Business news

• Creditors back Argentina restructuring of $66 bn debt

  31-08-2020 23:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Recession-hit Argentina has managed to restructure 99 percent of $66 billion in debt issued under foreign legislation, Economy Minister Martin Guzman announced on Monday.
  
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• US airlines drop change fees amid Covid-19 downturn

  31-08-2020 23:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Major US airlines on Monday joined in the move to eliminate change fees for domestic travel in the latest concession to customers amid a bruising industry downturn.
  
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• AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate begins late-stage U.S. study

  31-08-2020 23:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Trial participants will receive either two doses of the experimental vaccine, dubbed AZD1222, four weeks apart, or a placebo, the company said.The trial is being conducted under U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed program, which aims to acceleratedevelopment, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.U.S. President Donald Trump has said a vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be available before the Nov. 3 presidential election, much sooner than most experts ant
  
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• Why Buffett's bet on Japan could turn on higher inflation, weakening dollar

  31-08-2020 23:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Berkshire Hathaway Inc's $6.2 billion (4.6 billion pounds) foray into Japan's five largest trading houses may signal billionaire Warren Buffett's expectation that inflation and a falling U.S. dollar may make international equities more attractive when economies worldwide recover from the coronavirus pandemic.Berkshire said late Sunday, on Buffett's 90th birthday, it owned just over 5% of each of Itochu Corp , Marubeni Corp , Mitsubishi Corp , Mitsui & Co Ltdand Sumitomo Corp , and said it co
  
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• Why Buffet's bet on Japan could turn on higher inflation, weakening dollar

  31-08-2020 23:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Berkshire Hathaway Inc's $6.2 billion (4.6 billion pounds) foray into Japan's five largest trading houses may signal billionaire Warren Buffett's expectation that inflation and a falling U.S. dollar may make international equities more attractive when economies worldwide recover from the coronavirus pandemic.Berkshire said late Sunday, on Buffett's 90th birthday, it owned just over 5% of each of Itochu Corp , Marubeni Corp , Mitsubishi Corp , Mitsui & Co Ltdand Sumitomo Corp , and said it co
  
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• US indices end banner August, Buffett Japan investment boosts Nikkei

  31-08-2020 23:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Major US stock indices concluded their best August in decades in a mixed session for global equities, with Tokyo pushing higher following investment by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in Japanese trading firms.
  
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• Zoom worth more than $100bn as home working leads to video boom

  31-08-2020 23:11 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Zoom became worth more than $100bn (£75bn) on Monday as it posted a surge in profits and user numbers that revealed the extent of the video calling company's lockdown boom. The US company said profits had increased by 3,300pc in the last three months, as hundreds of thousands of new businesses signed up to the app. Shares in the company jumped by 19pc in after-hours trading on Monday, sending its valuation past $100bn for the first time, as it revealed that rises as schools, businesses and
  
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• McDonald's HR boss was sacked for 'making women uncomfortable'

  31-08-2020 22:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A senior British executive at McDonald’s was sacked after making his female colleagues “feel uncomfortable”, it has been alleged. David Fairhurst, former head of global HR at the fast food giant, was sacked last year the day after British chief executive Steve Easterbrook was dismissed for having an inappropriate relationship with an employee. Friends of Mr Fairhurst had previously claimed he had been made a “scapegoat” for his former boss, and had been given no rea
  
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• Argentina defuses default crisis with 'massive' debt deal

  31-08-2020 22:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina has defused fears of a messy default after it gained "massive" backing from creditors, allowing it to exchange 99% of the bonds involved in a $65 billion restructuring, a deal that could set a precedent for future sovereign crises.After months of winding and tense negotiations, framed by the coronavirus pandemic, bondholders tendered 93.55% of the eligible bonds in the exchange, Economy Minister Martin Guzman said at a news conference on Monday."In recent days we have worked on the con
  
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• Argentina debt deal gets 'massive' backing, 99% of bonds to be restructured

  31-08-2020 22:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina's debt restructuring deal received "massive" backing from creditors, Economy Minister Martin Guzman said on Monday, which would allow the country to revamp 99% of the total eligible bonds and gain breathing room during a swirling economic crisis.Bondholders tendered 93.55% of the bonds in the restructuring, Guzman said at a press conference, after months of tense negotiations, pushed deadlines, and modifications to its offer helped strike an agreement with most creditors.
  
