EU expected to seek revision of Italy's draft budget (12 hours old)

Unprecedented move likely after government insists it needs to increase deficitThe European commission is expected to ask Italy’s indebted government to revise its 2019 draft budget on Wednesday, the first time such a request will have been made of an EU member state.Italy refused to compromise on its economic targets, sending a letter to Brussels on Monday explaining why it will raise its deficit – the gap between government spending and income – to 2.4% of GDP. The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, told reporters in Rome that the government was not being led by “a bunch of hotheads” and that t[...]

Vue puts Saudi cinema deal on hold after Khashoggi death (13 hours old)

CEO Tim Richards says joint venture to build up to 30 cinemas is being delayedVue, one of the world’s largest cinema operators, has put plans to open dozens of film theatres in Saudi Arabia on hold as a result of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.In February, British-headquartered Vue International signed an exclusive memorandum of understanding with the Abdulmohsin al-Hokair property group to jointly build up to 30 cinema sites. Continue reading...

Netflix plans to raise $2bn as it invests in new content (8 hours old)

Streaming service’s liabilities of more than $30bn now dwarf annual revenuesNetflix has announced plans to raise a further $2bn (£1.5bn) in debt, adding to mounting long-term liabilities which now total more than $30bn.The US streaming service said the money raised will be used for a range of “general corporate purposes”, from buying new programmes and films to acquisitions. Continue reading...

DVDs have had their day as shoppers go skimpy and sustainable (3 hours old)

Alarm clocks and trouser presses are also out as John Lewis report reveals shopping trends Some 20 years after the first DVD players went on sale, they’re history. John Lewis won’t be restocking when the current players have sold out, the retailer said, after a 40% dive in sales this year.The DVD player’s demise is revealed in the annual snapshot of buying trends compiled by the department store group. A number of other devices and electricals are also in steep decline: sales of alarm clocks are down 16%, prompting the retailer to reduce its range by nearly a third, while desktop computers are[...]

Staff in line for payouts after Morrisons loses data leak appeal (13 hours old)

Workers’ personal details were leaked online by a senior IT employee in 2014Morrisons could face a hefty compensation bill after the supermarket lost an appeal against a ruling that it is liable for a former employee leaking personal information about 100,000 members of staff.The ruling, which paves the way for 5,518 claimants to receive compensation, is the UK’s first data protection class action. It comes after workers’ personal details were leaked online by a senior IT employee, Andrew Skelton, in 2014. Continue reading...

Ryanair profits fall as CEO predicts grim winter for aviation (18 hours old)

Fuel cost and strikes hit budget carrier and Michael O’Leary expects more airlines to go bustThe Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has said he expects more airlines to go bust, as the budget carrier posted a 7% drop in profits because of rising fuel prices and strikes hitting costs and bookings.O’Leary predicted a grim winter for the aviation industry, with oil prices, interest rates and the US dollar rising and air fares falling. Continue reading...

Dr Martens stomps to strong profit on back of 90s fashion revival (15 hours old)

Sales of British bovver boot brand up by a fifth as young influencers rediscover trendProfits at Dr Martens have increased by a third as the Northamptonshire-based boot brand got a kick from a 90s fashion revival.The rise was led by a surge in demand across Europe, where the company opened 16 new stores, taking its total worldwide to 94. Underlying profits rose to £50m in the year to March as sales increased by a fifth to £348.6m. Continue reading...

Premier Inn unveils no-frills hotel brand with pod-style rooms (14 hours old)

Owner Whitbread creates spin-off Zip as it refocuses after sale of Costa Coffee to Coca-ColaPremier Inn’s owner, Whitbread, is launching a no-frills hotel chain with small pod-style rooms as the company seeks to refocus its business after the sale of its cafe chain Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola.Called Zip by Premier Inn, the new hotels will be located on the outskirts of major towns and cities. Rooms will cost from £19 a night and be less than half the size of a standard Premier Inn room, at 8.5 square metres. Premier Inn prices typically start at £49 while its more upmarket brand, hub, starts at [...]

Addison Lee aims to deploy self-driving cars in London by 2021 (21 hours old)

Tech pioneer Oxbotica to start mapping public roads as it calls deal with hire firm ‘huge leap’Self-driving car services could be on the streets of London within three years under a partnership between the private hire firm Addison Lee and the British driverless car pioneers Oxbotica.The companies have signed a deal to develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in the city by 2021. Continue reading...

A third of dual fuel tariffs will exceed government price cap (1 day old)

Analysis confirms that some fixed tariffs, which escape the cap, are not very competitiveAround a third of dual fuel energy tariffs will leave customers paying more than the government’s price cap when it takes effect at the end of the year.While ministers have promised that the cap will protect 11m households on poor-value default tariffs, the measure does not apply to fixed tariffs which are usually thought to be more competitive. Continue reading...

Ericsson: mast do better (4 days old [18/10/18])

Business has picked up, but not for long

US corruption probe casts pall over Ericsson rally (4 days old [18/10/18])

Swedish telecoms equipment group says it is likely to face ‘material’ fine

Samsung buys Spanish networks analysis firm in 5G push (5 days old [17/10/18])

Purchase of Zhilabs is part of a 3-year $22bn investment drive into new technologies

Shareholders rebuke Telstra executives on pay (6 days old [16/10/18])

Chairman of Australian telco concedes salaries are too high and vows to review policy

SoftBank lines up bankers for IPO of mobile unit (10 days old [12/10/18])

Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Deutsche Bank set to work on what could be largest ever listing

Tech and telecoms groups turn to deals in search of growth (10 days old [12/10/18])

UK’s smaller players have proved adept at scooping up rivals

Equipment vendors battle for early lead in 5G (13 days old [09/10/18])

Industry heavyweights vie for deals to supply kit for next-generation mobile networks

Danish telecoms group TDC names Allison Kirkby as chief executive (13 days old [09/10/18])

Vodafone warns of danger of ‘artificial’ 5G auctions (19 days old [03/10/18])

European countries urged not to follow short-term thinking of Italian spectrum sale

Cash-strapped Italy raises €6.5bn in 5G auction (20 days old [02/10/18])

Uber chief says workplace culture needs improvement (3 hours old)

Dara Khosrowshahi’s comments come on same day as senior executive resigns

Oculus co-founder to leave Facebook (8 hours old)

Founders of social networking company’s three largest acquisitions have now all left

Taiwan to share Chinese hacking details (12 hours old)

Cyber security groups will be able to use database to train AI software

A spikier world for tech start-ups beckons (12 hours old)

The venture-capital game is evolving with deals declining even as their value rises

Netflix returns to market with $2bn bond offering (13 hours old)

Debt to help finance heavy spending on original movies and TV shows

ZTE’s emerging markets potential ‘ignored’: report (23 hours old)

Snap’s vanishing prospects worry investors (23 hours old)

Analysts question if Evan Spiegel is fiddling while company burns through cash

UK’s Bidooh strikes deal for ‘Minority Report’ ads (23 hours old)

Shoppers in eastern Europe to be targeted with tailored promotions

Nobel Prize factory steps up quest for elusive matter (1 day old)

The country’s neutrino detector is the largest of its kind and might be first in the world to succeed

Japan: Innovation and Technology (1 day old)

Japan’s scientists are upgrading its Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector, turning to plastic for electric cars and enhancing eel farming with ‘marine snow’. The country has big ambitions in space and hopes to create 20 unicorns by 2023