Chinese steel maker Jingye ‘makes fresh approach’ to buy British Steel October 2, 2019 Chinese steel maker Jingye has reportedly approached the government with a fresh offer for British Steel, despite officials having picked out another company as their preferred bidder weeks ago. Sky News reports the firm, which is based in Hebei province in northern China, made its approach to take over the UK’s second-biggest steel producer in [...]
Asset management chair William Russell elected 692nd Lord Mayor of the City October 2, 2019 William Russell, the chair of asset management firm CDAM, has been elected as the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London. Russell, who made his name as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, will succeed Peter Estlin on 8 November for a one-year term. Read more: City faces a Brexit ‘nightmare’ unless a deal [...]
Aston Martin: The float that left the City shaken, not stirred October 2, 2019 Over the years, Aston Martin observers have watched the firm’s most famous client, James Bond, career into the river Tiber, skid across the polar ice caps and hurtle off an alpine road in its cars. Each time, ludicrously, he emerges alive. So when chief executive Andy Palmer told investors: “We don’t make cars, we make [...]
British Land gets green light for ‘exciting’ £3.3bn Canada Water town centre makeover October 1, 2019 A major south London commuter hub is set to get a £3.3bn face lift over the next 15 years, after Southwark Council granted planning permission last night for a new town centre in Canada Water. The scheme, drawn up by property giant British Land, will create 3,000 homes and accommodate 20,000 jobs. Developers hope it [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says package holiday market ‘is over,’ weeks after Thomas Cook collapse October 1, 2019 Ryanair’s chief executive has taken a swipe at the package holiday industry, weeks after the firm that effectively founded it, Thomas Cook, went bust. Michael O’Leary, the budget airliner’s longstanding and often outspoken boss, said the market “is screwed, it’s over”. Read more: FRC watchdog probes EY audit of Thomas Cook accounts Ryanair cut its [...]
New rules force pension funds to consider environmental and social factors October 1, 2019 Pension funds are now required to consider environmental and social factors when making investment decisions, under rules introduced today as part of the government’s bid to tackle climate change. New rules which have come into force this morning mean all defined-contribution schemes with more than 100 members will have to set out how they are [...]
UK house prices grow nearly three times quicker than salaries since 2008 October 1, 2019 UK house prices’ growth over the last decade has vastly outsripped that of people’s salaries, with property value increasing in value nearly three times faster than the wages of their occupants, according to research. The average UK home has risen around 43 per cent in value between 2008 and 2018, from £160,954 to £229,861. But [...]
Brexit fatigue? Public Accounts Committee turns to issues with ‘immediate impact on public’ September 29, 2019 An influential parliamentary committee has decided to turn away from Brexit over the coming weeks to focus its spotlight on other issues which have “an immediate impact on the public”. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which scrutinises the value-for-money of public spending, has announced it will launch inquiries on matters including fracking, the HS2 rail [...]
Airbus faces fresh disruption as US tariff award looms September 29, 2019 Trade across the Atlantic faces fresh upheaval this week, with arbiters expected to grant the US a record award allowing it to slap billions of dollars of tariffs on European imports, in a long-running aircraft subsidy dispute. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has found both European plane maker Airbus and its US rival Boeing received [...]
Thomas Cook boss says ‘blame the lenders’ after holiday giant’s collapse September 29, 2019 The last ever boss of collapsed holiday giant Thomas Cook has laid the blame for the 178-year-old firm’s failure firmly at the door of its lenders. Former chief executive Peter Fankhauser said if bondholders and a syndicate of banks – including Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland – had taken action to [...]