Balfour Beatty swings to loss as coronavirus shuts down construction in UK August 12, 2020 Shares in construction firm Balfour Beatty fell 4.4 per cent this morning after the company posted a £24m loss for the first half. The FTSE 250 firm said that the coronavirus pandemic, which hampered work at its building sites, was behind the loss. The figures Balfour Beatty swung from a £64m underlying profit for the [...]
Chinese car sales surge for fourth consecutive month in July August 11, 2020 Sales of Chinese cars jumped 16 per cent year on year last month in the fourth consecutive month of gains as the world’s biggest auto market kicks back into gear after the coronavirus shutdown. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales rose to 2.11m units in July. However, for the [...]
Heathrow calls for airport testing as passenger numbers drop 88 per cent August 11, 2020 Around 88 per cent fewer people travelled through Heathrow Airport in July compared with last year as the coronavirus pandemic continued to strangle air travel. In total, over 860,000 people used the airport last month, a slight uplift from the 350,000 who did so in June, which Heathrow said was down to the government’s “travel [...]
The future of urban transport is human-powered August 11, 2020 In recent months there has been precious little to celebrate as the pandemic has taken away so much and pushed us apart into isolation. Much of the rapid change we have had forced upon us has been negative. But there’s one change that we can choose to make that will benefit all and create the [...]
Fiat Chrysler accuses General Motors of making ‘preposterous allegations’ August 10, 2020 Fiat Chrysler has said a recent filing by rival General Motors was like a “third-rate spy movie”, asking a US federal judge to dismiss its request to reinstate a racketeering lawsuit. Fiat Chrysler, which is set to merge with French carmaker PSA next year, said the filing was “full of preposterous allegations”. General Motors had [...]
Capita extends £355m deal to manage congestion charge August 10, 2020 Outsourcing giant Capita today announced that it had extended three contracts with Transport for London (TfL) in a deal worth £355m. Under the contracts, Capita will continue to run London’s Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) until October 2026. Shares in the firm rose three per cent this morning [...]
Bus operators welcome new £220m government package August 10, 2020 The UK’s transport operators have welcomed the government’s announcement of hefty new funding to keep bus services running while passenger numbers remain low due to coronavirus. Over the weekend, the Department for Transport (DfT) unveiled £218.4m in additional cash for embattled bus operators, taking the total funding for the sector to over £700m. That money [...]
Activist investor ValueAct sells entire stake in Rolls-Royce August 7, 2020 Shares in Rolls-Royce edged lower on Friday morning after news that activist shareholder ValueAct had sold its entire stake in the firm. The activist built up a 10 per cent stake in Rolls-Royce in 2015 after a string of profit warnings, but has now decided to exit the firm, according to the Financial Times. ValueAct’s [...]
British Airways reaches halfway point in 12,000 job cuts August 7, 2020 More than 6,000 British Airways staff have opted to take voluntary redundancy, as the airline makes progress on its mission to cut 12,000 jobs. The airline will send out letters to its remaining staff today to tell them whether they still have a job or not, and if they do, whether they will be required [...]
France could be next to join UK quarantine list as Sunak warns of travel ‘disruption’ August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned there is “always a risk of disruption to travel plans” as speculation that France could be added to the quarantine list grows. The number of Covid-19 infections in France has increased by more than 1,600 for a second consecutive day, returning to levels not seen since May. It comes just [...]