Tuesday newspaper round-up: Shop price inflation, Microsoft, Helsing

(Sharecast News) - Shop price inflation has risen to the highest level in two and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium, which warned that "the dam is starting to break" when it comes to retailers trying to limit price rises for customers. The lobby group said shop price inflation was 2.1% year on year in October, a sharp rise compared with 1.4% in September, and an indication that retailers were beginning to pass on the rising costs of energy and food ingredients since the Middle East conflict broke out. - Guardian

Owners of the new foldable iPhone are reporting cracks in the device's screen, as Apple confirmed an issue with a "small number" of units. Reports of cracks have emerged on Reddit and social media platforms since the handset went on general sale globally on Friday. Experts said there had been too few examples to determine whether there was a more serious problem with Apple's first foldable device, which retails from $1,999 (£1,499). Apple confirmed some devices had been affected by a display glitch. - Guardian

Microsoft has put up to 60,000 jobs at risk, including roles in the UK, as the tech giant seeks to trim costs. The company, which has 223,000 workers globally including 6,000 in Britain, has offered thousands of workers a type of voluntary redundancy in an effort to cut its headcount. Staff across the United States, Canada, India and the UK will be offered the "buyout" package, which allows workers to leave with a lucrative package, with those affected working in finance, HR, AI, Microsoft Copilot and the company's Xbox division. - Telegraph

A defence start-up backed by the founder of Spotify is expanding into interceptors as Europe scrambles to fortify itself against Russian-style mass drone and missile attacks. Germany-based Helsing said on Monday that it had developed a new air defence system designed to shoot down targets with the help of artificial intelligence. The company will use radar and other sensors to track where drones and missiles are headed before an AI then decides which ones to shoot down first and launches interceptor missiles from the ground. - Telegraph

A taxpayer-backed provider of financial services to vulnerable people has taken £4m of frozen customer funds and booked them as income. Pockit, which provides services aimed at "millions of people in the UK and Europe who are underserved by traditional banks", said in its latest accounts that it had decided that the "obligation to repay certain unclaimed funds no longer subsists". - The Times