General Motors scales back workforce as it pushes for self-driving cars November 26, 2018 General Motors will close five plants and lay off around 8,000 workers in North America, the company has revealed. The carmaker hopes cutbacks will help it save around $6bn a year as it doubles the resources spent on its electric and self-driving cars, while discontinuing several old models. The company will say goodbye to around [...]
Vectura out of breath as company abandons asthma drug trials November 26, 2018 Vectura shares dropped sharply today as the company scrapped a late-stage drug trial aimed at helping severe asthma sufferers. The abandoned trial will hit Vectura’s loss before tax by £40m, the pharmaceutical company said this morning. As much as 14 per cent was wiped off the company’s £516m market value, with shares closing down 10.2 [...]
Rumours swirl on potential sale rumours for City broker Liberum November 26, 2018 Rumours of ongoing discussions between City broker Liberum and Australian bank Macquarie surfaced today, reported to be in the region of around £100m. However in an internal memo circulated among Liberum staff, seen by City A.M., chief executive Shane Le Prevost put a dampener on the reports. “In the last 12 months we have received a number [...]
O2 trials faster data downloads in King’s Cross and Marble Arch as it prepares for 5G November 26, 2018 O2 is trialling new technology that will boost network connections in London as it prepares to roll out 5G in the UK. The trial, which is being carried out in partnership with Nokia, has been launched at King’s Cross and Marble Arch as the company looks to lay the foundations for future high-speed connections. The [...]
Why the EU’s approval of May’s Brexit deal failed to give sterling a boost November 26, 2018 Sterling failed to get a significant boost from the EU rubber-stamping the Prime Minister’s draft Brexit deal over the weekend, with markets awaiting the outcome of a crucial parliamentary vote next month. While EU leaders voted in favour of Theresa May’s Brexit agreement despite the threat of a Spanish veto over the future of Gibraltar, [...]
Developer secures £125m loan for student digs in the City November 26, 2018 University pads might be more typically associated with sprawling campuses than the City of London’s cramped financial district, but developers today secured a multi-million pound loan for a landmark student accommodation scheme within the Square Mile. In a fresh sign of the booming investor appetite for London’s student property assets, developer and student accommodation operator [...]
Luxury furniture firm Smallbone of Devizes teeters on brink of collapse November 26, 2018 High-end furniture manufacturer Canburg, which owns brands such as up-market designer Smallbone of Devizes, is on the edge of bankruptcy as it faces administration. The firm has filed a notice to appoint accountancy firm Grant Thornton as administrator this week, Sky News first reported. Hundreds of jobs could be at risk if proceedings go ahead. [...]
Mark Zuckerberg is a modern wartime chief executive November 26, 2018 Facebook was meant to revolutionise and make everything better wasn’t it? It was a friendly social networking platform that would allow us to share photos and videos, and stay in touch with those we needed to: friends, family, and the loved ones we were separated from by distances in time and geography. But the revelations [...]
UK pub employment on the rise despite spate of closures November 26, 2018 The number of people employed by pubs in the UK has increased over the last decade, despite a shrinking number of watering holes, new figures have revealed. Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that while the number of pubs has shrunk from roughly 50,000 in 2008 to 39,000 in 2018, the number of employees [...]
Barclays fights off cyber attack attempts every day, says digital defence head November 26, 2018 Barclays fights off attacks from cyber criminals every single day, according to the head of the bank’s cyber security operations centre. Former Europol cybercrime centre head of operations Paul Gillen told City A.M. that the number of attempts against the lender each day was “substantial”. However, the attacks vary in degree with the most common [...]