Chinese car sales fall for seventh straight month as economic slowdown bites February 18, 2019 China’s struggling automotive industry continued to skid to a halt in January, as car sales fell for the seventh straight month at the start of the year. Sales dropped 15.8 per cent year-on-year 2.37m cars for January – more than 13 per cent in December and 14 per cent in November. Read more: Tata Motors’ [...]
Peak fares face the axe in proposed shakeup of rail ticketing system February 18, 2019 Peak rail fares could be abolished under new proposals to move away from the UK's complex ticketing system to a fairer, "tap-in, tap out" model. Trade body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has called for a revamp of the ticket system to ensure customers only pay for what they need and are always charged the best-value [...]
A brave new driverless future? Let’s separate fact from fiction February 18, 2019 You can’t browse the internet without seeing a sensational headlines announcing the imminent ascendency of the driverless car. “Fully driverless cars could run on UK roads by end of year”, “Britain’s driverless revolution will be a car crash as safety rules are recklessly scrapped” and “Driverless Car! It’s about to happen on UK roads” – to [...]
Funds bet against Npowerless SSE as systems upgrade looks set to cost dearly February 17, 2019 Hedge funds have started to bet heavily against SSE as the energy firm faces potentially huge upgrade bills after its merger with Npower fell through. London-based Marshall Wace and US Worldquant have taken out a combined £171m so-called short position. The funds have borrowed and then sold shares in SSE, hoping to buy them back cheaper [...]
EU vehicles pose no threat to US, carmakers say as Trump mulls huge tariffs February 17, 2019 European cars do not pose a threat to US national security, one of Germany’s biggest car lobbies said today as the White House considers slapping new tariffs on imports. Lobby group the VDA said that the US benefits from German carmakers. US President Donald Trump was today given a Commerce Department report into whether imported cars and parts [...]
Amey eyes escape route from Birmingham road repair PFI contract February 17, 2019 Outsourcer Amey is reportedly approaching an agreement with Birmingham city council to pay it £200m to escape a long-term PFI contract to repair roads in the city. Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial, which owns Amey, has been trying to offload the firm since last year, but it needs the contract out of the way before this [...]
Stobart battle: Judge finds former boss Andrew Tinkler breached duties as a director February 15, 2019 The judge in the bitter court battle between the Stobart Group and former chief executive Andrew Tinkler ruled today that Tinkler had made four “serious” breaches of his duty as a director. His Honour Judge Russen QC said Tinkler breached his contractual and fiduciary duties in four ways: by agitating for the removal of the [...]
Lyft to pitch fast growth to investors as IPO race with Uber intensifies February 15, 2019 Lyft is set to pitch its fast growth in the US to investors as it seeks to beat out rivals Uber to become the first publicly listed ride-hailing company. It will tell investors its share of the US market is close to 40 per cent, a five per cent increase on a year earlier, having [...]
Commuters face severe delays on District Line as rush hour misery strikes February 15, 2019 Commuters are facing rush hour misery this morning with severe delays affecting the District Line. Read more: Rush hour blues: Commuters contend with severe delays to three Tube lines Severe delays have hit trains between Ealing Broadway and Richmond to Earl’s Court after a signal failure at Turnham Green. Minor delays are running between Earl’s [...]
Ryanair admits interest in buying Thomas Cook’s airport slots February 14, 2019 Budget airline Ryanair is interested in buying up some airport slots belonging to embattled Thomas Cook's airline unit, it emerged today. Thomas Cook plunged from profit to loss in 2018, leading it to consider selling off its successful airline division. Read more: Thomas Cook considers airline sale as losses hit £60m Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, was quoted this [...]