Leanna Byrne

A proliferation of charity or thrift stores is often considered to be a sign of this decline.

But James Graham's has been to the north of England, where one town is trying to make a virtue of its 13 charity shops.

And finally, a humanoid robot has conducted the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at performance in Copenhagen.

Members of the orchestra praised the robot for its ability to keep precise rhythm, but said it lacked facial expressions.

In the UK, I'm Leanna Byrne with the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

Have a great day and thanks so much for listening.

Germany's Chancellor goes to China to talk trade.

Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

I'm Leanna Byrne, back for the next three days.

Good morning.

The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, says there is a great opportunity to develop ties with China following a meeting with its leader, Xi Jinping.

Merz is currently on his first visit to China, which is Germany's biggest trading partner, since becoming leader 10 months ago.

Before the trip, he said there needs to be a fair competition between

and jointly agreed rules between the two countries.

The price of gold is on the rise again.

It's been trading at over $5,200 an ounce in markets in Europe this morning.

UK carmaker Aston Martin says it's cutting 20% of its staff.

The firm has been badly hit by US tariffs on overseas auto imports.

And drinks giant Diageo has ruled out selling its share of brands Guinness and Moet Hennessy as it caught its outlook after a 2.8% drop in sales for the first half.

Now, British retailers say the theft of chocolate from grocery stores is out of control in parts of the country.