Business

Although falling spending on both food and non-food items has contributed heavily to this dampened figure in November, Spain still saw strong consumer goods spending in the third quarter of the year. ADVERTISEMENT Spanish year-on-year retail sales inched up 1% in November, down from a 3.4% rise in October, as well as below analyst expectations of 2.8%, according to the …

The market for travellers looking for cheaper accommodation as they travel the globe is booming. Safestay is hoping to capitalise on that growth. ADVERTISEMENT Hostels operator Safestay is planning to double its portfolio across Europe over the next few years, according to a report in The Times. Chairman Larry Lipman is reported as saying the company should “easily be able …

It depends on where you live. A recent report weighs property prices against how many months of average salary they cost. ADVERTISEMENT Those living in Denmark need the shortest time to save up for a house in Europe, according to a recent report by BestBrokers.com. They studied house prices, average net monthly income, inflation and “real” mortgage interest rates, which …

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has cut its benchmark one-week repo rate by 250 basis points, bringing it down to 47.5%. The move exceeded economists’ forecasts of a 150-basis-point reduction and marked a shift in monetary policy after eight consecutive meetings. ADVERTISEMENT The decision comes amid a consistent decline in inflation, with November’s annual consumer price …

B&Q is adding the stores to its existing range of eight, in a move intended to increase home improvement offerings for its customers. ADVERTISEMENT Home improvement giant B&Q Ireland is to buy three leasehold Homebase stores in Ireland for £3.2m (€3.86m). The stores will subsequently be converted to the B&Q banner, from Homebase, with the first one expected to be …

With an estimated cost of over €100m, the supercomputer – known as the HPC6 – will be able to handle a number of artificial intelligence functions, as well as highly sophisticated calculations, with the help of nearly 14,000 graphics processing units (GPUs). ADVERTISEMENT Italian energy company Eni has revealed one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, in an attempt to …

BMW Group has confirmed that it has sold more than 100 high-end cars to Russian buyers, despite EU sanctions being in place to halt the export of vehicles to Russia. ADVERTISEMENT German automaker BMW Group has revealed that despite widespread international and EU sanctions, it has sold more than a 100 luxury cars to Russian buyers, thus confirming a Business …

Earlier this year, Direct Line rejected two takeover bids from the Belgian insurer Ageas where the second offer valued the firm at £3.2bn, which Direct Line branded as “unattractive” offer for shareholders. ADVERTISEMENT Aviva has agreed to pay £3.7bn for rival company (€4.5bn) in time for the Christmas Day deadline. The deal will pave the way for the combined group …

A five-day strike by Starbucks baristas has closed almost 60 stores across the United States as of Monday according to the union organising the protest. ADVERTISEMENT The five-day strike from the Starbucks workers’ union which began in Los Angeles, Chicago and the coffee shop’s hometown of Seattle is threatening to quickly spread nationwide over continued contract disputes. The strikes have …

High interest rates have allowed banks to build cash reserves for takeovers, although national concerns could be hindering pan-European deals. ADVERTISEMENT Europe’s banking landscape is rife with talks of takeovers. Italy’s UniCredit, with Andrea Orcel at the helm, is currently building its stake in Germany’s Commerzbank, after expanding its reach in Romania. France’s BNP Paribas, meanwhile, has been eyeing insurer …