18 h. ago China bans banks from luring customers with popular Labubu dolls

Regulator asks local banks not to give non-compliant perks amid fierce competition as interest rates fallBusiness live – latest updatesChinese authorities have banned domestic banks from luring customers with gifts including the hugely popular Labubu dolls, amid fierce competition among lenders as interest rates and profit margins decline.The Zhejiang branch of China’s financial regulator, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, has asked local banks to refrain from offering non-compliant perks to attract deposits, Bloomberg News reported. Continue reading...

Economics

34 h. ago Chaos at IKEA as customers including children in creche evacuated from store

The alarm saw customers and staff at the Warrington branch in IKEA rush from the building

Economics

4 d. ago Asda chaos as bomb fears sparks mass evacuation with shoppers 'screaming' and 'crying'

The Bootle branch of the supermarket giant descended into chaos after reports began circulating of a suspicious man inside the store, sparking an urgent evacuation around 10am.

Events

5 d. ago Shein accused of ‘shaming’ customers into buying more than they can afford

Consumer watchdogs accuse Chinese fashion firm of ‘dark’ practices in formal complaint to European CommissionConsumer watchdogs from 21 countries have filed a formal complaint to EU authorities about alleged “dark” practices by the Chinese fast fashion firm Shein including the “shaming” of customers into buying more than they can afford.The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has submitted a 29-page dossier to the European Commission citing multiple examples of “dark patterns”, or deceptive techniques designed to encourage purchases. Continue reading...

Economics

7 d. ago I'm a travel agent and I'm often asked an odd question about toilet paper

A leading travel agent has revealed the oddest questions she's often asked by her customers before they set off on their holidays - including about toilet paper.

Politics

1 week ago Man charged over alleged fake plane parts scam which grounded hundreds of flights

Customers included airlines, maintenance providers and parts suppliers

Politics

3 w. ago Dior becomes latest business hit by cyber attack: French luxury brand says hackers have stolen customer data

Hackers are thought to have taken personal details from some Dior customers including full name, gender, phone number, email address, postal address and purchase history.

Economics

3 w. ago ‘We need to do something’: the company releasing Palestinian films no one else will

As many films struggle to find distribution, Watermelon Pictures has stepped in to help tell stories from Palestine and other marginalized communitiesIn March, The Encampments, a documentary on the pro-Palestinian protest movement on US college campuses, opened at the Angelika Film Center in New York. The nonfiction theatrical marketplace has never been breezy in the US, but this is a particularly difficult time for documentaries, let alone films about hot-button issues considered politically sensitive or, under the new administration, outright dangerous; one of the Encampments’ primary subjects, the Columbia University student-activist Mahmoud Khalil, remains in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) without charge for any crime. Large-scale distributors, including all of the major streaming services, are increasingly wary of anything deemed controversial, leaving such films as Union, on the Amazon Labor Union, or the Oscar-winning Palestinian-Israeli documentary No...

Politics