Boots switched to brown paper bags on Monday, aiming to remove all plastic bags from stores by 2020. On Monday 53 Boots stores will stop using plastic bags and begin offering unbleached brown paper bags. These will be rolled out across all of its 2,485 outlets by next year. The switch is said to eliminate 900 tonnes of single-use plastic each year, converting to 40 million plastic bags. The decision to stop using single-use plastics was also recently made by McDonalds, which will remove plastic lids from its McFlurry ice cream in all UK restaurants from September, in an attempt to align itself with more environmentally friendly practices. Single-use plastics are only used once by consumers before being thrown away or recycled, with items such as plastic bags, straws, bottles and food packaging falling under this category. These disposable plastics are petroleum based and non-biodegradable, harming the natural environment. Since the government introduced a small 5p fee on plastic bags back in 2015, usage has started to drop. Alternative products that consumers can buy, such as reusable coffee cups, shopping bags, drinking straws, water bottles and cutlery, have been on the rise. These can be used more than once and, when brought along with users, and can replace single-use plastic products. “We are changing our plastic bags to 100% recyclable brown paper bags,” the company announced on Twitter.

We are changing our plastic bags to 100% recyclable brown paper bags, with all profits going to @BBCCiN. pic.twitter.com/w8df8FP7wl

— Boots (@BootsUK) June 24, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js “Plastic waste is undoubtedly one of the most important issues around the world today with TV shows like Blue Planet highlighting the effects of plastic pollution,” Seb James, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Boots UK commented, according to Sky News. “This year, we are transforming Boots as we celebrate 170 years, and the move to unbleached paper bags is another pivotal moment in that journey,” Seb James continued. “There is no doubt that our customers expect us to act and this change signifies a huge step away from our reliance on plastic.”

Lufthansa (ETR:LHA) has revealed the measures it will take to turn around its Eurowings on Monday, aiming for it to generate profit as quickly as possible. Shares in Deutsche Lufthansa AG were trading almost 2% lower on Monday. Recently, the German airline posted a deeper loss for its first-quarter of the year, blaming higher fuel costs. It revealed a loss that was almost nine-times deeper than that of the first-quarter a year earlier. On Monday, Lufthansa announced that it has changed its current dividend policy, saying that in future, 20-40% of its net income should be regularly distributed to shareholders. Its medium term aim is to raise its free cash flow to at least €1 billion per year. The German low-cost airline Eurowings, in future, will focus on short-haul flights. The Eurowings fleet will be standardised on the Airbus A320 family, and a 15% reduction in unit costs will be sought by 2022. “With the airlines in our Group we are excellently positioned in our home markets, which are among the strongest in the world,” says Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “Our Group’s service companies are also world leaders in their fields. We want to translate this market strength even more consistently into sustainable profitability and value creation. And it is to this end that we are presenting concrete actions today which will enhance our efficiency and generate value for our shareholders,” Carsten Spohr continued. Lufthansa also said that a turnaround plan can be expected for Brussels Airlines, another of its subsidiaries, in the third quarter of 2019. Brussels Airlines, which recently made the news for a flight facing operational difficulties, will not be integrated into Eurowings, the company added. Elsewhere in aviation, Ryanair (LON:RYA) grew its passenger volume by 13% in May, whilst Wizz Air’s (LON:WIZZ) passenger numbers rose 22.4%. Shares in Deutsche Lufthansa AG (ETR:LHA) were trading at -1.38% as of 11:50 CEST Monday.

RA International (LON:RAI), a leading remote services provider in Africa and the Middle East, announced on Monday that it has won a government contract, in addition to providing an update on trading. Shares in the company were up 4.34% on Monday morning. The company said that it has won a government contract with a value of up to $9 million. The contract, which was originally expected to be signed in H2 2018, will see construction and facilities management services provided over the next three years. The project is set to commence in H2 2019. In addition to the contract announcement, RA International also issued an update on its current trading. It said that the year-to-date has been encouraging and further progress has been made in line with its strategy of bidding for larger contracts across three service channels, diversifying its geographical presence and broadening its customer base. RA International added that continued investment is being made in infrastructure and personnel in order to enable the company to pursue further expansion. “As last year, we expect financial performance to be weighted in the second half of the year, but we are confident in delivering on market expectations for 2019. The outlook for RA International is positive; we have been shortlisted to tender for several major contracts and we have the platform from which to capitalise on the opportunities available to us,” Soraya Narfeldt, CEO of RA International, commented in a statement. In the first half of the year, RA International was awarded several contracts, such as construction works at the US embassy in Denmark and a long-term contract with the United Nations. Its UNSOS contract, awarded earlier this year in May, will see it provide vehicle and equipment fleet operation and first in line maintenance services to UNSOS in up to 10 locations in Somalia. Shares in RA International Group plc (LON:RAI) were up 4.34% as of 09:44 BST Monday.

