Bloomberg Britons normally splash out on food at Christmas, trading up to more premium grocers for turkeys and mince pies. This year, amid the worst cost-of-living squeeze in memory, they’re heading to Aldi and Lidl. The German discounters have escalated their challenge to traditional supermarkets like Tesco Plc, slashing prices of fowl and vegetables to try to attract last-minute …

  Bloomberg Passengers at UK airports have been threatened with more disruption next year after a union said the strike by Border Force officials is likely to be the first of many. Workers kicked off eight days of walkouts stretching to New Year’s Eve, with the Public and Commercial Services Union demanding higher pay and more job security for its …

  Bloomberg Macy’s Inc workers at a flagship location in San Francisco’s Union Square began a two-day strike, walking out on some of the most crucial holiday shopping days of the year. Macy’s said in a statement that “our top priority is to ensure the safety of our colleagues and customers,” adding that the store location will remain open. The …

  Bloomberg A turbulent year for the pound is coming to an end with little evidence that 2023 will be much different. Signs of a painful UK economic downturn keep piling up, making analysts doubtful that the currency can extend — or even sustain — a recent rebound against the dollar. The options market also shows skepticism, with traders still …

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel says interest rates will have to move into “restrictive territory” to bring inflation back to target. The danger of a policy overreaction by the ECB “continues to be limited, as real interest rates are still very low,” Schnabel said. Reflecting on the ECB’s string of four interest rate hikes, Schnabel …

  Bloomberg Mobile money agents in Ivory Coast halted service for Wave Mobile Money Inc few weeks ago, in an attempt to stymie the growth of the young fintech gobbling up market share across West Africa. The agents — brokers who enable unbanked people to store and send money through cellphones — were unhappy with their commissions and expected the …

  Bloomberg The crowd of hundreds roared in Mandarin as the gull-winged two-seater aircraft rose and hovered roughly 30 meters (100 feet) above their heads, before smoothly lowering back down to earth. In the past months, China’s Xpeng Aeroht has staged two maiden public flights for its aircraft. The 90-second exercise in October was followed by another in Guangzhou, China …

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is fighting back against allegations from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that its proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard would harm competition in video-gaming industry. In a filing with the FTC, Microsoft said the tie-up would create more choices for gamers and game developers. “The commission cannot meet its burden of showing that the …

  Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co has secured an extension to a patent licensing deal with Nokia Oyj, suggesting the Chinese company continues to lead in networking technology despite years of punishing US sanctions. The announcement indicates appetite for access to Huawei’s next-generation telecom patents remains strong, despite US accusations the Chinese giant poses a threat to national security. Huawei is …

Bloomberg Stellantis plans to buy a stake in hydrogen company owned by tire-maker Michelin and car-parts supplier Faurecia SE as the automaker tries to bolster its low-emissions offerings. The maker of Fiat and Jeep vehicles will take a “substantial” stake in the Symbio business, with closing of the transaction expected for the first half of 2023, Stellantis said. “This move …