Customs chaos looms as ‘haulier’s handbook’ delayed for a month November 11, 2020 Hauliers will have just three weeks to familiarise themselves with the new regulations for transporting goods into the EU from 1 January, it was revealed today. The so-called “Hauliers’ handbook” had been due to be released at the beginning of November but will now be unveiled in full on 7 December. Speaking to the Parliamentary [...]
New foreign investment powers will create ‘considerable uncertainty’ for business November 11, 2020 A new law giving the government the power to block foreign takeovers will create “considerable uncertainty” for businesses, City firms have warned today. The National Security and Investment Bill, which was published today, has been labelled the “most significant” change to the UK’s investment regime in decades. But many are concerned that the new regime, [...]
Oil prices continue rally as vaccine hope buoys traders November 11, 2020 Oil prices continued to surge today as the discovery of an effective vaccine for the coronavirus disease buoyed traders. Both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate rose around 3.5 per cent this morning, continuing a rally which has seen prices rise over 10 per cent since Monday. Global standard Brent crude is now trading around [...]
Ministers to block foreign takeovers of UK firms under new law November 11, 2020 The government will today unveil legislation which will enable ministers to intervene and block firms in hostile states from taking over UK companies. Under the National Security and Investment Bill, it will be mandatory for deals involving firms in 17 sectors deemed of strategic importance to be notified to officials. In addition, the government will [...]
Rolls-Royce: Mini nuclear reactors to power 6,000 new jobs by 2025 November 11, 2020 Rolls-Royce has said that a government commitment to plans to develop mini nuclear reactors will create 6,000 jobs within the next five years. The engine maker is leading a consortium of companies in designing and building a fleet of 16 such reactors to be deployed across the country. The blue-chip firm said that with 80 [...]
SSE joins net zero push with 2050 emissions pledge November 11, 2020 Energy giant SSE has become the latest business to commit to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, it was announced this morning. Over 1,000 companies have already signed up to the “Race to Zero” campaign, placing their operations in line with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The Scottish business has already put [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers fall for eighth straight month November 11, 2020 Passenger numbers at Heathrow Airport fell for the eight month in a row in October as the government’s travel quarantine regime continued to hammer aviation. The number of people passing through the UK’s largest airport fell 82.4 per cent last month to just 1.2m passengers. The figures came with warnings that November would see an [...]
US consortium mulls taking on abandoned Wylfa nuclear project November 10, 2020 A group of US companies has reportedly approached the government about taking over the development of a nuclear power plant at Wylfa in north Wales. Engineering giant Bechtel will lead the consortium, and will be joined by utility firm Southern and nuclear engineers Westinghouse. The FT reported that talks over taking over the project began [...]
Ryanair back at 80 per cent passenger capacity by summer, O’Leary predicts November 10, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary today said that he expected the airline’s passenger numbers to return to 75 per cent to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels next summer. Speaking to a travel conference this morning, the Irish businessman said that he expected to see a surge in tourism as soon as travel restrictions are lifted. [...]
New law to probe foreign takeovers to be unveiled this week November 10, 2020 A new law which will enable ministers to scrutinise foreign takeovers of companies deemed of national importance will be published on Wednesday. Sky News reported that the National Security and Investment Bill will list 17 sectors of strategic significance that will need governmental approval for transactions. Sources told Sky that these would include nuclear energy, [...]
