China growth slowest since financial crisis as trade war looms. Economic growth of 6.5% in the third quarter was the weakest since early 2009 and is expected to slow further as the effects of China’s trade war with the US take hold. The chancellor Philip Hammond may well have a spring in his step this morning, after the latest official figures show government borrowing fell more than expected in September. Borrowing was £4.1bn last month, less than the £4.5bn predicted by economists and £800m than a year earlier according to the Office for National Statistics. It was the lowest borrowing for the month of September since 2007 – shortly before the financial crisis hit.
Unilever reports sales boost after HQ row but investors unimpressed. A 3.8% rise in third quarter for firm behind Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap. Unilever (ULVR), which this month was forced to scrap plans to move its headquarters from London to Rotterdam after a shareholder rebellion, said a hot summer across Europe and a recovery in Brazil boosted sales in the third quarter. The firm behind brands such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Dove soap reported a 3.8% rise in underlying sales to €12.5bn (£11bn) during the three months to the end of September. The chief executive, Paul Polman, said a plan to increase prices in a bid to offset rising commodity costs had not affected sales, putting the company on track to reach targets it has set for 2020
Gatwick plans using emergency runway to increase flight capacity. London’s second airport hopes to rival Heathrow with 70m passengers a year by 2032. Gatwick is proposing to spend £500m to widen its emergency runway and bring it into daily use as a second runway, as part of a plan to bring more than 100,000 additional flights a year to the airport by 2032. The core proposal in an ambitious 15-year masterplan published on Thursday shows that Gatwick, the UK’s second-biggest airport, in south-east England, hopes to serve up to 70 million passengers a year with two runways – almost as many passengers as Heathrow today. Gatwick’s emergency runway could be widened by 12 metres to comply with safety requirements for a 210-metre centreline gap from the main runway, and be used for an additional 10-15 short-haul flights an hour to take off.
Amazon creates 600 technology jobs in Manchester. Online retailer to expand R&D operations in the city as well as in Edinburgh and Cambridge. Amazon has said the UK will be “taking a leading role in global innovation” as it announced plans to hire 1,000 more technology, research and other skilled workers by next year. The US online retailer is to open its first office in Manchester, with room for 600 new jobs in the Hanover Building in the city’s Northern Quarter – once the headquarters of the Co-operative Group. Doug Gurr, the UK manager for Amazon, said the UK was “taking a leading role in our global innovation”. “These are Silicon Valley jobs in Britain, and further cement our long-term commitment to the UK,” he said
