FTSE deep in the red; Lidl swings to a loss; Apple quarterly sales top $100bn; Car production falls to lowest since 1984

a person standing in front of a wall: Apple has broken through the $100billion barrier in quarterly sales for the first time ever

Lidl has revealed its UK business swung to an annual loss after investing heavily in stores and expanding its workforce.

The German-owned discounter said it slumped to a £25.2 million pre-tax loss for the year to February 29 2020, against profits of £19 million the previous year.

Apple has revealed record sales of more than $110billion after demand for its new iPhone smashed expectations, marking the first time the tech giant has broken through the $100billion barrier in quarterly sales.

Manufacturing of new cars in the UK fell by almost a third to less than one million units in 2020 – the biggest year-on-year plunge since the last financial crisis and the lowest total production output since 1984, new figures have revealed today.

Diageo has raised its dividend after it reported a surprise rise in net sales growth for the first half of its year, as strong demand for drinks in the United States made up for weak business at bars and restaurants in Europe.

Facebook capped a tumultuous 2020 with a 58 per cent rise in net income as its active monthly users reached 2.8 billion, but it has forecast challenges that include a coming Apple privacy update that could limit the its ad targeting capabilities.