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Market Impact

CVS has been discussing various options – including how such a split would work – with its financial advisers in recent weeks, sources told Reuters. The latest discussions come as CVS faces increasing pressure from investors such as Glenview Capital, which is said to be pushing for changes at the company to help improve its operations after it cut its 2024 earnings outlook for a third consecutive quarter in August.

SHOPPERS are racing to get their hands on Christmas stationary perfect for stocking filler from The Works – and items start from just £1.

A thrifty shopper took to Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK to share the bargains.

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The post read: “The Works Christmas items from £1 – in store and online”.

Along with the post was a picture showing four different items from the range – including a bouncing putty for £1.50 and a pack of festive rubbers for just £1.

Festive item also include a glow in the dark squishy for just £2 and a light up yoyo for £1.

Delighted Facebook users planned trips to the discount retailer to nab the affordable stocking filler.

One wrote: “The elf’s first little gifts”, while another wrote: “cute for stockings”.

A different account commented: “Some good little bits for my Christmas Eve box”, and one was particularly keen on “the cute rubbers”.

And one thanked the original poster for sharing the bargain: “Thank you Just got these for my kids as stocking fillers.”

The Works describes its light up yoyo as a “bright and colourful flashing festive themed yoyo that is sure to provide hours of fun for both children and adults.”

Its pack of five 3D rubbers are shaped like Christmas trees, snowmen, and gifts.

And the “soft and stretchy” Christmas bouncing putty is “perfect for moulding, squishing, and bouncing into fun shapes”.

Last but not least is the glow in the dark squishy which for £2, offers some festive excitement for tots across the country.

Head to The Works’ website to check out their full Christmas range so far.

It comes just months after the budget kids retailer was flogging a set of football-themed stationery from just a pound.

The Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group shared the bargain deal stating: “Football Stationery From £1 At The Works.”

Parents were quick to rush to the comments and share the deal.

One mum said on social: “Look at these!”

A second commented: “Fold out stationery set online.”A

nother pointed out the bits could be perfect for Christmas and posted: “Stocking fillers!”

A fourth wrote: “Need to go in, footy things!”

While a fifth said: “Love it all!”

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Photo by Secrets Moche

The Riviera Maya, renowned for its pristine beaches, vibrant culture, and luxurious resorts, has a new gem in its crown – Secrets Moxché Playa del Carmen. This adults-only haven, located just a short drive from the bustling Quinta Avenida, offers a sophisticated and indulgent escape where every detail is meticulously crafted to pamper and delight. From the moment you arrive, you’ll be enveloped in an atmosphere of refined elegance, where lush tropical gardens, shimmering pools, and the mesmerizing turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea create an idyllic backdrop for an unforgettable vacation.

Photo by Secrets Moche

One of the most remarkable aspects of Secrets Moxché is its exceptional dining scene. With over a dozen restaurants and bars, guests can embark on a global culinary journey without ever leaving the resort. Whether you’re craving authentic Italian cuisine, the vibrant flavors of Mexico, or you’re feeling like having a small snack or Asian food, Secrets Moxché has something to satisfy every palate.

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No matter your preference, you’ll find an array of delectable options to choose from, whether you’re in the mood for a casual beachside lunch or a romantic candlelit dinner.

Photo by Secrets Moche

And with unlimited top-shelf spirits, natural fruit juices, and soft drinks included, you can raise a toast to your dream vacation at any time.

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Beyond its culinary excellence, Secrets Moxché boasts an impressive array of amenities designed to enhance your stay and provide the ultimate relaxation and rejuvenation.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Unwind in the world-class spa, where a menu of rejuvenating treatments will leave you feeling refreshed and revitalized. Indulge in a massage, facial, or body wrap, and let the expert therapists melt away your stress and tension. Stay active during your vacation with a state-of-the-art fitness center, equipped with cardio machines, weights, and everything you need to maintain your workout routine.

