Business
Travellers warned of bank holiday disruption


Millions of people in the UK face travel disruption this bank holiday weekend, contending with busy roads, a rail strike and engineering works.
There is likely to be significant disruption on the rail network on CrossCountry routes from Aberdeen to Cornwall because of a strike by the RMT union over pay, safety and staffing.
The weather is looking to be mostly dry across the three-day weekend, with large crowds expected at festivals being held across the country.
Meanwhile, ferry passengers at the Port of Dover on Friday faced queuing times of almost two hours.
Ferry operator DFDS said at 13:00 on Friday that waits at check-in desks were around 40 minutes and it was taking more than an hour to clear border control.
Earlier on Friday, the Gatwick Express service was disrupted due to a signalling fault.
The RAC has also warned roads will be busy on Friday, with three million getaway journeys planned, and particularly heavy traffic on the M5 between Bristol and Devon.
Crowds are expected at events including London’s Notting Hill Carnival, the Reading and Leeds festivals, the Emerge festival in Belfast, the Edinburgh Fringe closing weekend, the Creamfields festival in Cheshire and the Women’s Rugby World Cup openers.
Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, making this the last long weekend before Christmas for those regions.
Will there be rail delays?
Network Rail has advised all passengers to check their journeys before travelling this weekend due to strikes and rail works.
There will be no CrossCountry services on Saturday due to strikes, and service alterations and cancellations are to be expected on Sunday.
A second strike on Monday will limit services on all CrossCountry lines between 08:00 and 18:00.
Trains between Birmingham, Reading and the south coast will not run, and nor will services between Leicester, Cambridge and Stansted airport.
There will only be a very limited service to the south-west and north of York.
On the East Coast Main Line, LNER will have no direct trains between London King’s Cross and Peterborough on Sunday due to engineering works. A bus replacement service will also run between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
In the West Midlands, buses will replace trains on some routes from Birmingham New Street due to engineering works.
Avanti West Coast will operate a reduced service from London Euston, and trains will be diverted from Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International.
London Northwestern services will run to and from Birmingham International only.
Network Rail said the “vast majority” of services would run, but some engineering works were “unfortunately unavoidable”.
How will traffic be?
Around 17.6 million holiday trips are expected to be made by car across the UK between Friday and the bank holiday on Monday, the RAC said.
It says the busiest times to drive will be between 10:00 and 19:00 on Friday, 09:00 and 17:00 on Saturday and 11:00 and 18:00 on Monday.
Transport analytics firm Inrix says the M5 between Bristol and Devon will probably bear the brunt of traffic, with the stretch from J15 north of Bristol to J23 for Bridgwater likely to see some of the worst delays.
The M20 in Kent could also suffer afternoon hold-ups on Friday, from J7 near Maidstone to J3 westbound and J1 at Swanley to J5 at Aylesford eastbound.
“We’re expecting major roads to airports and coastal destinations to be extremely busy, especially the south-east and south-west regions which could end up bearing the brunt of most holiday hold-ups,” Nick Mullender, the RAC’s mobile servicing and repairs team leader, said.
“Anyone planning routes through these areas should set off as early as possible or be prepared to spend longer in traffic.”
What will the weather be like?
Saturday will be dry but rather cloudy for many, although with a few sunny spells.
The north of Scotland and the far south-west will see the best of the sunshine.
Northern Ireland and Wales will see a few showers develop, and later Northern Ireland and the Hebrides will see some patchy rain arrive from the west with light winds.
Sunday will be warmer, with sunny spells and patchy cloud cover. Most parts will be dry, but a little rain will cross the north and west of Scotland.
Bank Holiday Monday will be warmer still, even very warm for parts of England and Wales with highs of 27C.
There will be a good deal of sunshine for most, but the south-easterly winds will strengthen in the far west with the chance of some showery rain across Northern Ireland later.
Will shops be open?
Major supermarkets will remain open during the bank holiday weekend, so there’s no need to rush off for a big shop to get you through.
There will be reduced hours, particularly on Sunday, so it’s best to check the opening times of your local as hours will vary shop-to-shop.
Businesses that will close on the Monday bank holiday include (you guessed it) banks, post offices and some other government services.
Benefit payments are due to be paid out on Friday ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Business
Dick’s Sporting Goods raises guidance after second-quarter earnings beat

