Tuesday newspaper round-up: Retailers, luxury rents, IBM

(Sharecast News) - July could be the "lull before the storm" for retailers and consumers after the heatwave boosted sales of summer clothing, picnic treats and electric fans despite the intensifying cost of living crisis, experts have warned. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed a 2.3% sales rise last month compared with a 6.4% rise the year before. The latest BRC-KPMG sales monitor found the sales growth was largely caused by inflation, which is at more than 9%, and masked a larger drop in the number of items sold. - Guardian The super-rich are paying 13.5% more to rent luxurious central London properties than last summer, research has found, in the latest sign that overseas millionaires and billionaires are flocking back to the capital. The estate agent Savills calculated that over the year to June 2022 the average price of "prime central London" rentals rose by that figure, the highest annual increase in more than 20 years. - Guardian

Norway has drawn up plans to ration electricity exports in a move that has heightened fears of energy shortages in the UK and Europe this winter. The government in Oslo on Monday announced new rules limiting the sale of power to foreign countries as heatwaves threaten Norway's hydroelectric power generation. - Telegraph

IBM has accused a Swiss tech start-up of using a British front company to steal and copy its trade secrets. LzLabs created a "shell company" called Winsopia in 2013 that existed solely for intellectual property infringement, IBM said in claims made in the High Court. - Telegraph

The lure of the new breed of fast-growing online news sites to traditional media players was reinforced yesterday when it emerged that Axios is being bought by Cox Enterprises in a $525 million deal. Launched five years ago by former executives of Politico, the influential politics website, Axios has built a reputation for scoops and its name went global after a clash with Donald Trump. - The Times