Pendragon: Car dealership to sell UK motor business to US firm Lithia for £250m September 18, 2023 Car dealership group Pendragon has agreed to a proposed sale of its UK motor business to US dealer giant Lithia Motors for £250 million. The deal, if approved by shareholders, will be valued at about 27.4p per share, against the 18.6p Pendragon shares were trading at on Friday. Investors will receive a 16.5p cash dividend [...]
Last orders? Number of pubs shutting for good jumps 50 per cent September 18, 2023 The number of pubs being demolished or converted for other uses across England and Wales surged by 50 per cent over the latest quarter, according to new figures. Official Government statistics have revealed that 230 pubs disappeared for good in the three months to June 30 as the impact of soaring costs and pressure on [...]
The Notebook: Kokou Agbo-Bloua on humanity’s obsession with fire, the moral dilemmas raised by AI and why China’s outlook is a case of ‘heavy cloud, no rain’ September 18, 2023 Today, it’s Societe Generale’s global head of economics,cross-asset and quant research Kokou Agbo-Bloua with the Notebook pen The Red Flower and future energy We all remember the enchanting lyrics of the Monkey Song, ‘I wanna be like you’, from Walt Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book. In the movie, Mowgli is captured by a troop [...]
Train drivers announce fresh strike to coincide with Tory conference September 15, 2023 Train drivers are to stage fresh strikes, coinciding with the Conservative party’s annual conference, in their long-running dispute over pay. Aslef announced its members at 16 train operators will walk out on September 30 – the day before the conference – and October 4, the final day of the event. The union said the strikes [...]
Wall Street climbs and Dow rises more than 300 points as stocks worldwide rally September 15, 2023 Wall Street rose on Thursday after a blizzard of reports suggested the US economy is still humming, though inflation may be too. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 per cent for its best day in two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 331 points, or 1 per cent , and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8 [...]
Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond joins exodus of Tory MPs quitting at next election September 15, 2023 Stephen Hammond has become the latest MP to confirm they will call it quits at the next election. The Wimbledon MP and former minister will join a Conservative exodus, with more than 40 announcing that they will not defend their seat in an election that is likely to take place next year. In a letter [...]
Gatwick Airport: 42 cancellations as thousands disrupted by air traffic control shortages September 15, 2023 Thousands of airline passengers have been impacted by cancelled, delayed or diverted flights due to a lack of air traffic control staff (ATC) at Gatwick airport. The airport confirmed a short notice staff absence in its ATC tower, managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which meant 42 flights were cancelled or diverted while dozens [...]
Port Talbot: 3,000 of jobs at risk as Tata steelworks bids to make ‘greener’ steel September 15, 2023 There are concerns that thousands of job losses are set to be announced at Britain’s biggest steelworks under plans to produce “greener” steel. Tata, the Indian conglomerate that owns the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales, has been in talks with the Government for months over state aid worth hundreds of millions of pounds to [...]
Arm shares soar on debut with hopes rising float could kick off IPO revival September 15, 2023 The Cambridge chipmaker's IPO has bankers hoping the moribund float market may finally be opening up again
US and Japanese diplomats in the spotlight as envoys in London owe £150m in congestion charges September 14, 2023 Foreign diplomats in London owe nearly £150m in congestion charge debt, ministers have said. It comes as new figures given to MPs showed that 15 serious and significant offences, including sexual assault and drunk-driving, were allegedly committed by diplomats or those entitled to diplomatic immunity between 2019 to 2022. The new details came in two written ministerial statements published [...]