Rishi Sunak considers new UK road pricing scheme to plug £40bn black hole November 16, 2020 Plans to charge motorists to use the UK’s roads are being considered by chancellor Rishi Sunak in a bid to claw back £40bn in tax revenues lost by switching to electric cars. Sunak has been given the new Treasury proposal in light of Boris Johnson’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel [...]
Nissan reportedly planning to sell stake in Mitsubishi Motors November 16, 2020 Nissan is reportedly mulling plans to sell all or part of its stake in fellow Japanese car giant Mitsubishi, in a move that would shake up the global car market. Two years on from the scandalous arrest of former chief exec Carlos Ghosn, the move would radically alter the global alliance between the two and [...]
Treasury opens bidding process for first seven post-Brexit Freeports November 16, 2020 From today, the Treasury will start accepting bids from cities and towns across England for the first seven Freeports, which are to be created in 2021. Ultimately, the government aims to establish 10 Freeports across the UK, the Treasury confirmed this morning. Areas given Freeport status will be given a range of tax reliefs, including on purchasing [...]
Commuters face hike in rail fares in New Year November 15, 2020 Commuters are facing the prospect of a New Year’s hike in rail fares as the cost of a multi-billion pound bailout of the country’s railways begins to be felt. For the first time in eight years, fares could rise by more than the rate of inflation when the new prices kick in next year. The [...]
Aer Lingus set to snub Stobart Air over new deal November 14, 2020 Stobart Air looks set to stop running regional flights for Aer Lingus from 2023 after the Irish carrier suggested it was unlikely to renew its current contract. Yesterday Aer Lingus told the company that it would not be the preferred supplier for the new commercial arrangement. It came as it emerged that new carrier Emerald [...]
Ban on new petrol and diesel car sales to be brought forward to 2030 November 14, 2020 Boris Johnson is set to announce that the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles will be brought forward to 2030. The announcement is expected as part of a landmark speech laying out the government’s 10 point plan for climate change. Back in February the ban on the sale of such vehicles was brought forward to [...]
Volkswagen to invest €73bn in digitalisation and electric cars November 13, 2020 Car giant Volkswagen will invest €73bn into developing hybrid and electric cars over the next five years, it was announced today. Investment in the new technologies, as well as into digitalisation, will now account for nearly half of the €150bn of spending the firm has scheduled. Almost half of the money – €35bn – will [...]
Tui in talks with German government over new bailout November 13, 2020 Travel giant Tui is reportedly in talks with the German government over receiving a further €1.8bn (£1.6bn) bailout in order to survive the coronavirus pandemic. The Anglo-German firm has already received €3bn in state aid to stay afloat during the crisis, which has hammered the global travel industry. However, it has now warned that the [...]
Parthe-nope: Travel corridors opened to eight countries but Greece removed November 12, 2020 A raft of new countries have been added to the UK’s travel corridor list, meaning people will not have to self isolate upon returning from them. Iceland, Chile, Cambodia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Laos, and Turks and Caicos have all been added to the quarantine free travel list. Those arriving from the countries from Saturday [...]
Moody’s downgrades credit ratings of UK’s largest airports November 12, 2020 Three of the UK’s largest airports have had their credit ratings downgraded by Moody’s as the pandemic continues to hammer global air travel. Heathrow Finance, which owns the UK’s biggest airport, has had its corporate family rating reduced from Ba1 to Ba2. Obligations rated at Ba2 are judged to have speculative elements and are subject [...]