The egg free cake shop company Cake Box (LON:CBOX) posted a 14% rise in its annual profits on Monday. Its results were driven by a strong pipeline of new store openings. Shares in the cake retailer were up 3.45% during early trading. Profit before tax amounted to £3.8 million for the full year ended 31 March, 14% higher than the £3.3 million figure recorded the year earlier. During the period, 27 new franchise stores were added, with 113 franchise stores in operation as of the end of March. Franchisee total turnover came to £30.7 million, up 18% from the £25.9 million figure previously. Additionally, group revenue was up 33% to £16.9 million, compared to the £12.7 million figure from the year before. Cake Box, which entered the Alternative Investments Market (AIM) last June, first began in East London back in 2008. “This has been a landmark year for Cake Box, due to both the successful completion of our initial public offering and the significant expansion of our family of franchisees,” Neil Sachdev, Non-Executive Chairman of Cake Box, commented on the results. “Although we have only been on AIM for a short period, we have made a huge amount of progress. New store openings have kept pace with our plans, our franchisees are enjoying good performance and we have a solid platform for growth with two new warehouse and distribution centers secured. As such, we look forward with great confidence,” the Non-Executive Chairman continued. “The new financial year has started well and we have already opened four new franchise stores, with two more expected to open before the end of June 2019. The Group is well placed for further progress and the Board is confident of another successful year of growth,” Chief Executive Officer Sukh Chamdal also commented. In March 2018, Cake Box became recognised as one of the 100 fastest growing UK companies by turnover in the 2018 Sunday Times Virgin 100 Fast Track league. Shares in Cake Box Holdings plc (LON:CBOX) were up 3.45% as of 09:14 BST Monday.

Trainline shares have jumped on its debut on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the company at £1.68 million. The rail and coach travel platform is floating 56.5% of the business, raising £951 million from selling existing shares and £110 million from issuing new shares. Trainline have said that the funds raised would be directed at expanding the business and its profile. Chief executive Clare Gilmartin commented: “We believe we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on the vast opportunity ahead and accelerate our expansion for the benefit of our customers, our train and coach company partners and our shareholders,” Trainline is headquartered in London, with main offices also in Paris and Edinburgh. The firm employs 600 staff across more than 40 countries. It sells coach and rail tickets across Europe through its website and app. It was founded in 1999 and was formerly part of the Virgin Group. KKR bought the transport company back in 2015, the year it renamed from thetrainline.com to simply trainline. Trainline is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the following ticker – LON:TRN.  

Barclays’ former chief executive John Varley was acquitted of conspiracy to commit fraud on Friday. The Court of Appeal declined an application by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to overturn the original decision, which concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Varley. The appeal was upheld against three defendants, Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath, who will now face a retrial. Lord Justice Gross, who sat at the appeal case, said: “Following an application by Mr Varley at the close of the prosecution case, the trial judge ruled that the evidence against him on each count was insufficient for the case to proceed. The appeal was dismissed by the court of appeal … Accordingly, Mr Varley has been acquitted on both counts.” He continued: “The other defendants will be retried at a date to be determined.” The case relates to an investigation by the SFO into a loan given to Qatar back in 2008. The loan meant that the bank avoided having to be bailed out by the government at the height of the global financial crisis. Since then, Barclays have grappled with a series of fines and penalties relating to failings regarding PPI and alongside an attempt to name a whistleblower. It was eventually fined $15 million by a New York regulator following measures taken CEO Jes Staley to unmask the whistleblower. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also fined Staley £642,430 over the failings. Shares in the British bank (LON:BARC) are currently +0.04% as of 13:12PM (GMT).

