Image copyright Asda Sales of supermarkets’ premium own-label brands are booming as shoppers decide to treat themselves. Figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 4 December show a 13% sales rise for the products, despite sluggish growth overall for food retailers. Sales of Morrisons’ The Best range are …

Image copyright PA A union representing Post Office workers has defended a decision to strike in the week before Christmas. Workers will stage five days of strikes from Monday in a dispute over jobs, pensions and branch closures. The industrial action will affect Crown Post Offices – the larger branches …

Image copyright Getty Images Shares in UniCredit have jumped almost 15% after Italy’s biggest bank said it would raise €13bn (£10.9bn) and cut 14,000 jobs to restore its fortunes. The bank plans to use the record rights issue to help remove almost €18bn of bad debt from its balance sheet …

Image copyright Getty Images HSBC has closed more than a quarter of its UK branches over the last two years, as part of 1,000 bank closures in total, research by Which? has found. The consumer organisation says that HSBC closed 321 branches since January 2015, or 27% of its network. …

The pound has fallen dramatically since the Brexit vote at the end of June. OK, investors have been known to overreact to dramatic events and sell too hard and too fast but regardless, the lower level of sterling is having a widespread impact across many aspects of our lives – …

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Tesco’s recent spat with Unilever has highlighted fears of a new inflationary surge Sooner or later, the downward pressure on the pound since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union is expected to lead to upward pressure on the prices of most things …

Image copyright Getty Images Women work on average 39 more days a year than men according to the World Economic Forum. Women work on average 50 minutes more a day than men, data from the WEF’s Global Gender Gap report suggests. The report says the prevalence of unpaid work burdens …

The claim: The falling pound has made the UK the world’s sixth biggest economy, down from fifth. Reality Check verdict: The World Bank produces the rankings which are based on average exchange rates over the period. The UK has not fallen behind France so far. Figures as diverse as Jeremy …

Image caption These days many of Macae’s boats are either beached or moored There has been a surge of food trucks recently in Macae, a city that calls itself Brazil’s “oil capital”. At first glance, it makes sense that in this seaside town with its beach culture, there would be …

Image caption Jeans are an iconic symbol of American fashion Monte Galbraith has worked in the denim industry since he was a teenager. The 40-year veteran of the trade claims to have the indigo dye of blue jeans running through his veins. Like many in Columbus, Georgia – a city …