Shares of Big Yellow fell 4.8% in afternoon trading

International News via Reuters:

Blackstone is “seriously contemplating” abandoning its bid for British self-storage company Big Yellow Group ahead of the upcoming deadline for a firm offer, Sky News reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Shares of Big Yellow fell 4.8% in afternoon trading.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Blackstone declined to comment, while Big Yellow did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reporting by Unnamalai L and Simone Lobo in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel

Unilever is considering selling historic British food brands including Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril

International News via Reuters:

 Unilever said on Monday it would sell its British snack brand Graze to Katjes International, owner of gummy sweets Candy Kittens, for an undisclosed sum, as the consumer goods firm looks to exit some of its food business to focus on beauty and wellbeing.

Unilever is considering selling historic British food brands including Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril, Reuters reported last month.

The sale of Graze marks another step in Unilever’s strategy to streamline its portfolio, moving away from parts of its food business.

The company, which acquired Graze in 2019 for an undisclosed amount, said the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Reporting by Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala

Officials suspect the virus may have spread after a wild boar ate contaminated food, possibly a sandwich brought from outside Spain

International News via Reuters:

Spain has called in its military to help contain an outbreak of African swine fever near Barcelona, a move aimed at protecting the country’s multi-billion-euro pork export industry.

Officials suspect the virus may have spread after a wild boar ate contaminated food, possibly a sandwich brought from outside Spain.

Authorities confirmed on Friday that two wild boar found dead had tested positive for the disease. A 6-km exclusion zone was set up around the affected area in Bellaterra, on the far side of the Collserola mountain range from the coastal city.

Three hundred Catalan police and rural wardens were deployed to the area in northeastern Spain at the weekend, followed by 117 members of Spain’s military emergency unit on Monday, who will use drones to locate and remove potential infected animals.

“The most likely option … is that cold cuts, a sandwich, contaminated food, could end up in a bin … and then that a wild boar would have eaten it and become infected,” Catalonia’s agriculture minister Oscar Ordeig told local radio on Monday.

African swine fever, while harmless to humans, spreads rapidly among pigs and wild boar, posing a significant economic risk to Spain, one of the world’s largest pork exporters. 

The infected area is close to the AP-7 highway, a major transport route linking Spain and France. Eight more suspected cases were being investigated and more cases expected, regional authorities said.

RISK TO SPAIN’S PORK INDUSTRY

As officials await final test results, Ordeig later told a briefing it was likely that human activity brought the virus to Spain from other parts of Europe, since no infected boars had been found elsewhere in Catalonia or neighbouring France.

A European Commission spokesperson said it would not comment on the source of the outbreak until results of sequencing tests were known. A team of EU veterinarians will visit the area this week to survey, provide advice and prepare a report with recommendations, the spokesperson said.

Spain’s agriculture minister Luis Planas said Saturday that about one-third of the country’s pork export certificates have been blocked as a result of the outbreak, though no farms have tested positive so far. Pork farms within a 20-km radius of the initial infection site are facing operating and sales restrictions.

Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and Emma Pinedo in Madrid. Writing by Emma Pinedo, editing by Aislinn Laing and Ros Russell

The suspected production flaw is delaying some deliveries but there are no immediate indications that it has reached aircraft in service

International News via Reuters:

Airbus has discovered an industrial quality issue affecting fuselage panels of several dozen A320-family aircraft, industry sources said on Monday.

The suspected production flaw is delaying some deliveries but there are no immediate indications that it has reached aircraft in service, the sources said, asking not to be named.

Airbus had no immediate comment.

The origin of the problem could not immediately be identified. It emerged as Airbus is beefing up efforts to meet challenging delivery targets for the year and has also been distracted by a weekend recall of jets over a software bug.

SOME DELIVERIES ALREADY IMPACTED, SOURCE SAYS

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said some deliveries were already being impacted, but there was no immediate confirmation of how many nor for how long.

Industry sources said the planemaker delivered 72 aircraft in November, fewer than many analysts had previously expected and bringing the total for the year so far to 657.

It is targeting “around 820” deliveries for the year, meaning it would have to reach a record performance of more than 160 jets in December.

The record for the final month of the year was 138 in 2019.

WILL THE PLANEMAKER MEET ITS DELIVERY GOALS?

Analysts were divided on whether the world’s largest airplane maker will meet the delivery goals, which determine revenue and cash flow as airlines pay much of a plane’s value on delivery.

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie, who tracks the handover of aircraft and is forecasting 71 deliveries for November, said the month’s performance was weaker than expected.

The target remains within reach, however, as underlying production is rising, she added in a note to investors issued before word emerged of the reported quality problem.

Independent aviation analyst Rob Morris said Airbus could reach about 800 deliveries – which others say might be enough to claim victory based on the wording of its forecast – but with some risk that the final outcome will be “marginally lower.”

Reporting by Tim HepherEditing by Bernadette Baum

Monthly registrations, a proxy for sales, slumped by 58% in France to 1,593 vehicles sold, by 59% to 1,466 cars in Sweden and by 49% to 534 cars in Denmark, official data showed

International News via Reuters:

Tesla saw November registrations in France, Denmark and Sweden halve from a year earlier, as the U.S. EV maker continued to struggle to stem market share losses in Europe despite rolling out new versions of its best-selling Model Y, but Norway bucked the trend with record sales in the month.

Monthly registrations, a proxy for sales, slumped by 58% in France to 1,593 vehicles sold, by 59% to 1,466 cars in Sweden and by 49% to 534 cars in Denmark, official data showed.

