Category Archives: Business

Johnson announces aim for UK to get 25% of electricity from nuclear power

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PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises

Boris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants the UK to get 25% of its electricity from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country’s energy mix.

Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK’s Rolls-Royce, France’s EDF, and the US’s Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations.

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Replacements for P&O Ferries crew paid £1.80 an hour, unions say

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RMT says agency rates for seafarers are ‘gut-wrenching betrayal’ of 800 sacked British staff

Seafarers from abroad brought in to replace the 800 sacked British P&O Ferries crew are being paid as little as £1.80 an hour, unions have claimed.

The news emerged as Labour accused the government of doing “absolutely nothing” when it learned of the planned sackings, as a memorandum with the “game plan” of P&O was circulated on Wednesday evening.

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US watchdog plans to make companies reveal greenhouse-gas emissions

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Climate action rules announced by SEC chair Gary Gensler expected to face opposition from Republicans and industry groups

The US’s top financial watchdog proposed on Monday that publicly traded companies report information on their greenhouse-gas emissions and even those of their suppliers and consumers in one of the Biden administration’s most sweeping environmental actions to date.

The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules faces staunch opposition from some politicians and members of the business community and will be open to public comment for at least two months before final rules are released.

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Egypt fixes price of bread as Ukraine war hits wheat supply

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Commercially sold bread set at 11.50 Egyptian pounds a kilo as Russian invasion sends wheat prices soaring

Egypt has fixed the price of unsubsidised bread amid a global surge in wheat prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move comes after war shut off access to cheaper wheat from the Black Sea region, particularly affecting exports to the Middle East and north African region. Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer, bringing in about 60% of its grain from overseas. Russia and Ukraine accounted for 80% of the country’s imports last year.

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Unlicensed Instagram and TikTok influencers offering financial advice could face jail time, Asic warns

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Popularity of ‘finfluencers’ providing stock tips and flaunting lavish lifestyles is rising as younger demographic looks to invest

The corporate watchdog has warned Instagram and other social media influencers that they need a licence to give financial advice and face up to five years in jail if they break the law.

In a new information sheet aimed at so-called “finfluencers”, issued on Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) took aim at social media stock-tippers who promise big returns or promise the investments they recommend are as good as putting money in the bank.

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Average house price in Great Britain exceeds £350,000 for first time

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Asking prices up 1.7% in March, biggest monthly rise for this time of year in 18 years, according to Rightmove

The average price tag on a home in Great Britain has topped £350,000 for the first time, according to Rightmove.

Typical asking prices hit £354,564 in March, up 1.7% or £5,760 compared with February, the property website said. It was the biggest monthly rise for this time of year in 18 years, and pushed the annual rate of growth in asking prices to 10.4%.

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PM to chair roundtable on boosting UK’s nuclear power output

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Meeting comes as Boris Johnson prepares to publish his energy security strategy amid soaring prices and Ukraine war

Boris Johnson will chair a meeting on how to increase the UK’s nuclear power output on Monday, as he prepares to publish his energy security strategy this month amid soaring prices.

The prime minister will discuss domestic nuclear projects with leaders from the nuclear industry at a roundtable meeting at Downing Street, No 10 said.

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Labour urges Kwasi Kwarteng to launch legal action against P&O Ferries

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Letter to business secretary calls firm’s sacking of 800 workers ‘scandalous’ and a criminal offence

Labour has urged the business secretary to launch legal action against P&O Ferries over its “scandalous” decision to sack 800 workers without warning, which the party said is a criminal offence.

Shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds have written to Kwasi Kwarteng, asking if he will begin proceedings for what they called the “scandalous action” of the ferry company.

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Launch of .au domains will allow Australians to drop .com from web addresses

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People who can demonstrate they or their business have a connection to Australia will be able to purchase new domain from Thursday

Australian web addresses will soon be shorter with the launch of .au domains, allowing people to drop the .com for the first time.

From Thursday, people who can demonstrate they or their business have a connection to Australia will be able to purchase .au domains. It is the first time the .au domain has been available for purchase after auDA, the organisation that manages Australian domains, launched the product after years of consultation.

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UK asbestos maker withheld information on material’s risks, court papers show

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According to documents, Cape played down dangers and lobbied for warning labels to be tempered

One of the UK’s biggest manufacturers of asbestos and the industry bodies that it co-founded historically withheld information on risks posed by the carcinogenic material, playing down the dangers while lobbying the government for product warnings to be tempered, according to documents released after a lengthy court battle.