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• Zoom raises annual revenue target on remote work boost

  31-08-2020 22:11 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Zoom said it now has 370,200 institutional customers with more than 10 employees, up about 458% from the same quarter last year.The company, founded and headed by former Cisco manager Eric Yuan, raised its annual revenue target for fiscal year 2021 to the range of $2.37 billion and $2.39 billion, from $1.78 billion to $1.80 billion earlier.Excluding items, the company earned 92 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 45 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
  
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• Zoom forecasts sales surge as video conferencing becomes a daily routine

  31-08-2020 22:11 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Zoom rivals such as Microsoft Corp'sTeams and Cisco System Inc'sWebex have also seen soaring usage.When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Zoom was a relative upstart founded by a former Cisco executive that had gone public on a promise to make video conferencing software easier to use.The surge in usage also strained Zoom's infrastructure, with some outages last week as schools in many parts of the United States resumed classes virtually.
  
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• Lagardere rejects request to hold an extraordinary general meeting

  31-08-2020 21:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  French publishing and media group Lagarderesaid on Monday it had rejected a request made by activist fund Amber Capital and Vivendito hold an extraordinary general meeting.Amber has been embroiled in a tug-of-war with the firm's managers since 2016, as it pushes for a shake-up in its governance.
  
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• Trump administration proposes easing oil and gas permitting in national forests

  31-08-2020 21:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. Forest Service, an arm of the Department of Agriculture that oversees 192 million acres of national forests and grasslands, released proposed rules that would speed timelines for approving drilling leases and permits and for determining which lands are available to lease.Forest Service officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Forest Service first said in 2018 that it planned to rewrite some of its rules to expedite oil and gas permits on forest lands.
  
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• U.S. crackdowns on Huawei prompt chip stockpiling, proposed aid not enough - VLSI Research

  31-08-2020 21:29 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  "Under the surface, there's been lots of inventory build-up," Dan Hutcheson, chief executive officer of VLSI Research, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Monday.The Trump administration tightened restrictions on Huawei earlier in August, banning suppliers from selling chips made using U.S. technology to the Chinese telecom giant without a special license.
  
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• Exclusive: TPG explores $8 billion sale of U.S. cable operator Astound - sources

  31-08-2020 21:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The potential sale would come as cable operators have seen their fortunes buoyed by consumers requiring more internet bandwidth, as they stay home to work and be entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic.TPG has hired Morgan Stanleyand JPMorgan Chase & Coto advise on the sale process, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is confidential.
  
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• Tax rises will be 'acid rain on green shoots' as investors flee overseas, warns minister

  31-08-2020 21:03 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Tax rises could lead to investors sending their money overseas as a minister warned it would be akin to "acid rain falling on the green shoots of recovery”. Senior business chiefs and economists have warned successful entrepreneurs will flee overseas and major companies shun UK investments if the Treasury presses ahead with “daft” hikes. The outcry comes after mounting speculation that Chancellor Rishi Sunak could unveil steep rises in corporation tax and capital gains tax in t
  
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• J.C. Penney sale talks stall, pushing retailer to brink

  31-08-2020 20:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  J.C. Penney Co Inc’stalks with landlords for a rescue from bankruptcy proceedings reached an impasse, pushing the department store to the brink of collapse unless it can reach a deal within days to be taken over by lenders.Sussberg did not detail that or any other specific sticking points during Monday’s hearing.Sussberg said lenders were still prepared to rescue the 118-year-old company and more than 70,000 jobs depending on negotiations over the next 10 days.
  
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• Amazon's surveillance can boost output and possibly limits unions - study

  31-08-2020 20:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Amazon.comrelies on extensive worker surveillance to boost employee output and potentially limit unionization efforts around the United States, says a research paper issued on Monday by the Open Markets Institute.The Washington-based research and advocacy group, focused on antitrust and monopoly power of technology companies, said Amazon uses such tools as navigation software, item scanners, wristbands, thermal cameras, security cameras and recorded footage to surveil its workforce in warehouses
  
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• Amazon's surveillance can boost output and possibly limit unions - study

  31-08-2020 20:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Amazon.comrelies on extensive worker surveillance to boost employee output and potentially limit unionization efforts around the United States, says a research paper issued on Monday by the Open Markets Institute.The Washington-based research and advocacy group, focused on antitrust and monopoly power of technology companies, said Amazon uses such tools as navigation software, item scanners, wristbands, thermal cameras, security cameras and recorded footage to surveil its workforce in warehouses
  
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• Questor: Kingfisher is giving itself a DIY makeover and the shares should respond

  31-08-2020 20:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The coronavirus pandemic has prompted sweeping changes to business models across retail. Companies are scrambling to boost their online capabilities, reduce costs and adapt to fast-changing consumer tastes. Questor believes that DIY chain Kingfisher can successfully adjust its business to capitalise on the rapid evolution of shopping. The firm is introducing wholesale changes to how it operates, including major investment in its online offering. It is responding to the growing popularity of e-co
  
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• U.S. dollar's woes are only beginning, some bears say

  31-08-2020 20:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  There are dollar bears, and then there's Ulf Lindahl.The chief investment officer of currency manager A.G. Bisset believes the U.S. currency will plunge 36% against the euro over the next year or so, taking it to levels it has not seen in more than a decade.The greenback's recent weakness "is the beginning of a very large move" that could hurt the droves of investors exposed to it through their holdings in U.S. stocks and bonds, Lindahl said.
  
