Alstom confirms Bombardier merger talks February 17, 2020 French train manufacturer Alstom has confirmed talks to purchase the rail division of Canadian firm Bombardier are ongoing. The proposed deal could be worth $7bn on an enterprise value basis, Reuters has reported. Reports of the merger came last week, quoting a French TV station, that Alstom’s board was set to make an offer. “Alstom [...]
Tesla’s short-selling critics do not have to be rewarded to be right February 17, 2020 Short-selling, or shorting, is the act of betting against a company’s stock. If the share price goes down, the short-seller makes money. If the share price goes up, they lose it. It is the most rhetorical of investments. A short position is a statement of a belief: a minority opinion held against the will of [...]
Coronavirus: F1 owner braces for £33m hit as Shanghai Grand Prix stalls February 16, 2020 Formula One has revealed that it risks losing its estimated $33m hosting fee for the Chinese Grand Prix if the authorities in Shanghai give the red light to the race over the coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese Grand Prix was due to take place in Shanghai in April but was postponed by F1 last week at the request [...]
Rail franchising model ‘set to be scrapped’ in coming weeks February 16, 2020 Boris Johnson is set to dramatically overhaul the nation’s rail network by scrapping the rail franchise model and capping profits by private providers. Former British Airways boss Keith Williams was drafted to conduct a review of Britain’s railways last year, with the report set to be released in the coming weeks. It’s now expected that [...]
Grant Shapps denies DfT talks with China over HS2 contract February 16, 2020 The transport secretary Grant Shapps has today denied reports his department has held talks with China over building the HS2 rail link. The Financial Times reported China’s state-run railway company had offered to build the line in five years at significantly reduced cost. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in parliament that the scheme would go [...]
HS2: China tells UK it can build high-speed line in five years and at lower cost February 15, 2020 The UK is considering giving China’s state-owned railway builder a role in constructing the HS2 rail line. Government officials said “preliminary discussions” had taken place, but no “concrete commitments” had been made. The Chinese railway firm said it could build the line in five years and at a much lower cost, according to a letter [...]
Passenger with suspected coronavirus lands at Heathrow February 14, 2020 A passenger travelling from San Francisco suspected of having coronavirus has landed at Heathrow airport this morning having fallen ill on the flight. The United Airlines flight from the US landed in London this morning with the captain telling passengers “someone on the plane has suspected coronavirus”. Passengers were forced to wait on board the [...]
Renault hits the skids as Nissan scandal pushes carmaker to a loss February 14, 2020 Renault posted its first loss in a decade today as the French car giant took a hit from its alliance with Nissan, which remains mired in a scandal concerning former boss Carlos Ghosn. The company lowered its guidance on the back of the results, setting a margin between three and four per cent, down from [...]
Tesla shares rise as it unveils plan for $2bn stock issue February 13, 2020 Shares in Tesla rose this afternoon after the electric car maker said it would raise roughly $2bn (£1.5bn) by issuing new stock. Idiosyncratic chief executive Elon Musk will personally purchase up to $10m of shares in the new offering, while Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who sits on Tesla’s board of directors, will also buy up [...]
Norwegian Air deepens cutbacks as 737 Max crisis weighs February 13, 2020 Norwegian Air has posted a loss of 1.87bn Norwegian krone (£155m) in the fourth quarter as the Boeing 737 Max crisis continued to take its toll on the airline. This was narrowed from the 3bn krone loss posted in the same period in 2018, but lagged behind analysts’ forecasts. Operating revenue also fell seven per [...]