Car production bounces back on 12-month anniversary of factory shutdowns May 27, 2021 UK car production returned to near normality in April compared to the same month a year before as automakers continued to struggle with the shortage of semiconductor chips. Britain made 68,306 cars last month, up from 197 a year ago when factories were shuttered due to the initial Covid-19 lockdown. Compared to April 2019, the [...]
Airline SAS gets £255m loan guarantee from Denmark and Sweden May 26, 2021 Sweden and Denmark said today that they had agreed to offer ailing airline SAS, in which both countries own stakes, a 3bn Swedish crown (£255m) loan guarantee. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen air travel collapse, plunging the industry into crisis and leaving carriers scrambling to secure funds to weather the slump. SAS said the credit [...]
Ford aims for 40 per cent electric car sales by 2030 May 26, 2021 Ford today said that it was aiming for 40 per cent of its sales to be of electric cars by 2030, sending shares up 7.0 per cent today. The announcement came as the Michigan-headquartered firm unveiled a new strategy, call Ford+, that will see it put $30bn into electrification over the next decade. That is [...]
In defence of the long lunch: Business needs the human touch May 24, 2021 No-one quite knows when the long lunch suffered a mortal blow. Perhaps it was the financial crisis of 2007-08, when money lost its lustre. Perhaps it was before that, in the 1980s, when US working cultures flooded the City of London after the Big Bang. The grim phrase “al desko” was first recorded in the [...]
Trainline shares tumble a third as government announces new ticket platform May 20, 2021 Shares in train ticketing app Trainline fell nearly a third this morning after the government unveiled plans for a new ticketing platform as part of sweeping rail reforms. By the early afternoon shares in the FTSE 250 firm had recovered slightly, but were still down 21.6 per cent at 335.25p. The move from the government [...]
Modernising Burnley: How ALK Capital plan to use artificial intelligence and a network of partner clubs to take the Clarets into a new era May 20, 2021 Think of Burnley FC and you think of target men, tigerish midfielders and hulking centre-backs. Of manager Sean Dyche’s gravelly tones. Of one of the Premier League’s less fashionable and most traditional clubs consistently outperforming more glamorous rivals with a defiantly no-nonsense brand of football. But for all that they have punched above their weight, [...]
Biden charges up $174bn electric vehicle plan in Michigan speech May 18, 2021 US President Joe Biden today called for government grants for new battery production facilities as he made the case for his $174bn (£123bn) electric vehicle plan today. During a speech at a Ford electric vehicle plant in Michigan, Biden vowed to “set a new pace” for the technology and reverse what he described as the [...]
DEBATE: Should GPs continue virtual appointments post-pandemic? May 18, 2021 Dr Murray Ellender, a practicing GP and CEO of digital triage company eConsult says Yes: In a country with a chronic shortage of GPs, not everyone that wants an in-person appointment will get one. Even before Covid, only people with the fastest finger in the morning phone lottery would get a slot with their doctor: [...]
Goldman Sachs director quits after making millions from Dogecoin May 12, 2021 A London-based Goldman Sachs banker has reportedly quit after making millions from investing in Dogecoin. The meme cryptocurrency has surpassed growth of any other digital currency this year, boosting its price by more than 10,000 per cent. Aziz McMahon, head of emerging market sales at the US investment bank, resigned after benefiting from the cryptocurrency’s [...]
Landlords vs retailers: What the New Look legal case means for future of CVAs May 10, 2021 New Look today defeated a legal challenge to its restructuring plan by a group of its landlords in a landmark case that experts say will clear the way for other retailers to use Company Voluntary Arrangements to combat the impact of the pandemic. The ruling is likely to deepen tensions between tenants and landlords, as [...]