Frozen food specialist Iceland has revealed that more than one in 10 workers are currently self-isolating as staff shortages take a toll on business, the NHS, and public transport networks after the Christmas break. (Sky News)
Travel and leisure stocks rose sharply on Tuesday amid confidence that the economic threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant was fading even as record numbers of new cases were reported in the UK, France, Italy and US (The Financial Times £). Some stocks in the hospitality and leisure sectors, which has remained open but hit by consumers staying away amid Omicron fears, were also winners as the markets reopened on Tuesday (Sky News).
Output and jobs in the manufacturing sector continued to grow at the end of last year as supply chain disruptions began to ease. (The Times £)
Consumer borrowing on credit cards jumped to its highest level in more than a year in November, pushing all forms of household unsecured credit to £1.2bn, according to the latest Bank of England data (The Guardian). UK consumers added an extra £862m to their credit card bills and put less money away in bank accounts in November, according to new data that adds to evidence of an early pre-Christmas splurge (Sky News).
Burger King UK is to launch vegan nuggets nationwide from Wednesday as the fast food chain evolves its meat-focused menu to cash in on the booming popularity of plant-based diets (The Guardian). Burger King will sell vegan nuggets across the UK as part of a pledge to make its menu 50% meat-free by 2030 (BBC).
The restaurant company behind the Wildwood and DimT brands said yesterday that an “extremely encouraging” second half of the year had ended with a disappointing December. (The Times £)
Australian supermarkets grapple with Covid-based staff shortages. Existing supply chain issues worsen as employees forced into isolation by surging case numbers. (The Guardian)
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