Indian conglomerate says gigafactory in Bridgwater will bring about 4,000 jobs to region
The Indian conglomerate Tata has confirmed Bridgwater in Somerset as the site of its new £4bn battery factory, which will bring about 4,000 jobs to the region.
Tata’s battery business, Agratas, said it had bought land at the Gravity Smart campus off the M5, just outside the town.
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On the “broken promise” of changing the stage-three tax cuts (the latest Guardian Essential poll had Albanese falling in the trust stakes) the prime minister said:
We made not an easy decision. We made the right decision for all the right reasons. We know that families are under cost of living pressure.
The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the best way that we could have an impact on providing that assistance to middle Australia without putting upward pressure on inflation – we couldn’t ignore that.
This is just a terrible incident that’s occurred here. The loss of the two young men and I feel for the grieving of the family, the friends. They obviously were full of life, because so many people interacted with them. It’s a really tough day for, as well, the queer community, and it’s been a very difficult time.
Continue reading...Firm told it must take responsibility for toxic legacy of pollution and safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure
The oil firm Shell cannot be allowed to withdraw from the Niger delta before it takes responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure, a report says.
Shell plc is preparing to divest from the delta but a report warns that it must remain until it has cleaned up its legacy of pollution.
Continue reading...Fast-fashion company believes it unlikely that SEC will approve US flotation, according to report
The fast-fashion company Shein is reportedly considering a stock market flotation in London rather than New York because of potential problems with a listing in the US, its preferred location.
Shein, which was founded in China but is now based in Singapore, is in the early stages of exploring an initial public offering in London because it believes it is unlikely that the US Securities and Exchange Commission would approve its initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reported.
Continue reading...Competition helped offset impact of Red Sea shipping crisis in February, says analyst Kantar
Grocery price inflation in the UK has slowed to a two-year low as fierce competition among supermarkets offset the impact of the Red Sea shipping crisis on goods prices.
In a boost to households, supermarket prices were 5.3% higher than a year earlier in February, the lowest rate since March 2022 and down from January’s 6.8%, according to the analyst Kantar. Grocery sales grew by 5.1% in the four weeks to 18 February.
Continue reading...Burberry, M&S and Next fare best for female representation but too few women are in top roles, report says
Women occupy more than two in five seats on the boards of the UK’s biggest listed companies but there are still “too few” in top positions with just 10 female FTSE 100 chief executives, according to a report.
The proportion of board positions held by women in the FTSE 350 rose to a record high of 42% this year, according to the government-backed annual FTSE Women Leaders Review. This is up from 24.5% in 2017 when the report was launched.
Continue reading...Tory government has ‘ducked’ difficult decisions, leading to higher bills, says shadow energy secretary
Labour has claimed a “culture of inertia and stasis” has blocked renewable energy projects under the Conservatives and says the party will overturn a de facto onshore wind ban “at the stroke of a pen” if it wins the general election.
The shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told energy industry executives at a conference in London on Tuesday that Labour would immediately rip up a decade-long effective block on large onshore wind developments in England if elected.
Continue reading...Committee releases minutes of board meeting before appearance by former Post Office chair Henry Staunton
Newly published documents show that a “toxic culture of disbelief” persists at the top of the Post Office when it comes to wronged post office operators, MPs have been told.
Post Office board members complained of being “tired and constantly distracted by historical issues, short-term crisis management and funding issues”, minutes of one of their meetings last year show.
Continue reading...Unions and workers’ groups say return of fees, scrapped in 2017, will send wrong message to employers
Unions and workers’ rights groups are urging the government to reconsider plans to reintroduce fees for employment tribunals amid fears it will encourage exploitation.
A coalition of 48 organisations, including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Fawcett Society and Maternity Action, said bringing back fees, which were ditched in 2017, meant “bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones”.
Continue reading...Former shadow chancellor is one of the authors of a new academic paper on how to bridge the regional divide
Britain needs a 20-year cross-party consensus to level up the economy and unleash the untapped potential of regions outside London and the south-east, the former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said.
