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Europe
BBC Business

Online marketplaces still selling dozens of unsafe baby products, Which? finds

Image source, Getty ImagesByVicky WongPublished8 July 2026Potentially dangerous baby products - including self-feeding devices, pillows and sleeping bags - are still being sold on online marketplaces in the UK, according to Which?. The consumer group found 150 such products listed for sale by third parties on sites like Amazon, eBay and TikTok - despite having been subject to official safety warnings and product recalls. Sue Davies, the head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the investigation had shown "how easy it is to find these unsafe products" and urged the government to make marketplaces liable for the safety of items sold on their sites. Most of the companies concerned said they have removed some of the products Which? had flagged. The investigation looked at three types of products - sleeping bags, self-feeders and sleep pillows - that have been the subject of warnings from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). It found unsafe products were listed on eight online marketplaces - Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok, OnBuy and Wish. Of the 150 unsafe products it found, more than a third were designed to feed a baby from a bottle with little or no assistance despite an "obvious" risk of choking, Which? said. Thirty-three involved a long straw design and 21 were pillow bottle-holders designed to fasten around a baby's neck. These bottle-feeders were available on several platforms despite an OPSS alert from 2022 calling on businesses to remove such products. The probe also found 59 sleeping bags with hoods or without armholes and 37 sleep pillows marketed for newborns, despite concerns about suffocation and overheating, as well as NHS safe sleep guidance. OPSS also issued an alert for baby sleep pillows - some of which have been marketed with claims of improving night-time sleep - in December 2025. Davies said: "The lives of babies are at risk because these platforms won't stop dangerous products from reaching their customers - even though they are well aware that these products can be deadly."

Online marketplaces still selling dozens of unsafe baby products, Which? finds
Europe
BBC Business

Virgin Media fined after hanging up on customers trying to cancel contracts

Virgin Media has been fined £28m for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling contracts, Ofcom said. The communications regulator said it uncovered tactics including agents deliberately hanging up calls, and customers being put on hold "for no reason". It said millions of calls from customers were "likely mishandled" over a three-year period which prevented or delayed them from switching to a better broadband, landline or pay-TV deal. The penalty was reduced by 30% as Virgin Media admitted its failing and agreed to settle, Ofcom added. Virgin Media apologised to the "small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past". Ofcom's investigation uncovered behaviour including: excessive and unnecessary call transfers, deliberately hanging up calls, repeated attempts to pressure customers to stay, and unnecessarily and repeatedly keeping customers on hold. It said Virgin Media's commission scheme "effectively encouraged" and financially rewarded call centre agents for "behaving in this way". Virgin Media said it had "resolved all formal customer complaints from this period providing redress where appropriate". Ofcom said Virgin Media would need to check every affected customer who complained has received compensation or other remedies they were entitled to within six months. It said its rules "are clear that the conditions or procedures telecoms providers have in place must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contract" - and that Virgin Media's failings likely acted as a disincentive for customers in million of calls. The calls investigated were between 1 January 2022 and 11 September 2024 and were found to have likely been mishandled by call agents "in order to delay or prevent customers from cancelling and switching to a competitor". Natalie Black, Ofcom's group director for infrastructure and connectivity, told the BBC's Today programme that Virgin Media's actions were "pretty shocking" and showed "poor behaviour". "Right at the beginning of this problem, a number of years ago in 2022, we tried to resolve this informally. There wasn't the will to do that," she said.

