European Press Roundup: Sainsbury to Stop Selling Fireworks, Spain's Bon Preu Closes Stores for Catalan Strike

In Europe today, French car maker Renault cut its full-year revenue outlook and French food company Danone adjusted its sales-growth expectations for the year. Read about the above topics on Dow Jones Newswires or WSJ.com.

In Other Media...

Sainsbury's has become the first major supermarket to stop selling fireworks at its 2,300 stores across the U.K. Last year, a petition to ban the public sale of fireworks attracted more than 300,000 signatures. In response to Sainsbury's decision, the government said it "takes the issue of safety of fireworks very seriously" and that legislation is in place to regulate their sale and use, but it has no plans to change legislation at the moment. -BBC

The French market regulator has approved the registration document of the country's national lottery Francaise des Jeux, opening the path to its privatization. The FDJ could raise more than EUR1 billion from the IPO. -Les Echos

Catalonia-based supermarket chain Bon Preu has closed all of its stores on Friday in support of a pro-Catalan independence strike. -La Vanguardia

Italian Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli is set to meet with the sector's associations and trade unions on Friday. National federation Confindustria said it aims at EUR1.8 billion invested more than eight years in the research and development of more sustainable solutions, such as electric batteries and hydrogen, for the automotive sector. -Corriere della Sera

Chinese battery heavyweight CATL started the construction of a factory for battery cells for electric cars in the German state Thuringia. The company plans to invest up to EUR1.8 billion over the next five years, depending on the market development for electric cars. -Handelsblatt

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2019 07:53 ET (11:53 GMT)

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