6:34 am, February 9, 2023

Disney to cut 7,000 jobs amid plans for ‘significant transformation’

The Walt Disney Co has said it will cut about 7,000 jobs as part of a ‘significant transformation’ announced by CEO Bob Iger.

The job cuts amount to about three per cent of the entertainment giant’s global workforce and were announced after Disney reported its quarterly results. About 166,000 Disney staff work in the US and 54,000 internationally.

Disney said it earned $1.28bn (circa £1.06bn), or 70 cents (58p) per share, in the three months to December 31. That compares with net income of $1.1bn (£0.91bn), or 60 cents (50p) per share, a year earlier.

Surge in e-bike and e-scooter battery fires prompts warning to consumers

Consumers have been warned only to buy e-bikes and e-scooters from reputable retailers following a dramatic surge in house fires caused by unsafe batteries and chargers.

The fires have been attributed to non-compliant lithium-ion batteries used in the bikes and scooters, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) warned.

The number of fires caused by the batteries has surged by almost 150 per cent over the past year, according to Freedom of Information data obtained by the insurer Zurich, which revealed they were responsible for 167 fires in the UK last year, versus just 67 in 2020.

Convenience stores likely to cost shoppers hundreds more over a year – study

Shoppers who regularly buy groceries from Tesco and Sainsbury’s convenience stores instead of their bigger supermarkets are likely to pay hundreds of pounds more over the course of a year, according to a study.

Consumers buying the same 75 items at Tesco Express would spend an extra £817.91 over a year than those shopping online or at a larger Tesco store, Which? found.

A comparison of 69 grocery items at Sainsbury’s revealed that customers using a Sainsbury’s Local instead of shopping online or going to a larger store would spend an extra £477.93 over the year.

University staff and NHS physiotherapists to strike

University staff and NHS physiotherapists will strike today in the latest outbreak of industrial unrest sweeping the country.

Members of the University and College Union and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) will mount picket lines outside universities and hospitals in disputes over pay, working conditions and pensions.

The CSP accused the government of being ‘intransigent’ in refusing to discuss pay for the current financial year, which has sparked walkouts across the NHS in recent months.

House prices and sales fell in January as buyer inquiries dropped

House prices are starting to reflect the shift in demand in the market, according to surveyors.

Agreed sales, house prices and new instructions to sell homes remained on a downward trend in January, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.

A net balance of 47 per cent of surveyors reported seeing a fall rather than an increase in new buyer inquiries – down from 40 per cent the previous month. The latest survey sample covered 590 branches and had 315 responses.

Earthquake death toll passes 15,000

The death toll from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria rose to more than 15,000 as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes, Turkey’s disaster management agency said.

The agency said 12,391 people had been confirmed killed in Turkey after Monday’s earthquake and series of aftershocks, which brought down thousands of buildings in south-eastern Turkey.

On the other side of the border in Syria, another 2,902 people have been reported to have been killed.

London hotel prices 60 per cent higher for King’s coronation

Accommodation search website Trivago has revealed that London hotels have ramped up their prices by nearly two-thirds for the King’s coronation.

Trivago chief executive Axel Hefer told the PA news agency that the group has seen hotel prices in the capital jump by 60 per cent year on year for coronation day on May 6, with prices hitting £254 a night for early bookers.

That compares with £154 per night for the same day last year.
Mazda2 exterior via PA

New Mazda2 to get styling upgrades

The new Mazda2 will bring a more distinctive exterior design and a revised cabin when it goes on sale in the spring.

Priced from £17,750, it debuts with a new front-end design, incorporating more distinctive bumpers and a signature ‘wing’ feature.

Inside is a new decorative dash and all cars get sat nav, cruise control plus Apple CarPlay as standard. The Mazda2 is powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine in a number of states of tune, although nearly all manual gearbox versions use mild-hybrid technology.

Wednesday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed

Market movements

The FTSE 100 closed up 20.46 points yesterday to end the day on 7,885.17. The Cac 40 was down 12.52 points at 7,119.83, the Dax was up 91.17 points at 15,412.05, and the Dow Jones was down 207.68 points at 33,949.01.

Weather outlook

Today, the north will be breezy and have variable cloud, says BBC Weather. There’ll be a few showers in the north-west, wintry on the hills, while southern areas will be bright with some patchy cloud.

Friday will be cloudy, breezy and milder with some rain in the north. Southern areas will be dry with increasing cloud in the south-west, but it’ll be brighter in the south-east.

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