M&S boss slams ‘bureaucratic madness’ of products requiring ‘not for EU’ labels

The boss of Marks & Spencer has called on the government to rapidly reset relations with the EU and criticised new rules which demand extra checks and labelling on products headed from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland as “bureaucratic madness”.Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, which has 25 stores in Northern Ireland, said that from next week the retailer would have to label 1,000 more products destined for the UK country with “not for EU” while another 400 items would require “additional checks”.The “not for EU” labelling is designed to prevent products intended for sale in Northern Ireland being moved to the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member.In a post on X, he said the change in rules added “yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S”.“Quite frankly it’s bureaucratic madness, confusing for customers, and completely unnecessary given the UK has some of the highest food standards in the world

Lotus plans to end UK sportscar production, putting 1,300 jobs at risk

Lotus is planning to end production of its sportscars in the UK and shift it to the US, a move that would put 1,300 jobs at risk and represent a major blow to the British car industry.The carmaker’s Chinese owner, Geely, is looking at options including manufacturing its Emira sportscar in the US, and permanently stopping production at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s thinking. No final decision has been made.Workers at the factory, in a former second world war bomber facility, have not been informed of the plans. Lotus declined to comment on “rumours and speculation”

Wall Street hits record high on trade deal hopes; UK car exports to US halve due to tariffs – as it happened

UK car production has slumped to a 76-year low, as Donald Trump’s trade war hurt the British auto industry.Shipments to the US fell by 55.4% last month, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.The SMMT says:This was primarily due to the imposition by the US administration of a supplementary 25% Section 232 tariffs on cars from March which depressed demand instantly forcing many manufacturers to stop shipments.However, with the trade agreement negotiated by government due to come into effect before the end of June, this should hopefully be a short-lived constraint

Barclays and Jes Staley face fresh lawsuit in US over Epstein link

Barclays and its former chief executive Jes Staley are facing a class action lawsuit in the US over claims they defrauded and misled investors over Staley’s relationship with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.A judge in a Los Angeles court denied Staley’s request to dismiss the case this week, paving the way for a fresh hearing that continues a long-running legal saga emanating from Staley’s statements to regulators and investors over the nature of his ties to the disgraced financier.It is a bruising outcome for the American banker, who lost a legal challenge in the UK on Thursday against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which in 2023 had banned him for life from holding senior management roles in the City for misleading the watchdog over his history with Epstein.The US class action suit, led by pension funds in New York and Missouri, alleges that Barclays, its chair, Nigel Higgins, and Staley repeatedly misrepresented Staley’s history with Epstein to media and investors, starting in July 2019, weeks after Epstein was arrested on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.Court documents allege that this was done in an attempt to protect Barclays’ reputation and share price

Superdrug to add 25 stores as demand for weight loss drugs soars

An increase in demand for weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, as well as demand among its generation Alpha customer base for beauty products is driving expansion at Superdrug.The retailer plans to add 25 more stores to its 800-plus strong chain this year as well as extending existing outlets, despite troubles across the high street that have led to the closure of hundreds of stores at its rival Boots and downsizing at chains from Poundland to River Island.Superdrug is bouncing back from difficult times during the coronavirus pandemic as demand for its weight-loss services almost 300% in the first half of this year compared with last year.While many of the drugs are ordered online via its private GP service, the retailer is looking at how it can adapt and expand in-store services to cater for demand so that its team of nurses can offer help with the potential side-effects, such as hair loss, for example. More serious problems, including with the pancreas, have also been flagged up in some cases

Rising poverty in conflict zones ‘causes a billion people to go hungry’

Extreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion people to go hungry, according to the World Bank.Civil wars and confrontations between nations, mostly in Africa, have set back economic growth and reduced the incomes of more than a billion people, “driving up extreme poverty faster than anywhere else”, the Washington-based body said.Underscoring the breadth of conflicts beyond the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars, it said the 39 developing economies classified as being in fragile and conflict-affected situations are plagued by instability and weak institutions, “hindering their ability to attain the robust, sustained economic growth needed for development”.In its first assessment of conflict zones since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, the World Bank urged western governments to step up support for war-torn countries to end the conflicts and rebuild vital institutions.Since 2020 the level of national income per head of population has shrunk by an average of 1