Rail passenger numbers will only hit 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in future November 18, 2020 Rail passenger numbers will only return to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the future, lawmakers were told today. Dominic Booth, the managing director of Abellio Group, told MPs from the Transport Select Committee that rail firms were “very confident about winning the majority of passengers back” when the crisis ends. However, he added [...]
Sir Keir Starmer will not restore Labour whip to Jeremy Corbyn November 18, 2020 Sir Keir Starmer is refusing to allow Jeremy Corbyn to sit as a Labour MP, despite being readmitted to the party yesterday, saying the former Labour leader had “undermined” efforts to restore trust with the Jewish community. Corbyn was reinstated to the party by its ruling NEC yesterday, after being suspended weeks ago, however Starmer [...]
Micro Focus shares jump as software firm issues upbeat update November 18, 2020 Shares in Micro Focus surged to their highest level since July this morning after the software firm said its full-year earnings margin would come in at the top end of expectations. The London-listed company, which helps customers maintain and update legacy IT systems, swung to a $1bn (£752m) loss in the first half due to [...]
Deloitte handed PPE contract 4 months after it started work November 18, 2020 The Cabinet Office awarded a £3.2m contract to big four auditor Deloitte to help procure personal protective equipment (PPE), four months after it had started working with the government. According to a critical report from the National Audit Office (NAO), Deloitte was handed the multi-million pound contract on 21 July 2020, with the contract effective [...]
Meet the BETAs: the decision-makers of the future November 18, 2020 What comes to mind when you think of the modern professional? To find out, LinkedIn’s B2B Institute partnered with GWI for a first-of-its kind study on the rising generation of business decision-makers — affectionately coined “the BETAs”. Our findings characterise the BETAs with the following: Blurred work-life boundaries, with an Evolving mindset, Tech natives who [...]
Insurer RSA’s board backs £7.2bn takeover deal November 18, 2020 British insurance giant RSA has recommended its shareholders back a £7.2bn takeover bid by groups from Canada and Denmark, in what could be one of the biggest M&A deals this year. The final bid from Canada’s Intact Financial and Denmark’s Tryg comes after two weeks of speculation, and was confirmed by RSA today. RSA has [...]
Test and Trace boss Dido Harding told to self-isolate by her own app November 18, 2020 The head of the government’s troubled contact tracing programme has gone into self-isolation after being told to do so by her own app. Dido Harding, who leads the Track and Trace scheme, must self-isolate until midnight on 26 November. The Tory peer shared a screenshot of the notification on Twitter, joking: “Nothing like personal experience [...]
UK music industry value set to halve as pandemic derails growth November 18, 2020 The value of the UK music industry is set to almost halve in size this year due to the “catastrophic blow” of the coronavirus pandemic. Figures published today by industry body UK Music showed the sector contributed a bumper £5.8bn to the economy in 2019 — up 11 per cent on the previous year. Employment [...]
SSE takes Covid profit hit amid green energy push November 18, 2020 Energy giant SSE today said that profit before tax had fallen a quarter in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 company said that the pandemic had cost it £115m over the last six months, with full year costs between £150m and £250m forecast. Adjusted profit before tax [...]
UK and EU ‘have made progress’ on Brexit talks, business secretary says November 18, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma said the EU and UK “have made progress” on a post-Brexit trade deal, amid chatter that an agreement could be reached next week.
