London Underground set for more disruption as drivers back more walk-outs August 9, 2023 London Underground train drivers at several companies have voted to continue industrial action in their long-running dispute over pay. Aslef said the results of new ballots for strikes on passenger services in England and on London Underground showed continued support from drivers. Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: “The results of these new ballots [...]
Russia hit with 25 new UK sanctions as Cleverly warns Putin there’s ‘nowhere to hide’ August 8, 2023 Britain said it is targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s access to foreign military supplies by imposing 25 new sanctions on individuals and businesses. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the action will “further diminish” Russia’s arsenal and shows there is “nowhere to hide” for those assisting the illegal invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctioned include companies based [...]
Tribunal upholds £84m CMA fine for firm that hiked drug prices August 8, 2023 The companies behind a drug whose price was hiked from £20 to £248 per pack in just eight years will be fined a combined £84 million after a tribunal upheld the competition watchdog’s decision. The Competition Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday had endorsed “all the main elements” of the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision, the CMA [...]
Shapps warns fuel retailers he will ‘call out any foot-dragging’ on price transparency August 8, 2023 Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has warned fuel retailers he will “call out any foot-dragging” over the sharing of pump price data. He made the comment as drivers were hit by the largest weekly rise in petrol prices for more than a year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is planning to launch an interim voluntary [...]
Electoral Commission hacked: Watchdog sorry for cyber breach amid concern over accessed data August 8, 2023 The elections watchdog has been targeted by a cyber attack which allowed “hostile actors” to access electoral registers. The Electoral Commission revealed it had been hacked but was “not able to know conclusively” what information was accessed. But it said the largely paper-based process of elections meant it would be “very hard” for hackers to [...]
Softbank reports mixed quarter as it ‘timidly’ restarts investment August 8, 2023 Japan’s Softbank Group posted a surprise loss but said it was dipping its toes back into new investments after its Vision Fund unit returned to the black for the first time in six quarters. The Vision Fund unit booked an investment gain of about 160 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the April-June period, helped by [...]
NS&I: Premium Bonds odds set to improve to best level in more than 15 years August 8, 2023 Premium Bonds odds will improve to the best level seen in more than 15 years from September, savings giant NS&I (National Savings and Investments) has announced. The odds will improve to 21,000 to one, from 22,000 to one previously – their best level since the April 2008 prize draw. NS&I estimates that there will be [...]
Tesla ‘master of coin’ quits: CFO Zachary Kirkhorn to leave after 13 years August 8, 2023 Tesla chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn has announced that he will be departing the company after 13 years with the the electric vehicle and solar panel maker. Mr Kirkhorn, given the Game of Thrones-style title ‘master of coin’ by the company, stepped down on Friday but will remain with Tesla through the end of the year to “support [...]
Business groups urge UK to scrap hike in migrant worker visa fees August 7, 2023 Business groups have called on the government to scrap its planned increase in visa fees for migrant workers, arguing the change will make it harder to deal with ongoing labour shortages. In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, John Dickie, chief executive of lobby group BusinessLDN, urged the government to rethink the move. “At [...]
Friday’s GDP data ‘could be as good as it gets for a while’ August 7, 2023 Analysts expect UK GDP to have eked upwards in June, with official confirmation coming on Friday of this week. Resilience in consumer spending and better-than-expected PMI figures suggest the Office for National Statistics will declare the economy grew in June when it releases its monthly data later this week. Oxford Economics expects the ONS to [...]
