BUSINESS

Nordstrom Inc slashed its annual profit forecast after heavy discounting failed to sway people shopping at its off-price Rack stores, leading to weak holiday sales and pushing its shares down 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Oil prices rose on Friday on optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will ends its tightening cycle, buoying the economy and boosting fuel demand.

British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer set out his green growth plan in Davos on Thursday and criticised British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for not showing up at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

British consumer sentiment fell for the first time in three months in January, returning near to historic lows as concerns about the economy and the soaring cost of living tightened the squeeze on household finances, research showed on Friday.

A Twitter bird statue fetched $100,000 on Wednesday as Elon Musk auctioned off furniture, decorations, kitchen equipment and more from the tech firm's downtown San Francisco headquarters.

Two lucky players were able to bag the runner-up jackpot each.

This Saturday's rollover pot will be an estimated £7.5 million.

The owner of China-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato was arrested in Miami on Wednesday, along with five associates in Europe

Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in December following an outsized gain the month before in a sign the red-hot labour market might be cooling, though the jobless rate stayed near five-decade lows.

Luxury retailers Richemont and Burberry said they were optimistic that consumers in China would start spending again, helping offset three years of upheaval from the government's strict COVID-19 lockdowns and soaring infections.

Trade unionists plan to paralyse public transport, shut down schools, set up picket lines and march through cities on Thursday over President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform.

Europeans have dialled down their heating this winter, apparently heeding government calls to conserve energy amid the Ukraine crisis, with some delaying switching it on by almost a month and setting the temperature lower, data shows.

The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the current year.

British house prices registered the most widespread falls in 13 years last month as buyer demand and sales activity weakened more sharply than expected in the face of higher borrowing costs and the risk of a recession, a survey showed on Thursday.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday to their highest since early December on optimism that the lifting of China's strict COVID-19 curbs will lead to a fuel demand recovery in the world's top oil importer.

Attorneys for Tesla Inc and for investors will make opening arguments in a San Francisco court on Wednesday in a case to decide whether CEO Elon Musk's 2018 tweet that funding was "secured" to take the company private damaged shareholders.

The 76,635 winners shared the prize fund of £441,191.

Friday's jackpot is £26 million.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair is not seeing any signs of recession, Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday, pointing to two weeks of record bookings this January and a recovery in demand from Britain.

Pay awards by British employers held at 5% for the second month in a row in December, well below annual inflation of close to 11%, data from human resources company XpertHR showed on Wednesday.

Britain's trade surplus in financial and related professional services edged up in 2021 as the United States cemented its position as the top customer, while the European Union eased in importance following Brexit.

Two lucky UK players won £10,000 per month for a year each.

Tens of thousands of nurses in England will strike in February for the third time in as many months, adding further pressure on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over crippling disruption to key services caused by industrial action.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey questioned the need for a digital pound on Monday just as euro zone finance ministers backed further preparatory work on a digital euro.

World equities mainly rose Monday on growing global optimism as inflation slows and China reopens, while gas prices hit an 18-month low on receding supply fears.

Barely two in five people believe their families will be better off in the future, according to a regular global survey that also identified growing levels of distrust in institutions among low-income households.

Central bank rate rises could land global borrowers with $8.6 trillion in extra debt servicing costs in coming years, S&P Global estimated on Friday, warning of a slowdown in economic activity as a result.

Developing countries have sold a huge $39 billion of international bonds since the start of the year, with investors happy to pile into riskier debt as they bet global interest rates are nearing a peak.

Global equities mostly rose Friday but the dollar struggled as slowing US inflation fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve would take a softer approach to its monetary tightening campaign.