Virgin Media fined after hanging up on customers trying to cancel contracts
North America
CNBC Finance

Netflix, Disney and YouTube interested in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights; package could reach $2 billion

As the FIFA World Cup captures massive global audiences, media companies are preparing to pay billions for the rights to the next two men's tournaments. Netflix, Disney and Alphabet's YouTube are all interested in challenging Fox for the U.S. broadcast rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cup, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon, which currently owns UEFA Champions League rights in the U.K., and Apple, which owns global MLS rights, could also enter the mix, further fueling a potential bidding war for the rights. Discussions between FIFA and potential media partners are expected to begin sometime in the next three months, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. FIFA has alerted media companies during preliminary talks, which began earlier this year, that English- and Spanish-language U.S. rights are likely to be sold together, rather than separately as they have been for previous World Cups, including 2026, according to the people. Fox paid $485 million for the English-language rights for this year's tournament, hosted across North American cities, according to The Athletic. NBCUniversal's Telemundo paid $600 million for the Spanish-language rights, according to people familiar with the matter. Executives at various media companies are budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for the U.S. rights to each tournament across languages, said the people. The last time FIFA negotiated a deal, with Fox and Telemundo, was in 2011. Four years later, FIFA extended that deal through 2026. FIFA won't sell global rights to the tournament, because different countries have regulations that mandate the World Cup must be sold over the air. But U.S. rights will be coveted, with major viewership and advertising opportunities. Netflix, Disney and YouTube all view the World Cup as a potential major boost for their streaming services, according to the people familiar. Disney could also air games on ESPN and ABC, which could be appealing to FIFA as the broadcast on Fox has seen strong ratings this year. FIFA has already shown interest in Netflix by awarding it the Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031. Selling the English- and Spanish-language rights as a single package could help FIFA garner a higher price, driving up bids from eager media partners looking for big ratings. The combined TV audiences for U.S. games in recent weeks have rivaled NFL playoff games. Packaging the language rights could also help eliminate some tensions between rival media companies airing the same games.

Netflix, Disney and YouTube interested in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights; package could reach $2 billion
North America
CNBC Finance

Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino EV for $13,995 in U.S.

DETROIT — Chrysler parent Stellantis on Tuesday said it has opened ordering for its small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle in the U.S., starting at $13,995. While the Topolino resembles a small car such as the Fiat 500, the EV is actually a quadricycle that functions more like a golf cart. Stellantis said the Topolino is capable of going 19 mph, with an electric range of up to 46 miles. A low-speed vehicle conversion kit can boost the top speed to 25 mph to make it street legal on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, according to the trans-Atlantic automaker. A Stellantis spokeswoman said there will be no charge for the conversion kit but confirmed a mandatory destination fee will add $990 to the base price, bringing the customer price to $14,985. The Topolino, which translates to "little mouse" in Italian, is produced in Morocco. The company said it will be available in limited quantities this year as a hardtop model with doors or as the Dolce Vita soft-top convertible model with a rope instead of doors. "Topolino represents a new chapter for the brand in the U.S. — defined not just by size, but by purpose," Fiat brand CEO Olivier François said in a release. "With Topolino, we bring a feeling, a lifestyle, a reminder that mobility can be joyful, expressive and beautifully simple." Stellantis, which also owns American brands such as Jeep and Dodge, late last year confirmed it would bring the vehicle from Italy to the U.S., less than a week after President Donald Trump praised small "Kei" cars from Japan during a meeting at the White House with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa and other automotive leaders. "They're very small. They're really cute," Trump said at the December meeting. "And I said, 'How would that do in this country?' And everyone seems to think 'good,' but you're not allowed to build them." It's not illegal to produce such cars in America, but they have to meet American safety standards, speed requirements and other regulations. Small cars such as Fiats have historically not sold well in the U.S. In its first full year in the U.S. in 2012, Fiat sold 43,772 vehicles domestically. Those sales dwindled to roughly 1,300 Fiat vehicles sold last year in the U.S. The Stellantis spokeswoman at that time said Fiat's announcement was unrelated to Trump's comments and that the automaker had been has been gauging customer interest for the Topolino at U.S. events such as auto shows. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino EV for $13,995 in U.S.
North America
Yahoo Finance

INTC, WDC, SNDK, AMD: Red-Hot AI Chip Stocks Lose Sheen In Samsung-Triggered Selloff

