Norwegian Air appoints new chief executive to lead it back to profit November 20, 2019 Norwegian Air has named Jacob Schram, a senior adviser at management consultant McKinsey, as its new chief executive. Schram, 57, takes up the mantle as the low-cost flyer struggles to soothe investors’ concerns about its finances. The Norwegian national will take over on 1 January. Read more: Norwegian Air cuts routes to US from Ireland [...]
Trump inquiry: There was ‘quid pro quo’ in Ukraine call, ambassador says November 20, 2019 President Donald Trump knew about requests to Ukraine for investigations into his rivals and understood there was a “quid pro quo”, a top US diplomat has said. Gordon Sondland, US ambassador to the EU, told an impeachment inquiry that he “followed the President’s orders” and those of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Read more: Asian stocks [...]
Eco Atlantic shares fall after heavy crude discovery November 20, 2019 Shares in oil and gas explorer Eco Atlantic fell over seven per cent today after the company confirmed it was evaluating the commercial prospects of its major oil discovery off Guyana. Read more: Tullow Oil shares plummet as Ghana fields run into problems The figures Despite the shareholder reaction, Eco was bullish in its first [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson hints at plans to hike National Insurance threshold November 20, 2019 A Conservative government would put up the National Insurance threshold to £12,000 as part of plans to “cut tax for working people”, Boris Johnson said today. During an apparently unintended revelation as part of a question and answer session in a Teeside factor, the Prime Minister told reporters he would increase the rate at which [...]
Uber partly to blame for driverless car death, says US watchdog November 20, 2019 Uber’s safety policies have been deemed as partly to blame for the death of a woman last year, according to America’s safety watchdog. Elaine Herzberg was killed in Arizona last year, after she was hit by a driverless Uber car. Read more: Uber launches new safety measures in attempt to secure long-term London licence The [...]
Profit jumps as Babcock buoyed by marine division November 20, 2019 Defence giant Babcock has reported an increase in pre-tax profit for the first half in line with expectations, as a strong performance from its marine business offset weakness in its aviation division. The figures Babcock reported a 134 per cent increase in statutory pre-tax profit, which rose from £65.1m to £152m for the six months [...]
General Election 2019: Liberal Democrats pitch party as ‘natural home of business’ November 20, 2019 The Liberal Democrats are pitching themselves as the “natural home of business” with a slew of policies due to be unveiled in the party manifesto that it claims will bolster the UK’s economy. Warning of challenges including artificial intelligence, climate change and Brexit, the Lib Dems argue that the two main parties are backwards looking [...]
Upper Crust owner SSP announces £100m share buyback November 20, 2019 Upper Crust owner SSP Group this morning announced plans to buy back £100m of shares as it reported sales grew this year due to an increase in air and rail passengers. The figures SSP Group, which has around 2,800 outlets at global transport hubs, said like for like sales were up 1.9 per cent due [...]
Stop attacking ECB, new board member tells fellow Germans November 20, 2019 Incoming European Central Bank (ECB) board member Isabel Schnabel has told her fellow German economists to dial back their attacks on the Eurozone’s central bank, saying they threaten the euro. “Dear fellow German economists, if you are wondering what you can do for Europe: Please help to dispel the harmful & wrong narratives about the [...]
City watchdog hits Henderson Investment Funds with £1.9m fine for overcharging retail customers November 20, 2019 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said it had fined Henderson Investment Funds Limited (HIFL) nearly £1.9m for treating retail customers unfairly. The FCA said HIFL had overcharged 4,500 retail customers in two of its funds, the Henderson Japan Enhanced Equity Fund and the Henderson North American Enhanced Equity Fund. In 2011 HIFL’s [...]