Defence outsourcing giant Babcock’s chairman to step down after decade in charge January 17, 2019 The chairman of defence contractor Babcock, Mike Turner, has said he is to step down in July after a decade in charge. Turner, who has been at the company for twenty years first as a non-executive director, said he would leave the role at the close of the firm's annual general meeting later this year. [...]
New Look slapped with fresh downgrade as Moody’s casts doubt over restructuring plan January 17, 2019 Moody’s, the influential ratings agency, has downgraded New Look’s senior secured notes rating, just days after the retailer unveiled a restructuring deal aimed at cutting its debts by £1bn. On Monday, New Look agreed a debt-for-equity swap proposal to reduce debt from £1.35bn to £350m, and also announced a £150m capital raise through the issuing [...]
Germany plans to exclude Huawei from 5G rollout amid cyber espionage fears January 17, 2019 The German government is looking for ways to exclude Huawei from its 5G infrastructure plans amid growing fears of cyber espionage, it is reported. Germany is considering introducing stricter security standards to effectively block the Chinese telecoms giant from its 5G rollout, Reuters reported, citing local media. Read more: Huawei punishes staff after Happy New Year [...]
Consultants ‘braver’ about challenging clients who treat women inappropriately, says PwC January 17, 2019 Advisers are “getting braver about…calling out our clients” who act inappropriately towards female consultants, a partner at PwC told a tech industry event in east London today. The partnership at PwC gets “incensed” when client chief executives shout at female partners, said Mads Thomson, who leads the the professional services firm’s technology consulting business in [...]
Morgan Stanley trading revenue hit by sharper fall than peers as shares plummet January 17, 2019 Morgan Stanley suffered the sharpest fall in trading revenue among its peers at the end last year, sending shares plummeting. Fixed income trading at the US bank fell 30 per cent year-on-year to $564m – the largest fall in a week of mixed fourth quarter results by major US banks – the bank said today [...]
Scaffolding provider Arena Events’ shares crash down to earth on disappointing trading update January 17, 2019 Scaffolding provider Arena Events shares collapsed today after announcing operating issues in its UK business that have reduced profitability. The company’s stock was down 31.9 per cent on Thursday afternoon after blaming the issues on a number of one-off contracts, plus a delay in receiving the benefits of a planned integration of three British warehouses. Read [...]
Travel food operator SSP sees sales rise despite yellow vest protests January 17, 2019 Travel food operator SSP posted a rise in sales for the first quarter, despite seeing its European sales pulled down by protests in France. SSP, which runs food concessions in airports and railway stations, said total revenues rose 7.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, with like-for-like sales up 2.5 [...]
Government plans ‘make a nonsense’ of tackling gender pay gap, says senior MP January 17, 2019 The government has been accused of dragging its feet over the gender pay gap after refusing to adopt MPs’ recommendations for tackling unequal pay. Rachel Reeves, chair of the influential Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Select Committee, said the government’s stance on reporting pay disparities would “make a nonsense” of efforts to close the [...]
London Waterloo trains and tracks to be de-iced as Network Rail prepares for colder weather January 17, 2019 Special de-icing trains will run overnight to prevent the UK’s rail infrastructure freezing to a standstill as temperatures are expected to plummet in the coming weeks. South Western Railway will run its so-called ghost trains all night to clear tracks of snow and ice and spray passenger doors with de-icer to prevent them from jamming. [...]
ITV shares tumble after bearish investor note casts doubt on ad revenues January 17, 2019 ITV led the FTSE 100 fallers today after Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts slashed their target price for the broadcaster amid fears of declining advertising. Shares in ITV fell almost seven per cent after the bank changed its rating from buy to underperform and cut its target price from 210p to 110p. Read more: UK [...]