Tesco sign

A seven-year-old girl was raped in insecure accommodation at a factory producing clothes for Tesco in Thailand while her mother sewed F&F jeans late in the evening, it has been revealed (The Guardian). The girl and her mother are both claimants in a landmark lawsuit being brought in England against Tesco on behalf of 130 Burmese former workers at the VK Garment factory, who are suing for alleged negligence and unjust enrichment.

An analysis by The Guardian looks at how big brands like Tesco are drawn to ‘wild west of global supply chain’.

Asda is battling a shortage of shopping trolleys in the crucial lead-up to Christmas (The Telegraph). The supermarket is waiting on stocks of trolleys to be replenished after placing an order in October, as manufacturers in China are impeded by rigid Covid restrictions and a surge in cases.

UK retailers, restaurants and nightclubs are braced for a tough run-up to Christmas as poor weather and strikes hinder shopping and socialising (The Guardian).

Rail strikes and the cold snap hit high streets the hardest as weekly footfall declined during the crucial festive trading period (The Times £). Between December 11 and 17, footfall on high streets dropped by 10.2% from the previous week, according to the data firm Springboard.

The Tempus shares column in The Times (£) gives Tate & Lyle a ‘buy’ rating. “Shifting towards the higher-growth speciality ingredients market could accelerate revenue and margin growth.”

HSBC UK has supplied a £10m funding package to Isle of Harris Distillers as the Outer Hebridean company sets its sights on further international expansion (The Times £).

Manufacturing output is falling at its fastest pace since the start of the pandemic, a new survey of businesses has found (The Times £).

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