The announcement comes weeks after Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, met executives amid fears over the 59-year-old plant\u2019s future. Shares in Lotus have fallen by 77 per cent since listing on Nasdaq in February last year.<\/p>\n
Generic version of weight-loss drug approved![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/fe5b8151-f59c-4d59-b3a5-c6379302ce71.jpg\")
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Weight-loss drugs are in strong demand in the UK<\/p>\n
JON CHALLICOM\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
America\u2019s Food and Drug Administration has approved Teva Pharmaceuticals\u2019 cheaper generic version of Novo Nordisk\u2019s older weight-loss drug, Saxenda, addressing increased demand for this anti-obesity treatment in the American market.<\/p>\n
Saxenda was developed and manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company, which is better known for its weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy. The active ingredient in Saxenda is liraglutide.<\/p>\n
Weight-loss drugs are in demand in Britain. Production of Eli Lilly\u2019s Mounjaro has been paused<\/a> as people rush to stockpile the treatment before a price increase in September. Eli Lilly has told its two British wholesalers to temporarily stop taking orders.<\/p>\n Asda sales slide again but chairman is hopeful Allan Leighton admitted he \u201cwasn\u2019t looking for any miracles\u201d<\/p>\n BETHANY CLARKE \u2013 COMMISSIONED BY THE TIMES<\/p>\n The Asda chairman Allan Leighton said completion of a troubled IT project after years of delays and costs topping \u00a31 billion would be \u201ccritical\u201d to its turnaround plans as sales slipped further over the summer.<\/p>\n He cautioned that he \u201cwasn\u2019t looking for any miracles\u201d but said that \u201cgetting Future done and making the business simpler and it being less of a distraction is probably \u2026 very critical\u201d.<\/p>\n On a like-for-like basis, sales at the UK\u2019s third-biggest supermarket chain declined 0.2 per cent in the three months to the end of June, alongside a 0.2 per cent dip in turnover to \u00a35.3 billion. The company is at risk of being overtaken by the disounter Aldi in market share terms. We have more on the story on our website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kenneth Alexander charged with bribery Kenny Alexander ran GVC, which was renamed Entain, from 2007 to 2020<\/p>\n TOM STOCKILL<\/p>\n UK prosecutors have charged Kenneth Alexander, the former chief executive of Labrokes-Coral owner GVC, and ten other individuals for seven offences relating to bribery, fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax, acting as a director of a company when undischarged bankrupt and perverting the course of justice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe offences relate to the provision of gambling services in Turkey between 2011 and 2018,\u201d said Hannah von Dadelszen, chief crown prosecutor.<\/p>\n Alexander, 56, from Perth, Scotland, ran GVC, which was renamed Entain, between 2007 and 2020. He has charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe between 2011 and 2018.<\/p>\n Richard Las, director of HMRC\u2019s fraud investigation service, said: \u201cThese are serious charges that relate to conspiracy to defraud, bribery, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax and perverting the course of justice among others.\u201d<\/p>\n Entain said: \u201cThe company has not been charged and none of the individuals charged are currently employed by the company or its group.\u201d<\/p>\n Pernod toasts tariffs deals Pernod Ricard, backed by the Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, had better than expected results<\/p>\n PERNOD RICARD<\/p>\n Pernod Ricard shares rose as much as 8 per cent after the French spirits maker said the hit from trade tariffs would be half that was previously forecast.<\/p>\n Results for the year ended June 30 were better than forecast, with revenue of \u20ac11 billion, and it expects sales to improve in the \u201ctransition year\u201d of 2026.<\/p>\n Alexandre Ricard, chief executive, now expects an \u20ac80 million impact from tariffs imposed by the United States and China, against \u20ac200 million previously.<\/p>\n Pernod Ricard and rivals have suffered amid falling sales and tariff uncertainty in the key markets of China and the United States. Tariff deals were reached in July.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst visibility on the exact timing of recovery is low, we think a lot of bad news is in the price,\u201d Jefferies analysts said.