Hilco likely to be among bidders for Claire's UK ops
That's according to Sky News, which has a strong track record on such stories. It said Hilco, which owns lakeland and is one of Superdry 's backers, is expected to be among the initial bidders for Claire's UK.
The company was also recently a Poundland bidder although was ultimately unsuccessful with that acquisition target. As for Claire's, initial offers are expected to come in during the next few weeks, according to Sky's banking sources.
Other prospective bidders are likely to be Alteri Investors and Modella Capital (whose most recent big-name purchase was WH Smith's high street chain).
The American company has been struggling for some time and as part of the rescue process that could include a bankruptcy filing for the parent business, the UK ops are expected to be sold. That would mean a significant number of its 280 UK stores closing, perhaps a third of them. Claire's has around 2,000 stores globally.
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Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Tariff showdown threatens populist alliance between Trump and Modi
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The Republican president has not been pursuing any strategic realignment with Pakistan, according to the official, but is instead trying to play hardball in negotiations. Trump doubled down on the pressure Monday with a fresh post on Truth Social, in which he accused India of buying 'massive amounts' of oil from Russia and then 'selling it on the Open Market for big profits". 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,' he said. The messaging appears to have stung Modi's administration, which has been hard-selling negotiations with Trump's team over a trade deal by balancing between India's protectionist system while also opening up the country's market to more American goods. 'Strenuous, uninterrupted and bipartisan efforts in both capitals over the past 25 years are being put at risk by not just the tariffs but by fast and loose statements and social media posts,' said Malik, who heads the India chapter of The Asia Group, a US advisory firm. Malik also said the trade deal the Indian side has offered to the US is the 'most expansive in this country's history,' referring to reports that India was willing to open up to some American agricultural products. That is a politically sensitive issue for Modi, who faced a yearlong farmers' protest a few years ago. Trump appears to be tilting toward Pakistan The unravelling may have gained momentum over tariffs, but the tensions have been palpable for a while. Much of it has to do with Trump growing closer to Pakistan, India's nuclear rival in the neighbourhood. In May, India and Pakistan traded a series of military strikes over a gun massacre in the disputed Kashmir region that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied the accusations. The four-day conflict made the possibility of a nuclear conflagration between the two sides seem real and the fighting only stopped when global powers intervened. But it was Trump's claims of mediation and an offer to work to provide a 'solution' regarding the dispute over Kashmir that made Modi's administration uneasy. Since then, Trump has repeated nearly two dozen times that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan. For Modi, that is a risky — even nervy — territory. Domestically, he has positioned himself as a leader who is tough on Pakistan. Internationally, he has made huge diplomatic efforts to isolate the country. So Trump's claims cut a deep wound, prompting a sense in India that the US may no longer be its strategic partner. India insists that Kashmir is India's internal issue and had opposed any third-party intervention. Last week Modi appeared to dismiss Trump's claims after India's opposition began demanding answers from him. Modi said that 'no country in the world stopped' the fighting between India and Pakistan, but he did not name Trump. Trump has also appeared to be warming up to Pakistan, even praising its counterterrorism efforts. Hours after levying tariffs on India, Trump announced a 'massive' oil exploration deal with Pakistan, saying that one day, India might have to buy oil from Islamabad. Earlier, he also hosted one of Pakistan's top military officials at a private lunch. Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, an expert at New Delhi's Jindal School of International Affairs, said Trump's sudden admiration for Pakistan as a great partner in counterterrorism has 'definitely soured' the mood in India. Chaulia said 'the best-case scenario is that this is just a passing Trump whim', but he also warned that 'if financial and energy deals are indeed being struck between the US and Pakistan, it will dent the US-India strategic partnership and lead to loss of confidence in the US in Indian eyes". India's oil purchases from Russia are an irritant India had faced strong pressure from the Biden administration to cut back its oil purchases from Moscow during the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Instead, India bought more, making it the second-biggest buyer of Russian oil after China. That pressure sputtered over time and the US focused more on building strategic ties with India, which is seen as a bulwark against a rising China. Trump's threat to penalise India over oil, however, brought back those issues. On Sunday, the Trump administration made its frustrations over ties between India and Russia ever more public. Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow, saying it was "not acceptable". Miller's remarks were followed by another Trump social media post on Monday in which he again threatened to raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases. 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," Trump wrote. Some experts, though, suspect Trump's remarks are mere pressure tactics. 'Given the wild fluctuations in Trump's policies,' Chaulia said, 'it may return to high fives and hugs again.' India says it will safeguard its interests Many expected India to react strongly over Trump's tariff threats considering Modi's carefully crafted reputation of strength. Instead, the announcement prompted a rather careful response from India's commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, who said the two countries are working toward a "fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement". Initially, India's Foreign Ministry also played down suggestions of any strain. But in a statement late Monday, it called Trump's criticism 'unjustified and unreasonable' and said it will take 'all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security". It said India began importing oil from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, calling it a 'necessity compelled by global market situation". The statement also noted US trade with Russia. 'It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,' the statement said.
Euronews
7 hours ago
- Euronews
Amsterdam funds first US weapons package to Kyiv under new initiative
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Euronews
20 hours ago
- Euronews
Tariffs: EU Commission to suspend retaliation by another six months
The European Commission will suspend on Tuesday a package of trade countermeasures targeting €93 billions' worth of American goods which was scheduled to take effect on 7 August, as it continues to negotiate a joint statement formalising the agreement struck by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump on 27 July. 'The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July,' EU spokesperson Olof Gill said, adding: 'With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by six months the EU's countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.' In line with the agreement reached, the US reduced its tariff rate to 15% last Thursday. Gill said the step gained the EU immediate tariff relief, 'a first important foundation is laid for restoring clarity to EU companies exporting to the US". The trade dispute is not over However the trade dispute between the EU and the US is not over, as both sides still need to negotiate certain points of the agreement that have led to differing interpretations. Furthermore, the US Executive Order of July 31 does not provide relief to the EU automotive industry as expected (it remains subject to 25% tariffs), nor does it exempt strategic sectors such as aircraft. As negotiations continue, the Commission should postpone through urgency procedure the retaliation package it adopted against the US tariffs. It consists in two lists of products that were worth respectively €21 billion and €72 billion and were merged on 24 July after EU member states adopted them, targeting US products such as soyabean, cars, aircraft and Bourbon Whiskey.
