The week ahead, 1-5 February: FTSE heavyweights front up to third lockdown January 31, 2021 After a turbulent opening to 2021, with new Covid-19 lockdowns around the world, spats over “vaccine nationalism”, and chaos on both Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, a slew of FTSE heavyweights are set to update the market in what will be a crunch week for London’s indices. Despite a strong opening week, the FTSE 100 [...]
Sports teams facing end of gambling shirt sponsorship January 31, 2021 Sports teams are facing the prospect of being banned from displaying gambling logos on their shirts, the Sunday Times reported. Officials have warned members of the sports industry that a crackdown on gambling sponsors is under consideration. Such a move would be a seismic shock for sports clubs, and mark the biggest shake-up in sports [...]
Pension fund Equitix joins calls for Eurostar bailout January 31, 2021 Pension fund Equitix has added its voice to calls for ministers to help prop up the struggling cross-channel Eurostar service. The fund is one of the joint owners of HS1, the high-speed rail line linking London to the Channel Tunnel, which depends on the Eurostar for about a third of its revenues. The Times reported [...]
UK applies to join trans-Pacific free trade bloc January 31, 2021 The government has announced that it will apply to become a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade area made up of 11 nations. International trade secretary Liz Truss will tomorrow make a formal request to join the group, which includes countries such as Australia, Canada and Japan. “One year after our departure for [...]
Tunnel vision? Why the approved Thames crossing at Silvertown could be in doubt January 30, 2021 London's new road tunnel at Silvertown was years in the making and given the go-ahead by Sadiq Khan in 2019, but ever since then opposition to the eastern crossing has grown.
Heathrow boss slams government’s ‘discriminatory’ airport support scheme January 30, 2021 The government’s financial support scheme for airports has today opened to applications but was swiftly slammed by Heathrow and fellow operators. Under the scheme, airports and baggage handlers can apply for up to £8m in business rates relief. Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced that the support was now available via Twitter. But the boss of [...]
Lookers shares boom as stock finally readmitted to trading January 29, 2021 Shares in long-troubled car dealership Lookers rose 90 per cent today as the firm’s stock was finally readmitted to trading. The FCA suspended shares in the auto firm back in July after failing to publish its full year results for 2019. The discovery of a £19m hole in its figures threw the firm into disarray [...]
Jaguar Land Rover roars to profit as Bolloré era kicks off in style January 29, 2021 Jaguar Land Rover today saw profit jump to £439m in its first full quarter under new boss Thierry Bolloré. The high-end carmaker said that profit was up £121m on the same period last year, while revenue increased £1.6bn to £6bn. JLR reported that it sold 128,469 vehicles in the quarter, up 13.1 per cent on [...]
Shell ordered to pay damages for oil spill in Nigeria January 29, 2021 Shell must pay damages to four Nigerian farmers for two oil spills back in 2008, a Dutch court has ruled today. The court found that the Nigerian subsidiary of Shell was liable for two pipeline leaks that occurred in the Niger Delta 13 years ago. The plaintiffs argued that the oil spill meant that their [...]
UK extends airport slot waiver through summer season January 29, 2021 The UK has extended its waiver on the “80:20” airport slot rule through the lucrative summer season, it was announced today. The decision, which was announced this morning by industry body Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), will be a much-needed boon for the UK’s embattled carriers. In a statement, it said: “The UK’s Secretary of State [...]