A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance after delivering fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations.
The company is now expecting comparable sales to grow between 2% and 3.5%, up from a previous range of 1% and 3% and ahead of analyst estimates of 2.9%, according to StreetAccount.Â
Dick’s said its earnings per share are now expected to be between $13.90 and $14.50, up from a previous range of $13.80 to $14.40. Analysts were expecting $14.39 per share, according to LSEG.
Here’s how the company performed compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.38 adjusted vs. $4.32 expected
- Revenue: $3.65 billion vs. $3.63 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Aug. 2 was $381 million, or $4.71 per share, compared with $362 million, or $4.37 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to its acquisition of Foot Locker and other costs, Dick’s posted earnings per share of $4.38.
Sales rose to $3.65 billion, up about 5% from $3.47 billion a year earlier. During the quarter, comparable sales also grew 5%, well ahead of expectations of 3.2%, according to StreetAccount.Â
“Our performance shows how well our long-term strategies are working, the strength and resilience of our operating model and the impact of our team’s consistent execution,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a news release. “Our Q2 comps increased 5.0%, with growth in average ticket and transactions, and we drove second quarter gross margin expansion.”
While Dick’s comparable sales guidance came in ahead of expectations, its full-year revenue outlook was slightly below estimates. The company said it’s expecting revenue to be between $13.75 billion and $13.95 billion, below estimates of $14 billion, according to LSEG.
Dick’s said its raised profit guidance includes the impact of tariffs that are currently in effect. In an interview with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan, Dick’s executive chairman Ed Stack said the company has implemented some price increases to offset the impact of higher duties but has been “surgical” in its approach.
“We’ve been able to do what we need to from a pricing standpoint, whether that’s from the national brands or from our own brands, and then other places where we’ve held price, we’ve been able to do that, and we’ve offset it someplace else, which is what you have to do in these in these situations, and the team’s done a great job doing that,” Stack said.
Hobart said during Thursday’s call with analysts that the retailer hasn’t seen its shoppers balking at the “small-level” price increases that have gone into effect.
Hobart said broadly Dick’s hasn’t seen any signs of a consumer spending slowdown as a result of tariffs. She said Dick’s saw growth across all of its key segments during the quarter.
Foot Locker tie-up
The company said its guidance doesn’t include any potential impact from its acquisition of Foot Locker, such as costs or results from the planned takeover, which is expected to close on Sept. 8.Â
In May, Dick’s announced it would be acquiring its longtime rival for $2.4 billion, giving it a competitive edge in the wholesale sneaker market, most importantly for Nike products, along with a bigger global presence.
Nike is a critical brand partner for both Dick’s and Foot Locker and, at times, their performance is reliant on how well the sneaker brand is doing. During the quarter, Stack said new drops from Nike’s revamped running portfolio, including the Pegasus Premium and the Vomero Plus, are performing so well, it can’t keep the shoes in stock.
“Anything that’s new, innovative and kind of the cool factor, is blowing out,” Stack said.
However, the acquisition also comes with risks. Foot Locker’s business has been in the midst of an ambitious turnaround under CEO Mary Dillon but the company is still struggling.
In the quarter ended Aug. 2, Foot Locker’s sales fell 2.4% and it posted a loss of $38 million. The company faces a range of existential challenges, including its heavy mall footprint, its small online business and a core consumer that often has less discretionary income than the core Dick’s consumer.Â
Once the businesses are combined, Foot Locker’s struggles could ultimately weigh on Dick’s overall results. On the other hand, the combined company will become the No. 1 seller of athletic footwear in the U.S., which will allow it to better compete against its next biggest rival, JD Sports.Â
Stack acknowledged to CNBC that Foot Locker’s earnings “were not great” but said the company has a strategy.
“We have a game plan of how to turn this around,” Stack told Reagan. “We think that we can return Foot Locker to its rightful place in the top of this industry and we’re excited to roll up our sleeves and get started with that.”
Dick’s plans to operate Foot Locker as a separate entity. Moving forward, Stack said the company plans to break out details on how each brand is performing when releasing quarterly results. It’ll provide separate details on how Dick’s performed and how Foot Locker performed so investors can get a sense of what’s going on in each part of the business.
Hobart said during Thursday’s earnings call that as part of the acquisition, Dick’s plans to invest in Foot Locker stores and marketing. She also said Dick’s sees opportunities in merchandising and bringing in a new assortment of products.
“As Foot Locker becomes part of the Dick’s family, we are an even more important brand to our wholesale partners, and that’s part of the thesis,” Hobart said.
Earlier this week, Dick’s said it had received all regulatory approvals associated with the transaction. It’s unclear if it had to divest any stores to satisfy the FTC’s requirements.
— CNBC’s Ali McCadden contributed to this report.
Business
Ex-WH Smith finance boss delays Greggs board appointment amid accounting probe

