Good news for those UK holidaymakers planning on heading into the Eurozone on a shopping spree.

The continued strengthening of the pound against the euro has meant that the average shopper will be able to enjoy around €56 more per head this year. The performance of the sterling is a much needed and welcomed boost to shoppers after recent budgetary frustrations, but key to making the most of the rates is to ensure the best deal is also found on currency exchange.

Currency specialist broker currencies.co.uk, which was formerly known as Foreign Currency Direct, has estimated that 29 per cent of Britons will be holidaying across the Eurozone during summer, meaning nearly a third of the population. Excluding travel costs such as flights and accommodation; they are predicted to spend £702 per person in stores, restaurants and bars. Last summer, that amount would have equated to around €815, but now holidaymakers are receiving €871 – or an extra €56 to spend.

However, despite the improved exchange rate, around two million UK holidaymakers will not make the most benefit of their cash by mostly taking out euros from ATMs overseas, which usually means heavy bank fees. In addition to the multiple bank fees associated with ATMs, yet more will change their cash immediately on arrival at airport exchange kiosks that are notorious for having some of the highest commission rates and poorest exchange deals.

The best bet is to head to the high street banks, where as much as 6 per cent can be saved on all transactions compared to overseas or specialist foreign currency providers.

For the third day running, Bangladeshi garment workers have clashed with police over wage rates.

UK fashion retailers such as H&M, Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Zara are among the world’s leading companies that source much of their clothing from the factories in the Southeast Asian nation.

Despite the proclamation of a new, improved minimum wage for garment makers being announced by the government on Friday, union leaders have rejected the deal as being well below what was asked. The government has offered 3,000 taka (£27) per month to workers, almost double the previous minimum wage. The unions are holding out for 5,000 taka (£45) which they argue matches the rising cost of living.

With no work being done, the predominantly female labour force in Bangladesh’s second-largest industry have taken to the streets, where, urged on by union leaders, they have protested with bitter abuse and throwing stones – in some cases bricks – causing authorities to respond with batons and rubber-bullets. Around 80 people have been injured in the latest clashes, which are taking place across the country, taking the total number close to 300. Police have also claimed that in the outskirts of the capital Dacca, where at least 20 factories have closed, protesters have looted shops and blocked roads.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on workers to prevent major damage to the industry and livelihoods by accepting the new offer. A peaceful resolution is seen as crucial to sustaining the £10bn export sector, which makes up close to 80 per cent of the country’s annual income.

Despite an improved second quarter performance, Eastman Kodak continues to struggle.

Wednesday saw the release of a narrower loss than in the first quarter of 2010, but the slight improvement was still short of analyst’s estimates.

The results mean that Kodak, one of the world leaders in printers and cameras, continues to struggle with its years-long battle to restructure since the advent of digital imaging.

Kodak’s share performance on the S&P 500 ranked as the largest decliner by percentage, falling by 15 per cent to just $4.18. The stock has been in continual sale from investors since it peaked at a 12-month high back in April of $9.08.

Erik Kolb, equity analyst with Standard & Poor’s, said that the stock market remained concerned that continued declines in the sales of film would continue to impact on Kodak’s cash flow, with the consumer products market likely to bear the brunt of the decline. Kolb noted that there had been a slight increase in recent times in the sales of inkjet printers, but otherwise the market was forecast to remain stagnant and unprofitable for the foreseeable future.

In keeping with recent trends, Kodak has made a larger push into the inkjet printer market, targeting both individual and business customers. According to Kodak, personal inkjet printer sales have grown by 50 per cent in the past year, while business sales have risen by 18 per cent.

However, this was overwhelmed by the operating loss for the second quarter of $167 million, down from $191 million, or roughly 71 cents per share, compared to the same time last year.

The long-disputed wage structure across garment factories in Bangladesh has at last received some positive news.

After months of protests, many of them ending in violence, the Bangladesh wage board has announced that the minimum wage for garment workers will be almost doubled.

Under the terms of the new arrangement, the average monthly wage will rise from 1,662 taka (£16) to be set at 3,000 taka (£16). A formal announcement of the wage increase will be made by the labour ministry tomorrow. Despite the increase, the wage limit falls short of the 5,000 taka called for by workers.

Leading UK retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Zara, Carrefour and H&M all source their clothes from Bangladeshi factories, where the garment industry is the financial backbone of the country’s economy. The industry accounts for some 80 per cent of the nation’s exports and generates around USD$12 billion per year.

Earlier this year, many western fashion labels pressured the Bangladeshi government into reviewing the minimum wage structure after allegations that the country’s factories were using exploitative labour. As a result, the wage board convened an emergency committee made up of union leaders, garment manufacturers and government officials to address the crisis.

The conflict saw angry workers clash with local police in recent weeks and it is not yet clear if union leaders will agree to the new government offer, which, despite the increase, still leaves the garment industry in Bangladesh as one of the world’s lowest paying.

Leading retailer Asda has introduced a new minimum pricing structure on alcohol.

The group has further declared that it will undertake closer working relationships with the UK government to ensure that it is at the forefront of tackling alcohol misuse and abuse across Britain.

The announcement follows the recent high-profile media case of a Tesco store that sold wine for less than cost price in Scotland, leading health campaigners to claim that supermarket chains could not be trusted to be self-policing when it came to the sale of alcohol.

Asda introduced its new alcohol policy on Tuesday, whereby a floor price of duty plus VAT is set on more than 99 per cent of the alcohol sold by the group. This will result in a minimum price of £8.95 for a 20-pack of 440ml 5 per cent strength cans of beer, which would be made up of a duty of £7.62 plus the VAT of 17.5 per cent on top. Similarly, a 750ml bottle of wine would go for a minimum of £1.99 and a one-litre bottle of spirit such as vodka at £10.49.

Asda has also proposed that the government enforce the same policy throughout the entire retail industry in a letter to home secretary Theresa May from chief executive Andy Clarke. Mr Clarke claims that Asda supports a Responsibility Agreement on Alcohol development agreement to ensure that the previously successful partnership between government and industry would not be wasted, and that in conjunction with the OFT, all those involved would be responsible for establishing a safe retail environment which would openly discuss and tackle the issues of alcohol misuse across the UK.