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☆ Vistry flags tough housing market, reiterates profit forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 20 (Reuters) - British homebuilder Vistry Group (VTYV.L) on Thursday joined its bigger rivals in flagging an intensifying slowdown in the housing market but retained its annual profit forecast, reflecting resilience in its key affordable homes business. The FTSE 250 (.FTMC) firm, which works with local authorities and housing associations to build affordable homes, expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year ending Dec. 31 to be in excess of 450 million pounds. Vistry, which is typically better insulated against housing market shocks as demand for affordable housing is high, said it was able to mitigate the slowdown in the market through bulk transactions in both its Partnerships and Housebuilding businesses. However, the group said its Housebuilding business, which is similar to its rivals' operations, had faced "more challenging market conditions" in the half-year period with the broader macro-economic challenges particularly impacting first-time buyers. Reporting by Suban Abdulla in London and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Greg Fitzgerald, Suban Abdulla, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Sonia Cheema, Kate Holton Organizations: Vistry, Thursday, FTSE, Bank of England, British, Countryside, Thomson Locations: British, London, Bengaluru

☆ Convicted Nigerian politician Ibori faces huge UK confiscation order
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Estelle Shirbon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - A London court should order the confiscation of more than 100 million pounds ($129 million) from Nigerian politician James Ibori, a convicted fraudster who spent years in prison in Britain, a state prosecutor told the court on Thursday. A former governor of oil-producing Delta State in southern Nigeria, Ibori was extradited in 2011 from Dubai to London, where he was charged with laundering a corruptly acquired fortune. He told Reuters by text message he planned to appeal against the confiscation order. In 2021, it returned 4.2 million pounds that had been confiscated from Ibori's ex-wife and his sister, who also served jail time for helping him launder money. ($1 = 0.7745 pounds)(This story has been corrected to say the judge made 'factual findings' not a 'confiscation order' after clarification from judge, in paragraph 6)Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James Ibori, fraudster, Ibori, David Tomlinson, Jonathan Kinnear, Bola Tinubu, Estelle Shirbon, Alex Richardson Organizations: Delta, Southwark Crown, Thomson Locations: Nigerian, Britain, Delta State, Nigeria, Dubai, London, Southwark, Ibori, Ibori's

☆ Vattenfall says it is stopping British Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Swedish utility Vattenfall (VATN.UL) is stopping the development of the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas offshore wind project off the coast of Britain, designed to power around 1.5 million homes, it said in an earnings statement on Thursday. The company said the decision would have an impact on earnings of 5.5 billion Swedish crowns ($537 million). Vattenfall also said it would examine the best way forward for the entire Norfolk zone which also includes the Vanguard East and West projects. Britain has a target of increasing offshore wind capacity to 50 GW, from around 14 GW now, as a part of efforts to meet its climate targets and boost energy security. ($1 = 10.2438 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Gwladys FoucheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vattenfall, Susanna Twidale, Gwladys Organizations: Norfolk, Vanguard East, Thomson Locations: Norfolk Boreas, Britain, Norfolk

☆ Venezuela's ex-spymaster pleads not guilty to US drug trafficking charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hugo Carvajal, 63, arrived in the United states on Wednesday after being extradited from Spain. "General Carvajal looks forward to fighting these outrageous charges in court before an unbiased American jury," Margulis-Ohnuma told reporters after the hearing. The drugs were ultimately bound for the United States, according to prosecutors. Dozens of Venezuelan military leaders, politicians and businessmen have been charged by the United States with corruption and drug trafficking. He was arrested in Spain on the U.S. drug charges later that year, but went into hiding after a court initially approved his extradition.

Persons: Hugo Carvajal, Judge Stewart Aaron, Zachary Margulis, Ohnuma, Carvajal, General Carvajal, Hugo Chavez's, El, Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, Maduro, Luc Cohen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: YORK, Department of Justice, U.S, American, U.S . State Department, Washington, Thomson Locations: United, Spain, Manhattan, Mexico, Venezuela, United States, Washington, Caracas, Aruba, Netherlands, Maduro, New York