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• TIM OKs grid stake sale to KKR, endorses government plan for ultrafast network

  31-08-2020 20:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Telecom Italia (TIM)said on Monday its board had approved a sale of a minority stake in its last-mile grid to U.S. investment firm KKRwhile endorsing a government plan to create a single ultrafast network with rival Open Fiber.TIM, which is transferring its secondary grid running from street cabinets to households into a separated company called FiberCop, will sell a 37.5% stake in the unit to KKR, while Swisscom's Fastweb will own a 4.5% stake.
  
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• Italy's TIM, CDP agree preliminary deal on single broadband plan

  31-08-2020 20:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Telecom Italia (TIM)and Italian State lender CDPapproved a preliminary agreement on Monday to create a national ultrafast grid operator combining the former phone monopoly's network assets with those of smaller rival Open Fiber.As a first step, TIM approved on Monday the sale of a 37.5% stake of a new unit to U.S. investment firm KKR .TIM is transferring into the unit its last-mile network going from street cabinets to customers' homes.
  
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• Boris Johnson faces crucial test as school holidays end in England

  31-08-2020 19:56
  Ministers hope work patterns will return ‘closer to normal’ after lockdown and summer break
  
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• Not all gloom for aviation training as MAX, cargo fleets beckon

  31-08-2020 19:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Simulator makers Textronand CAEhad bet on a sales bonanza with Boeing recommending fresh pilot training on a MAX simulator for the aircraft grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes, when it finally flew again.Now they look to business aviation, a lifting of travel restrictions, revived hopes for the MAX's certification later this year or early next, and heavier cargo traffic to boost training and help through the simulator sales drought.TRU Flight Training Iceland, a joint venture
  
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• Women-led mutual funds besting male funds: report

  31-08-2020 19:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Female-managed mutual funds have outperformed male funds this year, thanks to greater holdings in hot technology stocks, Goldman Sachs said Monday.
  
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• Amazon gets US approval to fly delivery drones

  31-08-2020 19:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Amazon on Monday said a freshly-issued Federal Aviation Administration certificate has cleared the launch pad for drone deliveries in the US.
  
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• Open thread: more Australians than ever are working from home, is the NBN holding up?

  31-08-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Open thread: more Australians than ever are working from home, is the NBN holding up?. NBN Co claims just 4% of fibre-to-node broadband users are not getting the legally required minimum speeds. Share your experiences
  
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• Court ruling sets ‘major precedent’ for rights of foster care workers

  31-08-2020 19:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Some foster care workers could be entitled to employment rights for the first time after a landmark legal ruling.Edinburgh Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that carers Jimmy and Christine Johnstone should have been entitled classified as employees and so were entitled to sick pay, holiday pay, a guaranteed minimum wage and protections for whistleblowing.
  
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• Public purse to face further £150bn hit from PFI

  31-08-2020 19:03 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Outsourcers running hospitals and other vital public services are in line for almost £150bn of taxpayer cash under private finance initiative (PFI) contracts dating as far back as the New Labour era, figures show. Companies which took public money to handle key operations on behalf of the British state have already pocketed £100bn since 1992 and are now set for a further bonanza, according to analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). It estimates that £55bn
  
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• U.S. ambassador to Russia visits jailed ex-Marine Reed

  31-08-2020 19:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. ambassador to Russia visited on Monday a former U.S. Marine who has just started a nine-year sentence in a Moscow jail, and said the United States was pushing for his release.A Russian court in July convicted Trevor Reed, a student at the University of North Texas, of endangering the lives of two police officers, a charge Reed denies."Trevor mentally seems to be doing as well as can be expected... It pains me to see him detained under these circumstances," said ambassador John Sullivan
  
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• Addison Lee forced to slash jobs in Covid downturn

  31-08-2020 18:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Private taxi firm Addison Lee has started laying staff off after the coronavirus downturn forced it to speed up a bid to slash costs. The firm could axe as much as 10pc of its workforce to save money, an industry source said. Its premium chauffeur service Tristar is understood to have already sacked around 400 people. Addison Lee has been hit particularly hard by the disappearance of international travel because much of its business relies on airport transfers. Formerly owned by US private equit
  
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• These 2 FTSE 100 shares have made investors rich in the market crash. Here’s what I’d do now

  31-08-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  While most FTSE 100 shares have taken a beating this year, these two fast-growing specialists have made investors rich. Can it last?The post These 2 FTSE 100 shares have made investors rich in the market crash. Here's what I'd do now appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• European stocks fall back after mixed results in Asia

  31-08-2020 18:25 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Stock markets fell back Monday as efforts by US companies to buy TikTok ran into resistence from China, and traders waited for more news on the US jobs market.
  
