UK’s ‘R’ rate tightens as Covid cases plateau August 13, 2021 The UK’s Covid-19 ‘R’ rate may now be below 1.0, the UK’s health security agency said today, suggesting coronavirus cases may no longer be growing exponentially. The health authority said that the estimated range for the ‘R’ rate, which measures how many people a person with Covid is likely to infect, is now between 0.8 [...]
Sir Richard Branson sells $300m of Virgin Galactic stock August 13, 2021 Sir Richard Branson has sold $300m worth of shares in Virgin Galactic, a regulatory filing showed, with the proceeds earmarked to help support the billionaire’s other ventures. The 71-year-old, who last month flew to the edge of space in his firm’s first ever manned flight, sold 10.5m shares, or about 4.0 per cent of the [...]
Nicola Sturgeon calls for review of controversial North Sea oil field August 13, 2021 Nicola Sturgeon has today written to Boris Johnson calling for a review of a controversial plan to drill a new oil field off the west coast of Shetland. She said that drilling licenses for fields such as Cambo should “be reassessed in light of the severity of the climate emergency we now face”. Although the [...]
Avon Protection shares plunge a quarter as firm slashes guidance August 13, 2021 Personal protection maker Avon today saw its shares plummet 25 per cent after it cut its revenue guidance for the next two years. The FTSE 250 firm said that a combination of supply chain disruption and delayed orders was at fault. After an hour of trading, shares in the firm were down 25.4 per cent [...]
Transdigm swoops in bid to scupper £6.3bn Meggitt takeover August 11, 2021 US aerospace firm Transdigm has launched a bid to hijack fellow engineer Parker’s £6.3bn takeover of Meggitt, the FTSE 250 firm revealed today. Yesterday Cleveland-based Transdigm made a 900p per share bid for the British firm, topping its rival’s bid by 100p and valuing the company at £7bn. The fresh bid, which comes just days [...]
CMA backs Ofgem cuts to energy network returns August 11, 2021 The competition watchdog has today ruled in favour of Ofgem’s plans to slash returns for investors in the UK’s energy network. In its provisional ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) knocked back the appeals of several of the country’s biggest energy suppliers, but acknowledged that the energy regulator had erred in some areas. It [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers begin to rise as restrictions ease August 11, 2021 The most passengers travelled through Heathrow in a single month since the beginning of the pandemic in July, the UK’s largest airport said today. In total, 1.5m passengers used the airport in July, up 74 per cent on last year. It said that the easing of travel restrictions was beginning to improve consumer confidence after [...]
Work on last stage of Tower Bridge to Greenwich cycle route to kick off August 11, 2021 Work on the final stage of a new cycle route which will connect the City of London to Greenwich will start on Monday, Transport for London (TfL) today said. The third section of Cycleway 4, on Evelyn Street in Deptford, is expected to be completed in the spring. Once it is finished, the cycle lane [...]
Virgin Atlantic launches raft of new Caribbean routes for winter sunseekers August 11, 2021 Virgin Atlantic has today announced a raft of new routes serving the Caribbean as it bets on increased customer demand for sun-soaked getaways after the pandemic. The carrier is launching its first direct flight to Barbados from Edinburgh, as well as adding extra flights to the island from Manchester and Heathrow. In total, it will [...]
Chinese car sales fall for third month in a row August 11, 2021 Chinese car sales declined for a third straight month in July, new data today showed, as the global shortage of semiconductors weighed on the world’s biggest auto market. Figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed that sales fell 11.9 per cent to 1.86m, compared to the same month a year ago. The trade [...]
