Conducting business: UK chip industry needs to pick its battle, says top boss August 30, 2023 A top chip boss has urged the government’s new Semiconductor Advisory Panel (SAP) to narrow its focus so the UK can grab a stronghold in the escalating chip wars and protect its successful growth firms from rival markets. Dr Simon Thomas, the chief executive of Cambridgeshire graphene-based semiconductor firm Paragraf, welcomed the government’s recent appointment [...]
Nutrient neutrality tweaks look a rare example of sound policy August 30, 2023 Nutrient neutrality. It’s fair to say they might not be the two sexiest words to have ever moved a stock market but yesterday they most certainly did, with housebuilders flying on the news the government was set to ease the paperwork surrounding new housing developments. In short, current rules mean that in a full 62 [...]
It’s not me, it’s you: Jassy warns Amazon staff it might not work out if they’re working from home too much August 29, 2023 Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy told workers “it’s probably not going to work out for [them]” if they don’t accept the company’s three-days-in-the-office mandate. “It’s past the time to disagree and commit,” Jassy reportedly said in a meeting last week, referred to internally as a ‘fishbowl’. “And if you can’t disagree and commit, I also [...]
Cadent warns on limits of heat pumps arguing UK rollout is ‘not deliverable’ August 29, 2023 Regional gas distribution company Cadent has warned that the government's plans to electrify heating and decarbonise the power grid were "not deliverable".
Brexit to blame? Pubs lost £22m over August Bank Holiday due to staff shortages August 29, 2023 Pubs lost out on a whopping £22m over the bank holiday weekend due to staff shortages which continue to cripple the UK hospitality sector post-Brexit. While the August bank holiday led many punters to the pub to enjoy extended weekend, a new study from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) showed that staff shortages [...]
Mortgage lending falls by a third as borrowers avoid bank switch stress tests August 29, 2023 Increasing pressure on the housing market drove down activity in mortgage lending and led to changes in the market, new data out today shows. According to UK Finance data, lending for house purchases in the second quarter stood around 30 per cent lower than the same period last year. The industry body said this stemmed [...]
Wilko ‘not out of the woods’ yet as redundancies suspended while PwC mulls bids August 29, 2023 Wilko has suspended all redundancies while its administrators PwC consider further bids, GMB Union has said. The union met administrators of PwC this morning to discuss multiple bids which have been made for the discount retailer. “Whilst this is a positive development, Wilko is not out of the woods by any means and this is [...]
UBS settles Credit Suisse lawsuit with Swiss financial blog Inside Paradeplatz August 29, 2023 UBS and Swiss finance blog Inside Paradeplatz have settled a lawsuit relating to comments published on the site about Credit Suisse.
Air traffic control chaos: Over a quarter of UK flights nixed as Heathrow crippled August 29, 2023 Over a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled yesterday, revealing the huge and ongoing impact of the network-wide air traffic control failure currently disrupting the sector. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 790 departures and 785 arrivals were cancelled, equating to 27 per cent of all flights from the UK. Heathrow [...]
UK transport is reliable, minister insists, despite flight disruption and rail strikes August 29, 2023 Transport Secretary Mark Harper has insisted the UK has a reliable transport network, despite yesterday's “network-wide” failure of the country's Air Traffic Control (ATC) system and ongoing rail strikes.