More than 5 million people had a parcel lost or stolen last year, according to Citizens Advice, which has called on the government to start fining firms that keep losing deliveries as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the sector. Currently, only Royal Mail faces fines for poor service, but the charity said the same sanctions should apply to the whole industry, after surveys showed customers had experienced a range of problems with deliveries. Ten parcels were lost or stolen during each minute over the last 12 months, it claimed. – Guardian
Amazon’s sales topped $100bn for the third quarter in a row as its profits for the three months surged to $7.8bn. The Seattle-based tech and online retail giant reported sales of $113bn for the three months between April and June – over $1.4bn a day. The figure was up from $88.9bn in the second quarter of 2020 but slightly lower than Wall Street had expected, and triggered a 5% slide in its share price in after-hours trading. – Guardian
Another major Morrisons shareholder has spoken out against the £9.5bn takeover bid for the supermarket by US private equity firm Fortress, as doubts grow over the deal. M&G, a top 20 investor, argued that the proposal, which includes £3.2bn of Morrisons’ net debt, was too low just days after the supermarket chain’s biggest investor Silchester opposed the deal. – Telegraph
Bentley Motors has made more profit in the first half of 2021 than in any full year since it was created a little over a century ago. Brushing off the supply chain problems and workplace shortages caused by the pandemic, which have plagued much of the rest of the automotive industry, the Volkswagen-owned British marque is booming thanks to sales in China and the success of its Bentayga model, a a rival to the Range Rover whose looks and dimensions have not always been applauded by the motoring press. – The Times
Robinhood endured a torrid debut on the stock market yesterday after the American broking platform priced its multibillion-dollar flotation at the bottom of expectations and the shares then fell when they started trading. Shares in the California-based business tumbled by as much as 12 per cent on the Nasdaq exchange, from a listing price of $38 that had been set late on Wednesday night. – The Times
