Bloomberg Mike Ashley is stepping down from the board of Frasers Group Plc four decades after he founded his retail business and just months after son-in-law Michael Murray became CEO of the Sports Direct-owner. The 58-year-old Ashley still holds an almost 70% stake in Frasers and said he remains “100% committed” to the business even though he won’t seek …

  Bloomberg With the pandemic waning, the US is gearing up for pre-pandemic levels of trick-or-treating, despite inflation levels not seen for 40 years. Undeterred by soaring prices, 69% of consumers are planning to celebrate Halloween this year compared with 68% in 2019, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said. A survey commissioned by the trade group found that consumers plan …

Bloomberg Chinese banks kept their main lending rates unchanged after the central bank paused its monetary easing and defended a weakening yuan, though a cut is still expected by economists in the coming months to counter headwinds to growth. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was left at 3.65%, according to a statement by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). …