Macy’s says single employee was responsible for hiding up to $154m in expenses

Largest US department store chain delays release of quarterly earnings report to investigate ‘erroneous accounting entries’

What’s in store for returning Asda boss Allan Leighton?

The ex-CEO turned the troubled supermarket around once before. Now he faces a new battle, from sorting retail basics to rebooting IT

B&Q owner says budget uncertainty hit spending and tax rise will cost it £31m

Kingfisher says it faced weak market in October, as Greggs also complains of cost of national insurance increase

Amazon workers in 20 countries to protest or strike on Black Friday

Workers and their representatives to press US retailer to respect their rights and take action on the climate crisis

Retailers prepare for cautious Christmas as a chill settles on consumers

A late Black Friday and a mild October mean seasonal sales have got off to a slow start, and hopes are not high

Surrealism, cafes and lots (and lots) of cats: why Japanese fiction is booming

From tales of alienation to comforting novels set in bookshops, Japanese authors have written nearly half of this year’s bestselling translated novels in the UK. What’s their secret?

Doorscaping and stir-up Sunday: how Christmas traditions are changing

Britons are picking porchscaping over puddings but will the Royal Mint’s silver sixpence feed a revival?

UK private sector is contracting as firms give ‘thumbs down’ to the budget, hitting pound – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone becomes world’s most expensive shopping street

Rental growth and euro’s strength against dollar help a European street to top of list for first time in 34 years

Budget blamed for first contraction in private sector for a year

Fall in activity in November pinned on chancellor’s tax rises as official figures also show drop in October retail sales

JD Sports shares slump 14% after profit warning

Lower sales in UK and North America after mild weather and discounting by rivals offset by 3.5% rise in Europe

Lidl warns of price rises and HMV of job cuts amid backlash over UK budget

HMV owner says budget is ‘bad news’ while UK boss of Lidl says product inflation ‘inevitable’ despite returning to profit

Australian National University’s word of the year is a portmanteau for cost-of-living rage

‘Colesworth’ – combining the supermarket duopoly’s names – beat ‘breaking’, inspired by Rachael Gunn’s controversial Paris Olympics performance

Retailers deserve a break – but they shouldn’t look to the chancellor for one

A letter by 79 firms voicing ‘significant concerns’ over the budget is likely to do little more than irritate Rachel Reeves

Retailers are right to warn of job cuts after Reeves budget, says Andrew Bailey

Bank of England governor says number of roles could shrink by more than 50,000 after rise in employer NICs