Bloomberg Ocado Group Plc shares surged after the UK company won the first round in a patent-infringement case filed by rival AutoStore Holdings Ltd that has been hanging over the online grocery technology provider. Ocado shares rose as much as 9%, while Autostore dropped as much as 15%. Three AutoStore patents are invalid, while Ocado doesn’t infringe a fourth, ...

  Bloomberg British Airways said its new Gatwick short-haul operation will begin flying in March, with the UK carrier putting tickets to 35 destinations on sale from Tuesday. Flights operated by the new subsidiary — BA Euroflyer — will continue to be branded British Airways, and will operate to destinations including Ibiza, Faro in Portugal, Malaga and Tenerife in Spain ...

  Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised China’s “aggressive actions” in Asia while laying out plans to more closely integrate US allies and security partners in Asia. During a key policy speech in Jakarta, Blinken underscored US efforts to deliver high-quality infrastructure and vaccines to the region while working closer on security issues. He said the Biden administration doesn’t ...

  Bloomberg Exiled opposition leader of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya vowed to continue her campaign against authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko after a court in the country jailed her husband for 18 years. “The dictator publicly takes revenge on his strongest opponents,” Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter, following the conviction of Siarhei Tskihanouski at a closed trial in a Belarus prison. “We won’t ...

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) agreed to broaden accession talks with Serbia, the largest of the six Balkan countries aspiring to join the bloc, reviving a process that had shown little progress for two years. None of the Balkan aspirants are expected to join the bloc before 2025 at the earliest, as enlargement fatigue and a decade of crises ...

    Bloomberg Europe’s technology sector is set to bring in more than $100 billion of annual investment for the first time this year, capping off a period of deal-making and surging valuations. With nearly three times as much capital projected to be raised this year compared with 2020, the total number of tech companies in Europe valued at more ...

  Bloomberg Canadians are unconvinced that policy makers will be able to rein inflation back to pre-pandemic levels, a worrying development that could reinforce the need for the Bank of Canada to be vigilant about price pressures. A large majority of Canadians, or 63.5%, say they lack confidence that inflation will return to more normal levels, according to a survey ...

  Bloomberg French economic activity will continue to rise in December, despite another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and fresh uncertainty over the omicron variant, according the Bank of France. Completed at the end of last week, the central bank’s monthly survey of 8,500 firms is the first indicator of how businesses in the euro area’s second-largest economy are faring ...

  Bloomberg Getty Images will merge with a blank-check firm backed by CC Capital and Neuberger Berman, returning a company bearing one of most storied names in business to the public market. The deal values the Seattle-based licensing provider of stock and news photos at $4.8 billion including debt, according to a statement. The agreement with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings ...

  Bloomberg British homeowners have enjoyed a $4 trillion untaxed wealth windfall from rising property values over the last 20 years that is unlikely to be repeated, with the bulk of riches going to the well-off, the over 60s and those living in London. In a report calling for gains to be taxed, the Resolution Foundation said the surge in ...