US and Europe are driving profits at Fiat Chrysler sending the share price higher April 26, 2016 Fiat Chrysler has reported first-quarter profit almost doubled to €1.3bn (£1bn) on the first three months of last year, up 88 per cent. The company, owner of the Jeep and Ram brands, has been focusing on higher-priced sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks in the US. Sales of Jeeps globally rose 15 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. Car [...]
Cobham shares plunge as it scrambles to secure emergency funding April 26, 2016 Cobham shares plunged as much as 21.5 per cent this morning after the engineering group issued a profit warning and launched a £500m emergency rights issue. Its push into the commercial market to offset slowing government defence spending on both sides of the Atlantic by snapping up US communications equipment maker Aeroflex two years ago has failed [...]
This mesmerising data viz shows all of the world’s shipping routes April 26, 2016 From the hub of activity in the East China Sea to the relative quiet of Somalia’s piracy afflicted waters — the below map shows the extraordinary extent of modern shipping’s reach. The map — created by London-based data visualisation and digital journalism studio Kiln and the UCL Energy Institute — charts global merchant fleet movements over the course of 2012. It was made [...]
General Motors doubles profit in the first quarter, turbo charged by cheap petrol and easy access to credit April 21, 2016 General Motors (GM) has reported profit more than doubled to $2bn (£1.4bn), or $1.24 a share, in the first quarter of 2016. Revenue for the first three months of the year climbed by 4.5 per cent to $37.3bn. The bottom line figures easily beat out analyst estimates of $1.01 per share on revenue of $35.4bn. Cheap petrol and consumers' [...]
Commuter chaos expected as conductors on Southern Rail vote to stage three 24-hour strikes over new rules which hand door control duties to drivers April 19, 2016 Conductors on Southern Rail are set to stage three 24-hour strikes on 26 April, 10 May and 12 May – because control of doors has been handed to drivers. They're set to walk out at 11:00 BST on all three days, it's been reported They're protesting Southern Rail’s plans to introduce "Driver Only Operation" rules, giving [...]
TfL names new Tube boss as Australian transport executive Mark Wild April 19, 2016 Transport for London has named an Australian transport executive as the new boss of the Tube. Mark Wild will join TfL in June, taking over from interim managing director Nick Brown. Wild is currently special adviser to the minister and secretary of the state government of Victoria. He was also chief executive of Public Transport Victoria, the [...]
Dashboard cameras drive sales at Halfords, sending the share price up by 9.6 per cent April 13, 2016 Like-for-like revenue at retailer Halfords has accelerated 2.6 per cent in is last quarter, and is up 1.7 per cent for the full year. The car and bike seller has posted an increase in like-for-like revenues of 3.1 per cent in its retail arm and 1.7 per cent in its autocentres compared to the same period last year. For the quarter the company had a second consecutive [...]
UK airports witness record passenger growth in 2015 putting pressure on government to respond to Airports Commission report April 13, 2016 UK airports saw passenger growth take off to record levels in 2015 after a fight back from the financial crisis of 2008-09, new figures show. Over 251m passengers used UK airports in 2015, representing an increase of 5.6 per cent on the previous year, putting pressure on the government to respond to the Airports Commission Final Report, [...]
Tube strike: London underground workers threaten industrial action in housing project battle April 13, 2016 A fresh battle is brewing after London Underground workers threatened to strike over a housing project battle which would result in a Tube depot being demolished. The RMT Union said the at 400 maintenance engineers have been "caught in the middle of a mad dash by mayor Boris Johnson to bulldoze through the demolition of whole [...]
Transport for London Bill slammed by RMT as multi-billion pound rip off April 12, 2016 The RMT union has slammed the Transport for London Bill as a "multi-billion pound rip off" ahead its third reading in parliament tonight. The bill was introduced to help TfL maximise profits that it makes from developing its property. It aims to allow TfL power to enter into partnerships with property developers to generating cash in [...]