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Take a dip in one of the shimmering pools, including an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, or simply relax on the pristine stretch of white sand beach with comfortable loungers and umbrellas.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Secrets Moxché offers a variety of activities to keep you entertained throughout your stay. Join a yoga class, participate in water aerobics, play beach volleyball, or simply soak up the sun and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere. In the evenings, enjoy live music, theme parties, and other exciting entertainment options.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Whether you need assistance with booking excursions, arranging transportation, or simply have a question, the 24-hour room and concierge services are always available to cater to your every need.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Secrets Moxché isn’t just a haven for romantic getaways; it’s also an idyllic setting for a dream wedding. With its breathtaking beachfront location, elegant venues, and dedicated wedding planners, the resort offers everything you need to create a truly unforgettable celebration. Choose from a variety of customizable wedding packages, each designed to cater to your unique vision and preferences. Whether you envision an intimate ceremony on the beach or a grand reception in a luxurious ballroom, Secrets Moxché will ensure your special day is nothing short of perfect.

Photo by Secrets Moche

For those seeking an extra touch of exclusivity, the Preferred Club offers a range of enhanced amenities and services to elevate your stay even further.

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Enjoy access to a private lounge with premium drinks and snacks, perfect for relaxing and socializing with other Preferred Club guests. A dedicated concierge will be available to assist you with all your needs, from booking dinner reservations to arranging special experiences.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Preferred Club guests enjoy upgraded suites in prime locations, offering breathtaking views and enhanced amenities.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Take a dip in the exclusive rooftop pool, offering panoramic views of the ocean and surrounding area.

Photo by Secrets Moche

Secrets Moxché provides the perfect setting for a romantic getaway or a relaxing escape. Whether you’re seeking adventure, rejuvenation, or simply a chance to unwind and reconnect with your loved one, this luxurious resort has everything you need to create lasting memories.

Photo by Secrets Moche

With its stunning location, exceptional dining, world-class amenities, and unparalleled service, Secrets Moxché promises an unforgettable experience that will exceed your expectations.

Fraud cases have risen by 16% with con artists stealing more than £3m a day, according to figures from the banking industry.

Criminals have particularly targeted victims by tricking them out of their one-time passcodes, trade body UK Finance said.

Despite the increase in reported cases, total losses have fallen slightly – totalling £572m in the first half of the year.

Banks said that fraud posed a “major threat” to the UK and called for support in tackling the crime.

The figures come after BBC Panorama revealed earlier this week a stream of cases involving e-money firm Revolut.

One victim told of how he lost £165,000 from his business account within an hour. Revolut said it had “robust controls” in place.

Changing tactics by fraudsters have seen cases rise in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

Unauthorised payments rose sharply, with losses up 5%, driven in part by fraudsters circumventing protection systems.

When a customer makes a payment online, they are often sent a one-time passcode to verify the transaction.

Fraudsters have found ways to trick people into telling them these codes, in order to steal money.

However, the latest data shows there were relatively large falls in romance and investment scams.

This may have been the result of the promise of stricter rules regarding so-called authorised push payment (APP) fraud prevention.

When criminals dupe their victims into sending them money by pretending to be a legitimate company, such as their bank or a tradesperson, or by selling goods that do not exist, this is known as APP fraud.

New mandatory rules took effect on 7 October which will see UK banks refund APP fraud victims up to £85,000 within five days.

Before the compulsory rules came in, most banks had signed up to a voluntary reimbursement code.

There were 97,344 cases of APP fraud in the first half of the year, with total losses of £214m.

“Fraud continues to pose a major threat in this country,” said Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance.

“In addition to the financial impact, this crime can cause severe psychological harm to victims.

“This isn’t a fight we will win alone.”

On Sunday, Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, accused Meta, the tech giant which owns social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, of “enabling” people to be contacted by fraudsters running online scams.

Meta said in response that its “pilot Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange programme (FIRE)” was designed to enable banks to “share information so we can work together to protect people using our respective services”.

WATER giants want to flush out even more cash from hard-pressed customers by adding another £100 to bills over five years.

