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Toys R Us goes into administration
Maplin goes into administration
ITV shares fall on lower profits
Foxtons says London property sales "near historic lows"
Insurer Admiral reports "record" profits
January's car manufacturing figures static
Image source, PrezzoIt seems that those reports earlier of financial problems at pizza chain Prezzo are on the button.
Sources tell the BBC that up to one third of its 300 outlets could close. And all of the 33 Chimichanga Tex-Mex restaurants will go.
Job losses appear inevitable, although the company hopes to redeploy staff where it can.
Prezzo is owned by private equity giant TPG Capital.
Image source, Getty ImagesA move by SSE and the owner of NPower to merge their operations and create a new UK energy supplier is to be investigated by Britain's competition watchdog.
The two energy giants announced in November that their British household energy supply and services businesses would join forces, reducing the Big Six energy suppliers to five.
The Competition & Markets Authority said the probe will focus on whether the deal would "significantly reduce" the competition for supplying energy to domestic customers.
It will have until 26 April to make an initial decision.
Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Wednesday after data showed US economic growth slowed slightly more than initially thought in the fourth quarter, weakening the case for faster rises in interest rates.
At the start of trading, the Dow Jones index rose 98.48 points, or 0.39%, to 25,508.5. The S&P 500 gained 12.71 points, or 0.46%, to 2,756.9, and the Nasdaq added 41.00 points, or 0.56%, to 7,371.3.
Image source, LeedsLeeds building society has reported a pre-tax profit of £120.9m for last year, up slightly from £116.6m in 2016.
The mutual's boss Peter Hill said: "Savings and mortgage balances, membership numbers and assets are all at record levels."
Savings balances increased by £1.9bn during the year to more than £13bn. Total mortgage balances climbed 13% to £15.2bn.
Image source, AFPEd Stack, chief executive of Dick's Sporting Goods, has no illusions about its decision to stop selling assault rifles at its 35 Field & Stream stores following the deadly mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
He tells CNN: "The hunt business is an important part of our business, no doubt about it. We know there's going to be some backlash, but as we sat and talked about it with our management team it was, to a person, 'this is what we need to do, we need to take a stand on this'.
"Those kids talked about 'enough is enough' and we had meaningful conversations about this with our team and we concluded that if these kids are brave enough to organise and do what they're doing then we should be brave enough to take this stand and that's what we've done."
Image source, Getty ImagesUS GDP expanded at 2.5% in the final three months of 2017, instead of the previously reported 2.6%, the Commerce Department said today.
That was a fall from 3.2% in the third quarter.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had hit an upbeat note on the economy before lawmakers on Tuesday, saying "my personal outlook for the economy has strengthened since December."
That prompted traders to raise their bets on four rate increases this year.
The Fed has forecast three rate hikes and financial markets expect the first increase in March.
Image source, Dick'sOne of the US’ largest outdoor gear retailers Dick's Sporting Goods says it is stopping the sale of assault-style rifles in stores.
The move comes after they sold a gun to the Parkland, Florida shooter, even though it was not the weapon used in the attack.
The retailer is also raising the minimum purchase age for all guns to 21.
In a statement , externalit said: "We are deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones.
"But thoughts and prayers are not enough."
It has also urged the US government to ban assault-style firearms.
Image source, Getty ImagesIndia’s latest GDP figures showed growth at its highest for five quarters (see previous post).
Captal Economics says the figures "are not particularly dependable measures of growth".
However, it adds: "That said, the broad trajectory of today’s data does seem reasonable to us. The acceleration was in part due to a rise in government consumption, which can be explained by a ramping up of expenditure ahead of the state election in Gujarat at the end of last year.
"Looking ahead, we think that growth will continue to accelerate," it adds.
And as a result, the economists think the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, will tighten monetary policy later this year.
Image source, ReutersThe Tesco £3.95bn takeover of wholesaler Booker is set to go ahead after 83% of Booker shareholders voted in favour of the deal.
Earlier today, Tesco shareholders backed the deal at their own general meeting with 85% of votes cast in favour.
Suranjana Tewari
Business journalist, BBC World News
Image source, ReutersIndia’s GDP grew 7.2% in the October to December quarter from a year earlier.