<\/p>\n Liz Truss: there is a reckoning coming for central banks Liz Truss has blamed the Bank of England for her ill-fated tenure in No 10<\/p>\n DANIEL LEAL-WPA POOL\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Liz Truss has thrown her weight behind President Trump\u2019s attempts to exert greater control over the US Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s shortest-serving prime minister told Bloomberg\u2019s Odd Lots podcast: \u201cThere is a reckoning coming for the central banks, not just in Britain, but also in the United States, also the [European] Central Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n Truss<\/a> has blamed the Bank of England for orchestrating her downfall. Her ill-fated mini-budget rocked financial markets and forced the Bank to launch emergency support measures for the bond market.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bank of England needs to be accountable to politicians, the current system doesn\u2019t work,\u201d said Truss, who has been a vocal supporter of populist politicians since leaving Downing Street.<\/p>\n Her comments come as Trump tries to exert greater political influence over the Fed since returning to the White House, raising concerns about whether the central bank can retain sovereignty over interest rate decisions. This week, Trump said he had sacked Lisa Cook, a board member of the Fed, with immediate effect, although Cook, who was appointed by President Biden, has vowed to overturn the dismissal in court.<\/p>\n \u00a33bn of small goods imports from China Temu regularly sends products to the UK in small packages worth \u00a3135 or less<\/p>\n REUTERS<\/p>\n About \u00a33 billion worth of small parcels were shipped from the UK to China last year under the tax exemption for low-value imports, according to new figures.<\/p>\n The Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein and Temu are among online retailers which regularly send products to the UK in small packages worth \u00a3135 or less that face no customs duty.<\/p>\n A freedom of information request from the BBC found that low-value imports from China to the UK more than doubled in 2024-25 from \u00a31.3 million in the previous year.<\/p>\n The government has said it will review the exemption after complaints that it enables Chinese e-commerce firms to undercut UK high street businesses.<\/p>\n President Trump scrapped the exemption this year. The EU also intends to introduce a charge.<\/p>\n Poundland to bring back \u00a31 pricing Poundland avoided going into administration on Tuesday<\/p>\n MIKE KEMP\/IN PICTURES\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Poundland has confirmed it will return to simple \u00a31, \u00a32 and \u00a33 grocery pricing across all its UK stores as the chain looks to turn around its fortunes after avoiding administration this week.<\/p>\n The discount chain pledged to price about 60 per cent of grocery items at \u00a31 across its stores after the changes. It said the move will see it go \u201cback to its roots\u201d and mark \u201cthe end of additional price complexity\u201d.<\/p>\n Poundland avoided going into administration on Tuesday after a High Court judge approved a turnaround plan days before it was due to run out of money. Poundland was sold to Gordon Brothers for \u00a31 in June. The US investors are providing \u00a380 million of finance as part of the turnaround.<\/p>\n Barclays sells stake in Entercard for \u00a3200m Barclays is set to complete the deal by the end of the year<\/p>\n BARCLAYS SOLD MOST OF ITS UK\u00a0PAYMENTS BUSINESS\u00a0TO BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT<\/p>\n Barclays has agreed to sell its stake in its joint venture Entercard Group to its partner Swedbank for an estimated 2.6 billion Swedish krona (\u00a3200 million) as part of the bank\u2019s efforts to dispose of non-core operations.<\/p>\n Barclays said the sale of its stake in Entercard, which provides consumer credit in the Nordics, should release \u00a3900 million of risk-weighted assets, increasing its common equity Tier 1 ratio by around 4 basis points.<\/p>\n The deal is expected to complete by the end of the year.<\/p>\n In April, Barclays sold most of its UK payments business<\/a> to Brookfield Asset Management.<\/p>\n Softcat upgrades profit forecast<\/p>\n The FTSE 250 IT equipment and software reseller has raised its annual profit growth forecast for the third time in six months, driven by big deals.<\/p>\n The shares rose 4.86 per cent, or 76p, to \u00a316.41.<\/p>\n Softcat has been helped by rising corporate investment in artificial intelligence and automation. It now estimates mid-teens percentage growth in operating profit for the year ended July 2025, compared with its earlier forecast of a low-teens percentage increase.<\/p>\n On average, the market expects operating profit of \u00a3174.2 million in 2025, up from \u00a3154.1 million last year.<\/p>\n Drax shares have fallen 9 per cent, or 65p, to 639p this morning<\/a> after announcing that the financial regulator is investigating certain historical statements regarding its biomass sourcing and compliance of its 2021, 2022, and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules.<\/p>\n Jefferies said in a note today: \u201cTalking to the company, the preliminary understanding is that the Financial Conduct Authority may explore themes similar to those raised by Ofgem, but with a focus on financial disclosures.