The biggest suppliers in England and Wales say they need price rises above the levels they have already asked for, despite the regulator telling them that even those amounts were too high.

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In July, Ofwat said bills could go up by an average of £94 in the period up to 2030 — a 21 per cent hike, typically working out at an extra £19 a year.

But most companies have now submitted new plans, saying they need to cover urgent investment to cut sewage spills and combat leaky pipes, as well as higher debt interest costs.

It emerged as one provider, United Utilities, was yesterday accused of failing to report more than 100million litres of raw sewage being illegally dumped into Lake Windermere over a three-year period.

Southern Water has already asked to lift bills by 72 per cent from £420.35 a year to £627 a year. Ofwat said in July this should be limited to 44 per cent, but now bosses want more.

Troubled Thames Water says it needs to raise bills by 59 per cent to survive, but Ofwat wants a limit of 23 per cent.

Thames creditors argue that unless Ofwat approves the bigger rise, investors will desert the business and it could run out of cash by the New Year.

They say that could create a domino effect, causing an overall lack of appetite to invest in UK infrastructure.

Family’s back at N Brown

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THE fashion group behind Jacamo, JD Williams and Simply Be is being taken private in a £191million deal by the family that built the business up 60 years ago.

Joshua Alliance is to pay 40p per share for the 40 per cent of the N Brown Group that his family does not already own.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has 20 per cent and will make a sizeable profit after upping its stake in February when the shares were sitting at only 18p.

The stock price of N Brown, which recently called on TV’s Denise van Outen to front JD Williams adverts, jumped by 45 per cent yesterday on the back of the bid.

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Mr Alliance, 35, has a 6.6 per cent stake while his father, 92-year-old Lord David Alliance, who bought the business in 1963, has 53.4 per cent.

Lord David was once known as the King of British Textile for his empire that included Coats Viyella.

 He started his career working in bazaars in Iran before moving to Manchester to work in the rag trade.

Joshua Alliance said N Brown would be better off in private hands because, due to its current shareholder ownership, it is “not benefiting from being listed on the AIM market — whilst having to bear significant costs associated with its listing”.

He said: “In the business’s current cycle of evolution, we will be able to achieve this growth potential more successfully away from the public markets.”

Taking a break in revenue

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KITKAT maker Nestle has halved its growth expectations for the year after blaming weaker demand and boycotts linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The world’s biggest food group said its sales would grow by around 2 per cent this year, rather than the 4 per cent expectation it had at the start of the year.

It said its growth was impacted by “soft consumer demand and consumer hesitancy towards global brands, linked to geopolitical tension”.

 The cost of living crisis has also prompted many shoppers to turn their back on many big brands, which have raised prices and shrunk packets to boost their profits.

The Swiss food giant follows global giants Starbucks and McDonald’s in being impacted by boycotts linked to the conflict in Gaza.

Nestle has become a target for the boycott due to its stake in Israeli food seller Osem.

Buy now, pay safer

SHOPPERS will be protected by new rules around “Buy Now, Pay Later” firms, the City watchdog has confirmed.

Regulation around BNPL products, such as Klarna and Clearpay, will finally kick in by early 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority has said.

Proposals to regulate BNPL were first touted in 2021. The new rules will mean firms must follow the same laws covering credit cards and customers will be protected if things go wrong.

30 fired at Meta

FACEBOOK’S Mark Zuckerberg has fired almost 30 workers on six-figure salaries for using meal credits to buy goods such as wine glasses.

Staff at Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, were being paid £300,000 but still received perks including free meal vouchers to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A probe found the sacked workers had used them to buy toothpaste and cosmetics.

Meta, worth £1.1trillion, has led an efficiency drive which has included 21,000 lay-offs in the past two years.

THE boss of Ladbrokes owner Entain has lifted its profit forecasts after a boost from the recent Euros and NFL matches. But Gavin Isaacs yesterday also warned the Government that a tax grab on the gambling ­sector would lead to job losses.

