World must invest $131 trillion in clean energy to hit Paris targets March 16, 2021 The world must invest $131 trillion (£94 trillion) in clean energy resources over the next 30 years in order to hit the climate targets set out in 2015’s Paris accords. A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that investment must increase $33 trillion from current plans over the coming decades if [...]
Baroness Helena Morrissey quits St James’s Place to become AJ Bell chair March 16, 2021 Baroness Helena Morrissey has stood down from her role on St James’s Place’s board to become chair of investment platform AJ Bell. Baroness Morrissey will succeed Les Platts as AJ Bell’s chair at the company’s next annual meeting in January 2022. In the meantime, she join the board as chair designate in July 2021. Baroness [...]
Wood Group axes final dividend as oil service firm swings to loss March 16, 2021 Engineers Wood Group this morning said it would not pay a final dividend after falling to a £228m loss in 2020. The FTSE 250 firm, which provides services for the oil industry, was battered by the collapse in oil prices last spring. As a result, it swung from a profit of £73m in 2019 to [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp inks Facebook deal in Australia after row March 16, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has signed a licensing deal with Facebook in Australia, marking an end to a dispute that saw the social media site instigate a news blackout in the country. The publishing group said it has reached a three-year agreement with Facebook to provide news and information to millions of users in the [...]
On-demand pay: is it here to stay? March 16, 2021 | City Talk Millions around the globe depend on regular salaries and plan their budgets based on paydays. But the lockdown has made personal budgeting much more challenging. Many workers have lost their job and many others are now working remotely. Compounding near universal worries about future and immediate financial security are the added stress and logistical challenges [...]
Just Group lifts profits amid bid for sustainable capital March 16, 2021 Specialist financial services firm Just Group enjoyed an 11 per cent lift in annual earnings, which boosted underlying profits to £297m in December. The group announced this morning that thanks to a host of new sales, new business profits increased by £17.2m to £199.2m, compared to the previous year. This reflects a 12 per cent [...]
Mark Carney comes out against proposed coal mine in Cumbria March 16, 2021 The former head of the Bank of England Mark Carney has come out against the planned coal mine in Cumbria because it risks derailing progress on climate change. Last week the local government secretary Robert Jenrick announced an investigation into the mine after “further developments” which reportedly included a report from the independent committee on [...]
Nokia to axe up to 10,000 jobs within next two years March 16, 2021 Telecoms group Nokia said on Tuesday it plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs within the next two years to trim costs and boost investment in research capabilities. The company said in a statement it expects around €600m to €700m of restructuring and associated charges by 2023. Nokia predicts the restructuring will lower its cost [...]
Global growth narrative set to shift as pre-pandemic legacy issues resurface March 16, 2021 You may have missed what happened in the US and China over the past week but two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US. The second [...]
Greggs off to better start after swinging to first ever loss in 2020 March 16, 2021 Greggs said that it had made a stronger-than-expected start to 2021 after seeing sales slip back last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The impact of the pandemic meant the baked goods peddler swung to a £13m loss, a huge flip from the £108m profit it made the prior year. That beat the [...]