Mothercare’s closing 50 stores, a shock decision for gambling firms, and more top news

Mothercare has confirmed it will close 50 stores as part of a rescue plan. The embattled retailer will close 50 of its remaining 137 stores, putting a reported 800 jobs at risk. Mothercare has also negotiated a rent cut with landlords at 21 of its outlets. The baby products retailer has reappointed Mark Newton-Jones, just six weeks after he stepped down as CEO. Newton-Jones was replaced in April after the firm issued a profit warning.

The government has slashed the maximum stakes on betting machines from ￡100 to ￡2. Currently, people can bet as much as ￡100 every 20 seconds on electronic games, which are responsible for just over half of betting firm William Hill's retail revenues. The firm warned 900 of its shops could become loss-making, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. Fellow gambling operator GVC said it expects the move will create a ￡120m dent in its earnings over the next two years.

The UK’s tech sector is growing way faster than the economy as a whole. That's according to the latest report from government-funded advocacy body Tech Nation, which shows the turnover of digital tech companies grew 4.5% last year, while GDP only increased 1.7%. It also revealed the nation's digital tech industry is now valued at ￡184bn and employs more than 1 million people. The report also revealed there are 16 “tech towns” that have a higher than average number of digital businesses, including Burnley in Lancashire, Livingston in Scotland and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.

Falling passenger numbers and a cut in government funding has hit Transport for London where it hurts. TfL reported its operating deficit worsened by 26% to ￡1bn in the year to March 2018. The number of passengers travelling on the London Underground fell 1.5%, when it had been expected to rise 2.5%. The news comes after the government announced it will renationalise the East Coast railway line following admissions from its operators that they can't afford to keep it running.

Wind power in the UK has overtaken nuclear power for the first time across a quarter. A report by Imperial College London showed windfarms provided more electricity in the first three months of 2018 than Britain’s eight nuclear power stations. Wind power produced 18.8% of electricity in the quarter, coming second only to gas at 39.4%. Earlier this week MPs warned investment in clean energy had suffered a “dramatic and worrying collapse” in the past three years.

Idea of the Day: It took Mike Massimino 10 years to become an astronaut. How did he stay committed to his dream? He worked on his skills and enjoyed as much as he could along the way, explains author James Altucher.

“Enjoy the journey because you don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”

This article was updated. From earlier: Buy-to-let lending fell almost 20% in March, with investors turned off by tax hikes and tighter regulation.

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— Natalie MacDonald and Emily Spaven / Share this using #DailyRundown