Author: LoveWorld UK

Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources. Just over two weeks later, the industrial chemicals went up in a massive blast that obliterated most of the port and swathes of the capital, killed at least 163 people, injured 6,000 and destroyed 6,000 buildings, according to municipal authorities. A report by the General Directorate of State Security on events leading up to the explosion included…

British consumers spent the most last month since the country went into a coronavirus lockdown in March, as pubs, restaurants, barbers and beauty salons reopened, according to industry figures published on Tuesday. Data from Barclaycard and the British Retail Consortium showed spending was close to getting back to normal levels though not all sectors were benefiting. Barclaycard said consumer spending was 2.6% lower than in July 2019, the smallest shortfall since the lockdown began. “However, a sense of cautiousness still prevails,” Barclaycard director Esme Harwood said. Official figures due on Wednesday are expected to show Britain suffered the biggest economic…

London-listed shares rose on Monday as a slowdown in China’s factory deflation in July brewed optimism around a post-pandemic economic rebound, while energy stocks tracked a jump in oil prices. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, with BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc the biggest boosts as oil prices rose 1% on Saudi Aramco’s upbeat view on Asian demand and an Iraqi pledge to deepen supply cuts. [O/R] The mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0.7% to a seven-week high, led by industrial, consumer discretionary and financial stocks. World stocks were also slightly higher as investors awaited more U.S. government…

BP (BP.L) will need to invest tens of billions of dollars over the next decade and may have to accept lower returns than it can get from oil if it is to meet its target of becoming one of the world’s largest renewable power generators. The British oil and gas company wants 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower in its portfolio by 2030, up from just 2.5 GW now and more than the total renewable capacity in the United Kingdom at the moment. European oil firms are under pressure from activists, banks, investors and some…

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won Formula One’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday to end Mercedes’ dominant start to the season and become Lewis Hamilton’s closest challenger. In a race dictated by tyre wear and strategy, six-times world champion Hamilton swept past Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas two laps from the end to take second place and stay 30 points clear in the standings. Hamilton, who gained an extra point for fastest lap, also equalled Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s record of 155 career podium finishes and extended his own unmatched scoring run to 38 races in a row.…

British fashion retailer Superdry traded ahead of expectations in the latest quarter and has boosted its liquidity with a new 70 million pound ($92 million) lending facility to get it through the Covid-19 crisis, sending its shares higher. The stock was up 15% at 0748 GMT, paring 2020 losses to 73%. Superdry (SDRY.L) which sells sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets adorned with Japanese text, said that while trading in the 13 weeks to July 25, its fiscal first quarter, was materially impacted by the crisis, the 24.1% fall in group revenue was better than its initial expectations. The group’s stores were…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted schools would be able to operate safely despite the coronavirus pandemic. His comments follow a study earlier this month which warned that Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 in the winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an improved test-and-trace system. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said restarting schools was a national priority. Schools would be the last places to close in future local lockdowns, he was quoted by another newspaper as telling…

Energy prices are set to fall for millions of British households this winter after the energy regulator said its cap on the most widely used tariffs would be lowered by about 7.5% from Oct. 1, to their lowest level since the cap began. A cap on electricity and gas bills came into effect in January 2019 and was a flagship policy of former British Prime Minister Theresa May to end what she called “rip-off” prices. The reduction was due to a fall in wholesale gas prices since February as lockdowns on business and homes led to a slump in demand,…

Britain announced a 200 million pound scheme to help smooth post-Brexit trade disruption for businesses in Northern Ireland when European Union freedom of movement rules cease to apply at the end of the year. Northern Ireland has Britain’s only land border with the EU, making it a focal point for complex questions about how a new system of cross-border trade will work when more than 45 years of market integration with mainland Europe ends. Senior minister Michael Gove will set out the new Trader Support Service during a visit to Northern Ireland on Friday, promising a free end-to-end service to…

More British shoppers returned to the high street in July, helped by the reopening of pubs and restaurants, but numbers were still much lower than normal for the time of year, an industry survey showed on Friday. The monthly report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and market research firm ShopperTrak showed footfall was down 42% in annual terms in July, compared with a 63% decline in June. The reopening of pubs and restaurants in England on July 4 helped to spur only a small number of additional visits to the high street, the BRC said. The outlook…