Odey and Elliott ‘among City titans to invest in hypersonic jet firm’ October 6, 2019 City heavyweights including Crispin Odey are said to have thrown their financial might behind an Oxfordshire-based firm which hopes to one day transport passengers from London to New York in an hour. The hedge fund tycoon Odey and US activist investor Elliott Advisors are among firms which have poured £100m into Reaction Engines, signalling their [...]
Hitachi ‘closes in on £200m West Coast franchise deal’ October 6, 2019 Hitachi is said to be close to clinching a £200m deal to overhaul trains and carriages on the West Coast Main Line. The award would come as a blow to struggling Canadian rival Bombardier, which was also pipped to the post by Hitachi on a £400m deal to build dozens of trains in the East [...]
Carillion saga continues: Watchdog probes Whitehall salvage attempts on unfinished hospitals October 6, 2019 Britain’s public spending watchdog is to launch in investigation into Whitehall’s attempts to rescue two major hospital projects which ground to a halt when Carillion went bust last year. The unfinished Midland Metropolitan and the Royal Liverpool University hospitals were left hanging by a thread when the outsourcer collapsed in January 2018, eventually lumping taxpayers [...]
Aston Martin faces calls for board shake-up October 6, 2019 A year on from its disastrous stock market float, luxury car giant Aston Martin is facing calls to bring in new directors on its board. The British marquee brand has suffered a drop in shares of nearly 75 per cent since it floated in October this year. It has stalled in the face of mounting [...]
Labour: Pre-Christmas General Election will happen if PM asks for Brexit delay on 19 October October 6, 2019 Shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti has said Labour will agree to an election “this side of Christmas” if Boris Johnson asks the European Union for a Brexit extension on 19 October. Johnson has until this date to broker a Brexit deal with the EU or else he will be forced to ask for an extension [...]
Doom and gloom: Small businesses suffering from ‘dogged lack of confidence’ amid Brexit uncertainty October 4, 2019 More small companies are glum about their business prospects than at any time in the last five years, as calls for a Brexit deal ratchet up. Butchers, bakers and cafes up and down Britain have called on the government to clinch a deal with the EU to end a “dogged lack of confidence” among small [...]
Sun, sea and skint Spaniards: Spain plans up €300m tourism rescue package after Thomas Cook collapse October 3, 2019 Spain is preparing a $300m rescue package for its tourism industry, after the collapse of Thomas Cook is said to have left bars deserted and beaches empty at its holiday hotspots. The country’s tourism minister said the cash would be split across 13 different measures, including a credit line for companies struggling to cope. Read [...]
Teesside torment: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos consults on closing factory, putting 224 jobs at risk October 3, 2019 Workers at an Ineos factory in Teesside were left fearing for their jobs this morning, after the chemicals giant said it was consulting on shutting it down. The future of the plant at Seal Sands, which employs more than 220 people, hangs in the balance after “decades of under investment”. Read more: Ineos plans $800m [...]
Defeat for women in landmark state pension legal fight October 3, 2019 Millions of women face the prospect of retiring later or surviving on less, after campaigners lost a significant legal battle against the government over increases to the state pension age. Nearly 4m women born in the 1950s were hit by the government’s decision to bring the retirement age for them up from 60 to 65, [...]
Pensions watchdog cracks down on dodgy data October 2, 2019 Britain’s pensions watchdog has launched a crackdown on poor record-keeping by schemes, ordering them to urgently review their data to make sure savers get the retirement pay they are entitled to. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is asking the trustee boards of 400 pension schemes to conduct a data review within six months. These schemes are [...]