☆ EasyJet reports record Q3 results on back of summer travel demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Britain's easyJet (EZJ.L) posted a record pretax profit of 203 million pounds ($262.5 million) for its third quarter, above analysts' forecasts, on the back of an ongoing rebound in summer travel demand and limited disruption despite ongoing strikes. The airline said it also expected to report record pretax profit for its fourth quarter, the July to September period, as costs per seat flattened with oil prices stabilizing. However easyJet's CEO Johan Lundgren warned about the potential impact of limited airspace availability and air traffic control strikes in Europe. EasyJet holidays also saw bookings more than double year-on-year for the winter. ($1 = 0.7734 pounds)Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Paul Sandle; Editing by Sarah Young and Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Johan Lundgren, Lundgren, Joanna Plucinska, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, Jan Harvey Organizations: Airlines, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ UK rents climb a third above pre-COVID levels as tenant demand remains firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Advertised rents are 9.3% higher than a year ago and 33% more than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said the big increase in rents since the pandemic reflected a significant surge in demand from tenants and contrasted with stagnant rents from 2015 to 2019. Rightmove said there were 7% more properties available for rent than a year ago, but 42% fewer than in 2019. Rightmove said 16% of properties for sale were previously on the rental market, up from 13% in January 2019. Tenant demand was 3% higher than in the same period in 2022 and 42% higher than 2019, Rightmove added.

Persons: Rightmove, Tim Bannister, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: Thomson Locations: Britain, London

☆ UK is in danger of becoming the Nigeria of wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Britain is supposed to be the Saudi Arabia of wind power. Vattenfall’s decision on Thursday to halt the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas project is just the latest sign that Britain’s most appropriate fossil-fuel comparator may not be the biggest and most efficient producer. Vattenfall, a state-held Swedish power company, has gone cool for reasons that are well-discussed in the wind sector. The obvious move for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would be to allow developers to charge more for power, to make up for higher costs. Follow @gfhay on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVattenfall is stopping the development of its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas offshore wind project off the coast of Britain, the state-owned Swedish utility said on July 20.

Persons: Boris Johnson’s, Vattenfall, Rishi Sunak, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Siemens, UK, FTI, Norfolk, Thomson Locations: Britain, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Riyadh, Norfolk Boreas, Swedish, Norfolk, Orsted, Nigeria

☆ Amazon used 11.6% less plastic for shipping last year and is phasing out those blue and white plastic mailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon used nearly 86,000 tons of single-use plastic packaging last year, an 11.6% drop. Amazon is also ditching its blue and white padded plastic mailers in favor of easier-to-recycle paper packaging. Oceana for several years has tried to put numbers on how much plastic Amazon is using. Oceana's analysis for 2021 found Amazon used about 709 million pounds of plastic packaging — some 355,000 tons. Amazon said it used less plastic in 2022 by expanding packaging made with recyclable paper across the US, Canada, and Europe.

Persons: —, Matt Littlejohn, Littlejohn, Oceana Organizations: Amazon, Service, Oceana Locations: Oceana, Canada, Europe, Australia

☆ Venezuela ex-spymaster arrives in US to face drug charges after extradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID/NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - The former head of Venezuela's military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal, arrived in the United States on Wednesday to face drug trafficking charge after being extradited from Spain, his lawyer said. Carvajal is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Thursday morning, said his lawyer, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma. Prosecutors say Carvajal in 2006 coordinated the shipment of 5,600 kg (1,235 pounds) of U.S.-bound cocaine to Mexico from Venezuela. Carvajal is also wanted in Venezuela on charges including treason and financing terrorism. "I hope the United States ... delivers to Venezuela a criminal like Hugo Carvajal," Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela's Maduro-aligned legislature, told reporters on Wednesday.

Persons: Hugo Carvajal, Carvajal, Zachary Margulis, El, Hugo Chavez's, Nicolas Maduro, Chavez, Maduro, Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela's, Emma Pinedo, Luc Cohen, Deisy Buitrago, William Maclean, Mike Harrison, Daniel Wallis Organizations: MADRID, of Human, U.S, Washington, Thomson Locations: United States, Spain, Manhattan, Madrid, The U.S, Mexico, Venezuela, New York, Caracas

If you're part of the many facing the summer heat without an HVAC system installed, portable air conditioners are cheaper alternatives that can help you stay cool and comfortable. This Whynter 14,000-BTU portable air conditioner does just that for a comparably affordable price, even more so with $100 off at Amazon, dropping the price of what we consider the best portable air conditioner for large rooms to $499. This portable air conditioner is cheap compared to HVACsDeal icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Deal Whynter ARC-14S Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner The Whynter ARC-14S Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner may be big and not as portable as other units, but it did the best job of cooling a 550-square-foot room in Insider tests. $499.00 from Amazon Originally $599.99 Save 17%Heat waves don't require thousand-dollar solutionsDesigned to keep large rooms cool and comfortable, the Whynter ARC-14S portable air conditioner can service rooms up to 550 square feet and was the best at cooling large rooms in our tests.

