Rolls-Royce: ‘No decision’ on job cuts 3,000 CUTS REPORTED British engine maker Rolls-Royce has made no decisions regarding changes to its workforce, a company spokesperson said on Saturday, after a Sunday Times report said the company was expected to cut about 3,000 non-manufacturing staff. The Sunday Times report added that chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic has hired consultants led by McKinsey to advise on streamlining the company. [...]
Analysis: Why US debt ceiling deal might not be good news for global markets WALL STREET IMPACT Good news of a tentative deal for the U.S. debt ceiling impasse may quickly turn out to be bad news for financial markets. U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Saturday reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, two sources familiar with the negotiations said, potentially averting [...]
Wagner boss to Putin: Ignore me, and it’ll be trouble MOSCOW DRAMA Russia’s most powerful mercenary said on Sunday he was convinced that senior Kremlin officials had banned reporting about him on state media, cautioning that such a misleading approach would lead to a backlash from the Russian people within months. Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, is the most striking member of President Vladimir Putin’s circle [...]
US debt ceiling: “Agreement in principle” to end default showdown May 28, 2023 The White House has reached an “agreement in principle” with the Republicans on a deal to limit federal spending and resolve a looming debt crisis, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed. The deal on a two-year budget is believed to include a debt-limit increase and enhanced work requirements for food aid. Mr McCarthy said he [...]
Labour ‘set to rule out’ all further North Sea oil and gas projects May 28, 2023 New North Sea oil and gas developments will reportedly be blocked under a Labour government. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is on the verge of announcing the block when he sets out his net-zero energy policy in Scotland next month, The Sunday Times said. As part of the energy plans, the newspaper reported a Sir [...]
Putin launches biggest drone raid on Kyiv since the start of the Ukraine war May 28, 2023 Ukraine’s capital has been subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war, local officials said, as Kyiv prepared to mark the anniversary of its founding on Sunday. Russia launched the “most massive attack” on the city overnight into Sunday with Iranian-made Shahed drones, said Serhii Popko, a senior Kyiv military official. [...]
Government to ‘encourage’ supermarkets to cap food prices May 28, 2023 Government plans to encourage supermarkets to impose price caps on food staples to help with the cost of living will have no “element of compulsion”, a Cabinet minister has said. Downing Street is understood to be drawing up proposals that would seek to get retailers charging the lowest possible amount for some basic products like [...]
Brits just want some space: Detached property sales outpace other housing May 27, 2023 Detached houses were the most popular type of property among existing homeowners moving home with a mortgage in the year to March, according to analysis of a lending giant’s data. Halifax said detached homes accounted for nearly a third (32%) of such sales, rising from a quarter (25%) a decade ago. While detached homes were [...]
Boots owner to slash HQ jobs in cost-cutting push May 27, 2023 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O said on Friday it would slash its corporate staff by about 10%, as it streamlines operations and focuses on consumer-facing healthcare businesses. None of the 504 roles being cut are based at its stores, micro-fulfillment outlets or call centers, a company spokesperson told Reuters. Walgreens, one of the largest U.S. pharmacies, has [...]
UBS number-crunchers predict pound to hit recent high against the dollar May 27, 2023 UBS wonks believe the pound could be trading as high as 1.30 against the US dollar by the end of the year, as the currency continues to recover from Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last year. The pound currently trades at 1.23 against the dollar, a far cry from the 2:1 days of yore. [...]