Image source, Getty Images

BMW may be building its new electric mini in the UK, but this afternoon it also revealed it had moved some engine output away from its Hams Hall site due to Brexit.

Production chief Oliver Zipse said that British engines were no longer being sent to South Africa, where they were being assembled into cars to be sold into the EU, because of changing trade rules. Instead they are being built in Germany.

"Hams Hall doesn't build any South Africa products anymore, which is of course, bad for the UK," said Mr Zipse.

He said the relocated output was "not a huge amount", but called Brexit a "bad progression” for the UK.

A BMW spokesman said volumes at Hams Hall would be stable this year and that the plant would be exporting more to the US.

Image source, Getty Images

European regulators have ordered inspections on some older Airbus A380 superjumbo airplanes after some cracks were found on wings on the aircraft.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) - which was alerted to the issue by Airbus itself - said the issue concerned only the 25 oldest aircraft in service, all of which are owned by Singapore Airlines.

It said the cracks, if not corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing, although Airbus said the safety of the aircraft was not affected.

"We confirm that small cracks have been found on the outer rear wing spars of early production A380 aircraft. We have identified the issue and designed an inspection and repair scheme," an Airbus spokesman said.

Chinese and Indian ethnic group workers have higher average earnings than their white British counterparts, the first official figures on the issue show. Check out this chart:

Image source, AFP

Egypt says it will instruct a law firm in the UK to file a civil suit over the sale last week of a Tutankhamun bust.

The sculpture of the pharaoh was bought for £4.7m ($6m) at Christie's auction house in London, despite Egypt warning it was probably stolen in the 1970s.

Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told the BBC that he would try to repatriate the artefact.

Christie's said all necessary checks were made over the bust's provenance, and that its sale was legal and valid.

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic and Social Capital Hedosophia have announced that they will merge to create Virgin Galactic, the world's first and only publicly traded commercial human spaceflight company.

The merger is valued at $1.5bn (£1.2bn) and includes an additional $100m invested by Social Capital Hedosophia's founder and chief executive Chamath Palihapitiya, who will become chairman of the new firm, while Virgin Galactic's existing management team remains in place.

Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket plane is currently still undergoing testing. The latest test flight in February saw Unity reach 90km in altitude above California's Mojave Desert before gliding back down to Earth.

Richard Branson is aiming to offer people suborbital space commercial passenger flights, where customers can experience out-of-seat zero gravity and view the Earth from space before returning to the Earth.

More than 600 people have signed up for a trip on Unity so far, and have paid deposits totaling $80m.

The upbeat trading update from Bovis Homes this morning helped its shares climb 2.4% in early trading before slipping back into the red. The market is worried about the group's progress against a background of a no-deal Brexit, reckons George Salmon, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. He said:

More corporate-speak nominations...

Dave Bennett spotted a classic on this BBC story last month:

‘She said the UK remains an attractive destination for organisations looking to relocate staff, in spite of "well-publicised macro headwinds", including Brexit.’

"Are these headwinds a result of global warming?" Dave asks!

Keep your examples coming to bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Skeene, a former director of an ethical forestry investment scheme, has been charged with fraud after being arrested at Heathrow Airport at the end of June.

The Serious Fraud Office has charged the former director of Global Forestry Investments with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and misconduct in the course of winding up.

The charges relate to alleged frauds concerning Global Forestry Investments between August 2010 and December 2015.

Last year Mr Skeene was banned from being a director, external for 10 years after he and another man pocketed millions from investments intended for Brazilian teak schemes.

The Demos report (see previous posts) has identified 29 local authority areas of the UK which it identifies as "credit deserts".

They are Torfaen, Lincoln, Barnsley, Dundee City, Rochdale, Swansea, Blackburn with Darwen, Nottingham, Hyndburn, South Tyneside, Burnley, Corby, Doncaster, Sandwell, Stoke-on-Trent, Halton, Sunderland, Caerphilly, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Hartlepool, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, North East Lincolnshire, Knowsley, Blackpool, Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent, and Kingston upon Hull.

We would like to hear your experiences of debt and finding affordable loans, particularly in these areas.

Get in touch at bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, PA Media

More on the Demos report about "credit deserts" - one of which is Blackburn, Lancashire.

One 40-year-old from the town told BBC News how he built up debt of £4,000 on payday loans, and struggled to pay it back.

Missing some mortgage payments also caused difficulty as it affected his credit score.

"There were no alternatives around [other than payday loans] as we had a poor credit record. It was too easy to get these loans, with no checks," he said.

