Amazon almost doubles size of UK Prime Air drone delivery arm August 4, 2020 Amazon has ramped up expansion of its ambitious drone delivery project, almost doubling the number of staff in its Cambridge-based Prime Air team. Prime Air now has close to 60 staff working on making Amazon deliveries by drone a reality, its largest since the project began in 2016, data on Linkedin showed. Its most recent [...]
Donald Trump questions accuracy of South Korean coronavirus stats August 4, 2020 Donald Trump has questioned the validity of South Korea’s coronavirus statistics during a heated clash with a US TV station. The President was questioned by Axios on why the US had such high rates of Covid-19 deaths, which are currently at around 1,000 per day, and why they were rising. The interviewer said this was [...]
Google parent Alphabet reveals record $10bn bond at lowest-ever price August 4, 2020 Alphabet borrowed $10bn (£7.66bn) in the investment-grade corporate debt market yesterday, marking its largest ever bond issue at its lowest price to date. Within the $10bn on offer, a $1bn five-year tranche was issued at a discount of 0.45 per cent — the lowest discount seen at that maturity since Apple issued a $1.5bn five-year [...]
Are you up to speed on major changes to business restructuring? August 4, 2020 Among the many government schemes launched to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, one valuable tool risks flying under the radar. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 represents the biggest change to UK restructuring legislation in a generation. It gives distressed companies new ways to address their difficulties while still remaining in control and [...]
Easyjet to expand flight schedule due to demand for holidays August 4, 2020 Budget airline Easyjet is preparing to expand its flight schedule over the summer to cater for higher than expected demand. The company’s share price soared more than 10 per cent this morning after it said it will fly at around 40 per cent of capacity over the summer following “better than expected” bookings. Previously it [...]
Twitter faces $250m fine after US data probe August 4, 2020 Twitter said it is being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for alleged violations of a law that prevents it from using personal data to target ads. In a regulatory filing, Twitter said it received a draft FTC complaint alleging data violations, which is provided by users for security purposes, between 2013 and [...]
Babcock shares slump after firm cuts dividend and profit slips 40 per cent August 4, 2020 Shares in Babcock fell over 12.5 per cent this morning after the defence giant warned that the coronavirus pandemic had had a “significant impact” on its finances. In a trading update, the FTSE 250 firm said that operating profit for the first quarter had fallen 40 per cent year-on-year. In addition, Babcock has elected to [...]
Diageo shares drop as profit almost halves amid coronavirus crisis August 4, 2020 Shares in Guinness owner Diageo fell more than five per cent this morning after the drinks giant revealed that profit almost halved this year. The figures Diageo said this morning that operating profit in the year ended 30 June fell 47 per cent from £4.04bn to £2.13bn. Net sales dropped nine per cent from £12.86bn [...]
Sir Richard Branson set for space as Virgin Galactic signs Rolls-Royce deal August 4, 2020 Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of private spaceflight firm Virgin Galactic, will be one of the first to go into space in one of his company’s rockets, it has been revealed. As long as two test flights scheduled for the autumn are successful, Branson will go into orbit early next year, Virgin Galactic said [...]
Ennobling your mates maintains the finest tradition of the House of Lords August 4, 2020 Britain’s upper chamber is a place of tradition: the Woolsack, the ermine, the outrage over who a Prime Minister has placed there. Boris Johnson’s latest ennoblements have been no exception. Since the honours were announced last week there has been much said about both the size and content of this newest cohort. Yet really, his [...]
