Fuel forecourt and service station operator Applegreen has reported a big jump in revenues and profits for the six months to the end of June as it continues to expand in Ireland, the UK and the US. The company was in the news this week when it was forced to close one of its petrol stations after an online video showed a rat in a food preparation area. In today's results statement, Applegreen said its group revenue for the six month period jumped by 73% to €1.5 billion, while its group gross profit soared by 145% €268m. | Britain's turbulent experience divorcing from the European Union means there are no longer questions about other countries trying to leave the bloc, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau has said.Mr Villeroy also said that euro zone countries should consider easing taxes or boosting investment to support growth if their finances allow, singling out Germany and the Netherlands. | President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker will host Boris Johnson in Luxembourg for lunch today, in the first meeting between the two men since Mr Johnson became British Prime Minister. According to a UK source, the prime minister will tell Mr Juncker that he wants a deal on the Withdrawal Agreement but that it cannot include the backstop guaranteeing no hard border in Ireland. | Expectations are high for the US Federal Reserve to deliver the year's second interest rate cut this evening as members conclude a hotly-anticipated policy meeting. With the meeting underway, the Fed yesterday moved for the first time in a decade to prevent market fluctuations from pushing short-term interest rates beyond the Fed's control. | China's economy showed more signs of strain today as the country published weak data for industrial output, investment and retail sales, amid a lingering trade war with the US. Chinese industrial output grew by 4.4% year-on-year in August, falling to its lowest level in 17 years and down from 4.8% in July. The figure was well below analyst expectations, with a Bloomberg survey of analysts predicting heartier growth of 5.2%. | Sweden's H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, today reported its steepest sales growth in three years in local-currency terms and said its summer collections had been well received. Sales before currency fluctuations were up 8% in the three months from June to August from a year earlier. This marked its fifth consecutive quarterly rise, and matched the 8% recorded in the third quarter of 2016.   |||