UK book chain Ottakar’s says it can’t compete with big discount chains. “Ottakar’s said like-for-like sales since the end of January had fallen 3.4%, with a marked deterioration from the summer with sales falling by 6.7% despite the release of the latest installment in the Harry Potter saga. Shares in the company, which dropped below 400p this month when a proposed £96m takeover by Waterstone’s was referred to the competition commission, fell a further 2% to 357.5p.”