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Spain has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform for having violated rules, the Consumer Rights Ministry said Monday. The ministry said that many of the 65,935 Airbnb listings it had ordered to be withdrawn did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. Others listed numbers that didn’t match what authorities had, it said. Spain is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that has spurred government action against short-term rental companies. In recent months, tens of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets protesting rising housing and rental costs, which many say have been driven up by holiday rentals on platforms like Airbnb that have proliferated in cities like Madrid and Barcelona and many other popular tourist destinations. Enough already with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing, Consumer Minister Pablo Bustinduy told reporters on Monday. Airbnb said that it would appeal the decision. Through a spokesperson, the company said it did not think the ministry was authorized to rule on short-term rentalsand that it had utilized an indiscriminate methodology to include Airbnb rentals that do not need a license to operate. Last year, Barcelona announced a plan to close down all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028 to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. The ministry said it had notified Airbnb of the noncompliant listings months ago, but that the company had appealed the move in court. Spain’s government said Madrids high court had backed the order sent to Airbnb. Bustinduy said it involved the immediate removal of 5,800 rental listings from the site. Two subsequent orders would be issued until the nearly 66,000 removals are reached, he said. Spain’s government said the first round of affected properties were located across the country, including in the capital, Madrid, as well as in the regions of Andalusia and Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona. Suman Naishadham, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Britain and the European Union hailed a new chapter in their relationship Monday after they sealed new agreements on defense cooperation and easing trade flows at their first formal summit since Brexit. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials in London for talks, said the deals will slash red tape, grow the British economy and reset relations with the 27-nation trade bloc since the U.K. left the EU in 2020. Britain is back on the world stage, Starmer said. This deal is a win-win. Von der Leyen called the talks a historic moment” that benefits both sides. More broadly, she said it sends a message at a time of global upheaval that the U.K. and EU are natural partners standing side-by-side on the global stage.” Britain’s opposition parties slammed the deals as backtracking on Brexit. Were becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again,” Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said. Under the deals, a new U.K.-EU defense and security partnership will allow the U.K. to access a EU defense loan program worth 150 billion euros ($170 billion.) Other agreements include removing some checks on animal and plant products to ease food trade across borders, and a 12-year extension of an agreement allowing EU fishing vessels in U.K. waters. While the EU is the U.K.s largest trading partner, the U.K. has been hit with a 21% drop in exports since Brexit because of more onerous border checks, laborious paperwork and other non-tariff barriers. Post-Brexit visa restrictions have also hobbled the cross-border activities of professionals such as bankers or lawyers, as well as cultural exchanges, including touring bands and school trips. Resetting relations Since becoming prime minister in July, Starmer has sought to reset relations with the EU, following years of tensions in the wake of the U.K.’s 2016 Brexit referendum. Post-Brexit relations have been governed by a trade agreement negotiated by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Starmer thinks that can be improved in a way that boosts trade and bolsters security. Starmer hailed Monday’s agreementsthe third package of trade deals struck by his government in as many weeks following accords with the U.S. and Indiaas good for jobs, good for bills and good for our borders. Burgers, fishing and youth mobility The defense pact will allow Britain’s defense industry to access cheap loans from a new EU loan program to buy military equipment, in part to help Ukraine defend itself. In trade, officials say they will reduce routine border checks and costs on some food imports and exports to make it easier for goods to flow freely. The changes will mean the U.K. can sell products like British burgers and sausages to the EU again, officials said. We know weve had lorries waiting for 16 hours, fresh food in the back not able to be exported, because frankly its just going off, red tape, all the certifications that are required, we absolutely want to reduce that, Cabinet Office minister Thomas-Symonds, who led the negotiations, told the BBC. In fisheries, the deal means European fishing boats will have access to U.K. waters until 2038. While economically minor, fishing has long been a sticking point and symbolically important issue for the U.K. and EU member states such as France. Disputes over the issue nearly derailed a Brexit deal back in 2020. The talks also included a youth mobility plan that’s expected to allow young Britons and Europeans to live and work temporarily in each others territory, though no details were provided. That remains a politically touchy issue in the U.K., seen by some Brexiteers as inching back toward free movement. The U.K. has similar youth mobility arrangements with countries including Australia and Canada. Starmer has stressed that the U.K. wont rejoin the EUs frictionless single market and customs union, nor agree to the free movement of people between the U.K. and the EU. Opposition objects to a surrender Some of the trade-offs may prove difficult for Starmer, who faces growing challenges from the pro-Brexit and anti-immigration Reform U.K. party and accusations of betraying” Brexit. Reform, which recently won big in local elections, and the Conservatives have called the deal a surrender to the EU. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has backed Brexit, could also be a potential headache for Starmer. The reset could still be blown off course by disagreements over how to consolidate existing areas of cooperation like fisheries and/or external factors, such as a negative reaction from the U.S. to the U.K. seeking closer ties with the EU, said Jannike Wachowiak, research associate at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank. Sylvia Hui, Pan Pylas, and Jill Lawless, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Bath & Body Works just announced its second new CEO in three years, and hes coming straight from a leadership shakeup at Nike. According to a press release published this morning, Daniel Heaf will take over at Bath & Body Works, effective immediately. Heaf arrives at the company fresh off of his most recent executive position at Nike, a role which he departed in March after management chose to eliminate his role, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Bath & Body Works current CEO, Gina Boswell, has stepped down from the position after just over two years. Alongside the CEO swap, Bath & Body Works also preannounced better-than-expected first quarter results this morning. Per the press release, the company expects net sales to increase year-over-year by 3% to $1.4 billion for the quarter ending on May 3. It also maintains its initial full-year 2025 guidance that net sales are expected to rise by 1% to 3%, a change that the company says reflects a 10% tariff on Chinese goods but excludes any other potential tariffs. So far, investors haven’t been sold on the news of Heafs new role: Since market close, stock is down 1.42% as of this writing. Who is Daniel Heaf? Before joining Bath & Body Works, Heaf held leadership roles at both the BBC and Burberry. Most recently, he served a six-year stint at Nike. According to his LinkedIn, Heaf started at Nike as the vice president of global direct digital commerce. From there, he moved up to become the vice president of Nike Direct, the companys direct-to-consumer branch, during which time he oversaw 45,000 employees across 41 countries and more than doubled the business to $22.3 billion in five years, per the press release. Heafs last position as Nikes chief strategy and transformation officer started in 2023 and came to an unceremonious end this March. Bloomberg found that his position was eliminated as part of a larger corporate overhaul spearheaded by Nike CEO Elliott Hill, who took the helm in October. Hill has been fighting an uphill financial battle amidst the Trump administrations global trade war, given that Nikes main country of import, Vietnam, is currently facing an impending 46% tariff. In March, Nike announced middling third quarter financial results and warned of a potentially worse fourth quarter, which ends this month. In his new role at Bath & Body Works, Heaf says he plans to harness the companys extraordinary untapped potential and lead it into its next chapter of growth. Together, with the foundation of an iconic brand, more than 50,000 associates, tens of millions of active loyalty members, and a strong North American store footprint and supply chain, we have an opportunity to become the defining home fragrance and beauty brand of choice globally, Heaf said in the press release.
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E-Commerce
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