Car industry straps in for rough ride in 2021 January 23, 2021 2020 was one of the worst years the UK car industry has ever experienced, with shuttered factories and closed showrooms due to Covid-19 leading to a record slump in production and sales. But barring a disaster on the same scale, the industry is confident that it will begin to recover this year, even though the [...]
Irish court extends Norwegian creditor protection after carrier receives state backing January 22, 2021 The Irish High Court has this morning extended Norwegian Air’s creditor protection until 25 February. The court granted the extension after the examiner said that the airline had a reasonable prospect of survival. The decision comes after the Norwegian government said yesterday that it would back the airline’s new restructuring plan. Norwegian is planning to [...]
McLaren poaches Talktalk finance chief to steer equity raise January 22, 2021 Iconic supercar maker McLaren has poached Talk Talk’s finance chief Kate Ferry as the firm continues its post-Covid restructuring programme. Ferry will take up the role of group chief financial officer at the Woking-based firm in April, McLaren announced today. She is currently handling the transformation of the listed mobile operator into a private firm [...]
UK PMIs: Economy slows more than expected in January January 22, 2021 The UK economy has slowed further than many expected in January, according to the leading economic index. Newly released UK PMI figures show the slowdown has been driven by a collapse in the services side of the economy. The overall PMI figure for January is 40.4, and 38.8 for services – the lowest reading for [...]
Nissan commitment a ‘vote of confidence’ in UK, says Johnson January 22, 2021 Boris Johnson has today hailed Nissan after the Japanese carmaker said that Brexit could be an “opportunity” for the firm. As a result of the free trade deal with the EU, Nissan said that the future of its plant in Sunderland was secure. It added that it would move additional battery production capacity to the [...]
Wall Street slides as ‘Biden bounce’ runs out of steam January 22, 2021 Wall Street fell today as global markets stepped back from the highs they reached on the back of Joe Biden’s new economic stimulus proposal. After once again hitting record highs earlier this week, Wall Street’s main markets once again showed that they were not immune to the malaise felt around the world. The S&P 500, [...]
MPs join calls for support for aviation industry as new restrictions kick in January 21, 2021 A group of over 80 MPs have today backed calls for the government to lay out specialist package of support for the aviation and travel industries. Henry Smith, chairman of future of aviation all-party parliamentary group, today wrote to Boris Johnson demanding the government bring forward plans to protect the embattled industries. In the letter, [...]
FTSE 100 sinks as Biden rally runs out of steam January 21, 2021 The FTSE 100 slid today as markets around the world stepped back from new highs after a brief rally on Joe Biden’s swearing in as the 46th President of the United States. After a late surge saw it pick up 0.4 per cent yesterday, London’s leading index gained 0.2 per cent this morning to hit [...]
EU Parliament calls for halt to Nord Stream 2 construction after Navalny arrest January 21, 2021 EU lawmakers are currently voting on a resolution that would stop the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to the Kremlin’s arrest of Alexei Navalny. It is expected that the resolution, which calls on the bloc to review its cooperation with Russia in light of Navalny’s arrest, will pass. “The European [...]
Elon Musk to turn oil rigs into floating SpaceX launchpads January 21, 2021 It’s usual practice for astronauts to splashdown in the water on their return from space, but up until now they’ve at least been able to take off from solid ground. However, this could all be about to change, after it was reported that billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has bought two oil rigs to be converted [...]