (MMAG.L) said on Monday it will continue to seek buyers after telecoms group BT (BT.L) confirmed it will not make an offer for the British online retailer of used smartphones and electronic products. Shares in musicMagpie fell 19% to a nearly three-month low of 16.35 pence, giving it a market value of just over 17.5 million pounds ($21.81 million). The seller of second-hand DVDs and computer games last week said it was in early-stage talks with BT and Aurelius Group regarding a possible buyout offer. Neither BT or Aurelius provided a reason for dropping out of the takeover talks. As of Friday's close, musicMagpie stock had lost almost 90% of its value since its market debut in April 2021 as a cost-of-living squeeze hurt sales.

Persons: Aurelius Investment, Aurelius, Prerna Bedi, Devika Organizations: BT, Aurelius Group, Thomson Locations: musicMagpie, Bengaluru

SummaryCompanies UK business investment has lagged since Brexit"Largest business tax cut" in modern history-HuntTax break costs 11 bln stg a yearOBR forecasts 3 bln stg a year investment boostLONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt made a tax break for business investment permanent on Wednesday, aiming to kickstart growth in the country's sluggish economy. Hunt hopes that by making permanent the tax break known as "full expensing", companies will spend more on new kit and technology, lifting productivity. This is the largest business tax cut in modern British history," Hunt said in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday. BT (BT.L), a beneficiary of the tax break as it is investing billions in building a new fibre network, welcomed Hunt's move. British business investment has trailed that of other developed economies, according to research from the International Monetary Fund.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Hunt's, Philip Jansen, Jessica Taylor, Handout, Stephen Phipson, Robert Forrester, David Milliken, Kylie MacLellan, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Alex Richardson Organizations: LONDON, BT, Labour, Conservatives, Britain's, REUTERS Acquire, International Monetary Fund, Vertu, BBC Radio, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, British

Investors cautioned that tax breaks would not be sufficient to raise business investment while UK interest rates stayed high. But Wednesday, equity markets focused on Hunt's business boosts, such as a move to make full expensing on investment permanent. UK stock markets have underperformed their European and U.S. peers in 2023. The FTSE 100 index 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is around 10.7, about half that of U.S. stocks, with Hunt's budget unlikely to move the dial too far. Reuters GraphicsSTERLING SOGGYThe pound struggled to gain any traction on the back of Hunt's budget.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kwasi Kwarteng, Leigh Himsworth, Simon Harvey, Philip Shaw, Thomas McGarrity, Fuller, Smith, Turner, Oli Creasey, It's, BoE, GILTS, Craig Erlam, Goldman Sachs, Naomi Rovnick, Samuel Indyk, Lucy Raitano, Amanda Cooper, Harry Robertson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Traders, Investors, Fidelity International, Reuters Graphics, Bank of England, BT, Investec, RBC Wealth Management, Reuters, BREWERS, Debt Management, Reuters Graphics STERLING, Thomson Locations: U.S, Cheviot, gilts, London

The deal to acquire investment firm Carlyle's (CG.O) 28% holding in the burger chain's China business, which also includes its stores in Hong Kong and Macau, will see McDonald's stake rise to 48%. Since 2017, the number of McDonald's stores in China has doubled to 5,500 and the country has become its second-largest market. McDonald's made an unsolicited offer for Carlyle's stake in the China operations in recent weeks and the deal was struck quickly, said the sources. Reuters reported in August that Trustar Capital was planning to raise a continuation fund that would allow the Chinese private equity firm to sell down its stake in McDonald's China. In contrast to McDonald's, U.S. meat and processed food maker Tyson Foods (TSN.N) plans to sell its China poultry business, sources have said.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's, Carlyle, Trustar, Jim Sanderson, Reckitt, Kane Wu, Granth, Deborah Sophia, Roxanne Liu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, HK, CITIC, Trustar, Northcoast Research, Reuters, Tyson Foods, Primavera Capital, Thomson Locations: Bretigny, Paris, France, China, Hong Kong, Macau, CITIC, U.S, McDonald's China, British, Bengaluru, Beijing

☆ France fashions slender Paris 2024 torch from raw steel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's a bit like my baby, our baby," Delphine Moulin, Paris 2024 director of celebration, told Reuters on Friday amid the sounds of metal being cut, bent, polished and sprayed with micro-particles of steel. You can see that it's different from the usually flared shape of the Olympic torch," Moulin added. You don't use the same kind of steel to make rails and to make this torch," ArcelorMittal France president Eric Niedziela said. Paris 2024 officials and ArcelorMittal have been tight-lipped on the budget of the torches' fabrication, declining to give an estimate of the overall cost. The Paris 2024 flame will be lit on April 16 in Ancient Olympia and will remain in the country for about a week before a handover ceremony in Athens and the start of its journey to France.