Organizations: ARC, Amazon

☆ Britain upgrades to also-ran in EV battery race
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is joining the global arms race to secure future industries, but he has a long way to go. Europe may have 25 so-called gigafactories, vast plants that turn raw materials such as lithium into battery packs, by 2025. While both Theresa May and Boris Johnson tried, they failed to win over big global players like Tesla (TSLA.O), Samsung or Northvolt, which preferred European sites. The UK leader can at least now claim he can attract global players. But Tata’s 40 GWh of new capacity brings Britain’s total to just over 50 GWh by 2026, after factoring in the plant operated by China’s Envision in Sunderland.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden’s, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Britishvolt, China’s, Sunak, George Hay, Pranav Kiran, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Tata Group, Honda, Samsung, Tata, Rover, Toyota, The Society of Motor Manufacturers, Traders, Faraday, India’s Tata Group, Thomson Locations: Indian, Somerset, Japanese, Europe, United States, Britain, Sunderland

☆ Aviva releases H1 2023 profit guidance, growth estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Aviva (AV.L) said on Wednesday it expected to deliver around 700 million pounds ($907.20 million) in group operating profit in the first half of 2023, with full-year profit estimated to grow by 5-7% year-on-year. Aviva said the change principally reflected accounting changes to its annuities and protection businesses, with new business profit now being deferred over the lifetime of a contract. It added that the new accounting standards would have "no impact to strategy, capital generation, dividend guidance, or capital return outlook." "There is no impact on our dividend guidance for 2023 of around 915 million pounds, with low-to-mid single digit growth in the cash cost of the dividend thereafter," the company said. ($1 = 0.7716 pounds)Reporting By Sinead Cruise, Editing by Iain WithersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers Organizations: Aviva, IFRS, Thomson

The new plant is expected to be built in Somerset, south-west England, while Jaguar Land Rover's UK factories are based near Birmingham, central England. With an initial output of 40 gigawatt hours, Britain said the factory would provide almost half of the battery production needed by 2030. The Faraday Institution has projected UK battery demand to reach over 100 GWh a year by that time. "With this strategic investment, the Tata Group further strengthens its commitment to the UK," Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said in the statement. "Almost every car producing nation in the world (is) offering a lot of incentives in order to ensure that they preserve the integrity of their car industry," he said.

Persons: Danish Siddiqui, Rishi Sunak's, Sunak, N Chandrasekaran, Mike Hawes, Andy Palmer, Aston Martin, Jeremy Hunt, wouldn't, Alistair Smout, Sarah Young, William James, Paul Sandle, Emma Rumney Organizations: Tata Motors, REUTERS, Danish, India's Tata Group, Rover, Tata, BBC, European Union, Nissan, Rover's, Faraday, Tata Group, EV, BBC Radio, Britain, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Britain, Spain, Somerset, England, Birmingham, United States, Europe, China, EU

☆ Why Britain’s Mortgage Holders Are Being Squeezed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Eshe Nelson | More About Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many people in Britain have mortgages with a rate that is fixed for only a short period, commonly two or five years, unlike U.S. mortgage rates, which are often fixed for 30 years. At the end of the fixed period, mortgage holders can shop around for different offers, usually choosing between a variable-rate mortgage — which can move up and down whenever the lender decides or with interest rates — or another fixed-rate loan. In Britain, one of the most direct ways that higher interest rates affect people is through higher mortgage rates, but the impact varies greatly across the population. Just over a third of households own their home outright, so will be insulated from rising mortgage rates. On average, households with mortgages will pay almost 280 pounds (about $365) more each month, if mortgage rates stay at their current levels, compared with March 2022 rates, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Organizations: Institute for Fiscal Studies Locations: Britain

☆ UK on track for most company insolvencies since 2009
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - England and Wales are on track for the highest quarterly number of company insolvencies since early 2009, as businesses struggle to repay COVID-19 loans against a tough economic backdrop, government figures showed on Tuesday. Over the three months to the end of June, there were 6,403 companies declared insolvent. If this figure is confirmed when official quarterly numbers are published later this month, it would be the highest non-seasonally-adjusted calendar-quarter total since the first quarter of 2009. As usual, most company insolvencies were creditors' voluntary liquidations - where company directors and creditors agree to wind up a company without a formal court order. "The drop is likely to come mainly from a fall in 'shut down' Creditors' Voluntary Liquidations where the catch-up from low points of Covid and Government support will largely be flushed out," Harris said.

