Retail & Consumer

Target Corp blew past analyst expectations for quarterly profit and sales on Wednesday as more Americans used the retailer's quick-delivery services to buy everything from electronics to home goods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday faced opposition calls to resign after her agriculture minister stepped down over an illegal order by the government to cull the country's farmed mink.

Discount store operator TJX Cos Inc beat estimates for quarterly results on Wednesday, boosted by strong demand for home improvement products at its HomeGoods chain as well as activewear and beauty products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

British electric van startup Arrival has agreed to merge with CIIG Merger Corp to get a U.S. listing at a market valuation of about $5.4 billion, it said on Wednesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a spike in production of disinfectants and pasta, but a rise in toilet paper output proved only temporary, the German statistics office said on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused the Scottish National Party on Wednesday of using devolution to campaign for the break up of the United Kingdom.

Online retail giant Amazon, which has been operating during the French lockdown, has seen a boost in activity in the range of 40%-50%, the head of Amazon France said on Wednesday.

The books for the IPO of Russian online retailer Ozon are expected to close on Nov. 23, three financial market sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Russian online retailer Ozon Holdings is looking to raise up to $825 million from a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), it said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Shoppers are not allowed inside, and the pavement outside is nearly empty, but the French capital's Printemps department store lit up its Christmas window display on Tuesday because - global epidemic or not - it is an annual tradition.

Italian brakes maker Brembo has bought SBS Friction in a deal valuing the Danish maker of brake pads for motorbikes at around 40.3 million euros ($48 million), including debt.

Walmart Inc said on Tuesday it was optimistic about its holiday sales prospects in a pandemic-ridden year after the big-box retailer beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly results as Americans increasingly shift their spending online.

Walmart is late to the hot new trend of subscription-based shopping, but that isn’t such a bad thing. In September, the U.S. retailer launched a membership model akin to Amazon.com’s Prime. Like Walt Disney’s streaming service, which is quickly catching up to Netflix, Walmart may have the advantage of being able to ride on a more innovative rival’s coattails.

Canadian housing starts rose 3% in October compared with the previous month as an increase in detached urban starts outweighed a small decrease in multiple urban starts, data from the national housing agency showed on Tuesday.

Kohl's Corp posted a bigger-than-expected decline in quarterly same-store sales on Tuesday, as lower traffic at department stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic hammered demand for footwear and apparel.

German carmaker BMW said on Tuesday there was no indication that its deal to increase its stake in its joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive would be affected by debt issues at Brilliance's parent.

Tsinghua Unigroup, a major government-backed player in China's technology race, has defaulted on a 1.3-billion-yuan ($197.96 million) bond, three sources said, as several high-profile delinquencies by state firms rattled the country's bond market.

Tesla Inc is set to join the S&P 500 in December, a major win for Chief Executive Elon Musk that boosted the electric car maker's shares 14% on Monday in anticipation of a $51 billion trade by index funds adjusting their holdings.

A top Chinese securities regulator said on Tuesday that he hopes Sino-U.S. relations will be much improved under a Biden administration.