Persons: Delphine Moulin, Guy Degrenne, Moulin, ArcelorMittal's Franck Wasilewski, Eric Niedziela, Julien Pretot, Ed Osmond Organizations: Paris, Paralympic Games, ArcelorMittal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Vire, France, Paris, Normandy, Greece, Ancient Olympia, Athens

☆ UK retail sales slide again in October in new blow for economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - British retail sales volumes fell unexpectedly in October as stretched consumers stayed at home, official data showed on Friday in a new warning sign for the economy. Retail sales volumes dropped 0.3% month-on-month, following a revised 1.1% decline in September that was worse than first estimated, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that sales volumes would rise by 0.3% on the month in October. Overall the figures fitted with the darkening outlook for Britain's economy, with economic growth stagnant and strong price pressures now fading, albeit slowly. The figures also showed a small downward revision in retail sales for the third quarter.

Persons: Phil Noble, Spencer, James Davey, William James Our Organizations: Shoppers, REUTERS, National Statistics, Reuters, Investors, Bank of England, Retailers, Britain, Tesco, Thomson Locations: Altrincham, Britain

The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. Following the data, yields on short-term UK Gilts, reflecting near-term interest rate expectations, slid, aiding a 7.0% surge in rate sensitive real estate investment trusts (.FTNMX351020). "It may well be due to potential sentiment coming ahead of tomorrow's UK CPI data, with the hope that it comes in lower as well," said Christopher Peters, trading floor manager at Accendo Markets. UK October CPI data, due on Wednesday, could throw further light on the outlook for domestic monetary policy. Reporting by Khushi Singh and Johan M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Christopher Peters, Jefferies, Tim Clark, Khushi Singh, Johan M Cherian, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Alex Richardson Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Vodafone, Federal, tomorrow's, Accendo Markets, Investors, Entain, Royce, Emirates, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Teck, U.S, Italy, Bengaluru

☆ M&S echoes UK peers on early Christmas demand, Ahold looks to loyalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo of food and clothes' retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) is seen at a branch in London, Britain March 10, 2022. "We are definitely seeing good sales performance in our Christmas ranges," CEO Stuart Machin told reporters after M&S reported much better-than-expected first half results. BIGGER FAMILY CHRISTMASM&S's Machin said research showed about 20% of its customers wanted to stock up on Christmas food products "slightly earlier" this year, with most of those customers planning for a bigger family Christmas. Still, the retail bosses are hopeful of strong demand for food, drinks and presents from now until the end of December. Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Sarah Young, Kate Holton and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Marks, Spencer, Toby Melville, Ahold, Stuart Machin, S's Machin, I'm, Machin, James Davey, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Major, British Retail Consortium, Marks, Tesco, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Europe, United States

☆ BT maintains 2024 outlook after Q2 core profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - BT Group (BT.L), Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, posted second quarter earnings slightly ahead of forecasts putting it on track to meet 2024 guidance, in one of the outgoing CEO's final announcements. Strong cost controls helped BT post a 3% rise in adjusted core profit (EBITDA) to 2.06 billion pounds ($2.51 billion) for the three months to the end of September, beating the 2.03 billion pounds consensus forecast. "These results show that BT Group is delivering and on target: we're rapidly building and connecting customers to our next generation networks, we're simplifying our products and services," Jansen said in a statement on Thursday. The quarterly result meant BT maintained its outlook to grow revenue and profits for its current 2024 financial year, and the group said it expected free cash flow towards the top end of its 1 billion to 1.2 billion pound range. ($1 = 0.8215 pounds)Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Sarah Young in London; Editing by Savio D'Souza and James DaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Allison Kirkby, Sweden's, Philip Jansen, Jansen, Yadarisa, Sarah Young, Savio D'Souza, James Davey Organizations: BT, Britain's, Sweden's Telia, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