He said he and his wife were caught up in these short-term loans and became reliant on them, then had to borrow from family and friends when they got into financial trouble.

They only escaped the debt spiral after seeking help from charity Christians Against Poverty, which helped them set up a repayment plan.

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Getty Images

A new report says that 29 areas of the UK are "credit deserts".

That may suggest neighbourhoods where it is impossible to borrow money - but, actually, the report says they are areas where the only option for many people are high-cost, short-term loans.

Cross-party think-tank Demos says the is high demand for affordable credit in these areas, but little opportunity to get it.

People often struggle as they may have low incomes, or thin or poor credit scores, among other factors. So, the rely on payday loans and pawn shops.

The report , externalsays there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but that local authorities and businesses need to be aware and step in to improve the situation.

Image source, Getty Images

France will introduce an eco-tax on airlines flying out of France, transport minister Elisabeth Borne said today.

It is expected to raise around €180m euros from 2020.

"We have decided to put in place an eco-tax on all flights from France," Borne said during a news conference, adding that the funds will finance daily transport in France.

More details as we get them.

Image source, PA Media

Nicky Morgan, the chair of the Treasury Committee, has written to the Financail Conduct Authority (FCA) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) asking them to look into allegations that banks are forging signatures on court documents in repossession case.

During an FCA evidence session on 25 June, FCA boss Andrew Bailey said he was aware of the phenomenon that paperwork might be being signed by people who are not the authorised signatory within the bank before taking possession of someone’s home.

Mr Bailey said the FCA would look into any evidence that was brought before it.

Last week, sources told the Victoria Derbyshire show that there had been many incidents of forgery ocurring.

The allegations relate to UK Asset Resolution and loans from Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley, Mortgage Express and Lloyds Banking Group.

Image source, Getty Images

Further to the news that ethnicity pay gaps exist in the UK, with employees from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups having the lowest median hourly pay in the country.

Ben Keighley, founder of social media recruitment specialist Socially Recruited, is calling for the government to start imposing compulsory reporting of the ethnicity pay gap in the UK.

“As with the gender pay gap, which is currently running at 9.6%, the ethnicity pay gap is under-reported and just as damaging to the economy," he said.

"A recent report by the Resolution Foundation estimated that equal participation and progression across ethnicities could be worth an additional £24 billion to the UK’s economy each year.

"The UK will be shooting itself in the foot if it does not work much harder to remedy an imbalance that is a dead weight on economic growth and a burning social injustice."

Image source, Getty Images

Latest statistics from ONS show that employees of Chinese, Indian and Mixed or Multiple ethnicity all had higher median hourly pay than White British employees in 2018, earning on average 30.9% more.

In contrast, employees from the Bangladeshi ethnic group, on average, earned 20.2% less than White British employees.

However, the existing pay gap between White British and other ethnic groups was found to be generally smaller for younger employees than for older staff.

And once you take into account other attributes like education and occupation, the ethnicity pay gap between White British employees and most other ethnic groups narrowed.

Image source, LightRocket / Getty Images

Almost 25,000 Asda staff will be cheering today after finding out they will be sharing in a bumper payout of £62m.

The windfall is down to US parent company Walmart's Save As You Earn share save scheme, which allowed Asda workers to save between £5 and £300 each month for three years between 2016-2019.

At the end of the period, the employees have the opportunity to buy shares in Walmart at a 20% discount on the market value when they started saving, and then sell their shares.

Walmart's shares climbed by more than £50 over the three years. On 1 July the share price stood at £87.12, compared to £36.99 when the scheme started in 2016.

A worker who put aside an average £70 per month would have saved £2,520 over the three years, but with the increase in share price, will receive £5,924.50.

Anyone who saved the maximum of £300 would take home £25,353.42, with a profit of £14,553.42.

In its half-year report today Ocado published the following statement, an absolute masterclass of corporate-speak below (try saying it all in one breath!).

What are your favourite examples of corporate-speak? Do send them in to bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk

Sterling has sunk to $1.2463 and €1.1124, its lowest levels since mid-2017.

It's been hit by worries about the threat of a no-deal Brexit under the next prime minister and a deteriorating UK economy.

Image source, Remy Cointreau

French spirits group Remy Cointreau said chief executive Valerie Chapoulaud-Floquet will step down by the end of the year for personal reasons.

Ms Chapoulaud-Floquet, 56, will continue her job until the arrival of a successor, the French cognac maker said.

She has been in charge of the maker of the cognac maker since September 2014.