London — British shoppers spent £3.8bn online across the four days of Black Friday to Cyber Monday, up 4.6% year on year, according to data from Adobe Analytics published on Tuesday.
It said the top performing product categories over the four days were jewellery, video games, toys, electronics, personal care products, sporting goods and apparel.
Across all retail categories the average discount was 16.7%, with the deepest discounts on computers, televisions and apparel.
Separately on Tuesday, the British Retail Consortium, the trade group that represents the major retailers, said Black Friday deals began earlier than normal this year. Reuters
Nato berth for Ukraine in limbo as allies fail to agree
Brussels — Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte repeated on Tuesday that the consensus needed for Ukraine to join the alliance is not there at the moment.
“The practical situation is, as you know, that there is consensus required by all allies for Ukraine to join Nato. And right now, as you know, there is no consensus on Ukraine joining Nato,” he told reporters. Reuters
Venezuela approves repatriation flight from US
Caracas — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has approved a migrant repatriation flight from the US, Venezuelan authorities said on Tuesday.
An Eastern Airlines flight flying from Phoenix has been authorised to land at Maiquetia, near Caracas, the transport ministry said in a statement. Reuters
Nigeria’s defence minister resigns amid kidnapping surge
Lagos — Nigeria’s defence minister has resigned, citing health reasons, President Bola Tinubu’s office said. The country is facing a surge in mass kidnappings, which have put a spotlight on the government’s efforts to tackle rising violence.
The departure of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who had not been seen in public in recent weeks, was announced late on Monday, only days after Tinubu declared a security emergency in response to mass kidnappings by armed gangs and attacks by Islamist militants in northern Nigeria.
The UN said in a report on November 25 that at least 402 people have been abducted since mid-November in northern Nigeria, while analysts warn that economic hardship and weak governance are fuelling insecurity. Reuters
Kremlin expects India’s oil imports to rebound soon
New Delhi — A decline in India’s oil imports from Russia may last only for “a brief period”, as Moscow plans to boost supplies to New Delhi, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Indian journalists on Tuesday.
India, the top buyer of Russian seaborne oil, has cut crude imports from Moscow under pressure from Western sanctions. Russia is the top oil supplier to India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer.
The South Asian nation is set to lower its Russian oil purchases to at least a three-year low this month, after Washington sanctioned Moscow’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Russia remains an important supplier of energy to India, Peskov told Indian journalists at an online media briefing on Tuesday, days ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reuters
France’s ageing population a public spending risk
aris — France’s ageing population will drive public spending to pandemic-era highs in coming decades while eroding tax income, the public audit office warned on Tuesday.
By 2070, nearly one in three French citizens will be over 65, while the working-age population shrinks by more than 3-million, the head of the Cour des Comptes, Pierre Moscovici, said while presenting a report on demographics and public finances.
The shift will strain the foundations of France’s welfare state, where healthcare, pensions, and old-age dependency costs already account for over 40% of public spending. Reuters
Namibia appoints new mines minister
Windhoek — Namibia’s president on Tuesday appointed Modestus Amutse as the new minister of mines, energy & industry.
Amutse’s appointment comes after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah removed Natangwe Ithete from the position in October.
Resource-rich Namibia is aiming for its first crude oil production by 2030 after several major discoveries in recent years. It mines commodities like uranium and diamonds.
A statement from Nandi-Ndaitwah’s office said Amutse previously served as deputy minister of information & communication technology and before that as an MP. Reuters
European banks to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin
Paris/Madrid — A group of 10 European banks, including heavyweights ING and UniCredit have formed an Amsterdam-based company to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin, in a move they hope will help counter US dominance in digital payments.
The CEO of the new company will be Jan-Oliver Sell, who previously worked at Coinbase in Germany. ING’s digital asset lead Floris Lugt will be CFO, and former NatWest chair Howard Davies will be chair, the group said at a press conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
BNP Paribas has also joined the group, which was first announced in September, the new company’s CFO said. Reuters
Airbus’ fuselage problems weigh on A320 deliveries
Brussels — Airbus is assessing the impact on its year-end deliveries of a newly discovered fuselage quality issue on some of its A320 jets after the problem led to “weak” November deliveries, CEO Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday.
The problem has brought a further challenge to already backloaded year-end deliveries and the planemaker plans to assess the situation for December deliveries “in the hours and days” to come, he said in an interview. Reuters
Bank of Nova Scotia lifts fourth-quarter profit
Bengaluru — Canadian lender Bank of Nova Scotia reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by higher interest income and reflecting continued resilience despite lingering macroeconomic uncertainty from stalled trade talks with the US.
On an adjusted basis, it reported a profit of C$2.56bn or C$1.93 per share, for the quarter ended October 31, compared with C$2.12bn, or C$1.57 per share, a year earlier. Reuters
Lumexa Imaging eyes $1.89bn valuation in US listing
Bengaluru — Lumexa Imaging is aiming for a valuation of more than $1.89bn in its US initial public offering, the Welsh Carson-backed said on Tuesday.
The medical scanning centre operator is looking to raise as much as $500m by selling 25-million shares in a price range of $17-$20 per share, as companies line up to go public during the final listing window of the year.
Cardinal Infrastructure Group on Monday also launched its roadshow for an IPO that could prove to be a barometer of investor appetite for a sector critical to economic growth.
Barclays, JPMorgan and Jefferies are the lead underwriters on the offering. Reuters
Fairstone Bank enters deal to buy Laurentian Bank
Bengaluru — Laurentian Bank has reached an agreement to sell itself to Fairstone Bank in an all-cash deal valued at C$1.9bn, the Canadian lender said on Tuesday.
The deal is at a premium of 20% over the price of Laurentian Bank shares’ close as of December 1, according to the banks.
“This announcement is aligned with the acceleration of Laurentian Bank’s commercial specialisations, as announced in our 2024 Strategic Plan,” Laurentian Bank CEO Éric Provost said.
Separately, National Bank of Canada will acquire the retail and SME banking portfolios of Laurentian. Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.