Cash News
Creeping up RETAIL sales began to recover in the UK during July as summery weather finally arrived after a cold and rainy June, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed. Although consumers were still hesitating about make large purchases, retail sales rose by a modest 0.5 per cent, the BRC said.
Family affair SANDRA ORTEGA MERA, daughter of Inditex owner Amancio Ortega and his first wife, earned €149.4 million in 2023 from her company, Rosp Corunna, which manages her investments and wealth while providing advisory services. This was 27.7 per cent less than in 2022 but still increased her assets to €1.4 billion.
Bright ideas A GOVERNMENT scheme intended boost new research and the economy has cost more than £4 billion (€4.65 billion) in both fraud and human error since 2020, HMRC admitted. “Groundbreaking” innovations included methods for window-cleaners to hold buckets at height and initiatives for putting vegan food on pub menus.
Country cat POPULAR chat show El Hormiguero, broadcast live on Antena 3, is making money for its creators, presenter Pablo Motos and his business partner, producer Jorge Salvador. Their company 7yAccion posted revenues of €31.3 million in 2023 and profits of €6.7 million, an increase of 55 per cent on the previous year.
Falklands fail STRUGGLING Harland & Wolff suffered another blow after the Falkland Islands government withdrew from talks to construct a £120 million (€139.4 million) floating dock in Port Stanely. The Belfast shipbuilder announced that despite “productive discussions” both parties had agreed to cease further negotiations.
Joining forces TELEFONICA, Vodafone and Masorange intend to share their fibre optic networks, signing separate bilateral agreements with each other to avoid objections from Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). Between them, the three operators provide fibre optic internet connections for 15 million lines although the network has the potential to reach 78.7 million properties.
Coal rules MINING giant Glencore will not divest itself of its coal interests after 95 per cent of the FTSE 100 company’s shareholders voted to retain the profitable fossil fuel division. Glencore has now shelved earlier plans to merge its coal business with the steelmaking coal division of its recently acquired Canadian company, Teck Resources, and list in New York.
Too much LORD SAATCHI’s £350 million (€406.3 million) offer for the Telegraph failed to make it to the second round of the auction. The former advertising tycoon afterwards described RedBird IMI’s £600 million (€696.8 million) acquisition of the newspaper rights in December 2023 as “overpayment.”