Swissport axes 3,000 jobs after ‘refusing’ to access furlough scheme November 17, 2020 Baggage handler Swissport is making 3,000 employees redundant after refusing to put them on furlough, according to a leading union. There was a wave of redundancies ahead of the 31 December deadline for the furlough scheme, which sees the government pay 80 per cent of employees’ wages. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak belatedly extended the scheme [...]
Transport for London to begin e-scooter trials in the spring November 17, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) will begin trialling rental e-scooters in the spring, it was announced today. The transport network will work with London Councils to select three companies for the trials, which will take place across all London boroughs that wish to take part. Trials will last for 12 months, with roughly a third of [...]
Tesla shares pop again on confirmation that firm will join S&P 500 November 17, 2020 Tesla shares jumped 14 per cent yesterday after it was announced that the electric car maker would join the S&P 500 index in December. The admission comes on the back of five consecutive quarters of profit at the California-based firm, which has thrived amid the coronavirus pandemic. Shares in Elon Musk’s company have risen around [...]
British Airways owner IAG will reportedly cut Air Europa purchase price to €400m November 17, 2020 British Airways owner IAG has reportedly managed to cut the price of its acquisition of Spanish airline Air Europa to €300m-€400m. A year ago, the airlines group agreed a €1bn deal to buy the low-cost carrier, but the deal has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Spanish news site El Confidencial today said [...]
Whinging car giants are giving business a bad name November 17, 2020 News broke last week that the UK government is reportedly planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. As night follows day came the inevitable howls from the car industry. It’s not possible. It’s all too quick. Our societies are not ready for it. And on it goes. The reality is [...]
Airline stocks take flight again on Moderna vaccine success November 16, 2020 Airline stocks took flight in the last few minutes as Moderna revealed that its coronavirus vaccine was 95 per cent effective. For the second Monday in a row, shares in listed carriers have soared on the back of announcements regarding vaccines. Last week Pfizer said that its vaccine, which it has developed with Biontech, was [...]
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 [...]