The company's third-quarter sales volumes were also up against a tough comparative period from last year, when the recall of a rival U.S.-based company's infant formula boosted sales of Reckitt's Enfamil products there. Reckitt said quarterly like-for-like net sales rose 3.4%, behind the 3.7% growth analysts had expected in a company-supplied poll. Rival consumer products makers who have raised prices over the past two years have said in recent weeks that sales volumes could soon see improvements. The price/mix for Reckitt's products, which include Nurofen tablets and Durex condoms, rose 7.5%. Volumes declined 4.1% compared with last year.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Reckitt, Kris Licht, Bernstein, Bruno Monteyne, Richa Naidu, Jason Neely, David Evans, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Benckiser, REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S

[1/2] Graphite powder, used for battery paste, is pictured in a Volkswagen pilot line for battery cell production in Salzgitter, Germany, May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - As China moved to control some exports of key battery mineral graphite on Friday, miners elsewhere face a race against time to bring new projects to fruition to secure supplies for the next generation of electric vehicles. To stay ahead in a fast-changing industry, carmakers have been investing directly in mining projects to ensure future supplies of the battery inputs. "We see China's move as a potential catalyst to highlight the urgency of improving domestic graphite supply," said John DeMaio, president of Graphex's graphene division. "We've aligned ourselves with several graphite miners outside of China.

Persons: Fabian Bimmer, Hugues Jacquemin, China's, John DeMaio, DeMaio, Stefan Bernstein, Graphite's Jacquemin, Shishir Poddar, Nelson Banya, Clara Denina, Divya Rajagopal, Ernest Scheyder, Veronica Brown, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Volkswagen, REUTERS, Graphex, HK, EV, GreenRoc, Thomson Locations: Salzgitter, Germany, China, Warren , Michigan, Greenland, Northern, Tirupati, Madagascar, Mozambique

☆ British tech company Oxford Nanopore outlines medium-term growth plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - British technology company Oxford Nanopore (ONT.L) said it hoped to reach break-even by the end of 2026, as it outlined plans to drive further growth in the life science research tools market and expand into new areas of healthcare. Oxford Nanopore, a spinout from the University of Oxford which floated two years ago, wants to further commercialise its sensing technology which is able to produce immediate analysis of DNA and RNA for use across scientific research, healthcare and other industries. "Today also marks an important transition for Oxford Nanopore as we introduce our medium-to-long term strategy to meet unmet needs in the clinical and applied markets," Chief Executive Gordon Sanghera said in a statement. For the first half-year of the year, Oxford Nanopore posted a 46% rise in revenues from its Life Science Research Tools unit. Shares in Oxford Nanopore, which has a market capitalisation of 1.6 billion pounds, have fallen 15% in the last six months, prior to Thursday's announcement.

Persons: Oxford Nanopore, Gordon Sanghera, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Oxford, University of Oxford, Mayo Clinic, Thomson Locations: British, Oxford

☆ UK mobile operator EE eyes growth with new retail platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - EE, Britain's biggest mobile operator, on Wednesday announced the launch of a sales platform called EE ID that will offer gaming consoles and other electronics to its customers and others. In Britain's mature mobile market, where EE, owned by UK telecoms giant BT (BT.L), competes with VM O2, Vodafone (VOD.L) and Three, mobile network providers are hunting for new ways to grow. EE, which is already Britain's largest retailer of smartphones and has 25 million customers many on monthly deals, said the new platform will sell gaming consoles, tablets, upgrade packages and subscriptions to existing EE customers plus the rest of the market. EE ID will also offer customers cyber security, home security and insurance products for electronics, said Christian Thrane, EE's managing director of marketing. EE's push to add consumer revenue comes at a time of proposed consolidation in Britain's mobile market.

Persons: Marc Allera, Christian Thrane, CK Hutchison, Sarah Young, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: Wednesday, BT, VM O2, Vodafone, Apple TV, Reuters, CK, HK, Thomson

☆ Vodafone, Three execs tell lawmakers their UK merger will benefit 5G, jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Branding is displayed for Vodafone at one of its stores in London, Britain, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Executives from Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison's (0001.HK) Three UK unit said their 15 billion pound ($18 billion) merger would benefit Britain's consumers, infrastructure and jobs, as lawmakers scrutinise the planned tie-up. Vodafone and Three UK have pledged to invest 11 billion pounds to build a 5G network for Britain as part of their bid to secure backing from politicians, unions and competition authorities for the merger announced in June. They warned that without the deal, Britain's 5G network would continue to lag that of other European nations. "Neither us nor Vodafone can invest sufficiently to build the type of 5G network that's needed," Three's Chief Technical Officer David Hennessy said.