Greggs has delayed the appointment of incoming board director Robert Moorhead due to a review into a major accounting error at his previous firm, WH Smith.
The high street bakery chain said Mr Moorhead – the former finance chief at WH Smith – had asked to delay his appointment until a review by Deloitte into the blunder at WH Smith is completed.
He had been due to start at Greggs on October 1 as an independent non-executive director and chair of the audit committee.
Mr Moorhead left WH Smith in 2024 after more than 20 years at the chain.
The delay to his appointment comes after WH Smith saw nearly £600 million wiped off its stock market value last week when it revealed a review of its finances had discovered trading profits in North America had been overstated by about £30 million.
It warned that annual profits would be lower than expected as a result, sending shares down by more than 40% at one stage during the day.
WH Smith said it had found an issue in how it calculated the amount of supplier income it received – leading it to be recognised too early.
It means the group is now expecting a trading profit for the US of about £25 million for the year to August – a cut from the previous £55 million forecast.
As a result, the company lowered its outlook for annual pre-tax profits to around £110 million.
Greggs said Kate Ferry will remain as a non-executive director and will continue as chair of the audit committee in the interim.
Business
Electric cars eligible for £3,750 discount announced

Pritti MistryBusiness reporter, BBC News

The first electric vehicles (EV) eligible for the £3,750 discount under the government’s grant scheme have been announced.
The Department for Transport confirmed Ford’s Puma Gen-E or e-Tourneo Courier would be discounted as part of plans to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Under the grant scheme, the discount applies to eligible car models costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly ones seeing the biggest reductions. Another 26 models have been cleared for discounts of £1,500.
Carmakers can apply for models to be eligible for grants, which are then automatically applied at the point of sale.
More vehicles are expected to be approved in the coming weeks and the DfT said the policy would bring down prices to “closely match their petrol and diesel counterparts”.
The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars from 2030.
But many drivers cite upfront costs as a key barrier to buying an EV and some have told the BBC that the UK needs more charging points.
According to Ford’s website, the recommended retail price (RRP) for a new Puma Gen-E starts from £29,905 while a petrol equivalent is upward of £26,060. With the reduction applied, buyers would be looking in the region of £26,155 for the EV version.
The grants to lower the cost of EVs will be funded through the £650m scheme, and will be available for three years.
There are around 1.3 million electric cars on Britain’s roads but currently only around 82,000 public charging points.
Full list of EVs eligible for the £1,500 discount
- Citroën ë-C3 and Citroën ë-C3 Aircross
- Citroën ë-C4 and Citroën ë-C4 X
- Citroën ë-C5 Aircross
- Citroën ë-Berlingo
- Cupra Born
- DS DS3
- DS N°4
- Nissan Ariya
- Nissan Micra
- Peugeot E-208
- Peugeot E-2008
- Peugeot E-308
- Peugeot E-408
- Peugeot E-Rifter
- Renault 4
- Renault 5
- Renault Alpine A290
- Renault Megane
- Renault Scenic
- Vauxhall Astra Electric
- Vauxhall Combo Life Electric
- Vauxhall Corsa Electric
- Vauxhall Frontera Electric
- Vauxhall Grandland Electric
- Vauxhall Mokka Electric
- Volkswagen ID.3
The up-front cost of EVs is higher on average than for petrol cars.
According to Autotrader, the average price of a new battery electric car was £49,790 in June 2025, based on manufacturers’ recommended prices for 148 models.
The equivalent for a petrol car was £34,225, but the average covers a broad range of prices.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the grant scheme was making it “easier and cheaper for families to make the switch to electric”.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said drivers “frequently tell us that the upfront costs of new EVs are a stumbling block to making the switch to electric”.
“It is great to see some of these more substantial £3,750 discounts coming online because for some drivers this might just bridge the financial gap to make these cars affordable.”
-
Business1 week ago
RSS Feed Generator, Create RSS feeds from URL
-
Tech1 week ago
Korea develops core radar components for stealth technology
-
Fashion1 week ago
Tariff pressure casts shadow on Gujarat’s textile landscape
-
Fashion1 week ago
Rent the Runway to swap debt for equity in revival effort
-
jobs1 week ago
Data Analyst at Easy Agile – Australia
-
Fashion1 week ago
US retailers split on holiday prospects amid consumer caution
-
Tech1 week ago
Qi2’s Magnetic Wireless Charging Finally Arrives on Android
-
Sports1 week ago
Dan Quinn says Terry McLaurin is healthy, ‘closer’ to Commanders return