Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, Marico, says “we have lost market share in the bottom of the pyramid segment in value-added hair oils, where there has been significant competitive intensity. Otherwise, in most of the categories, we have gained market share. What is also heartening is that we have continued to grow in our core … Read more
House prices in the UK were steady in April after falling in March, as higher mortgage rates prompt first-time buyers to go for smaller properties, according to the mortgage lender Halifax. The price of a typical home rose by less than £200 last month to £288,949, a 0.1% monthly gain, compared with a 0.9% drop … Read more
Major supermarkets should be forcibly broken up if they engage in anti-competitive behaviour, and new rules designed to strengthen regulation and prevent price gouging should be pursued, a Senate inquiry has recommended. In policies designed to empower shoppers and small suppliers against Australia’s dominant food retailers, the Greens-chaired inquiry made 14 recommendations, including measures to … Read more
The UK self-driving car technology startup Wayve has secured more than $1bn (£800m) of investment to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence-powered vehicles, with the funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank. The $1.05bn investment is backed by the Japanese conglomerate along with the California chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft, and is the biggest investment to … Read more
China’s economic forays into resource rich Central Asia, a region which shares deep historical, political and economic ties with Moscow, has created certain discomfiture in the Russian establishment. In a recent trade meet in Uzbekistan a Russian trade official emphasised that Russia and China were “equal partners with an equal share in trade turnover” in … Read more
Borrowers have been spared a 14th interest rate rise and further increases are not certain as the Reserve Bank of Australia avoids a “tightening bias” even as inflation retreated slower than previously expected. The RBA left its cash rate on hold at 4.35% for a fourth consecutive meeting on Tuesday in a result that was … Read more
Travel for free The UK state pension age has risen but many companies and organisations still hold on to “the big 6-0” as the point at which senior citizenship begins, and it continues to represent a money-saving milestone as a result. In Wales and Scotland you qualify for an older person’s free bus pass from … Read more
Introduction: Halifax reports small rise in UK house prices Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of busines, the financial markets and the world economy. Another day, another healthcheck on the UK housing sector. And this morning, lender Halifax have reported that the market is “finding its feet” in the face of higher borrowing … Read more
I’ve been a Sky TV customer for more than 20 years but fear I may have overpaid by thousands of pounds because I’ve been out of contract since 2005. I recently discovered that, under Ofcom rules, your provider must remind you that your contract is ending, or has ended, and tell you about its best … Read more
Labour’s tanks roll relentlessly across Tory lawns, not pausing a heartbeat to celebrate phenomenal local election results in England. It treated the local polls as a military rehearsal for the general election, with ruthless focus on places that will deliver most seats: that includes the south, as well as the north and Midlands, and the … Read more