Persons: Toby Melville, CK Hutchison's, Nicki Lyons, David Hennessy, Stephen Lerner, Sarah Young, Mark Potter Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, HK, Trade, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

A signage is pictured at Travis Perkins, a timber and building merchants yard in St Albans, Britain October 22, 2020. The group said it now expected 2023 adjusted operating profit to be in the range of 175 million pounds ($215 million) to 195 million pounds, down from the 240 million pounds it had guided to in June, itself a 12% downgrade. Shares in Travis Perkins sunk by as much as 12% in early deals, hitting their lowest level for over three years. Travis Perkins said it remained confident in its longer-term outlook because Britain needed to build more homes and existing infrastructure would need to be decarbonised. Separately, Forterra (FORT.L), a British company which manufactures clay and concrete building products, said demand for its products has softened since July.

Persons: Travis Perkins, Paul Childs, Nick Roberts, Travis, Peel Hunt, Sarah Young, William James, James Davey, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Britain's, Peel, Thomson Locations: St Albans, Britain, British

☆ UK retailers demand government action on rising crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Some 88 UK retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), have signed a letter to interior minister Suella Braverman, demanding action over rising rates of retail crime. Rising crime is increasingly becoming a political issue in Britain ahead of an expected national election in 2024. It also put the scale of retail theft at 953 million pounds ($1.2 billion), despite over 700 million pounds in crime prevention spending by retailers. This would require police forces to record all incidents of retail crime. The industry also wants greater prioritisation of retail crime by police forces across the UK.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, Spencer, Suella Braverman, “, Helen Dickinson, John Lewis, James Davey, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Tesco, Industry, British Retail Consortium, Conservative, John, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, Aldi, Thomson Locations: Weybridge, Britain, Manchester

☆ US Army engineers are dredging the dwindling Mississippi River 24/7 and battling seawater creeping upstream toward New Orleans' drinking water
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Maiya Focht | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This threatens both the country's international supply chain and national drinking water access. AdvertisementAdvertisementA long stretch of drought in the Midwest has caused the Mississippi River to drop to abnormally low levels. Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty ImagesProblem two: Louisiana's drinking water is at stakeAn estimated 18 million people get their drinking water from the Mississippi. For example, it's contaminated the drinking water of roughly 23,515 residents in Plaquemines Parish where residents are advised to only drink bottled water. These aren't permanent solutions, but they buy local communities precious time to prepare to find alternate drinking water sources, Roe added.

Persons: Mother Nature, —, Colin Wellenkamp, Lou Dell'Orco, Louis District, Dell'Orco, they're, John Bel Edwards, Joe Biden, Kevin Dietsch, Biden, Edwards, Matthew Roe, it's, Sills, Roe, she's Organizations: Service, America, Getty, Towns Initiative, Associated Press, Shipping, AP, St . Louis District US Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, US Army Corps of Engineers, Louis, Louisiana's, Louisiana Gov, New Locations: Mississippi, Midwest, Louisiana, Cities, St.Louis, St, Louis, Gulf of Mexico, Plaquemines Parish, New Orleans

In the past year, clothing retailers have sought to clear excess stock that had piled up due to a shift in consumer demand to essentials from discretionary items like clothing. But with fourth-quarter temperatures expected to start off warm, according to weather tracking firm Weather Trends International, stores carrying winter styles and gear could find themselves loaded with inventory at the end of the season. European company Pepco Group (PCOP.WA) also noted that the landing of its autumn and winter clothing inventory had coincided with persistent record-warm weather in its core Central and Eastern European markets. In the United States, temperatures could rise by 2 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit on average in the October-December period compared with last year, according to Weather Trends International. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF.N) also said there was strong demand for "seasonless products" in the second quarter, particularly in the men's category, as customers picked out year-round clothing items and styles.

Persons: Helena Helmersson, Andy Bond, Bill Kirk, Clodagh, David Swartz, Robert Woods, Kristen D'Arcy, Abercrombie, Simon Wolfson, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, James Davey, Helen Reid, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Reuters, Pepco, Amazon.com, REUTERS, Walmart, Dick's Sporting, Costco Wholesale, Morningstar Research, Vision Brands, Fitch, Thomson Locations: United States, Europe, Cos, Eastern, Grafton, Dublin, Ireland, outerwear, Bengaluru, London

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