Category: 3. Business

Starbucks says it will phase out its pickup-only outlets because they “lack warmth”, as the world’s biggest coffee chain continues to shakeup its operations.

The company has around 90 shops in the US that have no seating for customers – an approach popular with some of its rivals.

The move will not affect the firm’s mobile ordering service, which accounts for almost a third of transactions, the BBC understands.

Starbucks boss Brian Niccol made the comments after the company’s earnings for the three months to the end of June showed that same-store sales had fallen for a sixth quarter in a row.

“We found this format to be overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand,” Mr Niccol told investors on Tuesday.

The same level of convenience can be provided by its traditional cafes through mobile ordering, Mr Niccol added.

Instead, the company will prioritise “welcoming coffeehouses with great seats” and focus on delivering drinks in four minutes or less in its cafes and drive-throughs.

The BBC understands that some of the current pickup-only outlets will be converted to include seating.

Starbucks opened its first pickup-only outlet, which was designed to make collecting orders and delivery easier, in New York in 2019.

Mr Niccol is leading a “Back to Starbucks” initiative, which aims to provide better experiences for customers and boost the company’s financial performance.

At least 1,000 of its cafes in the US will be revamped by the end of next year, with a new look and plans to replace thousands of seats that were removed, said Mr Niccol.

In April, Mr Niccol said the firm will hire more baristas and scale back plans to roll out automation.

The company is also revamping its menus and the company’s dress code.

The chain has more than 41,000 outlets around the world.

Starbucks’ shares rose by more than 4.5% in extended trading on Tuesday in New York.

Story Continues

The spaceship hovered for less than a minute before crashing in a giant plume of smoke, but it was history-making nonetheless – the attempted launch of an orbital rocket designed and made in Australia.

The Eris rocket was built by Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space and briefly blasted off from the Bowen orbital spaceport in north Queensland on Wednesday morning, after months of waiting for the right conditions.

The orbit attempt was watched on from the surrounding hills by enthusiasts and streamed live by the likes of YouTuber Josh Keegan, also known as Aussienaut.

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“OK we’re going, we’re going, it’s going!” Keegan said with breathless excitement after a second day of patient watching – but the celebrations did not last long.

“It’s gone, it’s gone,” Keegan said seconds later. “Oh no, it didn’t go, there wasn’t sufficient thrust to actually keep it up.

“I believe that’s the end of the Eris rocket. We have a cloud, and that’s the end.”

But while the billow of smoke may have marked the end of Eris, Gilmour and the nascent Australian space industry hope this failed orbit attempt will prove just a beginning.

Gilmour Space issued a statement shortly afterwards saying Eris’s 14 seconds of flight brought Australia closer to the club of six nations who regularly launch spacecraft to orbit.

“For a maiden test flight, especially after an extended 18-month wait on the pad for final approvals, this is a strong result and a major step forward for Australia’s sovereign space capability,” the statement read.

“Most importantly, the team is safe and energised for Test Flight 2.”

The company’s CEO, Adam Gilmour, posted on social media that he was happy with the launch attempt.

“Got off the Pad, I am happy,” he wrote. “Of course I would have liked more flight time but happy with this.”

The 23-metre-long, 30-tonne rocket was covered in sensors from which the Queensland company will hope to glean information to assist future launch attempts.

One Giant Leap Australia Foundation, which develops education programs geared toward growing a future workforce in the space industry, was among those to congratulate Gilmour Space for a “sterling effort”.

“The only way to learn is to fail forward,” it posted on social media. “We know more today than we did yesterday.”

Gilmour Space was poised to launch on Tuesday but winds were too strong. It had also sought to launch in May but did not.

The company received $5m from the Australian government for its Eris launch vehicle last week to develop its next-generation liquid rocket engine.

HOUSTON and LONDON, July 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), a leader in the global chemical industry, will announce its second-quarter 2025 financial results before the U.S. market opens Friday, August 1, followed by a webcast and teleconference to discuss the results at 11 a.m. EDT.

Teleconference and webcast details
Friday, August 1, 2025
11 a.m. EDT
Hosted by David Kinney, head of investor relations
Access the webcast 10 to 15 minutes prior to the start of the call at www.lyondellbasell.com/earnings.

Toll-free teleconference dial-in numbers
Participant/Guest toll-free: 877-407-8029
Participant/Guest toll: 201-689-8029
Participant/Guest: CallMe link

Presentation slides
Presentation slides will be available at the time of the teleconference and afterward at www.lyondellbasell.com/earnings.    

Replay information
A replay of the call will be available from 1 p.m. EDT August 1 until September 1, 2025. The replay dial-in numbers are:
Toll-free: 877-660-6853
Toll: 201-612-7415
Access ID: 13746206

About LyondellBasell 
We are LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) – a leader in the global chemical industry creating solutions for everyday sustainable living. Through advanced technology and focused investments, we are enabling a circular and low carbon economy. Across all we do, we aim to unlock value for our customers, investors and society. As one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and a leader in polyolefin technologies, we develop, manufacture and market high-quality and innovative products for applications ranging from sustainable transportation and food safety to clean water and quality healthcare. For more information, please visit www.lyondellbasell.com or follow @LyondellBasell on LinkedIn.

CONTACT: Nick Facchin
LyondellBasell
713-623-3643
nick.facchin@lyondellbasell.com

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed bearish on Tuesday as investors resorted to profit-booking, pulling the benchmark KSE-100 index down by 1,415 points, or 1.02%.

