Almost 120,000 retail jobs were lost in the UK last year and more than 10,000 shops shut their doors as businesses grappled with inflation and economic headwinds. (The Times £)

For retailers the final reckoning of the festive season is just getting into gear, with a string of major chains reporting on trading this week. We will find out who enjoyed jingle tills and where the rancid turkeys lie as Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Greggs and B&M all reveal their figures (The Guardian).

High Street winners and losers will emerge this week as some of Britain’s biggest stores publish festive trading figures. M&S is tipped to have had a stellar Christmas and will update investors on Thursday. (The Daily Mail)

Marks & Spencer is winning the battle of the food aisles as figures show the revitalised retailer was the best-performing grocer in the run-up to Christmas. (The Daily Mail)

Asda has launched an Aldi and Lidl price match as Issa brothers battle to win back market share. The move comes as the supermarket lumbers under the heavy debts amassed during takeover. (The Telegraph £)

 A raft of high-profile restaurants have shut in what experts are describing as the worst start to the year they have ever seen. (The Times £)

The number of new restaurants opening in London last year was almost back to pre-pandemic levels, despite the headwinds facing the wider hospitality industry. (The Times £)

A host of leading shopkeepers are calling on politicians to finally act to fix the broken business rates system. Household names including Next, House of Fraser and Currys are pressing both major parties to put the issue on their priority lists ahead of this year’s general election. (The Daily Mail)

One of Britain’s best-known bar chains Revolution Bars is shutting one in ten of its venues as it seeks to reduce losses before the ­government’s increase to the national living wage. (The Times £)

The founder of Lucky Saint said that the UK’s largest dedicated alcohol- free beer brand was not reliant on drinkers going teetotal to drive sales as the company pushes to make its brew available on draught at more pubs. (The Financial Times £)

The loyalty card cult netting supermarkets millions. Customers desperate for discounts are fuelling a £300m goldmine for Tesco and Sainsbury’s. When asked if the cost of living crisis was fuelling a surge in loyalty card sign-ups, Tesco chief Ken Murphy told reporters: “You’d be mad to shop without a Clubcard”. (The Telegraph £)

Excitement over a possible sale of Kantar Media sent shares in the world’s largest advertising group to the top of the FTSE 100 risers’ board yesterday. (The Times £)

Will weight loss drugs kill the fast food business? Weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic for diabetes, are already available on the NHS, and Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro, which has been approved for weight loss and, sold as Zepbound, is expected to be available in the UK soon. (The Guardian)

Camilla Cavendish in the FT writes: “2024 could be the year we start to turn the tide on obesity. Science is making increasingly clear the ways junk food impacts our biology — and providing new drugs to help. Cash-strapped governments are realising that obesity imposes unacceptable costs on life chances, health systems and productivity. And some brilliant initiatives, in both Europe and America, are demonstrating that we can grip this crisis in ways which may even pay for themselves.” (The Financial Times £)

China has launched an investigation into French brandy imports as tensions with Brussels continue to rise. (The Daily Mail)

More than 280 billion aluminium cans are made every year for drinks from Coca-Cola to beer and iced tea. The metal is heated to an extremely high temperature and filtered to ensure the resultant cans are clean and toxic-free. About half those cans are made using filters from Porvair, a small engineering business headquartered in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. (The Daily Mail)

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