High-flying chip stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors took profits, tracking the selloff in Samsung Electronics shares despite the company’s blowout preliminary results. Samsung said its second-quarter operating profit is expected to rise 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won ($58.44 billion), and revenue to increase 129% to 171 trillion won – above analysts’ expectations on both counts. Still, Samsung shares in Seoul tumbled nearly 7% on Tuesday, pulling down rival SK Hynix and the broader Kospi, where the two tech giants carry significant weight. In the U.S., Intel stock dropped 9.7%, its steepest one-day drop in a month, to emerge as the biggest loser in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, while rival Advanced Micro Devices’ shares plunged 6.5%. Memory chip stocks Western Digital and SanDisk shed over 7% each, while Micron declined 4.7%. Shares of chip-making equipment firms KLA Corp and LAM Research also dropped around 7% each. Curiously, the Nvidia stock, which has underperformed lately, ended 0.7% higher. Tuesday’s selloff is also notable because major chip stocks had already been retreating for several days, raising concerns among investors that the AI trade may be losing steam and that a broader downturn could be underway. Semiconductor stocks continue to dip further below their 50-day moving average. (see chart). There are not many catalysts behind the pullback, although concerns about elevated valuations have been building in the background. Intel stock has tripled this year, while AMD is up 141% and SanDisk has risen a staggering 582%. The AI-driven rally has boosted shares of several smaller players, such as Marvell Technologies, LAM Research, and Nebius. “The AI trade is intact. Structurally nothing has changed,” Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group said in an X post. “A little profit taking on memory and infra names is healthy after these parabolic moves. It’s still very early and demand still well outstrips supply.”

INTC, WDC, SNDK, AMD: Red-Hot AI Chip Stocks Lose Sheen In Samsung-Triggered Selloff
Europe
BBC Business

Trains and emergency calls affected after major outage at Australia's largest telecoms company

A major outage at Australia's largest telecommunications company has led to cancelled train services, left thousands of customers without mobile coverage, and sparked an investigation into emergency calls that were not connected. Telstra's chief financial officer Michael Ackland apologised for the issue which began at 04:30 local time on Wednesday and affected "some mobile calls and data services". Services were fully restored about 12 hours later, he said. A software defects related to time-keeping servers at data centres in Sydney and Melbourne was to blame - not a cyber attack, Ackland added. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the outage was "deeply concerning". Telstra described the outage as "intermittent" but acknowledged the impact had been "national". Ackland said the telecoms company had conducted welfare checks on customers who had called emergency services during the outage, with six requiring immediate help. Back-up systems, which divert emergency calls through other mobile carriers, largely worked as they should, he added. Asked if the country could still rely on its largest mobile network, Ackland said: "Australia can absolutely have faith in its biggest telco... we take these outages very very seriously. "Our investment in resilience and cyber security and redundancy in our network is significant but it is a big and complex network and from time to time, issues do occur." confirmed that welfare checks were being made for about three dozen calls to emergency services that did not go through but that the "core triple-zero system remains operational". Communications Minister Anika Wells said the country's telco regulator, the Australian Communication and Media Authority, will investigate the outage. In Victoria, all regional train services were cancelled due to the outage while some regional services in New South Wales were also disrupted. National freight services were also affected.

Trains and emergency calls affected after major outage at Australia's largest telecoms company
North America
CNBC Finance

