THE DAILY BRIEFING

FRIDAY FIESTA Black Friday discounts saw November overtake December as the biggest month of the year for online sales in 2017, according to data by Optimove. Orders in November were 32pc higher than a month later. GOLD PRODUCTION Gold miner Centamin produced 544,658 ounces of gold during 2017, above guidance of 540,000 ounces.

POWER DEAL Fuel cell maker Ceres Power has signed a deal with an unnamed manufacturer to develop power systems that generate low-carbon power on-site, cutting reliance on infrastructure networks. It is Horsham-based Ceres’ fifth partnership in two years. LICENCE OK Miner Bacanora Minerals’ German subsidiary has been granted an exploration licence covering 295 hectares of a previously mined lithium deposit.

TRADING APPOINTMENT Tesco’s former head of clothing, Richard Jones, has joined Debenhams as its trading director.

DATING SWOOP China tech firm Kunlun Group has bought gay dating app Grindr. It already owned 60pc, and reportedly paid £112m.

SWISS BLISS The Swiss central bank made a £41bn profit last year thanks to its investments in foreign stocks and bonds – more than the profits at tech titan Apple and equivalent to 8pc of the country’s total economic output.

TITAN RECORD Investors have poured a record £200m into the

Octopus Titan fund, the biggest sum raised in one go by a venture capital trust, taking its total value to more than £600m.

INSURER BACKED Insurance market Lloyd’s of London is set for a boost as broker Peel Hunt said it has ‘turned a corner’ and should do well when business policies come up for renewal in the US.

PENSIONS GROWING Pension funds have clocked up six straight years of growth thanks to surging markets, according to research done by the Moneyfacts website.

The average retirement scheme rose 10.5pc last year, after growth of 15.7pc in 2016.

SAVINGS SURGE Savers are piling into City stock-pickers – Liontrust has banked £571m in the last quarter of 2017, and rival Premier Asset Management sucked in £236m in the same period.