In the morning, the session resumed on a strong note, with the index hitting intra-day high of 140,331, up 951 points, on optimism about reports that a trade and tariff deal between Pakistan and the US was nearing finalisation. However, early momentum faded as investors opted for profit-taking and switching sectors ahead of the upcoming monetary policy meeting, where a 50-basis-point rate cut is expected.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp commented that stocks closed bearish over uncertainty ahead of the State Bank’s policy announcement on Wednesday. Political noise, concerns over rupee movements and futures rollover pressure fuelled bearish activity at the PSX, he added.

At the end of trading, the KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 1,415.24 points, or 1.02%, and settled at 137,964.82.

In its review, Topline Securities noted that bulls opened trading on a strong footing, lifting the benchmark index to an impressive intra-day high of 950 points. However, the optimism proved short-lived as heavy selling pressure took over, allowing bears to dominate proceedings.

The index slipped to intra-day low of 1,743 points before closing at 137,965, cementing a decisive bearish victory, it said.

Sentiment turned negative largely due to speculation surrounding Engro Fertilisers, with investors bracing for lower-than-expected earnings and dividend. The much-anticipated result, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was deferred to Wednesday morning, adding a layer of uncertainty and fuelling sell-off, Topline added.

In its commentary, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) stated that the PSX saw another day where the 140,000 mark proved too heavy to hold by the close of trading.

Some 23 shares rose while 76 fell on KSE-100, where Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC, +0.75%), Ghana Glass Limited (+9.44%) and Meezan Bank (+0.83%) contributed the most to index gains. On the flip side, Engro Holdings (-3.17%), Engro Fertilisers (-5.12%) and UBL (-1.8%) were the biggest drags, it said.

AHL noted that FFC announced its first-half earnings per share (EPS) of Rs27.02, an increase of 5% year-on-year, with dividend of Rs19 per share. “This beat earnings and payout expectations.”

Additionally, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (+1.43%) received Letters of Intent from the Port Qasim Authority and Karachi Port Trust for jointly exploring investment opportunities to increase fleet and shipping business of the company, AHL mentioned.

JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather remarked that the benchmark index’s decline was driven by profit-taking as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the State Bank’s monetary policy announcement due on Wednesday.

Intra-day volatility reflected investor indecision amid speculation about a potential policy rate cut. With inflation falling and a stable exchange rate, market sentiment hinges on monetary policy committee decision. A dovish policy tone could trigger renewed buying and support upbeat outlook for equities in the near term, Ather said.

Overall trading volumes increased to 606.3 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 589.3 million. Traded value decreased to Rs32.7 billion as compared to Rs34.6 billion in the previous session. Shares of 484 companies were traded. Of these, 108 stocks closed higher, 350 dropped and 26 remained unchanged.

Telecard Limited was the volume leader with trading in 38.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.24 to close at Rs7.84. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 31.9 million shares, falling Rs0.02 to close at Rs13.47 and WorldCall Telecom with 28.5 million shares, shedding Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.44. Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs14.3 million, the National Clearing Company reported.

KARACHI/PESHAWAR:

The government’s crackdown on black market dollar trading has strengthened the rupee, but traders say under-the-counter deals have swiftly shifted to smartphones and home deliveries instead.

Many unlicensed exchange shops have been shut since July 22, when the military spy agency summoned representatives of the sector to explain the US dollar’s rising cost in the open market. Soon after, raids were carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which tackles financial crime and smuggling.

Since the crackdown began, the rupee has rebounded from a sharp fall against the dollar earlier in July. In the open market, it firmed from 288.6 per dollar on July 19 to about 286 in recent sessions. But traders and bankers say the trade continues, suggesting the crackdown’s effects could be short-lived.

The black market operates outside official channels and includes unlicensed dealers, personal networks, and digital peer-to-peer exchanges, with customers seeking to skip tax declarations, avoid burdensome paperwork and bypass limits on official currency purchases.

In Peshawar, a city near the Afghan border long known for black market currency deals, many shops in the historic Chowk Yadgar district remain shuttered, though some traders were still operating discreetly in back-alley booths.

“The trade didn’t stop. It just moved,” said Ahmad, a dealer whose family has been in the business for generations. “Now it’s on WhatsApp. If you know someone, the dollars come to your house.”

“The big players have shifted to safer locations and kept going,” said another trader, Gul. Both traders asked not to give their full names.

Even retail buyers are bypassing the formal foreign exchange market. Hassan, a manager at a multinational firm in Karachi, said stricter documentation drove him to an informal forex chat.

“Everyone there is a buyer or seller. No middleman, no commission. Sometimes it’s physical cash, sometimes bank transfers, sometimes crypto,” he said.

Stricter FX discipline

On Monday, the central bank called in bank treasury heads to address pressure on the rupee. Two bankers said they were told to stop buying dollars from exchange companies at above-official rates on the grounds it was skewing the market.

Banks were asked to rely on their own inflows from exports and remittances, but both sources have slowed. Exporters are delaying bringing money home, betting the rupee will weaken. Remittances are also tapering off as banks reduce incentives once offered to attract overseas inflows. Authorities also pressed banks to keep the gap between the interbank rate and the open market rate narrow, a condition of the $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal meant to discourage speculation.

“These meetings have been happening for years, but this one was more pointed,” one banker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The central bank is expected to cut rates on Wednesday, easing inflation but risking pressure on the rupee.

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