November 20, 2020 - Biz in 60

UK retail sales rise in October ahead of second lockdown UK retail sales rose in October for the sixth consecutive month, ahead of November's closure of most non-essential businesses. The volume of overall sales rose by 1-point-2 percent compared with the previous month. That's as consumers brought forward their Christmas shopping. Analysts expect sales to fall again this month due to the second round of lockdown restrictions. Japan's core consumer prices fall 0.7% in October Japan's core consumer prices fell in October at their fastest annual pace in nearly a decade. That's after the inflation lost the upward support of a consumption tax increase a year ago. Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile fresh food costs, fell 0-point-7 percent year-on-year last month, in line with expectations. Gaming company Roblox files for IPO as demand surges Popular gaming platform, Roblox, has filed to go public after demand for video games surged under COVID-19 lockdowns. The filing showed the company's revenue jumped 68 percent from a year ago to 590 million dollars in the first nine month, while virtual currency sales totaled 1-point-2 billion dollars. Roblox is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange later this year.