A lawyer who acted for the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK in its fight to obtain the documents about Cape compared its behaviour to the tobacco industry’s former refusal to admit evidence of harms from smoking while its own research showed the opposite.

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P&O Ferries scandal must be turning point for workers’ rights, says TUC

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Union leaders call for employment bill and accuse ministers of failing to challenge sacking of 800 staff

Ministers have serious questions to answer on the growing scandal at P&O Ferries and must make it a catalyst to improve workers’ rights, the Trades Union Congress said on Sunday.

The TUC accused the government of sitting on its hands and failing to protect workers after P&O sacked 800 staff on Thursday with a plan to replace them with cheaper agency workers. It has emerged that ministers were informed in advance about the mass redundancies.

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Ministers ‘told in advance about P&O mass sackings’

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Government accused by Labour of complicity in ferry company’s shock decision to cut 800 UK-based jobs

Government ministers knew about P&O Ferries’ plan to slash 800 jobs before staff were informed but were told by officials it would ensure the firm remained “a key player in the UK market for years to come”, it was claimed on Saturday.

A leaked memo, apparently written by a senior Whitehall official, justified the mass redundancies, stating that “without these decisions, an estimated 2,200 staff would likely lose their jobs”.

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P&O resumes Liverpool-Dublin service as government reviews contracts

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Tory party co-chair voices ‘revulsion’ at ferry company’s actions after 800 staff replaced with agency workers

P&O crossings between Liverpool and Dublin resumed on Saturday afternoon, two days after the ferry company suspended services when it sacked 800 staff and brought in replacement agency workers.

Labour had called on the government to step in and halt any crossings, as ministers confirmed that all government contracts with the company were being reviewed.

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After Ukraine, how will the world replace Russia’s oil products?

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A report from the International Energy Agency makes clear that viable alternatives are limited

As Boris Johnson flew to the Gulf this week to ask for more oil to replace supplies from Russia, he was accused by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator”.

At the same time, a report produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA) underlined just how limited the options are for any economy seeking to replace Russian crude and other oil products.

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Pressure mounts on Koch Industries to halt business in Russia

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While hundreds of companies have paused operations, three Koch subsidiaries are still operating in the country

Pressure is mounting on Koch Industries, the conglomerate run by the rightwing billionaire Charles Koch, to pull out of Russia after it was revealed it was continuing to do business in Russia through three wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Hundreds of companies including Coca-Cola, KPMG, McDonald’s, Netflix and Starbucks have paused operations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. But, as news site Popular Information revealed last week, three Koch subsidiaries are still operating in the country.

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P&O Ferries told it could face unlimited fine if sackings unlawful

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Business secretary suggests company appears not to have followed processes for large-scale redundancies

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has warned P&O Ferries it could face an unlimited fine if its summary sacking of 800 British staff is found to have breached the law, as protests against the company’s actions took place at ports across the country.

Writing to the company on Friday, Kwarteng said he wanted to express, “in the strongest possible terms, the UK government’s anger and disappointment”.

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DP World’s controversial history of P&O ownership

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Analysis: The economic model of the firm, ultimately owned by Dubai royalty, was under question even before the mass sackings

• Angry protests against P&O Ferries take place at UK ports

When Dubai Ports Ltd first bought up the ports and ships of P&O 16 years ago, the question that preoccupied a country reeling from the 2005 Islamist terrorist attacks was Britain’s physical security.

Now, the questions are focused on the economic security of Britain’s workforce.

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Are the P&O Ferries mass sackings a result of Brexit?

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Analysis: UK government claimed EU exit would let it change employment law, but it has not yet done so

To the layperson, the unceremonious sacking of 800 P&O Ferries workers may look like a consequence of Britain leaving the EU, with any legal action by the trade unions turning into the first big test of workers’ rights post-Brexit.

Despite Boris Johnson’s assurances that Britain’s departure from the EU would be better for UK workers, there have been fears it would be seen by the government as an opportunity to erode workers’ rights in a bid to increase competitiveness.

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Germany investigates £1bn Tui share transfer by sanctioned Russian oligarch

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Alexei Mordashov sold most of 34% stake in world’s biggest tourism operator to entity controlled by his wife

Germany is investigating deals under which most of the stake in Tui held by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov was transferred to an entity controlled by his wife, Marina Mordashova, Tui said on Friday.

Tui, the world’s biggest holiday company, was informed this week that Mordashova controls Ondero Ltd, which bought stakes in Mordashov’s Unifirm Ltd, Tui’s top shareholder, from two of his subsidiaries on 28 February.

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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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