Category Archives: Business

Government knew of P&O Ferries sackings the day before, No 10 admits

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Labour and unions demand immediate action including suspending licences of parent company DP World

Unions and the Labour party have demanded immediate action over the sacking of 800 British crew by P&O Ferries, including suspending the licences of its parent company, DP World, as it emerged the government was made aware of the move the previous night.

Amid public calls for a boycott of P&O and protests at ports, unions demanded the government urge the firm to reverse its decision, and curb DP World’s involvement in planned freeports.

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‘Scandalous betrayal’: MPs condemn P&O Ferries for mass sacking of 800 staff

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Ministers and unions call for action against transport company’s Dubai owners

Ministers and trade unions have condemned P&O Ferries’ mass sacking of 800 British seafarers to replace them with agency crew as shameful and “completely unacceptable”, amid furious calls for action against the company’s Dubai owners.

P&O Ferries’ services could be suspended for up to 10 days, disrupting its cross-Channel and Irish Sea routes, after an extraordinary day in which the operator sacked its entire British seafaring staff without notice. They learned the news of their redundancy via a pre-recorded video message this morning.

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Tory MP backs calls for Marks & Spencer stores in Russia to close

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Retailer says it has stopped supplying its franchisee’s business in Russia, but the shops remain open

A Conservative MP has backed calls for dozens of Marks & Spencer stores across Russia to be shut immediately, suggesting Vladimir Putin is funnelling every rouble made in the country into the invasion of Ukraine.

Alicia Kearns, who hosted four Ukrainian parliamentarians in the House of Commons on Thursday, said any profits generated would be tainted by the killings and war crimes committed during the conflict.

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‘Just not the right time’: Victoria urged to keep mask rules for key workers

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Epidemiologists say calls by business to relax mask rules as case numbers escalate is ‘down the rabbit hole thinking’

Victorian business leaders pushing to scrap mask mandates for hospitality and retail workers are “clearly not following the trend” in rising cases, according to epidemiologists who say now is not the time to relax rules.

The state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, on Thursday rejected a push from the Australian Hotels Association, the Australian ­Retailers Association and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry who told the Herald Sun they wanted national consistency on mask mandates and warned workers could leave the sectors for other jobs.

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Netflix tests charges for sharing passwords between households

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Scheme being trialled in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru seen as way to make more money from existing subscribers as growth slows

The days of sharing Netflix passwords could soon be over. The streaming company has begun testing a new feature that would charge people to add multiple profiles to an account.

The scheme is being trialled in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. It is unclear if and when the feature will be rolled out in other countries.

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Philippines considers four-day working week to combat rising costs

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Economist calls for compressed working hours with 10-hour days in response to higher fuel prices

The Philippines is considering a four-day working week to conserve energy, as the cost of fuel continues to rise globally, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Officials are searching for ways to soften the impact of dramatic price increases, which have prompted calls for a rise in the minimum wage and greater assistance for drivers.

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China property shares soar on Beijing stimulus, despite continued debt crisis

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Plans to shore up real estate and tech sectors welcomed by investors, but downgrade of third-biggest developer Sunac shows problems persist

Chinese property shares have soared for a second day thanks to a decision by Beijing’s leadership to throw the country’s struggling real estate sector a lifeline amid growing pressures at home and abroad.

Despite a downgrade for China’s third-biggest property developer Sunac on Thursday, stocks in the sector lifted again in Hong Kong and the mainland thanks to an announcement by vice premier Liu He, China’s economic tsar, on Wednesday that the government needed to reduce risks in the industry.

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Australia’s unemployment rate falls to 4% – the lowest since 2008

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The jobless rate for women fell to the lowest rate since May 1974 at 3.8%, as the economy added a net 77,400 jobs in February

Australia’s jobless rate sank to a new 13-year low last month with a big rise in full-time positions, as the economy shrugged off more of the Omicron Covid disruptions.

The country’s unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 4.0% in February, compared with 4.2% in January. That’s the lowest rate since August 2008, the ABS said.

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Putin-linked Russian oligarchs with Australian assets escape Morrison government sanctions

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Transparency advocates ‘can’t make sense’ of decision to exclude resource industry figures from sanctions

The Morrison government is facing questions over why it has not included two Russian oligarchs, who have assets in Australia, among those it has imposed sanctions against over the invasion of Ukraine.

Oleg Deripaska, who has a stake in an alumina refinery in Gladstone run by Rio Tinto, and Viktor Vekselberg, who has an interest in a gas project in the Beetaloo Basin, were not among 41 oligarchs and family members Australia’s department of foreign affairs and trade hit with sanctions on Monday.

