Amazon has been ’caught in the crosshairs of a row with the White House over plans to include the cost of tariffs when displaying prices, Reuters reports. Amazon said its low-cost Haul unit had considered listing import charges for goods in light of new US tariffs but denied looking at such a plan for its main website, after the White House accused it of a hostile political act.
US President Donald Trump reportedly rang Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to complain. But Amazon denied the story from Punchbowl News and said it never considering listing tariff prices on its main retail site nor had anything been put into place, Reuters added in a separate report.
Carlsberg has warned that Trump’s tariffs could raise the cost of raw materials. The Danish brewer reported a solid start to the year but said prolonged global uncertainty will feed into consumers’ purchasing decisions, as reported by The Times.
In its results announcement Carlsberg also noted Danish shoppers are boycotting US products like Coca-Cola in a story picked up by Reuters. And amid similar reports of sales boycotts in Mexico, Coca-Cola has admitted that tariffs could hurt sentiment, despite reporting better than expected sales and profits in its latest quarterly results, Reuters added. In contrast with rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola also said the global trade impact was manageable and its local operations should help mitigate any hit.
The M&S cyber security hack continues to dominate media headlines, with widespread reports of empty shelves on the BBC, The Independent, Sky News and other outlets. The Telegraph reports that far from being orchestrated by Russians, many of the hackers behind the “depraved” attack by the Scattered Spider hacking group are British teenagers.
The Guardian reports that nearly 30% of total spending at the UK’s biggest supermarket chains over the past four weeks was on special offers and discounts, in a report citing Kantar’s latest announcement.
As Deliveroo is slated for a $2.7bn sale to US takeaway delivery service Door Dash, the Financial Times dismisses the UK-based outfit as an “amuse bouche”. ”Despite a hearty dominance in the UK, it was always going to be fodder. Its stock has been ravaged, making for a poor acquisition currency, and it has already been bullied out of half a dozen markets,” claimed the Lex report.
The disappointing Starbucks results are picked up by a number of nationals. The Financial Times notes that profits have slumped due to the soaring costs of its turnaround plans.
And finally… shops could be forced to accept cash in the future, a new report has warned. A story on the BBC says the Treasury Committee report into cash acceptance stopped short of recommending a change in the law, but said the government had to improve its monitoring of the issue to help prevent vulnerable people who rely on it.
No comments yet