Persons: Gareth Harris, Harris, David Milliken, Andy Bruce Organizations: COVID, Insolvency Service, RSM, Service, Bank of, Thomson Locations: England, Wales, May's, Bank of England, Covid

☆ Ocado jumps after return to first-half underlying profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ocado also said its Ocado Retail business, the online supermarket joint venture it operates with Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), returned to profitability in the second quarter. Shares in Ocado jumped 14.6% in early trading after what Jefferies analysts called a "solid" performance. It maintained its guidance for Technology Solutions to deliver "positive" EBITDA over the full 2022-23 year, with Ocado Retail making "marginally positive" EBITDA, and Logistics making "stable" EBITDA. "Speculation is speculation, I have nothing to say," Tim Steiner, Ocado's founder and chief executive, told reporters on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.7641 pounds)Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton, Jason Neely and Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ocado, Spencer, Jefferies, Tim Steiner, James Davey, Kate Holton, Jason Neely, Mike Harrison Organizations: Marks, Kroger, Casino, Technology Solutions, Ocado, Logistics, Times, Thomson Locations: Ocado, United States, Japan, France, U.S

☆ Ocado keeps guidance after return to first-half underlying profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummaryCompanies First half underlying profit 16.6 mln stgLosses at pretax level widen to 289.5 mln stgShares surged last month on takeover speculationLONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Ocado (OCDO.L), the British online supermarket and technology group, kept its financial guidance for the year as it reported a return to underlying profit in its first half. However, at the statutory level Ocado's pretax loss widened to 289.5 million pounds from 211.3 million reflecting depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items. Ocado said there was no change to the financial guidance given at its full-year results in February. In the first half Technology Solutions was EBITDA positive, Logistics was flat and Ocado Retail made a small loss. The group maintained its guidance for Technology Solutions to deliver "positive" EBITDA over the full 2022-23 year, with Ocado Retail making "marginally positive" EBITDA, and Logistics making "stable" EBITDA.

Persons: Tim Steiner, Ocado, Spencer, James Davey, Kate Holton, Jason Neely Organizations: Times, Amazon, Ocado, Marks, Logistics, Technology Solutions, Kroger, Casino, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, Japan, France

☆ Ocado hits five-month high after return to profit, keeping guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ocado shares surged on Tuesday after the British online supermarket and technology group kept its financial guidance for the year as it reported a return to underlying profit in its first half. Shares surged 15.3% to their highest since February, beating the four-month peak set in June after a report of possible takeover interest from Amazon boosted the company's stock. Its Technology Solutions revenue jumped 59%. Ocado said there was no change to the financial guidance given at its full-year results in February. Ocado shares surged 32% on June 22 after The Times newspaper reported speculation of possible bid interest in the online supermarket from more than one U.S. suitor including tech heavyweight Amazon.

Persons: Chris Beauchamp, Ocado, I've, Tim Steiner Organizations: Technology Solutions, IG Group, Tech Solutions, Ocado, Marks, Logistics, Kroger, Casino, Jefferies, U.S, The Times Locations: United States, Japan, France, U.S

☆ A new fossil shows a prehistoric badger-like mammal and a dinosaur locked in 'mortal combat'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new fossil shows a badger-like mammal biting into a dinosaur. A new paper in Scientific Reports describes a fossil of the cat-sized mammal, Repenomamus robustus, locked in "mortal combat" with a Psittacosaurus that was three times as large. The newer fossil has quite a bit of evidence suggesting that the mammal was attacking the dinosaur. "I think the clincher is just the fact that the hind leg of the mammal is trapped within the folded hind leg of the dinosaur," Mallon said. "The question that comes up is, what is a mammal doing attacking a dinosaur that's so much larger than itself?"

Persons: Jordan Mallon, Michael Skrepnick, Mallon, Han Organizations: Service, Canadian Museum of Nature Locations: Wall, Silicon, China's Liaoning Province

☆ Factbox: Corporate debt woes are on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Size of debt: 14 billion pounds ($18.33 billion). The firm said earlier in July shareholders would provide 750 million pounds, but warned it would need an extra 2.5 billion pounds between 2025-2030. Size of debt: 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) in net debt. What's at stake: Casino faces 3 billion euros of debt repayments in the next two years, with rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's warning a default is likely. Deadlines to watch: Casino aims to secure an agreement with creditors by July 27.

Persons: Toby Melville, What's, Jean, Charles Naouri, Casino, Daniel Kretinsky, Kretinsky, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: Thames, REUTERS, Water, Casino, SBB, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, LONDON, Sweden, France, England, Czech, Brookfield, Spain, Barcelona

☆ Surging frozen food demand may stress critical cold storage supply chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Andrea Miller | In Dreajmiller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Virtually all American households purchase frozen food at least once a year, but without resilient cold storage supply chain infrastructure, the growth and safety of the massive $265 billion global frozen food market may be put at risk. In 2022, frozen food sales in the U.S. reached more than $72 billion, according to the American Frozen Food Institute. During the coronavirus lockdowns in 2020, frozen food sales reached more than $65 billion, according to the institute. Approximately 13% of all food produced globally is lost due to poor cold storage supply chains every year, according to a study from Columbia University's Climate School. Watch the video above to learn more about the influence of frozen food, the global cold storage supply chain infrastructure, what it takes to freeze food products and what's next for this growing section of the grocery store.