£571M in scams

BRITS had more than £571million stolen by fraudsters and scammers in the first six months of the year.

There were almost 2,000 cases of romance scams, with customers losing £14.5million, says UK Finance data.

Criminals posing as bank staff or police stole £32.3million, while fraudsters pretending to be bosses to trick victims into transferring cash led to a £7.8million loss.

Banks are calling on social media firms to help tackle scammers at source because most fraud starts online.

In today’s newsletter:

• Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza

• Massive Chinese military drills fuel alarm in Taiwan

• Gambling hub Macau’s new Beijing-backed leader

Good morning. Israel said yesterday it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of last year’s October 7 attack which triggered the deadliest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sinwar’s death is a pivotal moment in the year of fighting, delivering a severe blow to the Palestinian militant group and a symbolic victory to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israel Defense Forces said Sinwar had been killed on Wednesday by soldiers from its southern command in the south of the Gaza Strip, without giving further details. Hamas did not immediately confirm Sinwar’s death.

Netanyahu hailed Sinwar’s death as a “victory of good over evil” and “the beginning of the day after Hamas” rule in Gaza, adding those militants still holding Israeli hostages in the enclave now had an opportunity to release them and be allowed to live.

The IDF, outlining how Sinwar was located and killed, said he was spotted by chance on Wednesday by its forces. Here’s what happened during the pursuit of the Hamas leader.

• ‘Dead man walking’: After more than a year, the relentless search for Yahya Sinwar, Israel’s most wanted man, finally ended in a bombed-out building in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: China announces third-quarter GDP along with the September house price index and retail sales. Japan releases its September inflation data.

• UK-China relations: UK foreign secretary David Lammy meets his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing. Lammy will raise concerns over human rights and China’s support for Russia, according to people familiar with his plans.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. China’s show of force around Taiwan in a day of massive military exercises has fuelled alarm in Taipei. A senior Taiwanese national security official called for other democracies to push back harder against Beijing after China deployed a record number of warplanes around Taiwan on Monday.

2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he has intelligence reports that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to enter the war on the side of Russia. The White House said yesterday it could not independently confirm the reports, but National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby described them as “concerning”.

3. Alimentation Couche-Tard’s proposed $47bn buyout of Seven & i is a better deal and less risky than its target’s break-up plan, the Canadian retailer’s chief said in Tokyo as he urged the Japanese group to start talks. Couche-Tard executives are in Japan to try to move their offer forward, and said they wanted the chance to discuss their bid with government officials who would have to review any deal.

4. China plans to almost double credit support for a selected group of housing projects to Rmb4tn ($562bn) as part of official efforts to reinvigorate its property sector and turn around the economy. China’s housing minister said the new funds should be deployed by the end of the year. Learn more about the so-called whitelist of projects that are eligible to receive financing.

5. Meta has fired about two dozen staff in Los Angeles for using their $25 meal credits to buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent. The terminations took place last week, just days before the social media company separately began restructuring certain teams across WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs, its augmented and virtual reality arm.

News in-depth

The next leader of gambling hub Macau is a Beijing-backed former top judge who has previously warned against the “wild” expansion of the gaming sector. Sam Hou Fai was elected unopposed on Sunday by a selection committee stacked with pro-Beijing politicians and businesspeople. Analysts said the territory’s gambling sector is set to come under further pressure from China when Sam takes office in December.

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

Artificial intelligence is being marshalled in multiple fields to alleviate problems in some of the world’s poorest countries — in Zambia to help improve medical diagnostics, in Kenya to enable farmers to identify crop disease and in Ethiopia to tailor education materials to pupils’ needs. But some fear the technological rush will deepen a digital divide.

Take a break from the news

Italian fashion group Prada and the US aerospace start-up Axiom Space yesterday unveiled the spacesuits that will take astronauts to the Moon on Nasa’s upcoming Artemis III mission. Here’s more on the not-very-fashionable but highly engineered 200kg-plus gender-neutral white extravehicular mobility unit spacesuit.

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Irwin Cruz