German breweries are warning there could be a shortage of beer bottles this summer amid rising production costs and a shortage of lorry drivers. The situation is “extremely tense”, the chief executive of the German Brewers’ Federation told German newspaper Bild. The shortage of glass bottles will mainly affect small- and medium-sized breweries, an industry expert said. Brewers are having to pay 80% more for new glass bottles than they did a year ago. The cost of beer is also rising. One of the reasons behind the shortage is a hike in energy prices which is causing the price of glass … Continue reading How Germany beer bottle shortage is affecting the Industry

A New York man has a beef to pick with McDonald’s and Wendy’s: misleading adverts he says make their burgers look much bigger than they actually are. In a proposed class-action lawsuit, he accuses the fast food giants of unfair and deceptive trade practices. He is seeking $50m (£40.3m) in damages for himself and other similarly duped customers. The chains did not comment immediately on the case, which compiles many complaints from social media. Rival Burger King was hit with a similar lawsuit in Florida in March, by the same law firms representing New Yorker Justin Chimienti. While Burger King … Continue reading Fast food chains sued for burger ads that mislead on size

Stock markets in Asia and the US have fallen sharply over concerns that rising prices will send the global economy into a slowdown. US shares saw their biggest one-day drop since 2020 after downbeat earnings reports from some of America’s biggest retailers. Target said unexpectedly high fuel and freight costs had cut into profits, which halved compared with a year ago. That followed a similarly downbeat update from rival Walmart earlier. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index was 2.6% lower in Asia morning trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 3.3%. That came after the S&P 500 index, which tracks shares … Continue reading Stock markets fall amid concern over rising prices

Netflix has laid off about 150 staff, just a month after the entertainment giant said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the streaming service on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company’s revenue. The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year. “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want … Continue reading Netflix cuts 150 US-based jobs after losing subscribers

The EU has warned that it will deploy a whole battery of measures if the UK makes its own changes to a trade accord for Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed between the EU and UK in 2019 as part of the UK’s deal to exit the EU. The UK government now wants changes, to ease trade with Northern Ireland, where the deal has caused a political row. The EU Commission says it opposes “unilateral actions contradicting an international agreement”. Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic warned that if the UK government went ahead with a law changing the protocol, … Continue reading EU warns UK not to change Northern Ireland trade deal

The head of Twitter has hit back after Elon Musk said his $44bn deal to buy the platform was “on hold” while he sought details about fake accounts. In a series of tweets, Parag Agrawal defended the firm’s estimates that spam accounts were less than 5% of users. Mr Musk responded with a poo emoji, later repeating his claim that Twitter was underestimating the figure. Analysts have speculated that Mr Musk may be looking for ways to renegotiate the price of the deal or walk away. Those theories were fuelled further on Monday, after Bloomberg reported that Mr Musk had said … Continue reading Twitter boss hits back on Musk doubts over fake accounts

McDonald’s has said it will permanently leave Russia after more than 30 years and has started to sell its restaurants. The move comes after it temporarily closed its 850 outlets in March. The fast food giant said it made the decision because of the “humanitarian crisis” and “unpredictable operating environment” caused by the Ukraine war. The opening of McDonald’s first restaurant in Moscow in 1990 came to symbolise a thaw in Cold War tensions. A year later, the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia opened up its economy to companies from the West. More than three decades later, however, it is … Continue reading McDonald’s to leave Russia after 30 years

Two senior Twitter bosses are leaving the social media company in one of the biggest shake-ups since Elon Musk agreed to buy the firm. The executives had been leading Twitter’s consumer and revenue operations. From this week, the firm has also paused most hiring, except for “business critical roles”. The move comes as the multi-billionaire Tesla boss moves ahead with a $44bn (£36bn) takeover of the platform. “We are pulling back on non-labour costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient,” a Twitter spokesperson said. Kayvon Beykpour, who led Twitter’s consumer division, and Bruce Falck, who oversaw revenue, both … Continue reading Two Twitter bosses ousted ahead of Elon Musk $44bn takeover

Apple has lost its position as the world’s most valuable company amid a broad sell-off of technology stocks. Saudi Arabian oil and gas producer Aramco has reclaimed the top spot from the iPhone maker for the first time in almost two years. Investors have been selling shares in technology firms as they move into what they see as less risky assets. Bitcoin, other major cryptocurrencies and digital assets have also continued to fall sharply. Shares in Apple fell by more than 5% in New York on Wednesday to end the trading day with a stock market valuation of $2.37tn (£1.94tn). … Continue reading Apple loses position as most valuable firm amid tech sell-off

Thailand’s army has boycotted online retailer Lazada over an advert that the government is probing for allegedly insulting the country’s royal family. The move will see 245,000 members of the Thai military banned from using the e-commerce giant’s websites for official purposes. Thailand has strict laws over defaming, insulting or threatening senior members of the royal family. Singapore-based Lazada is one of South East Asia’s biggest online retailers. The announcement comes after citizens loyal to the king complained about a TikTok video promoting a Lazada sale on 5 May. Royalists said the advert, which featured a woman in a wheelchair, … Continue reading Thai army boycotts e-commerce giant Lazada over video

Stock markets in Asia and America have tumbled after the US central bank this week announced the biggest interest rate rise in 22 years. The sell-off comes as worries intensified over how rising prices and the Federal Reserve’s steps to rein them in – will affect economic growth. Major share indexes in Hong Kong, mainland China and Australia dropped on Friday. That came after shares in New York fell sharply, led by technology stocks. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index fell by 3.8%, while shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange were down by 2.2%. Australia’s ASX 200 closed 2.2% lower. … Continue reading Shares fall in Asia and the US amid interest rate hikes

Italian luxury brand Gucci will start accepting payments in cryptocurrencies in some of its stores in America. Customers will be able to pay using a number of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. The service will be rolled out later this month at some of its flagship outlets, including Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles and New York’s Wooster Street. Gucci, owned by France’s Kering, joins a growing number of companies that have started to accept virtual currencies. The firm said it will also take payments in Shiba Inu and Dogecoin – a so-called “meme” cryptocurrency that was originally created as … Continue reading Gucci stores to accept cryptocurrencies in US