150,000 companies are ‘not fully ready’ for the advent of a no-deal Brexit, Mark Carney has said. The Bank of England (BoE) Governor said that various businesses are yet to fill out paperwork to ensure that they can continue exporting to the EU, should a no-deal Brexit scenario occur. “Business will be reliant on what the governments are able to do in order to keep the ports open, the trade flowing,” he told the BBC’s Today programme. Mark Carney said that whilst the majority of UK businesses had made preparations, they were not completely safeguarded from the fallout of a no-deal Brexit. “But it doesn’t mean they are fully ready, in fact far from it,” he added. Mark Carney also addressed news that Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) would be introducing its own digital currency, called Libra. He warned that the Bank would be putting in place certain rules to ensure that the currency protected consumer data. He said: “Welcome to the world of finance: there is oversight, there is consumer protection, there is market integrity, people have certain rights to privacy that have to be respected. “And we’re not going to allow a network that comes into place that is a network for criminals and terrorists.” One of the criticisms raised against cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has been its propensity to be exploited by those in the dark web, due to its unregulated nature. On Friday the BoE’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold. The BoE also opted to slash its growth forecasts for the UK economy, citing ongoing Brexit uncertainty and ongoing global trade wars.  

British households could face a potential bill of £172 million in total from the collapse of 11 energy suppliers since the beginning of 2018, according to Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice, a network of independent charities across the UK, said on Friday that British energy customers are facing a potential bill of £172 million from the collapse of various suppliers since January of last year. Additionally, a new report by Citizens Advice also reveals that thousands of people who owed money to failed suppliers missed out on consumer protections and instead faced aggressive debt collection methods. The government must “fix the protection gap” and shield customers who owe money to failed energy companies, ensuring consumer interests are upheld. It is estimated that at the very least, 32,000 have been left open to potentially aggressive debt collection methods by the administrators of these collapsed energy companies. “Consumers shouldn’t have to foot the multi-million pound bill left behind when companies collapse – and they certainly shouldn’t lose their usual protections in the process,” Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, commented. “The Energy White Paper is the perfect opportunity for the government to close the gap in protections and limit the cost to consumers of any future supplier failures. It must act now,” the Chief Executive continued. As the failed supplier is taken over by administrators, Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort appoints a new supplier to customers whose original energy supplier has failed. These administrators are not subject to the same rules as suppliers licensed by Ofgem, Citizens Advice emphasised, and are therefore allowed to use more aggressive debt collection methods. Citizens Advice wants the government to fix the protection gap for customers impacted by the collapse of energy suppliers, as well as ensuring that administrators consider consumer interests and are subject to the same rules as suppliers. Earlier in May, it was reported that thousands of households face an increase of up to £362 per year in energy bills. This increase comes as over 60 fixed-price contracts are set to end. Moreover, 5.8 million households switched electricity supplier in 2018 amid price hikes.

Bank of Scotland has been fined £45.5 million by the city watchdog for failing to report suspicions of fraud at its Reading branch back in 2007. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that although the Bank of Scotland identified suspicious activity in 2007, it did not alert regulators until 2009. Explaining the penalty, the FCA said that the bank demonstrated ‘…insufficient challenge, scrutiny or inquiry across the organisation and from top to bottom’. The individuals involved in the £245 million fraud scheme – Lynden Scourfield, Mark Dobson, Alison Mills and David Mills – were all banned from working in financial services. Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA said: “Bank of Scotland failed to alert the regulator and the police about suspicions of fraud at its Reading branch when those suspicions first became apparent. BOS’s failures caused delays to the investigations by both the FCA and Thames Valley Police. There is no evidence anyone properly addressed their mind to this matter or its consequences. The result risked substantial prejudice to the interests of justice, delaying scrutiny of the fraud by regulators, the start of criminal proceedings as well as the payment of compensation to customers.” Bank of Scotland is owned by Lloyds Banking Group. António Horta-Osório, Chief Executive of the group said of the decision: “We take today’s enforcement notice very seriously. 2007-2009 was a dark period in HBOS’s history, prior to its acquisition by Lloyds Banking Group. I want to apologise once again for the very deep distress caused to the customers affected by the HBOS Reading fraud. The perpetrators of the fraud rightly went to jail for the crimes they committed.” He also said that the group had since launched a Customer Review to ensure victims received compensation for the incident. According to the group, 98% of those offers had been accepted. Shares in Lloyds (LON:LLOY) are currently trading broadly flat, at +0.26% as of 10.47AM (GMT).