PG&E burnt to the ground as wildfires cause utility to plan bankruptcy filing January 14, 2019 Shares in US utilities company PG&E dropped by about half in pre-trading as the company said it will be bankrupted by huge charges for sparking hundreds of wildfires in California. Pacific Gas and Electric Company hopes to settle damages from devastating wildfires, which have impacted “our customers, our neighbours and our friends”, through a so-called [...]
Luton Airport enjoys busiest ever year in 2018 as passenger numbers soar to 16.6m January 14, 2019 Recently revamped London Luton Airport (LLA) enjoyed its busiest year last year, welcoming 16.6m passengers to the airport. The figures are a five per cent increase on the previous year. During December, 1.26m passengers used the airport, an increase of 19.7 per cent on December the year before. The airport unveiled its upgraded terminal after its three-year [...]
Cathay Pacific re-runs New Year tickets gaffe as it sells first-class travel for economy prices January 14, 2019 Passengers flying on Cathay Pacific were again able to pick up cut-price first class tickets after a bug hit the airline’s website over the weekend. Tickets from Portugal to Hong Kong were being sold for $1,512 (£1,179) instead of their usual $16,000 on Sunday, the South China Morning Post reported, adding to a list of [...]
As competition heats up, meet the energy company taking on the Big Six by cutting consumption January 14, 2019 You know the drill: energy companies lure you in with a cheap introductory rate, and once it expires, you’ve either got to repeat the hassle of shopping around for a new deal, or you’re automatically moved onto the provider’s expensive default tariff – otherwise known as the standard variable rate (SVR). This isn’t a glitch [...]
Off road: Is the car industry in reverse? January 14, 2019 The automotive industry faces recession and decline. Driverless cars are on the horizon, but has the moment for motors already passed? The first Model T Ford rolled off the production line in 1908. Available in “any colour… so long as it is black”, in the words of magnate Henry Ford, the car marked a breakthrough [...]
Consumer group calls on Ryanair to refund passengers hit by name change “glitch” January 14, 2019 Ryanair came under renewed criticism today from a leading consumer rights activist for refusing to refund customers who were allegedly charged fees in error. Hundreds of customers were required to pay a £115 name change surcharge due to a "glitch" on Ryanair's website which caused incorrect surnames to be recorded on passenger bookings, according to [...]
Fund manager Neil Woodford leads push to oust top Kier Group executives January 13, 2019 Leading fund manager Neil Woodford is leading a push to unseat construction group Kier’s top executive team after its botched rights issue, according to reports. Woodford Investment Management, which owns a 16 per cent stake in Kier, is leading a push to replace chief executive Haydn Mursell and finance director Bev Dew, Sky News reported [...]
Elon Musk company SpaceX to cut 10 per cent of staff January 12, 2019 Elon Musk’s company SpaceX will cut around 10 per cent of its 6,000 staff, it revealed on Friday. The company announced it would be parting ways with around 600 people due to the “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead”. “To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, [...]
Former Stobart CEO buys share in Flybe ahead of proposed takeover January 12, 2019 The former chief executive of Stobart has bought a 10 per cent stake in British airline Flybe, just as it was announced that a consortium made up of Stobart and led by Virgin Atlantic was set to purchase the struggling airline. Stobart's former CEO, Andrew Tinkler, bought the share in the company on Friday, according to [...]
Ford plans to cut 1,000 jobs at Welsh factory January 12, 2019 Car manufacturer Ford is planning to cut 370 jobs at an engine plant in south Wales in the first phase of redundancies that will see up to 1,000 members of staff lose their jobs. It comes as Ford looks to revise its European operations having announced plans this week to cut structural costs and let [...]