HS2: Leaked report urges government to press on with rail project November 12, 2019 The High Speed 2 (HS2) rail line connecting London to Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds should go ahead in its entirety despite the likelihood of massive budget overruns and falling benefit to the taxpayer, according to a draft of the official review into the project. Douglas Oakervee, a former chair of HS2 who was tasked with [...]
Boeing shares soar as it forecasts January return for 737 Max November 11, 2019 Boeing shares took off this afternoon after the company said it expected US regulators to approve its grounded 737 Max model to return to service in January. The plane maker, which has been tussling with the global fallout from two deadly crashes of the jet which killed 346 people, said it was possible deliveries to [...]
Easyjet prepares to take more Thomas Cook market share via package holiday business November 11, 2019 Easyjet is gearing up to reveal the details of its upcoming package holiday subsidiary, as the industry scrambles to fill the gap in the market left after the collapse of Thomas Cook. The low cost carrier, which reports its full-year financial results next week, will relaunch the package holiday business, Easyjet Holidays, before Christmas, but [...]
HS2 ‘fundamental’ to hitting UK emissions target, says lobby group November 11, 2019 The HS2 rail project is “fundamental” to the UK hitting its net zero emissions target by 2050, according to a report commissioned by rail industry bosses. HS2, which is planned to link London with the north of England and Scotland via trains travelling at more than 200mph, will mean fewer people take cars and short-haul [...]
British Steel: China’s Jingye Group promises to save ‘thousands’ of jobs in £50m deal November 11, 2019 The future of troubled industrial firm British Steel has taken a step closer to being secured through a £50m rescue deal by Chinese conglomerate Jingye, in a move it is hoped will save about 4,000 jobs. The Insolvency Service confirmed the deal this afternoon, which involves Jingye buying British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, as well as [...]
Construction sector swings back to growth in third quarter November 11, 2019 Britain’s construction sector dodged a recession and swung back to growth in the third quarter, despite a slight dip last month. Construction output increased 0.6 per cent, or £253m in the three months to September, from months of turmoil caused in part by Brexit uncertainty. It follows a decrease of 1.2 per cent in the [...]
Kier Group shares plummet as broker lowers target price to £1 November 11, 2019 Kier Group shares fell nearly nine per cent this morning after a note by broker Jefferies lowered its recommended price to 100p. The construction group’s stocks have been hovering around 100p for five months, since it announced it would be making 1,200 people redundant in June, and that it would look for a buyer for [...]
Revealed: Government faces mounting pile of complaints over contract issues November 11, 2019 Whitehall is facing a spiralling number of complaints from companies bidding for government work, as officials move to counter growing disquiet over a series of botched contract awards in recent years. The number of complaints rose by nearly half in 2018 to 235, up from 159 the previous year, according to data released under the [...]
Saudi Aramco to offer retail investors $10bn-worth of shares in blockbuster float November 10, 2019 Investors will start bidding for shares in Saudi Aramco next Sunday, as the starting gun fires in the race to own a part of the world’s most profitable company. In what could be the biggest ever stock market listing, Aramco said in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) prospectus over the weekend that it will offer [...]
China’s Jingye Group poised for British Steel takeover deal November 10, 2019 Chinese firm Jingye is set to agree a deal to buy British Steel tomorrow, in a move that is hoped to save more than 4,000 jobs at the company’s flagship plant in Scunthorpe. Advisers have been working on a draft agreement in recent days. Jingye is thought to be gearing up to pay a figure [...]