Wood Group posts flat revenue but confident performance will improve in second half August 23, 2022 Engineering firm Wood has posted flat revenue after a decline in its projects and operations arms. In half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2022, the London-listed firm posted revenue of $2,561m, down 0.4 per cent on the $2,570m in the comparable period in 2021. Adjusted EBITDA fell 5.1 per cent to [...]
Letters: Mind the gap – if you can see it August 23, 2022 [Re: To attract and retain the best talent, the Square Mile must break down class barriers, yesterday] The diverse make-up of the candidates who stood for the leadership of the Conservative Party leadership should be a cause for celebration. But while the likes of Sunak et al. are reaching the summit of their professions, the [...]
Microsoft in trademark row with UK children’s reading firm Word Windows August 22, 2022 US tech titan Microsoft is locked in a trademark dispute with a woman in Northampton after she named her business Word Windows. Kate McKenzie’s company sells handheld tools designed to help children with reading. But on 1 July, nine days before the product was due to be launched, she received a letter from lawyers representing [...]
British Airways to cancel further flights up to the end of October August 22, 2022 British Airways has announced a further raft of flight cancellations between now and the end of October as the UK’s travel chaos continues. The airline has struggled with staff shortages and with airport Heathrow’s decision to cap passenger numbers until the end of October. A spokesperson for the airline said “the vast majority” of customers [...]
Sewage scandal: Water companies under fire for faulty monitors August 22, 2022 WATER bosses are again in the firing line after new figures suggested one in eight ‘sewage monitors’ installed for designated swimming areas in the south of England are either faulty or not installed. The analysis, compiled by the Liberal Democrats from Environment Agency data, comes just days after images of untreated sewage being pumped into [...]
Bernie Ecclestone denies fraud over £400m in Singapore trust August 22, 2022 Press Association Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has denied fraud over an alleged failure to declare to the Government more than £400 million in a trust in Singapore. The 91-year-old was charged after a probe by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which would have allowed the business magnate to draw a line under any [...]
Matalan founder Hargreaves guns for outright ownership of retailer August 21, 2022 Fashion retailer Matalan is facing a battle between its lenders and its founder over its ownership as a deadline for refinancing looms. According to a report in Sky News, the retailer’s chairman John Hargreaves has proposed pumping tens of millions of pounds into the clothing firm. Hargreaves is reportedly hoping to retain outright control of [...]
Letters: Who’s at the top of the NHS? August 19, 2022 [Re: Our healthcare leaders need financial acumen to start to fix the holes in the NHS, August 16] The people working in our healthcare system should be able to balance budgets, but they should also have more public accountability when they don’t. The governor of the Bank of England has been heavily criticised for failing to [...]
Company behind P&O Ferries sackings announces first-half profit of £600m August 18, 2022 DP World, the global port operator which was slammed for its decision to sack 800 P&O Ferries workers earlier this year, announced record first-half profits. The logistics firm registered first-half profit of $721m (£598m). The Dubai operator came to UK prominence when P&O Ferries, which it owns, dismissed 800 workers in March – with the [...]
Norway sovereign fund loses more than $150bn thanks to tech rout August 17, 2022 Reuters Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, made a record loss of 1.68 trillion Norwegian crowns ($174 billion) in the first half of 2022 as stocks and bonds were hit by global recession fears and rampant price inflation. The $1.3 trillion fund’s return on investment was a negative 14.4% for the January-June period, which [...]