MPs hit out at Department for Transport over delayed response to May timetable chaos review February 18, 2019 MPs have hit out at the government for its delay in responding to a report into last year's May timetable chaos, which found that transport secretary Chris Grayling could have done more to avert the troubles. The Transport Select Committee said it was "disappointing" that the Department for Transport (DfT) had decided to delay its response [...]
French oil giant Total aims for green with new investments February 18, 2019 French Total took two steps towards a renewable future today as it announced plans to buy a new wind farm in the English Channel and acquired a plastic recycler Synova. The oil major has teamed up with Denmark’s Orsted and Belgian Elicio bid for a 600 MW farm of the coast of Dunkirk. The farm [...]
Norwegian Air shares tumble as leaders agree to sale of subscription rights February 18, 2019 Shares in Norwegian Air crashed this morning after the struggling airline’s boss and board chairman agreed to sell some of their subscription rights to a share issue at less than face value in order to raise emergency funds. Read more: Growth will slow at Norwegian Air as profits in focus Chief executive Bjorn Kjos and chairman [...]
Honda to close Swindon factory in ‘devastating’ blow to Britain’s car industry, putting 3,500 jobs at risk February 18, 2019 Honda is gearing up to announce the closure of its Swindon factory, plunging 3,500 jobs into uncertainty, according to a local MP. The Japanese car manufacturer will close its only factory in the EU in 2022, delivering a serious blow to Britain’s already ailing car manufacturing industry. The decision was first reported by Sky News. [...]
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 [...]