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• Coronavirus: 'Covidiots' criticised on Tui quarantine flight

  31-08-2020 18:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mask rules ignored by some on a flight that left nearly 200 facing self-isolation, passenger claims.
  
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• Former McDonald's boss 'lied about sexual relationships'

  31-08-2020 18:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Former McDonald’s boss Steve Easterbrook lied about four alleged sexual relationships with staff to dupe directors into letting him leave with share awards when he was sacked last year, the fast food behemoth has claimed. The company made the allegations in Delaware court filings as part of its efforts to claw back at least $37m (£27.3m) in compensation paid to Watford-born Mr Easterbrook when he left the company last November. It is the latest salvo in a bitter public battle which e
  
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• Hammond warns of return to ‘70s misery’ if post-Brexit state aid not controlled

  31-08-2020 18:06
  Former chancellor says Johnson must clarify subsidy rules for business to avoid wasteful regime of the past
  
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• I’d hold Bitcoin, I’d hold gold, but right now I’d buy cheap UK shares in an ISA

  31-08-2020 17:35 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Gold and Bitcoin are having a great year but this makes them expensive. I think that UK shares offer far better long-term value today.The post I'd hold Bitcoin, I'd hold gold, but right now I'd buy cheap UK shares in an ISA appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• 3-year-old gets thrown over 100 ft in the air by gigantic kite

  31-08-2020 17:30 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The child survived the ordeal and sustained only minor cuts after being dragged off the ground.
  
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• Novak Djokovic leads the pack in troubled US Open

  31-08-2020 17:16 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  After numerous players pulled out prior to the event, one player has withdrawn on Sunday due to a positive coronavirus test.
  
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• Framework complete, Fed faces election year call on next steps

  31-08-2020 17:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Monday that following release of the Fed's new long-run strategy last week, policymakers "will be returning to a discussion of potentially refining guidance and our balance sheet communication," the Fed's now staple recession-fighting tools involving promises about future policy and the pace of monthly bond purchases.Clarida, during an event organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, did not indicate how quickly that deba
  
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• Fed to resume discussion of next policy steps, Clarida says

  31-08-2020 17:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  With a new policy framework in place, the Federal Reserve will turn to debating possible next steps in the U.S. central bank's fight against the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Monday."Now that we have concluded the review, I imagine we will be returning to a discussion of potentially refining guidance and our balance sheet communication, but I don’t want to prejudge where that would end up," Clarida said during an event organized by the
  
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• Sunak urged to ditch tax hikes and 'go for growth'

  31-08-2020 16:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Confederation of British Industry has urged ministers to "go for growth" amid fears of a devastating tax raid and 1.6m job losses as the furlough scheme ends in a nightmare autumn. Business leaders and senior economists are begging Rishi Sunak to ditch mooted tax hikes in his autumn Budget, as he fights to repair the fiscal wreckage of the pandemic have spooked after UK growth crashed 20.4pc between April and June. In a veiled message to the Chancellor over tax, Josh Hardie, deputy director-
  
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• Man killed by polar bear at a campsite in the Arctic region of Svalbard, Norway

  31-08-2020 16:38 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The three-year-old polar bear who attacked the man in his tent was shot and found dead at a car park near the airport
  
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• Six arrested after alleged rape of 16-year-old in Liverpool hotel

  31-08-2020 16:28 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The men were arrested in Merseyside within hours of the attack being reported to the police.
  
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• Pension tax attack! I’d buy UK shares in an ISA to avoid Rishi Sunak’s wealth grab

  31-08-2020 16:25 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The attractions of buying UK shares in an ISA will only grow if Chancellor Rishi Sunak launches a pensions tax grab in his November Budget. The post Pension tax attack! I’d buy UK shares in an ISA to avoid Rishi Sunak's wealth grab appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• UK car finance applications rise by quarter in July and August

  31-08-2020 15:58
  Data from Experian show pent-up demand and concern about using public transport drive market
  
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• World's most expensive sheep fetches record auction price of £368,000

  31-08-2020 15:48 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The lamb is a particular breed from Texal, Netherlands and is known for its lean meat and perfect figure.
  
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• India GDP shows worst quarterly slump in decades

  31-08-2020 15:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It contracted by 23.9% in the quarter from April to June, according to official data.
  
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