THE DAILY BRIEFING

UBER U-TURN

the chairman of General electric, Jeffrey Immelt, has pulled out of the race to become boss of scandalhit Uber, saying: ‘I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber. I have immense respect for the company.’

RAIL RETHINK

the thinktank Policy North wants the HS2 rail line axed in favour of an experimental Hyperloop system in which trains travel at up to 700mph through a vacuum in a tube, opening up London jobs to the whole UK and breaking down the North-South divide.

DINERS DOWN

Restaurant Group, which owns Garfunkel’s, Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s, is expected to report a 30pc drop in profits on thursday to £25.2m, with a warm June and poor cinema attendance deterring customers.

MEAL DEAL

Upmarket fastfood chain Leon has sealed a deal to open 20 restaurants in Norway and Sweden by 2023.

CHOCS AWAY

Luxury chocolate firm Hotel Chocolat is poised to make its first move out of europe with a contract to open shops in Hong Kong.

PROFIT SLUMP

Clothing firm White Stuff saw profits more than halve to £5.9m from £13m in the year to April as UK consumers spent less as a result of Brexit uncertainty.

AXE TAX

ofgem is consulting consumer groups and power firms on whether to exempt 2.2m poorer customers from green energy taxes on bills.