The spending limit for contactless payments will increase to £100 from 15 October, the government has said. Currently, contactless spending is capped at £45, allowing shoppers to pay by tapping their card and without entering a PIN. The decision to raise the limit was made by the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority following a
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Towanda Underdue has been elected to the national board of SAG-AFTRA representing the union’s Washington-Mid Atlantic local. Underdue, whose many credits include House of Cards and Veep, defeated Lance Lewman 486 votes to 425. Fran Drescher, running for national president at the top of the Unite for Strength slate, posted a campaign video supporting Lewman,
Labour shortages at meat processing plants have resulted in a surplus of 70,000 pigs on farms, the industry’s trade body has warned. The surplus is growing by 15,000 a week and farmers are weeks away from having to destroy perfectly healthy pigs, according to Zoe Davies, chief executive of the National Pig Association. It is
Politico, the 15-year-old digital media company covering politics and policy, is being sold to German publishing giant Axel Springer. The price was more than $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the terms. Axel Springer also will also acquire the remaining 50 percent share of its joint venture Politico Europe, and the tech news
Virgin Money, one of Britain’s biggest retail banks, is to close its charitable giving arm in a cost-cutting move that risks a backlash from fundraisers across the country. Sky News has learnt that the company plans to announce next week that it has decided to close Virgin Money Giving, 12 years after it was set
Universal did drop something fresh during its presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Wednesday: the first look at Michael Bay’s action movie Ambulance. In the pic, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza Gonzalez, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Garret Dillahunt, two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry. Mateen plays a working-class guy with a
UK car production fell to its lowest July level in 65 years last month thanks to the global chip shortage and the “pingdemic”, industry figures show. Just 53,438 vehicles rolled off production lines in Britain, down by 37.6% on last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It represented the worst
Savannah Studios, a venture formed by two independent producers who love the city (and want it to share a bit of Atlanta’s production largesse) said it has locked down plans for a sustainable sound stage complex that will break ground next month. The facility will span two acres with an initial investment of $40 million.
The UK’s competition watchdog has warned PCR test providers to “immediately review their practices” or face enforcement action if they treat customers unfairly. In an open letter, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns companies within the sector that their actions could breach consumer protection law and suggests the Department of Health and Social Care
Two more local SAG-AFTRA presidencies have been decided: Jim Gleason won a squeaker in New Orleans, and Rik Deskin won handily in Seattle. Both elections are setbacks for Matthew Modine, who’s running against Fran Drescher for national president. Modine supported Olga Wilhelmine in New Orleans, where she lost to Gleason by only eight votes, 120-112.
Takeaway delivery platform Just Eat has announced plans to create more than 1,000 customer service roles at its new office near Sunderland. The company, which is part of the Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway group, is bringing work in-house that was previously outsourced to third party operators in Bulgaria and the Philippines. It said it had
AMC Networks is undergoing a significant changing of the guard, as CEO Josh Sapan has announced he will step down after a 26-year run in the corner office. Former Showtime chief Matt Blank will take over on an interim basis, in a one-year appointment designed to maintain stability during a search for a permanent CEO.
McDonald’s has been forced to pull milkshakes and bottled drinks from its menu due to supply chain issues, it said in a statement on Monday night. The fast food chain, which operates some 1,300 restaurants across the UK, has become the latest victim of supply chain disruptions that are currently roiling England, Scotland, and Wales.
EXCLUSIVE: Candidates backed by Fran Drescher in local SAG-AFTRA elections are racking up impressive wins as early results from around the country continue to come in. Candidates that her Unite for Strength slate deem “Drescher-friendly” already have won in Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Austin, Miami, the Missouri Valley, Portland, San Francisco, the Twin Cities and elsewhere.
The government has given UK firms an extra year to comply with post-Brexit product safety marking rules after pressure from business groups. Companies had faced a 1 January 2022 deadline to switch from Europe’s CE mark to the new UK conformity assessed (UKCA) standard for most products but this will be pushed back to 2023.
EXCLUSIVE: Westbrook‘s Red Table Talk franchise is expanding with an overall deal with iHeartMedia to launch the Red Table Talk Audio Network. A new slate of co-produced podcasts is part of said deal including 5 new shows set to premiere in the next two years. The first will be the podcast version of the Emmy
Shares in supermarket giant Sainsbury’s surged on Monday morning following reports that US private equity firm Apollo was considering a bid of more than £7bn for the chain. The supermarket’s stock jumped more than 10% in early trading as the market digested the news, first reported in The Sunday Times. Private equity firms are currently
On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 32 new deaths from Covid-19, and 3,891 new positive cases. The number of deaths and confirmed cases announced today may reflect delays in weekend reporting. But today’s data brings the County to a total of 25,061 deaths and 1,380,415 positive cases. At time of
An online marketplace which counts one of Britain’s most prominent retail executives among its backers is to join rush of technology companies listing on the London Stock Exchange. Sky News has learnt that Fruugo, which was founded in 2006, is preparing to launch an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as this autumn. Bankers from
Phil Valentine, the Nashville-based radio talk show host known for his skepticism of Covid-19 vaccines, has died following a battle with the virus. He was 61. His station, SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, confirmed the news in a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday afternoon. “We are saddened to report that our host and friend Phil Valentine