Rivian stock falls 18% as company sells 75 million shares to raise capital

Rivian Automotive stock plunged 18% Tuesday after the electric vehicle maker announced a public offering of 75 million shares of its Class A common stock. Tuesday's stock move was its worst since 2024 and its fifth worst day on record. The capital raise occurred during extended hours trading after Rivian shares rose 8.1% on Monday. The stock also increased 19% last week. Based on Monday's close of $20.14 per share, Rivian would raise roughly $1.51 billion with the offering. Rivian ​said in a filing that it plans to use the proceeds ​to fund equity contributions as part of a loan ⁠agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. Rivian said in the public filing that it intended to grant underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to an additional 11.25 million shares. The raise follows Rivian suspending plans for a 2027 profitability target due to an expected spike in research and development spending for autonomy and next-generation vehicle technologies. It also comes as Rivian is launching its new R2 midsize SUV, which the company hopes will lead it to profitability toward the end of this decade. Rivian also pre-released some second-quarter results in a separate public filing. The company estimated revenue to be between $1.55 billion and $1.65 billion during the second quarter, above average analyst estimates compiled by LSEG of $1.45 billion. Its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance was an estimated $5.3 billion, up from $4.8 billion to end the first quarter, according to the filing. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Rivian stock falls 18% as company sells 75 million shares to raise capital
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India seeks safe passage for nine ships as Hormuz truce falters

India is considering diplomatic and operational measures, including possible talks with Iran, to secure safe passage for at least nine laden tankers carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas waiting in the Persian Gulf. India is considering options including holding talks with Iran in order to secure safe passage for at least nine laden tankers waiting in the Persian Gulf, as attacks in the waterway threaten an already fragile interim ceasefire. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is closely monitoring movement of these vessels loaded with crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Among other steps, the country’s foreign ministry will contact Iranian authorities over the safety of Indian seafarers in the region, the people said, with hundreds stranded for months since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. That includes the 198 mariners onboard the nine tankers ready to transit through the thoroughfare. India is particularly concerned about crews after at least three Indian seafarers were killed in US strikes on commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman in June, the people said. Officials at the ministries of foreign affairs, oil and shipping didn’t immediately reply to emailed queries. An interim peace agreement between the US and Iran in June temporarily increased transits through Hormuz, but those numbers have slowed to a trickle once again after vessels were attacked on Tuesday and the US struck targets in Iran overnight in retaliation. Underscoring the threat to the existing temporary agreement, US President Donald Trump, speaking at NATO’s annual summit in Ankara, called peace talks “a waste of time.” Still, vessels have continued to transit through the strait on Wednesday — six vessels bound for destinations including India attempted to cross just hours after Tuesday’s strikes. However, at least one India-flagged supertanker, Lila Vadinar, reversed course after reaching the tip of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, an example of heightened concern among ship operators. Since the war started in late February, only about 50 India-bound vessels have transited the strait, the people said. Shipments remain well below normal because Indian buyers have yet to fully resume imports of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas from Middle Eastern suppliers. Almost 40% of India’s crude imports, 60% of its LNG shipments and 90% of LPG inflows passed through Hormuz before the war began. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

India seeks safe passage for nine ships as Hormuz truce falters
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Broker’s Call: Minda Corp (Buy)

Minda Corp is structurally positioned to outperform the auto ancillary space, riding four powerful tailwinds simultaneously for market share expansion — premiumisation, EV transition, localisation and export scale-up. The shift from analogue to TFT clusters (8x ASP uplift) and increase in high-voltage wiring harnesses are expected to be key triggers for content per vehicle growth. Beyond electronics, Minda is simultaneously scaling exports, adjacent product categories and order-backed capacities. Despite gradual premiumisation, vehicle access continues to provide stable and margin-accretive growth supported by ASEAN exports. Flash Electronics and Turntide agreements would not only catapult 2W EV kit value by 3x versus ICE 2W but also mark Minda’s entry into high power motor controllers. With a large order backlog of ₹1,000 crore comprising new products like sunroofs and switches (Toyodenso JV) and existing products (die casting for EV) further diversify the growth algorithm. We expect Minda to deliver 19 per cent/20 per cent/28 per cent Revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR over FY26-28E. Therefore, we value Minda at a premium multiple of 34x FY28E EPS to arrive at a TP of ₹825 and initiate coverage with a Buy rating, reflecting the company’s increasing electronics mix, diversified growth architecture and improving earnings quality. Key risks include slower TFT adoption, weaker underlying industry growth, delays in utilisation ramp-up, slower localisation progress and export execution risks. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Broker’s Call: Minda Corp (Buy)