Cobham shares are in a nosedive after issuing another profit warning February 16, 2017 Troubled aerospace and defence firm Cobham's shares dropped more than 20 per cent this morning after it issued its fifth profit warning in less than two years. The FTSE 250-listed company downgraded its 2016 trading profit to £225m after deducting £20m of year-end adjustments from last month's forecast. In January, the firm lowered its guidance to £245m after [...]
Nestle misses long-term annual organic growth target for fourth year on the trot February 16, 2017 The KitKat, Smarties and Nespresso maker has announced another year of slowing growth in a tough environment and has slashed its sales growth target as a result. The news has left a bit of a bad taste in investors' mouths – shares edged down 1.37 per cent in early trading. The figures Nestle is aiming for sales [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland accused of fraud and forgery February 16, 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland has been accused of fraud and forgery by an ex-employee and former customers, according to a BBC report. A former employee of the lender told the BBC that two of his colleagues at RBS had fabricated complaints and alleged they were from five of his customers. Mark Wright, who worked at NatWest and [...]
Wizz Air boss says new base at London Luton Airport underlines airline’s “commitment to the UK” February 16, 2017 Low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced plans to open a UK base at London Luton Airport. The new base in Britain, its 28th in total, will open on 18 June this year with a new Airbus A320 aircraft. The carrier also plans to bolster its presence at Luton, where it is currently the second largest [...]
All about the price tag? Yahoo’s price Tumblrs by hundreds of millions as Verizon closes in on a deal February 16, 2017 Verizon is close to agreeing a discount of up to $350m (£280m) on its purchase of beleaguered tech giant Yahoo. The US telecoms giant agreed to pay $4.8bn for Yahoo last year, but has been trying to renegotiate the deal in the wake of two mammoth cyber attacks on the business. Sources told Reuters an updated [...]
O2 boss: Let’s go mobile as a quick fix for Britain’s broadband woes February 16, 2017 The rollout of 5G mobile networks in the UK can be delivered more quickly than fibre broadband and provide a boost of billions of pounds to Britain’s economy, according to a report released today. 5G, or the fifth generation mobile network, is scheduled to go live in the UK in 2020. It is expected to deliver faster internet [...]
Leaving Euratom without transitional arrangements will threaten the UK’s nuclear plan February 16, 2017 The future of Britain's nuclear reactors and fuel supplies are at risk if the government makes a clean break from the EU without making transitional arrangements, a new report argues. The government confirmed in January the UK would sever ties with the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) when it left the EU, causing concern about Britain's plans [...]
Founders not scroungers: There’s a business case for welcoming refugees February 16, 2017 As the legal battle rages on around Donald Trump’s chaotic travel ban and moratorium on refugees, you could be forgiven for thinking that the West faces an existential threat unparalleled in its history. Yet as politicians rush to placate and at times inflate public fears about the negative impact of refugees on jobs, public services [...]
Winning the battle for completely free trade post-Brexit will vastly increase UK prosperity February 16, 2017 Economists for Free Trade (of which I’m part) is launching today to make the case for the UK to run completely free trade once we leave the EU in 2019. Our aim is simple. We want Britain to lead the world on free trade. Our group has been formed to fight the battle which needs [...]
Join the debate over Britain’s vital new runway at Heathrow airport February 16, 2017 What is the world’s most connected city? New York? Paris? Tokyo? No. It’s London, which last May beat all those cities to top the inaugural Global Connectivity Ranking, with 351 direct international air destinations. Then in October, London was named the world’s most powerful city – the fifth consecutive year it had topped the Global [...]