n.563

Kroger to close three e-commerce warehouses: Ocado share price slumps


Shares in the Ocado Group plummeted more than 17 per cent on Tuesday after US grocery retailer Kroger announced it would close three underperforming warehouses developed using the British firm's technology, dealing a major blow to its licensing business. The London-listed group, which provides automated technology for distribution centres and also runs its own grocery business, said it would lose $50 million in revenue in the current financial year due to the closures. On the subject you can read here.

E-Commerce
 

n.561

US Christmas shopping: inflation and job losses are compounded by expectations of a slowdown in retail and hospitality sales


during the busiest time of the year. The job site ZipRecruiter said retailers advertise 8.4 per cent fewer holiday jobs on its site than last year (Financial Times), while ads for temporary hospitality workers fell by 12 per cent. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts that US employers could hire fewer than 500,000 temporary workers in the last three months of 2025, the lowest total since 2009. Amazon said it will hire the same 250,000 seasonal workers this year as last year. The latest indicators from the University of Michigan - from Bloomberg - are not positive: savings and ability to buy durable goods down and expectations of losing a job up. Consumer sentiment is at its lowest level since June 2022. And Wendy's will close hundreds of shops as consumers cut back on restaurant spending.(McDonald's did better but) Compiled 7 November, updated 8 November 2025

AmazonInflationMc Donald's
 

n.559

France: the government has initiated proceedings to block the website of e-commerce giant Shein


following the scandal surrounding the sale of child pornographic dolls. Despite the popularity of Shein - a site visited by more than 4.4 million people a day in France - the government is waging an unprecedented legal battle to force it to shut down, even if it means circumventing European legislation. "On instructions from the Prime Minister," reads the press release, Sébastien Lecornu's government intends to suspend 'Shein for as long as it takes for the platform to prove to the authorities that all its content finally complies with our laws and regulations ' . Below: gendarmes in front of the BHV warehouse, in Paris, where Shein has just opened a 1,500 square metre sales space, and some reflections on theunreliability and illegality practised, in some cases, without control, by Chinese sites (there is also Temu), which is the French government's main topic on this issue. The fact that it has not succeeded so far means that at least the problem - which is very relevant - has finally been raised. Update: The attempt to block Shein seems to have been dropped for now. Instead, the French government is targeting a €2 tax on every article imported from non-EU countries as a measure against Chinese 'fast fashion' platforms. Will it succeed? And should Italy do so too? In Italy, in fact, there is discussion of a €2 tax on small parcels from outside the EU, proposed for the 2026 economic manoeuvre. The measure would affect parcels weighing up to two kilograms from non-EU countries – mainly China – and would aim to raise new budgetary revenue while countering unfair competition from digital giants such as Shein and Temu, which thrive in Italy thanks to online platforms where they sell products at bargain prices. Drafted on 6 November, updated on 13 November 2025

E-CommerceNon-foodShein
 

n.556

Comparable sales in the US, McDonald’s largest market, increased by 2.4%


McDonald's maintained its $5 meal offer for more than a year, prioritised menu innovation, and intensified marketing efforts to boost demand among low-income diners Reuters adds that it is raising discounts: "In September, the company reintroduced its Extra Value meals and began working with franchisees to standardise a 15% discount on combo meals nationwide, up from the current 10% to 11%."

Mc Donald's
 

n.555

Amazon enters into a $38 billion partnership with OpenAI


AWS will provide OpenAI with Amazon EC2 UltraServers, with hundreds of thousands of chips and the capacity to scale up to tens of millions of CPUs (Central Processing Unit, meaning the 'brain' of the computer) for advanced GenAI workloads. Martin Peers commented: 'That's not a lot', given Silicon Valley's billion dollar deals and sums on AI, Cloud and whatnot. Indeed, OpenAI has commitments of $1.5 trillion and agreements with Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, Broadcom, Google and Samsung. Amazon is expected to invest $8 billion in Anthropic. On AWS read here. Compiled 4 November, updated 5 November 2025

AIAmazon
 

n.554

Trump negotiates deal with Ozempic manufacturer to sell some weight-loss drugs for $149


Novo Nordisk, as well as Eli Lilly, would get Medicare and Medicaid coverage for their successful slimming drugs. The Trump administration is negotiating a deal with the weight-loss drug companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. This would allow them to sell lower doses of some of their obesity drugs to consumers at $149 for a monthly supply through TrumpRx (*), according to people familiar with the matter. The drugs have list prices ranging from about $1,000 to $1,350 per month. The companies offer discounts to both insurers and patients, including cash prices of about $499 per month for patients using the companies' direct purchasing services. Source : The Wall Street Journal (*) a government-run website, dubbed TrumpRx, to allow consumers to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. GLP1 is discussed here but also in this article.

 

n.553

The price of hazelnuts, essential for Ferrero’s spreads and chocolates, has almost doubled since the beginning of the summer


after a spring frost and a pest epidemic in Turkey reduced the amount of hazelnuts available for the confectionery industry. Ferrero, which consumes about a quarter of global hazelnut production , halted purchases, drawing on its own stocks and sourcing from Chile and the US. London-based traders say prices have further inflated as Turkish middlemen have aggressively bought from farmers, betting that the world's largest hazelnut consumer will soon be forced back into the market. In a normal year, Turkey harvests between 600,000 and 700,000 tonnes of hazelnuts, almost two-thirds of the global supply of around 1.1 million tonnes. The hazelnut situation, like that of cocoa or meat and milk, will create further inflation. Drafted 31 October, updated 2 November 2025

AgricultureFerreroInflationMeat
 

n.552

Italy returns to second place among world oil producers. Here are the figures for the new oil campaign


Total production is expected to be around 300,000 tonnes with an increase of 21% compared to 2024, which would bring Italy back to second place in the world among the main producers. In the Mediterranean basin, on the other hand, data from the International Olive Oil Council paint an evolving picture with Spain registering a slight drop (1.37 million tonnes), Tunisia and Turkey dropping by 21% and 43% respectively, while overall European production is just over two million tonnes Gambero Rosso