Author: LoveWorld UK

Capital One to buy Discover Financial in $35.3 bln all-stock deal –  U.S. consumer bank Capital One plans to acquire U.S. credit card issuer Discover Financial Services in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 billion to create a global payments giant, the companies. The deal, which is expected to receive intense antitrust scrutiny, would also form the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets and a U.S. credit card behemoth that would compete with rivals JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. While Discover has a network that spans 200 countries and territories, it is still much smaller than rivals Visa, Mastercard and American Express.…

HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS TO EXCEED 7.7M BY DECEMBER 2024 If strikes continue, that number is expected to grow The Health Foundation have released new figures for NHS Waiting Lists.  The NHS waiting list for elective treatment in England has been growing since 2013 – almost tripling in size over the decade to 7.7 million. The waiting list had already reached 4.6 million before the pandemic. During the pandemic, the waiting list grew sharply, as care was suspended. Since then New referrals and completed pathways per working day continue to follow the existing trends at a growth rate of 5.0% and…

BABY WAS AMONG THREE CHILDREN FOUND DEAD BY POLICE IN BRISTOL Post-mortems will now take place to establish the children’s cause of death A 10-month-old baby was among three young children found dead in a “deeply distressing” incident in a Bristol home on Sunday, police have said. Police were called to Blaise Walk in the Sea Mills area of the city at 12.40 am on Sunday after receiving a “concern for welfare call”. The three children found at the property were a 10-month-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a boy aged seven. A woman, 42, has been arrested on suspicion…

DIAZ ACOSTA DOWNS JARRY TO WIN MAIDEN ATP TITLE IN BUENOS AIRES – 23-year-old Diaz Acosta defeated 3rd seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4 Buenos Aires native Facundo Diaz Acosta earned his first ATP tour title in front of a raucous home crowd at the Argentina Open. The 23-year-old, who is now in his second year on the tour, defeated third seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4 to win the ATP 250 clay court event. A wild card, Diaz Acosta had just four tour-level wins to his name before going on a Championship-winning run in which he did not drop a set.…

EU POISED TO FINE APPLE ABOUT 500 MILLION EUROS – Culmination of antitrust probe after Spotify complaint The European Union is set to hit Apple with its first ever antitrust fine as well as a ban on App Store rules that the bloc believes thwart competition according to reports. The fine of around €500 million is expected to be announced next month and Apple could have been fined as much as 10% of its annual global sales. The probe was sparked by a complaint in 2019 from Sweden’s Spotify, which claimed it was forced to ramp up its monthly subscription…

CURRYS TAKEOVER BATTLE LOOMS – Chinese e-commerce group JD.com wants £800m for electricals retailer Currys Currys could be at the centre of a takeover battle after the Chinese e-commerce group JD.com said it was considering an offer for the company. The potential bid emerged after Currys said at the weekend it had rejected a £700m takeover approach from US investment firm Elliott. JD.com said it was “in the very preliminary stages” of evaluating a possible bid for the retailer. Currys’ share price jumped by more than 30% as trading began on Monday. The retailer has more than 800 stores globally…

AL-HILAL BEAT SEPAHAN 3-1 – Al-Hilal win first leg of Last-16 Asian Champions League match Two goals in stoppage time helped Al-Hilal to a 3-1 win away at 10-man Sepahan in their Asian Champions League last-16 first leg tie in Isfahan. Sepahan had gone into the break ahead after Ramin Rezaeian’s 37th-minute goal, but Brazilian forward Malcom drew the visitors level 11 minutes into the second half.  The hosts had Mohammad Daneshgar sent off for his challenge in the 73rd-minute before late goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Abdullah Al Hamdan sealed victory for the Saudi Pro League leaders.

UNITED ALIGNED WITH RATCLIFFE SAYS MANAGER TEN HAG – Erik Ten Hag says they’re all aligned with Ratcliffe’s Man United ambitions Manager Erik ten Hag says that they are all aligned with the club’s ambitions of British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, whose acquisition of a 25% stake in Manchester United was given the green light by the FA. The FA confirmed its approval in a statement a day after the Premier League also ratified the deal after the 71-year-old Ratcliffe passed their Owners’ and Directors’ test. Ratcliffe struck a $1.25 billion deal in December for a minority stake in the club…

MBAPPE TO LEAVE PARIS SAINT GERMAIN THIS SUMMER – Kylian Mbappe to leave PSG on a free transfer Kylian Mbappe will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer. Mbappe, out of contract in the summer, communicated his decision to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG president, on Tuesday. PSG expect Mbappe to join Real Madrid at the end of the season once the terms of his exit are finalised. The two parties still need to negotiate whether Mbappe will leave for a fee or sacrifice his own earnings. PSG have Mbappe’s word that he will never leave on a free transfer. Real Madrid hold…

RETAIL SALES SURGE WHICH SUGGESTS THE UK ECONOMY IS GROWING Despite entering a technical recession Retail sales have grown significantly, even being described as a surge – far exceeding expectations – as consumer spending bounced back in January. The 3.4% increase in retail sales is more than double the 1.5% rise forecast by analysts – and suggests the economy is recovering strongly. Since April 2021 there has not been an increase as large as the recovery from December 2023 to January 2024. On Thursday, the UK officially entered recession after two small consecutive three-month periods of contraction – and poor…