But in Norway, they almost trebled to 6,215 cars, beating the country’s annual sales record with one month to spare.

Tesla’s slowdown in Europe began late last year, after its CEO Elon Musk publicly praised right-wing political figures, setting off protests across the region.

In November, a large fire at a Tesla dealership in Southern France prompted investigators to launch a criminal probe, local media reported.

Musk has since toned down political commentary, but Tesla’s European business has not recovered, pointing to deeper challenges.

TESLA NOVELTY FADES AMID GROWING COMPETITION

Analysts pointed to growing competition in a crowded European market, especially from new entrants from China, and Tesla’s aging lineup.

Consumer sentiment has weakened. Data analytics and advisory firm Escalent said in a study seen by Reuters on Monday that 38% of more than 2,000 respondents to a survey in Europe’s five largest car markets feel the brand’s novelty has worn off and it trails competitors on design, quality and emotional appeal.

While Musk spent much of this year focused on the carmaker’s robotics pursuits and winning shareholder approval for his freshly minted $1 trillion pay package, Tesla tried to win back buyers by launching a refreshed Model Y earlier this year.

Only a handful of cheaper Model Ys, priced at 40,000 euros ($46,468) in Germany, reached European markets at the end of November.

Model Y sales dropped by 67% to 426 cars in Sweden and jumped 19% to 3,648 cars in Norway, data by Mobility Sweden and the Norwegian Road Federation showed.

In Denmark, November registrations of the Model Y plummeted by 74% to 206 units, according to data by Bilstatistik.dk, which runs Scandinavia’s largest car database, while those of the Model 3 increased by 29% to 326 cars, making it the country’s 8th most-sold model, Mobility Denmark said.

Tesla’s Chinese competitor BYD also saw a drop in registrations in November, falling 51% in Sweden and 50.3% in Norway. Its sales rose 6% in Denmark.

($1 = 0.8608 euros)

Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, Marie Mannes in Stockholm and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Bernadette Baum and Louise Heavens

Police continued to sweep the seven burnt-out towers engulfed in Wednesday’s disaster at the Wang Fuk Court estate

International News via Reuters:

Hong Kong authorities said on Monday they had arrested 13 people for suspected manslaughter in a probe into the city’s deadliest fire in decades, pointing to substandard renovation materials for fuelling a blaze that has claimed at least 151 lives. 

Police continued to sweep the seven burnt-out towers engulfed in Wednesday’s disaster at the Wang Fuk Court estate, finding bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames. 

More than 40 people are still missing.

“Some of the bodies have turned into ash, therefore we might not be able to locate all missing individuals,” police official Tsang Shuk-yin told reporters, choking up with emotion. 

Tests on several samples of a green mesh that was wrapped around bamboo scaffolding on the buildings at the time of the blaze did not match fire retardant standards, officials overseeing the investigations told a news conference. 

Contractors working on the renovations used these substandard materials in hard-to-reach areas, effectively hiding them from inspectors, said Chief Secretary Eric Chan.

Foam insulation used by contractors also fanned the flames and fire alarms at the complex were not working properly, officials have said.

Thousands have turned out to pay tribute to the victims, who include at least nine domestic helpers from Indonesia and one from the Philippines, with lines of mourners stretching more than a kilometre (a half-mile) along a canal next to the estate.

Vigils are also due to take place this week in Tokyo, London and Taipei, authorities said.

Amid pockets of public anger over missed fire risk warnings, Beijing has warned it would crack down on any “anti-China” protests.

At least one person involved in a petition calling for an independent probe and a review of construction oversight among other demands was detained for around two days, sources familiar with the matter said.

Police have declined to comment on the case.

Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang also declined to comment on specific operations at a press conference on Monday.

“I’ve noticed that some people with malicious intent, aiming to harm Hong Kong and national security, have taken advantage of this painful moment for society,” he said.

“Therefore, we must take appropriate action, including enforcement measures.”

SEARCH MOVES TO WORST AFFECTED BUILDINGS

The buildings being scoured for remains are the worst damaged and the search may take weeks, authorities have said. 

Images shared by police showed officers clad in hazmat suits, face masks and helmets, inspecting rooms with blackened walls and furniture reduced to ashes, and wading through water used to douse fires that raged for days. 

Throngs of officers arrived at the site early on Monday morning to continue their search of the burnt-out buildings.

The apartment blocks were home to more than 4,000 people, according to census data, and those that escaped must now try to get their lives back on track.

More than 1,100 people have been moved out of evacuation centres into temporary housing, with a further 680 put up in youth hostels and hotels, authorities said. 

With many residents leaving behind belongings as they fled, authorities have offered emergency funds of HK$10,000 ($1,284) to each household and provided special assistance for issuing new identity cards, passports and marriage certificates.

DEADLIEST BLAZE SINCE 1948

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city’s Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September, 2024, including about the potential flammability of the mesh contractors used to cover the scaffolding, a department spokesperson said.

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze, has stunned the city, where legislative elections are due to be held this weekend. 

On Saturday, police detained Miles Kwan, 24, part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight, two people familiar with the matter said. Reuters could not establish whether he had been arrested.

Kwan left a police station in a taxi on Monday afternoon, according to a Reuters witness. 

Two others have also since been arrested on suspicion of seditious intent, the South China Morning Post said. The police declined to comment on those reported arrests. 

China’s national security office warned individuals on Saturday against using the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019, when massive pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster’,” the office said in a statement. “No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished.”

Reporting by Jessie Pang, Nicoco Chan, James Pomfret and Farah Master; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan