Time to wrap up….

Here are today’s main stories, first on Entain’s settlement:

The problems at HSBC today:

Black Friday:

And in other news…

Hundreds of strikers outside Amazon’s Coventry warehouse were joined on Black Friday by trade unionists from Europe and the US as part of a global campaign calling for better working conditions at the internet retailer.

Wearing orange beanie hats branded with the GMB union logo, activists from Germany, Italy and California, on strike at their respective Amazon workplaces, expressed solidarity with the Coventry strikers, who have taken 28 days of industrial action since January.

Gathered on a grassy roundabout close to the vast warehouse in the chilly early morning air, scores of the activists from the Make Amazon Pay campaign joined in chants of: “What do we want? £15! When do we want it? Now!”

Newsflash: Gambling group Entain has reached angreement to pay over £600m to resolve an investigation into alleged bribery related to a scandal at its former Turkish business.

Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, has reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), over historic corporate misconduct at its former Turkish online betting business.

Entain will pay a financial penalty plus disgorgement of profits totalling £585m – which matches the sum it set aside in August to cover the issue. It is also making a charitable donation of £20m and will pay £10m towards HMRC and the CPS’s costs.

Entain’s chairman, Barry Gibson, says:

“This legacy matter concerns a business which was sold by a former management team six years ago.

The Group has changed immeasurably since these events took place, and the DPA process has provided a reminder of the stark differences between the GVC of yesterday and the Entain of today.

We are committed to continuing our journey towards operating only in regulated markets, and are now widely recognised as a best-in-class, responsible operator with the highest levels of corporate governance across all aspects of our business.”

Entain will now seek final judicial approval from the Court on 5 December 2023. The DPA is a voluntary agreement, and Entain says it would “fully resolve the HMRC investigation into these matters insofar as they concern the Company and the Group”.

The investigation included potential breaches of section 7 of the UK’s Bribery Act, which relates to companies failing to prevent an individual taking part in bribes that benefit the business.

Over on Oxford Street, classic British band Madness have shown up for the reopening of HMV’s store.

The historic Oxford Street outlet is opening again after a four year hiatus, after HMV fell into administration in 2019.

The retailer was rescued from insolvency by Canadian Doug Putman’s Sunrise Records business. Putman has said he hopes the shop can have “crowds which will shut down the street” again.

As well as Madness, other acts including the South African singer Baby Queen and the rock bands Hard-Fi and the Reytons were performing today.

Putman told the Guardian that HMV, which currently has more than 100 stores across the UK, had seen total sales rise this year, with sales of CDs up for the first time in more than a decade.

Putman said CDs had regained appeal because they were now relatively cheap and there was also a “doubling down on trying to buy everything [a band] comes out with”. Taylor Swift’s album reissues are selling across all formats, for example.

More here:

Anyone caught up in the HSBC technical problems should keep a record of any extra costs they incur, says Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money.

Richardson explains:

“This HSBC outage will cause a real headache for a lot of its customers. In the worst cases it could prevent people making essential payments such as rent and bills, but it also falls on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, where many people will be looking to make significant savings on big-ticket items.

“We strongly advise customers that have been left out of pocket to keep evidence of extra expenses they may have incurred as a result of the outage, so they can be claimed back from HSBC.

“People want a bank they can depend on, and if IT outages become a regular occurrence, consumers could be tempted to vote with their feet and switch to an alternative provider – particularly with a lot of tempting switching incentives on offer at the moment.

“Having a back-up bank account or credit card can help, by giving consumers a way to make essential payments during outages like these.”

Elsewhere in the UK this morning, Boots is paying £670m to offload its £4.8bn pension scheme to Legal & General.

The buy-in deal insures all 53,000 members in the Boots Pension Scheme, making it the largest single transaction of its kind ever in the UK, my colleague Sarah Butler explains.

To facilitate the deal, Boots will bring forward about £170m of already committed payments to the Scheme and has committed to pay extra contributions expected to be approximately £500 million.

The deal could help revive a process for the sale of Boots by its US owner Walgreens. An earlier sales plan was abandoned in June last year, and is thought to have been partly scotched by potential buyers’ concerns about Boots’ guarantees on the pension scheme that were thought to be worth billions of pounds.

John Ralfe, the independent pensions expert who once oversaw Boots’ pension scheme, said the buy-out deal was “good news for members” as there benefits would be unaffected and they were now supported by a “properly capitalised and regulated business.”

Thousands of HSBC customers have reported that they have been unable to access its online and mobile banking services on one of the busiest online shopping days of the year as consumers swoop on Black Friday retail deals, my colleague Mark Sweney writes.

More here.

HSBC UK has now said it is “really sorry” about the disruption.

It also advises customers that they can use a one time passcode, sent by text message, to authorise an online card purchase if they’re having problems with their app.

HSBC UK customers hoping to take advantage of Black Friday have been hit by technical problems with their banking services.

HSBC says it is investigating the problems as “as a matter of urgency”, as customers report problems using its app or accessing online banking.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), HSBC says:

We understand some customers are having trouble accessing banking services as usual right now.

“We’re investigating this as a matter of urgency and will share an update as soon as possible.”

HSBC’s status page says “some customers are currently experiencing issues logging on to online and mobile banking”, adding that “We are working hard to fix this”.

The technical problems could make it harder for people to transfer money between accounts to pay bills, or to fund Black Friday spending.

Black Friday in the UK has got off to a brisk start, according to new payments data.

Nationwide reports that by 9am, its customers had made 1.49 million transactions - 15% more than a typical Friday.

That’s also 9% higher than on Black Friday 2022, they say.

Mark Nalder, Director of Payment Strategy at Nationwide Building Society, says bargain hunters are already out in force, adding:

“The number of purchases made by 9am is already nine per cent higher than the same period last year and suggests that this year’s Black Friday is going to be the busiest one ever.

The Bank of England’s chief economist has declared that the BoE can’t relent in its battle against high inflation just because there are signs of weakening economic activity.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Huw Pill said the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee cannot “declare victory and move on” now that inflation has dropped to 4.6% (which is still double its target).

Pill explained:

There’s slower growth in activity and employment as we’ve discussed. But because I think that is more supply-driven rather than demand-driven, the weakening of activity is not as associated with easing of inflationary pressures.”

This is the latest in a flurry of comments from BoE officials, which prompted Harriett Baldwin MP to accuse them of a “confusing running commentary” about interest rate policy.

Pill himself caused a stir earlier this month when he said market expectations of a rate cut next summer were “not totally unreasonable”.

BoE governor Andrew Bailey then tried to squash such talk, saying it was “far too early” to propose rate cuts.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declared that Nissan’s commitment to make electric versions of its Qashqai and Juke crossover SUVs in the UK, plus the new Leaf, will make Sunderland the UK’s electric vehicle “Silicon Valley”.

Sunak says:

“Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which already contributes a massive £71bn a year to our economy.

“This venture will no doubt secure Sunderland’s future as the UK’s Silicon Valley for electric vehicle innovation and manufacturing.

“Making the UK the best place to do business is at the heart of our economic plan.

“We will continue to back businesses like Nissan to expand and grow their roots in the UK every step of the way as we make the right long-term decisions for a brighter future.”

Nissan will build three new electric car models at its plant in Sunderland as part of a £2bn investment by the Japanese manufacturer, my colleague Jasper Jolly reports.

The factory will produce three separate crossover models, yet to be named, and the decision will require a third “gigafactory” to supply batteries. That could mean the next-door battery supplier, AESC, will go ahead with previously announced plans to build a third “gigafactory”, subject to negotiations.

The carmaker said the total investment in the Sunderland area, including the battery factories, will reach £3bn, after £1bn was previously pledged. Nissan will invest £1.1bn in the latest phase, and the rest of the £2bn is expected to come from the battery supplier once it is confirmed.

Nissan did not reveal the size of the government subsidy for its investment, although it is understood to be significant in return for assurances that battery production will remain in the UK.

More here.

We have confirmation that Europe’s largest economy is on the brink of recession.

Updated data shows that Germany’s GDP shrank by 0.1% in July-September, matching the initial reading.

Ruth Brand, president of the Federal Statistical Office, says:

“After the weak development in the first half of the year, the German economy started the second half of 2023 with a slight decline.”

This follows stagnation in January-March, and 0.1% gowth in April-June.

Today’s data will do very little to end the debate on whether or not the German economy is again the sick man of Europe, says Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

Brzeski adds:

In any case, the German economy has become one of the growth laggards of the eurozone.

