Addison Lee overcomes taxi driver shortage to double profit May 3, 2023 Addison Lee, the British taxi hire company, more than doubled its profits last year as passenger demand returned and driver shortages eased after the Covid-19 pandemic. Adjusted pre-tax earnings climbed to £19.1m, up from £7.9m last year, while passenger revenue jumped 33 per cent on last year, the firm said announcing its annual results today. [...]
PMQs sketch: A local election drinking game, by Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak May 3, 2023 In celebration of the impending Coronation, no, not of the King, but of 8,000 local councillors across the country, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer came up with a novel idea: a PMQs drinking game.
Getting a piece of the Pi: Google DeepMind and LinkedIn cofounders launch AI chatbot May 3, 2023 An artificial intelligence startup founded by the cofounders of LinkedIn and Google DeepMind has launched a new chatbot. The company, Inflection AI, said the chatbot, named Pi, uses AI technology developed in house to hold conversations with users, give feedback and work through “tricky decisions.” “We think of Pi as a digital companion on hand [...]
Oil dips below $70 per barrel as flagging US and Chinese economies weigh prices down May 3, 2023 Oil prices have fallen below $70 per barrel today, weighed down by growing concerns over the health of the US and Chinese economies.
Coronation: £1m windfall for ceramics giant Halcyon Days as Brits buy King Charles plates and tea cups May 3, 2023 The chief executive of one of the UK’s biggest makers of luxury ceramics has said that Brits should not “underestimate” the value of the Royal Family, as it prepares to rack in a million pounds in sales from Coronation themed tea cups and plates. Pamela Harper, head of the Halcyon Days, a pre-eminent supplier of [...]
Barclays’ AGM disrupted by climate activists furious over bank’s fossil fuel investments May 3, 2023 Environmental protesters have disrupted banking giant Barclays’ annual meeting for shareholders in central London. A few minutes into the meeting, chairman Nigel Higgins was interrupted by a chorus of singers causing several minutes of disruption. Singing a version of the Spice Girls’ Thank You Very Much, the group sang: “Stop right now, no more oil [...]
Dyson pours £100m into new Bristol tech centre as part of £2.75bn investment plan May 3, 2023 Dyson is pouring £100 million into a new technology centre in the UK, in addition to a new site in the Philippines and factory in Singapore, as part of its £2.75bn five-year investment plan. Dyson, which makes vacuum cleaners, fans and hair appliances, said today the new Bristol centre would be home to hundreds of [...]
Metro Bank reports continued profitability as turnaround efforts slowly bear fruit May 3, 2023 Metro Bank recorded its second consecutive quarter of profitability as the bank’s turnaround plans continue to bear fruit. Although it did not provide details, Metro Bank confirmed in a trading update today it was profitable on a statutory basis in the first quarter of this year. This comes after the bank reported profitability in the [...]
BNP Paribas first-quarter revenue beats expectations as trading outperforms May 3, 2023 BNP Paribas’s first-quarter sales beat market expectations as trading business at the eurozone’s biggest bank outperformed most of its peers, while it started to reap the benefits from rising interest rates. BNP’s quarterly profit more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, bolstered by gains from its much-anticipated sale of its U.S. [...]
Second oil tanker in a week seized by Iran in Gulf – US Navy confirms May 3, 2023 A second oil tanker in a week was seized by Iran on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the US Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures.
