Leading retailers have warned Labour it must follow through on its manifesto pledges to reform the broken business rates system. Alex Baldock, chief executive of Currys, urged new Chancellor Rachel Reeves to put replacing the property tax system for shops at the top of her to-do list. (Daily Mail)

Business leaders tell The Times what they want from Labour, including Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq, who says: “Labour has made a commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector, which, for us, is really encouraging.” (The Times £) A similar article in The Guardian quotes Andy Higginson, chair of JD Group and the British Retail Consortium, who comments : “Labour have said they will look at business rates and all retailers are looking at that with some hope. I think they know it’s a distorted tax in sense that it is old and out of date and needs adjustment to create a level playing field.” (The Guardian)

Labour’s plans for workers, from pay rises to zero-hour contracts. Living wage changes are just one of many new proposals Labour pledged to bring in that have concerned employers that are already wrestling with ever higher overheads. Some could, theoretically at least, be brought in straight away, while others may be quietly left to wither. (The Times £)

The scrapping of VAT-free shopping for tourists is having a “significant impact” on British retail and hospitality, an influential trade body has warned. (The Times £)

The pound has remained stable and the markets have reacted positively to Labour’s landslide election victory. Shares in leading companies on the UK stock exchange have risen reflecting expectations among investors of a period of stability after years of market volatility under the Conservatives. (Sky News)

New John Lewis boss on how he plans to increase staff numbers on shop floor. He wants to usher in a “Selfridges-style” approach of highly attentive customer service to revive the fortunes of the struggling department store chain. The aim is to recreate some of the sales culture from John Lewis’s beauty halls around the rest of the store. Ruis is said to believe that staffing levels have been pared back too far on the shop floor. (The Times £)

The Times’ share column advises investors to “stock up on Kitwave”. “Despite the rain, the firm remains on target to hit City expectations for the year, with analysts pencilling in £669m revenues and £28m pre-tax profit. That’s thanks to a boost from its deal-making and a soft July and August last year. Results look set to improve.” (The Times £)

The power to raise prices is slipping from some of the biggest US food and packaged goods groups, threatening their sales growth even as it spells relief for inflation-bruised consumers. Companies that imposed years of relentless price increases are now rolling out more discounts, adding coupons and spending to put their products front and centre in store aisles. (Financial Times £)

Women and younger drinkers drive Guinness revival – pubs in London’s Soho now teem with cool young drinkers of the stout, in an echo of the US hipster appropriation of blue-collar beers such as Pabst Blue Ribbon and Michelob. (Financial Times £)

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