Persons: Brian Choi, Alison Bodor, Sonia Punwani, Tony Atti, Jeff Rivera Organizations: The Food Institute, CNBC, Food Institute, Cargill Protein North, Columbia University's Climate, Logistics Locations: U.S, Columbia, Michigan

☆ Ocado jumps on return to first-half underlying profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The group swung to a profit for the six months to May 28, posting core earnings (EBITDA) of 16.6 million pounds ($21.7 million), ahead of a consensus forecast for a loss of 16 million pounds, and reversing a loss of 13.6 million pounds in the year-earlier period. Ocado (OCDO.L) said its Technology Solutions division made a profit for the first time, while its Ocado Retail business, the online supermarket joint venture it operates with Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), returned to profit in the second quarter. Shore Capital analyst Clive Black, a long term Ocado sceptic, focused on Ocado's losses at the pretax level, which widened to 289.5 million pounds. It maintained its guidance for Technology Solutions to deliver "positive" EBITDA over the full 2022-23 year, with Ocado Retail making "marginally positive" EBITDA, and its UK Logistics unit making "stable" EBITDA. The group's shares soared much as 47% on June 22 after the Times newspaper reported possible takeover interest from more than one U.S. suitor including Amazon (AMZN.O).

Persons: Spencer, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Tim Steiner, Ocado, Clive Black, Steiner, James Davey, Kate Holton, Jason Neely, Mike Harrison Organizations: Technology Solutions, Marks, Kroger, Casino, Shore Capital, Ocado, UK Logistics, Times, Thomson Locations: Ocado, United States, Japan, France, U.S

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - The spectre of rising corporate debt defaults exacerbating a global economic slowdown has for months been largely brushed aside by resilient credit markets. Now, long-feared corporate debt woes are starting to hit home, while more companies are being downgraded to a junk credit rating - facing higher borrowing costs as a result. Retailer Casino, with 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) of net debt, is in court-backed talks with creditors; Britain's Thames Water is in the headlines with its 14 billion pound ($18.32 billion) debt pile. For FACTBOX: Corporate debt woes are on the rise, click here. Nonetheless, not all firms may be able to survive the challenges of vast debt, higher interest and business costs and declining profits.

Persons: Julius Baer's, Markus Allenspach, Guy Miller, Miller, it's, Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott Will, Emery, Elena Lieskovska, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: SBB, P Global, U.S, Reuters, ICE, Zurich Insurance, ABN AMRO, European Central Bank, London Finance, Bain Capital, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Spain, Europe

☆ UK grocery inflation continues downward trajectory -Kantar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Market researcher Kantar said annual grocery inflation was 14.9% in the four weeks to July 9, falling 1.6 percentage points from the 16.5% in its June data set. The Conservative government's key pledge to halve inflation in 2023 ahead of a probable election in 2024 has been undermined by stubbornly high food inflation. The Kantar data going into July provides the most up to date snapshot of UK grocery inflation. Official data for overall UK inflation in June will be published on Wednesday. The researcher said UK grocery sales rose 10.4% over the four week period year-on-year on a value basis.

Persons: Kantar, Fraser McKevitt, James Davey, Aurora Ellis Organizations: LONDON, Conservative, Bank of England, Tesco, Iceland Foods, Aldi, Lidl, Thomson

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Live Updates: Crimea Bridge Attack Puts Spotlight on Sea Drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Moscow’s accusation that Ukraine used sea drones to attack and significantly damage Russia’s Kerch Strait Bridge to Crimea on Monday has put a spotlight on a weapon that could pose a particularly difficult threat for the Kremlin. He said they would have traveled across the Black Sea at a speed slow enough to minimize their wake and foil radar detection. For Ukraine, with its navy effectively blockaded and outmatched by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the appeal of unmanned surface vessels is clear. Russia accused Ukraine in October of attacking its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the fleet’s base, with seven sea drones as well as aerial drones. On Sunday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had foiled another such attack in Sevastopol, involving two sea drones and aerial drones.

Persons: ”, Sam Bendett, Bendett, Mr Organizations: CNA, The New York Times, Russian, Fleet, Black Locations: Ukraine, Kerch, Crimea, Russian, Virginia, Russia, Azov, Dnipro, Sevastopol

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