Clothing retailer Next raised its profit outlook for the second time in two months as it reported strong recent trading. It attributed this to cool weather and fewer people taking overseas holidays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shares in the group were up 1% this morning, paring 2020 losses to 11%, after the group also forecast a £462m reduction in net debt for its year to the end of January 2021. | European car registrations dropped in July and August but not as steeply as in previous months, industry data showed today, pointing to a slow recovery in Europe's auto sector that was hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. In July, new car registrations dropped by 3.7% year-on-year to 1,281,740 vehicles in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. | TUI is planning a share sale to raise up to €1 billion, as the world's largest holiday company looks to ride out the coronavirus-linked travel slump, people close to the matter said. No decisions have been taken and a number of options are still on the table, the people said. They added that a possible equity injection by a German government rescue fund was being discussed. | The Federal Reserve has vowed to keep interest rates near zero until inflation is on track to overshoot its 2% target, a bold new promise aimed at bringing millions of out-of-work Americans back to the labour market. But the new guidance also marked the start of a vigorous monetary policy debate. The Fed wants to shift from a crisis-era focus on keeping markets afloat during the coronavirus pandemic to managing what it now sees as a steady, multi-year recovery. | Euro zone consumer prices fell in August, the EU's statistics office confirmed today, pulled down by a drop in energy prices, but core inflation that excludes such volatile elements decelerated sharply too. Inflation in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month in August for a -0.2% year-on-year decline, Eurostat said, in line with its own earlier estimate and market expectations. | The Construction Industry Federation has said the building industry needs an additional €15 billion over the next six years to overcome Covid-19's impact in the short-term and to solve the housing and climate change crises in the longer-term. A CIF delegation met with Ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath this week to identify critical infrastructure and housing projects that could underpin economic recovery in other sectors such as tourism and retail in the short term.   |||