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Fed expected to raise interest rates for first time since 2018, markets rise on Ukraine hopes – business live

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The UK government released $530m of its debts to Iran, ahead of Tehran’s release of two British-Iranian prisoners, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The prisoners are Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who had been detained by Iran for six years, and Anousheh Ashouri.

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Church of England to reconsider shares in TotalEnergies over Ukraine inaction

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Pension board and investment fund managers urge French energy company to cut ties with Russia

The Church of England is pressuring the French energy giant TotalEnergies over its decision not to cut ties with Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Church’s pensions board and the manager of its investment fund said they would reconsider their shareholding in the company.

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Wagamama owner and Fever-Tree warn of cost increases as energy prices soar

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The Restaurant Group mindful of impact of Russia-Ukraine war, while drinks maker lowers profit guidance

The drinks maker Fever-Tree and the owner of the Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s restaurant chains have warned of dramatic cost increases as the price of commodities and gas and electricity soars and the war in Ukraine adds pressure to their businesses.

Fever-Tree has lowered its profit guidance, blaming a “dramatic increase” in commodity prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company, which had forecast adjusted profits of £69m to £72m this year, has downgraded its outlook to between £63m and £69m.

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US Federal Reserve raises interest rates for first time since 2018

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Fed raises rates by a quarter percentage point from near zero as central bank struggles with inflation, the war in Ukraine and Covid

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2018, as the central bank struggles with soaring US inflation, the impact of the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus crisis.

The Fed raised rates by a quarter percentage point from near zero, in what is expected to be the first in a series of raises in the coming months.

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Johnson compares Putin to drug dealer ahead of Saudi Arabia trip

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British PM hopes to persuade Gulf state to raise oil and gas production to reduce reliance on Moscow

Boris Johnson has compared Vladimir Putin to a drug dealer who managed to hook western nations on Russian supplies of oil and gas, ahead of a trip to the Middle East in an attempt to diversify the sources of Britain’s energy imports.

The UK prime minister urged European countries to “get ourselves off that addiction” and said he wanted support from “the widest possible coalition” to help offset the pressures caused by spiralling oil and gas prices.

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Oil price falls below $100 amid Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks

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Drop in price comes as Covid-19 infections rise in China, which could hit demand for energy supplies

Global oil prices have fallen back below $100 (£77) a barrel amid ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over the rapid growth in Covid infections in China.

The price of a barrel of oil slid to $99 on energy markets on Tuesday, before rising back to just above $100 in early afternoon trading. It comes amid a decline from a 14-year high of close to $130 reached earlier this month after Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine.

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UK wages fall at fastest rate since 2014 as cost-of-living squeeze bites

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Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hitswages

Unemployment in the UK has fallen below pre-Covid levels, but high inflation amid Britain’s cost of living crisis means average wages fell at the fastest rate since 2014.

The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the three months to January, dropping below the 4% rate in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK.

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UK living standards face squeeze despite strong jobs market

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Analysis: Higher prices, taxes and energy costs will bring gloom despite low level of unemployment

Demand for workers is strong as the economy emerges from two years of pandemic-induced disruption. The supply of workers has been reduced by an increase in long-term sickness affecting mainly the over 50 age group.

As a result, there is enough upward pressure on pay to persuade the Bank of England to continue raising interest rates, but the big squeeze on living standards has begun.

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Camelot to lose licence to run UK national lottery after 28 years

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Gambling Commission names rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over licence

Camelot is to lose its licence to run the UK national lottery after 28 years as the Gambling Commission named rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over.

Allwyn, which is owned by the Czech group Sazka, Europe’s largest lottery operator, is expected to take over from Camelot in 2024.

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Roman Abramovich spotted at Israeli airport following UK sanctions

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Photograph shows Chelsea FC owner in VIP lounge shortly before jet linked to him took off for Istanbul

Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea FC who was subjected to sanctions by the UK government last week, has been spotted at a VIP lounge at an airport in Israel.

One of seven Russians who had their assets frozen last Thursday in an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich was seen in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Monday shortly before a jet linked to him took off for Istanbul.

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Johnson faces uphill task to convince Saudis and UAE to boost oil production

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Analysis: PM will try and succeed where Biden failed but is unlikely to get a sympathetic hearing

Boris Johnson is facing criticism both domestically and in the Gulf as he tries to persuade Gulf states to boost oil production.

He is expected to visit Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates as western powers seek extra oil supplies to loosen the west’s dependence on Russian energy and slow the massive price rises caused by sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.

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