The data shows the economy is further recovering. Growth picked up in the July to September quarter after five consecutive quarters of a decline.
This suggests that disruptions from a shock ban on high-value currency notes in November 2016 and the chaotic launch of a goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017 are fading.
A supermarket chain in the Netherlands has unveiled what it says is the world's first plastic-free shopping aisle.
The new section of the Ekoplaza shop in Amsterdam opened on Wednesday.
Polystyrene, cellophane and other plastics have been replaced by biodegradable packaging.
The initiative is a response to growing pressure to reduce the amount of throwaway plastic in everyday use. Ekoplaza plans to introduce plastic-free aisles in all its 74 supermarkets by the end of the year.
Image source, Little ThingsLifestyle site Little Things says it has had to close after changes to Facebook's news feed algorithms "decimated" its business.
The closure of the female-focused publishing business will result in the loss of 100 jobs.
The company focused on a mix of "feel-good news" and videos. Since launching in 2014, it attracted 12 million followers on Facebook.
But the company said Facebook's changes had been "catastrophic".
Read the full story here
Thanks to the Tesco shareholders' vote backing the takeover of Booker, Tesco's shares are the biggest risers so far today on the FTSE 100.
They're trading about 3.5% higher.
Image source, Getty ImagesShareholders in Tesco have overwhelmingly backed the takeover of wholesaler Booker.
According to a provisional voting announcement 85.22% of votes cast approved the £3.95bn deal, while just 50% was needed.
“It’s been carried fairly comfortably,” Chairman John Allan, said at the meeting in central London, which was attended by just 65 Tesco shareholders.
The deal is due to be voted on by Booker shareholders later today. It needs 75% of votes cast to be in favour to proceed.
Let's check in on how London shares are doing this lunchtime.
The FTSE 100 has recovered some lost ground as is now trading at 7,279.16, a fall of just 3 points or 0.045%.
ITV has shed 7%, making it the biggest loser on the FTSE 100.
Insurer Admiral, which rose by about 5% after the release of its results, is now trading 1.7% lower.
Simon Atkinson
Asia Business Reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesSouth Koreans are among the hardest-working, or at least longest-working in the developed world.
But the country's National Assembly has just passed a bill aimed at easing that burden.
It will cut the country's maximum statutory working hours to 52 hours a week.from the current 68 hours.
Big firms with more than 500 staff will have to implement the rule by July, but smaller companies are being given more lead in time.
Reducing working hours was one of President Moon Jae-in's key election pledges - saying it would not only improve quality of life but help create more jobs.
Image source, ScotgoldThe first commercial gold mine in Scotland has been given full planning permission.
Cononish mine, near Tyndrum, was given approval after a special site visit by the planning committee of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
A pilot project has been running and the first refined gold has already been put on the market, at a premium price.
Developer Scotgold Resources aims to extract more than half a million tonnes of ore, operating for up to 17 years.
BBC Radio 5 live
Image source, Getty ImagesBack to the snow, now, and its impact on business.
On Wake up to Money Michael Kruymans of the Business Continuity Institute was asked what firms can do if their chains are disrupted.
"Once the disruption has set in you might be a little bit late.
"If we're looking at how you can avoid disruption to your business, it's all about looking forward and being prepared.
"If you are dependent on your supply chain and critical supplies you need to make sure before something happens that you have enough or if during a situation, a disruption, that you can get what you need."
More from Maplin's administrators and they emphasise that there are "no immediate plans" to close any stores or make any redundancies, "although this will remain under review".
They say outstanding customer orders will be delivered as usual.
And they are currently "assessing the status of gift cards", but "in the meantime they will continue to be honoured in stores and online".
Maplin's administrators at PWC have issued a statement about the business.
The company employs 2,335 members of staff and has an annual turnover of £235.8m. It has 217 stores across the UK and Ireland with head offices in London and Rotherham.
The administrators said Maplin would continue to" trade as normal while discussions take place with interested parties in an attempt to find a buyer".
Joint administrator Zelf Hussain said: “The challenging conditions in the UK retail sector are well documented. Like many other retailers, Maplin has been hit hard by a slowdown in consumer spending and more expensive imports as the pound has weakened.
“Staff have been paid their February wages and will continue to be paid for future work while the company is in administration.”