Christmas Adverts

The Christmas advert season is upon us and John Lewis’ high profile campaign again attracted vast attention on social media and pitting it against fellow retailers for creativity, emotional appeal and charm. The group reportedly spends around £7m on the whole campaign, though a spokesperson for the company declined to confirm that figure. According to the Advertising Association, seasonal advertising spend is expected to reach a record high of £6bn during the final quarter of this year, marking a 37 per cent increase on the 2010 level and a fresh all-time high. Recent research by the association also showed that nearly half of Brits admit to having been moved to tears by Christmas adverts that they’ve either seen or heard. “Christmas is a key time for advertisers large and small,” said Karen Fraser, director at advertising think tank Credos.

Christmas Adverts

Sea2See

Off the coast of Catalonia, an intriguing experiment in the circular economy is taking place. Dozens of fishing vessels are heading out to sea and bringing back tonnes of plastic waste alongside their usual haul. About 10kg of waste is collected for each pair of glasses it sells. Sea2see separates what it can use for the glasses and the rest is sold off to other companies for use in different processes such as manufacturing nylon thread. The plastic is then used as the raw material to make recycled designer sunglasses for Barcelona-based company, Sea2see. Thanks to agreements with 22 Catalonian port authorities, the company helps fishermen across the region bring in around a tonne of plastic waste every three days.

Sea2See

Interest Rates Rise

For the first time in more than 10 years, the Bank of England has raised interest rates. The official bank rate has been lifted from 0.25% to 0.5%, the first increase since July 2007. It is likely to rise twice more over the next three years, according to Bank of England governor Mark Carney. Almost four million households face higher mortgage interest payments after the rise, but it should give savers a modest lift in their returns. Mr Carney expects banks to pass on the rate rise to savers, but said many mortgages, loans and credit cards would not see an immediate impact. He said that British households have been "savvy" with their finances and have mostly taken out fixed-rate mortgages, which means it will take some time before the rise has an impact on them. The Bank estimates that almost two million mortgage holders have not experienced an interest rate rise since taking out a mortgage. Watch to see how this tricky concept is explained by some 10 year olds.

Interest Rates

iPhone X Launches

The new £999 iPhone X has hit shelves in more than 50 countries - but what drove fans to line up in the middle of the night for it? The queue was already 100-strong when Nick Davies arrived at Apple's flagship UK store at 02:30. If it is a big hit, the US tech firm could even become a trillion dollar company, according to some analysts. The phones were available to order in the UK from 27 October - but plenty missed out, and so queued up on Friday to be among the first to get their hands on one. Apple chief executive Tim Cook is predicting the iPhone X will help the company record its "biggest quarter ever" in the three months to the end of the year. It sold more than 46.6 million phones in the July to September period, up 3% year-on-year. That produced $28.8bn, or more than half of its revenue. Other products, including the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch, also did well, growing in the double digits.

Apple iPhone X

Cheese Advent Calendar

Asda is to stock "the world's first" cheese Advent calendar this Christmas following a social media frenzy about the product. The So Wrong It's Nom calendar was the brainchild of food blogger Annem Hobson - will go on sale in stores across the UK from 9th November, priced at £8. It features 24 individually wrapped 20g pieces of cheese with a "cheesy" joke or serving suggestion behind each door. The idea gained traction last year when she shared images of her prototype online. The idea was so popular that 11,000 people registered an intention to buy within four days. The price was estimated to be between £20 and £25 when in development but through working with Norseland they got the price down to £8 to make it more affordable. The packaging allows one half to be torn off after the first 12 days of Christmas to maximise fridge space.

Cheese Advent

LegoLand New York

Merlin Entertainments is to invest £265m in opening a Legoland theme park in New York as it presses ahead with global expansion. The owner of Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers said that the new Legoland will open in 2020 and be located in Goshen, Orange County, 60 miles north-west of the Big Apple. The resort will create over 1,000 US jobs, in addition to 800 construction jobs in its development phase. The move comes after Merlin also said it would build Legoland parks in South Korea with plans for further parks in China. Boss Nick Varney said: "Legoland New York is the first new major theme park in the North East of the US for several decades, and is perfectly located for visitors from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia and beyond. Its London attractions - which include the Coca-Cola London Eye and the London Dungeons - saw a marked drop-off in visitor numbers after the recent spate of attacks, while the group's theme parks also suffered in a "difficult" market after the UK's threat level was raised.

Lego Land New York

Posh Squash

Britvic is adding two new Robinsons products to its portfolio, including a cordial that has twice the amount of fruit than original Robinsons. Fruit Creations comes in nine fruit flavours including Mandarin & Lime and Fresh Pear & Blueberry. It contains no added sugar and falls under the threshold of the UK sugar tax, which is due to be implemented next year. Britvic said the range, which launches next month, is designed to appeal to adults "looking for more exciting flavour blends". At the same time, Britvic will launch Robinsons Cordials, which it describes as a "more sophisticated cordials range". The three flavours - Pressed Pear & Elderflower, Raspberry, Rhubarb & Orange Blossom and Crushed Lime & Mint – come packaged in 50cl glass bottles for a "premium look and feel", the company said. The launches will be supported by a GBP3m (US$4m) through-the-line campaign primarily focusing on Fruit Creations, Britvic said.

Posh Squash