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, we understand that the FCA does not have jurisdiction over CfD [contract for difference] or RO [renewables obligation] schemes. Nonetheless, the investigation puts Drax in the spotlight and may bring additional political scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n In August last year, the energy regulator Ofgem found<\/a> that Drax failed to provide enough evidence over the profile of woody biomass consignments imported from Canada between April 2021 and March 2022. The power generator paid \u00a325 million into a redress fund, the second largest sum levied by the watchdog.<\/p>\n Tesla market shares shrink further in EU Tesla\u2019s sales fell 42.4 per cent from 11,465 to 6,600<\/p>\n FLORENCE LO \/ REUTERS<\/p>\n Tesla lost market share for a seventh consecutive month in the European Union in July despite a rise in overall sales of electric cars.<\/p>\n The electric carmaker run by the billionaire Elon Musk also trailed its Chinese rival BYD, which was included in the monthly sales data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association for the first time.<\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s sales dropped 42.4 per cent from 11,465 to 6,600, squeezing its market share to 0.7 per cent from 1.3 per cent a year ago. BYD\u2019s sales jumped from 3,165 to 9,698 to give it 1.1 per cent of the market.<\/p>\n Battery electric car sales rose by 39 per cent in the EU to 142,699. Total new car sales in the EU rose 7.4 per cent over the month to 914,680, lifted by an 11 per cent rise in Germany, which outweighed drops of 7.7 per cent in France and 5.1 per cent in Italy.<\/p>\n Nvidia published its result overnight<\/p>\n JAKUB PORZYCKI\/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n London\u2019s leading stock market index has edged higher this morning after retreating for a second day yesterday.<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 added 7 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 9,262.43 with little corporate news, bar a focus on the result overnight of the artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Among the risers were Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness stout, the miners Anglo American and Glencore, and the pest control company Rentokil Initial.<\/p>\n The technology investor Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust slid after Nvidia beat Wall Street sales estimates for the second quarter but said growth in demand for AI chips will slow in the third quarter<\/p>\n Next15 to shut troubled American business<\/p>\n The Aim-listed marketing company<\/a> is to cease operations permanently at its US advisory business Mach49, which has been under scrutiny for \u201cpotential serious misconduct\u201d.<\/p>\n In June, the company said it had uncovered potential misconduct after a review of a big contract for Mach49, which was cancelled early in September. It warned on profits and said Tim Dyson, the company\u2019s chief executive of more than 30 years, would step down. Three members of Mach49\u2019s senior management team were sacked, including its founder.<\/p>\n Next15 anticipates that Mach49, based in Silicon Valley, will cease operations before the end of the 2026 financial year. The group\u2019s guidance for its continued operations for the full year remains unchanged.<\/p>\n FCA investigates Drax biomass sourcing Drax supplies about 5 per cent of Britain\u2019s electricity<\/p>\n TEAMJACKSON\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n The owner of the UK\u2019s largest power station said the Financial Conduct Authority is investigating historical statements regarding its biomass sourcing and the compliance of Drax\u2019s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules.<\/p>\n Drax<\/a>, which supplies about 5 per cent of Britain\u2019s electricity, said it is co-operating with the financial regulator, and provided no further details.<\/p>\n This year MPs on the House of Commons public accounts committee said they were worried about weaknesses in certification schemes that are supposed to ensure that plant matter burnt for fuel is sustainably sourced. The MPs calculated that Drax had received \u00a36.5 billion in renewable energy subsidies since 2002.<\/p>\n Ex-WH Smith director defers appointment to Greggs board Greggs made the statement to the stock exchange<\/p>\n ALAMY<\/p>\n Robert Moorhead, the former finance director of WH Smith, has requested to defer his appointment to the board of Greggs, the FTSE 250 high street baker, the company said in a 53-word stock exchange announcement.<\/p>\n He was joining as independent non-executive director and was set to become chairman of the audit committee, as well as a member of the nominations and remuneration committees.<\/p>\n![\"Allan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/3543263c-41a8-4fe3-a187-64cc2777510e.jpg\")
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