Image copyright Virgin Galactic Image caption Virgin Galactic’s plane will be carried to a height of 12,000m before its rocket ignites Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic says its latest test flight, due later on Thursday, could see it reach space for the first time. The company said the fourth flight of its SpaceShipTwo passenger …
Image copyright Getty Images Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has said his firm faces “significant challenges” in turning around the House of Fraser store chain, which it bought in August. Mr Ashley said he believed that its previous management team “traded the business whilst it was insolvent for a long time”. However, he repeated his …
Image copyright Getty Images Clothing retailer Bonmarche has seen shares slump in value after the group warned it could slip to a full-year loss of up to £4m. In early Thursday trading, Bonmarche shares were down 38.5% at 49.5p. The decline follows “extremely poor” Black Friday sales and ongoing subdued shopper demand amid Brexit uncertainty. …
Image copyright TUI A rise in hotel and cruise bookings has helped European travel group Tui sail through another year with more than 10% growth in profits. It said next year profits would grow a similar amount as customers also bought more excursions and holiday activities. Tui has seen double digit growth for the last …
Image caption Surveyors like Mark Hunter say Brexit will effect confidence for a while to come Uncertainty and gloom about Brexit are likely to hit the UK housing market well into next year, surveyors believe. The latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts that the number of homes being sold – …
Image copyright AFP Image caption Michael Spavor (left) helped arrange ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea in 2013 Canada’s foreign ministry says it is trying to make contact with a second Canadian who is believed to have been detained in China. Michael Spavor, a businessman based in Dandong near the North Korean border, …
Image copyright Which? Image caption Hamleys has stopped selling Frootiputti slime Hamleys has stopped selling a children’s slime toy after the product failed a safety test for boron, a chemical that can impair fertility. Tests by consumer group Which? found that Frootiputti slime, made by Goobands and sold at Hamleys, had four times the EU …
Image copyright Getty Images Shoppers are seeing a boom in pre-Christmas sales as retailers try to lure them back to High Street shops. Squeezed by rising costs and online competition retailers are turning to sales and promotions to tempt back shoppers. Greg Harwood, director at analysts Sumon-Kucher said: “We’ve seen a spiral of promotions year …
Many readers will find the thought of Christmas tree-flavoured crisps revolting, but Iceland is betting its customers will feel the opposite this festive season. The crisps are part of the supermarket chain’s festive food range, and have a distinct pine-like taste thanks to their pine salt seasoning, which is made with pine tree oil. It …
Image copyright Nicolas Axelrod Image caption Cambodia’s clothing shipments to the EU accounted for 45% of all the country’s exports last year Sao Run is worried that if the clothing factory where she works closes down she won’t be able to feed herself and her son. A 34-year-old widow, she has spent almost 13 years …