Balls, one of five co-authors of an academic paper on bridging the UK’s regional divide, said it was vital that Labour and Conservative politicians put aside their differences in order to embed necessary funding and governance reforms.
Continue reading...Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hit
More than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.
The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Continue reading...Chalmers had announced plans to scrap the veto power but former treasurers and RBA governors say it is a vital ‘safety valve’
An alliance between the Greens and Liberal parties in the Senate could force Jim Chalmers to keep a government power that allows treasurers to overrule Reserve Bank decisions on interest rates.
Chalmers announced plans to scrap the veto power in the government response to recommendations from a panel which reviewed the Reserve Bank operations and made suggestions for improvement.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Firm’s denial comes after weeks of intense criticism, including accusations that it misled parliament
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Consultancy firm KPMG Australia has rejected claims it conducted due diligence on “the wrong company” before the federal government gave nearly half a billion dollars to a controversial company with no track record.
The firm’s objection to comments by a member of a Senate inquiry examining its conduct come after weeks of intense criticism and accusations it repeatedly misled parliament over its use of so-called power maps, which identify influential decision makers within departments.
Continue reading...Former celebrity blogger expected to face court. Follow updates live
What will happen if there’s a storm during today’s Taylor Swift concert?
With a thunderstorm forecast at Sydney Olympic Park this evening, many are asking what this means for the Eras tour?
The show will play, rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather, which could impact the safety of artists and patrons. Such a decision would be made by NSW Police, the event promoters and Venues NSW staff.
Please follow venue screens and staff instructions in these circumstances.
Continue reading...Maximum will be £2 for younger adults but campaigners say government has not gone far enough
The amount that can be staked on the spin of an online slot machine will be capped at £5, or £2 for younger customers, as part of government plans to tighten regulation of the £11bn-a-year gambling industry in Great Britain.
Online slots are currently exempt from limits on how much punters can wager.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Engine-maker says it has made £150m of its £400m to £500m savings target, with up to 2,500 jobs to go
The British engine-maker Rolls-Royce has said cost-cutting plans that will result in it axing up to 2,500 jobs by the end of next year are “well under way”, as it swung to a £1.6bn underlying operating profit for 2023.
The aerospace engineering specialist reported the statutory pre-tax profits for 2023 against losses of £1.5bn in 2022, helped by cost savings and better-than-expected revenues.
Continue reading...Bank’s profits rise 57% but it says there is ‘significant uncertainty’ over liability amid FCA investigation
Lloyds Banking Group has been forced to put aside £450m for potential fines and compensation for motor finance customers, after the UK regulator opened an investigation into whether consumers had been charged inflated prices for car loans.
The lender, which also owns the Bank of Scotland and Halifax brands, said there was “significant uncertainty” over the extent of any misconduct or loss to customers that could result in penalties or payouts.
Continue reading...The airline is flush with enough cash for a $400m share buy-back, a great transfer of wealth from customers to shareholders
It may be slightly less profitable and boast a friendlier CEO who says she does “a lot more listening than talking”, but Qantas remains an airline making serious money that could do much more to win back Australians’ hearts.
The $1.25bn pre-tax half yearly profit unveiled on Thursday, while down 13% on the same period last year, was still 40% higher than the last half-year trading period before the pandemic upended travel.
Continue reading...Officials held online meeting with business leaders despite flight of ethnic Armenians after military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh
The UK government faces criticism after officials appeared to urge British businesses to help rebuild disputed areas of Azerbaijan just weeks after the state’s military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh led more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the region.
Officials from the UK Foreign Office and the business department held an online meeting with British business leaders in November to encourage companies to take advantage of the “great opportunity” to support Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev’s rebuilding agenda.
Continue reading...Proposed Project One cracking plant is ‘hugely destructive’, says Client Earth
The creation of the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe in 30 years faces a new legal challenge by a group of NGOs arguing that the true impact of the development on people, nature and the climate has not been considered.
Client Earth lodged papers on Wednesday evening in court which aim to halt the building of Project One, a vast cracking plant to produce the chemicals to make plastic, which is being built in Antwerp by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos.
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