This weak growth performance has a long list of explanations: there is the cyclical headwind stemming from inflation, still elevated energy prices and energy uncertainty, higher interest rates and China’s changing role from being a flourishing export destination to being a rival that needs fewer German products. But there are also well-known structural challenges, ranging from demographics to energy transition and not enough investment.

Some Amazon workers in the UK are on strike today to coincide with Black Friday – which is typically one of the company’s busiest shopping days of the year.

More than 1,000 staff at the firm’s warehouse in Coventry are expected to take part in the walkout, the GMB union said, amid a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Some people have already gathered at a picket line outside the site.

A protest will also be held outside Amazon’s UK head office in London.

Strikes and demonstrations are also being held in other European countries and the US, which unions say will be the biggest day of action in Amazon’s history.

Amazon insists consumers won’t see any disruption, and that its pay rates were well above the National Living Wage and the voluntary Real Living Wage, while benefits included private medical insurance, life assurance, subsidised meals and an employee discount

An Amazon spokesperson says:

“We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits.

By April 2024, our minimum starting pay will have increased to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location, that’s a 20% increase over two years and 50% since 2018.

But Amanda Gearing, GMB organiser, called the walkout an “unprecedented and historic moment”.

Gearing adds:

“Amazon has lost nearly thirty days to strike action in the UK this year alone.

“Despite that, Amazon bosses are desperate to claim it will be business as usual for Amazon and Amazon customers this Black Friday.

“The truth is that this Black Friday will see the largest day of industrial disruption in Amazon’s thirty-year history.

“Coventry is the beating heart of Amazon’s distribution network; strike action on Black Friday will ripple throughout the company’s UK logistics.

“With industrial action escalating and workers joining strike action in Europe and the USA, it’s clear that Coventry workers are inspiring Amazon workers worldwide to fight for their share of company profits.”

Staff in Coventry have held other strikes days already this autumn, In January, workers at the site – who have complained that they have been treated “like robots” – began a strike, the first time the corporation has faced industrial action in the UK.

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

UK consumer morale has jumped this month as inflation eases, giving retailers hopes that people will come out to spend as they make their Black Friday pitches today.

Market research firm GfK’s index of consumer confidence, just released has bounced in November, hitting -24 from -30.

People grew more optimistic about their personal financial situation, and the wider economic outlook, GfK explains.

Although it remains in negative territory, this recovers most of last month’s drop.

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, says:

“Consumer confidence strengthened in November with improvements across all measures. Recent ups and downs in confidence have underlined the nation’s topsy-turvy economic mood as encouraging news about falling inflation and wage growth is offset by high personal taxation, alongside costly fuel and energy bills.

Although the Overall Index Score is still tracking firmly in negative territory, it is good to see that consumers are more optimistic about their personal financial situation.

This pick-up in consumer confidence could give the UK economy a much-needed pick-up, after growth stagnated in the third quarter of the year.

But analysts have predicted that Black Friday will be quieter than in previous years, as the cost of living crisis continues to hit household budgets.

PwC predicted last week that UK spending for Black Friday – when retailers offer discounts to spur festive spending – could fall by almost a quarter, to £5.6bn from the £7.1bn forecast in 2022.

A PwC survey found that interest in Black Friday has waned. It says:

The research shows that the greatest interest is from under-45s and Black Friday shopping continues to be predominantly an online phenomenon. Even so, interest for the under-45s has dropped by between 15 and 20 percentage points.

This year interest levels have also equalised between men and women, with men having been more enthusiastic Black Friday shoppers in the past. Overall, the proportion who don’t intend to buy at all has increased from 39% in 2022 to 56% in 2023.

Also coming up today

Music store HMV is making a Black Friday return to its former store on London’s Oxford Street after a four-year absence. It will be selling vinyl, clothing and merchandise from the site at 363 Oxford Street again.

In Sunderland, Japanese carmaker Nissan is announing plans to build electric versions of three vehicles at its UK plant. Nissan is investing over £1.1bn in the transition, which will see electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke, and a new version of its electric Leaf vehicle.

The agenda

• 7am GMT: German Q3 GDP report (final estimate)

• 9am GMT: IFO survey of Germany’s business climate

• 2.45pm GMT: ‘Flash’ PMI survey of US manufacturing and services