Hitachi to buy Thales’ rail signalling division in £1.4bn deal August 4, 2021 Thales and Hitachi are entering exclusive negotiations on the sale of Thales’ railway signalling business valued at €1.66bn (£1.4bn). Thales is carving out its Ground Transportation Systems Global Business Unit (GTS), which the company says employs 9,000 people across the world. GTS’s rail technology also offers train control systems and face collection services. It benefits [...]
West Coast wildfires rage across record areas in the United States, but Silicon Valley thinks it has the answer August 4, 2021 Wildfire season in the United States has devastated swathes of the West Coast in a way not seen since the disastrous summer of 2017. The problem is getting worse across numerous states. This year, 37,803 fires have raged, burning more than 3.4 million acres, both significantly up on last year. As of August 1, there [...]
55 years of hurt: the connection between investing and football August 4, 2021 In July, the England men’s football team reached their first major final since 1966. 30 years of hurt has become 55 years of hurt. Just one of many unwelcome statistics that have dogged the national team over the years, and which they hope to soon put an end to. The earlier England-Germany match provided a [...]
Crypto rush: NFT market hits new record high August 4, 2021 The non-fungible token market broke records this week with 7-day sales volume hitting an all time high of $219.4 million (£157.9 million) on Tuesday. Sales volume peaked at $49 million in a single day on Sunday on OpenSea, the world’s biggest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, making it the biggest day of trading since the platform’s [...]
Number of holidaymakers on Ryanair flights doubles in July to 9.3m August 4, 2021 Budget carrier Ryanair reported flight traffic statistics on Wednesday that showed UK holidaymakers seized the opportunity to fly abroad in the last month as travel restrictions eased. The total number of passengers taking Ryanair flights in July double to 9.3m, up from 4.4m in June. In a sign that the air carrier deemed flights safer, [...]
Fertility benefits – for lawyers or for law firms? August 4, 2021 More law firms in the City are offering paid leave or paying towards the costs of fertility treatments for their employees in a bid to stay up to date, and keep their lawyers. Last week law firm Ashurst announced what it called “landmark” changes to its global parental leave policy. Alongside offering a reduction in [...]
Toyota drives operating profit up to record $9.2bn as sales make strong recovery August 4, 2021 Toyota posted a record Q1 operating profit of 997.49bn yen, or $9.15bn (£6.5bn), on Wednesday but did not alter its annual forecast, as sales recovered from pandemic lows but the carmaker cited “uncertainties” ahead. The Japanese carmaker weathered the global chip supply shortage better than many rivals, and sprinted past analysts’ average expectations of a [...]
The Office: Time for Government to offer certainty and direction August 4, 2021 Life has changed immeasurably over the past eighteen months, and the world of work is no different. Many office workers have now been working from home for over a year and habits have changed. Is hybrid working the future? There are certainly plenty of advocates suggesting that sofas, laptops and 8:59 alarm clocks are the [...]
Mike Ashley ‘set to step down’ as chief exec of Frasers Group August 3, 2021 Mike Ashley is reportedly set to hand control of his retail empire to his prospective son-in-laww after nearly 40 years in charge of Sports Direct. The Telegraph reported that the Frasers Group chief executive could confirm the decision alongside the firm’s results on Thursday. It is expected that he will become the deputy chairman of [...]
Foreign Office ‘urgently investigating’ hijacking in the Gulf of Oman August 3, 2021 The Foreign Office is “urgently investigating” a potential hijacking off the coast of the UAE, a spokesperson said this evening. Earlier today the UK’s maritime trade authority issued a warning over the incident, which took place near Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. Later it upgraded the incident to a “potential hijacking” and warned other [...]
