Category Archives: Business

TfL could be forced to pay millions over Dutch lorry drivers’ low emission zone fines

Posted on by

Hauliers’ group Transport in Nood BV launched judicial review earlier this year over fines issued in Ulez and Lez

Transport for London (TfL) could be forced to pay back millions of pounds in low emission zone fines issued to Dutch lorry drivers after agreeing they had been issued unlawfully.

The body said it had agreed to settle a claim regarding the Ulez fines after a company representing dozens of Dutch haulage companies launched a legal challenge into the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) and low emission zone (Lez) fines earlier this year.

Continue reading...

France warns US buyer of Sanofi division of penalties for shifting production abroad

Posted on by

Private equity firm CD&R revealed to be in exclusive talks to buy 50% stake in consumer healthcare arm Opella

The French government has warned a US private equity firm buying the consumer healthcare arm of the drugmaker Sanofi that it faces penalties of more than €100m if it does not keep production and jobs in France.

Sanofi is splitting off Opella, which makes the paracetamol brand Doliprane, the laxative Dulcolax and other over-the-counter medicines and vitamins. However, news of talks with the New York-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on 11 October prompted fears about French jobs and the loss of control to a foreign company.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: king meets Hephner the alpaca en route to war memorial; Sussan Ley declares purchase of Cessna plane

Posted on by

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have greeted the crowd at the Australian War Memorial, shaking hands and high-fiving kids. Follow the day’s news live

Independent Kooyong MP responds to Victorian government rezoning plan

Monique Ryan, the federal member for Kooyong, was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss the Victorian government’s rezoning plan:

The announcement this weekend from the premier was for nine massive new developments just in the electorate of Kooyong. That’s huge. These could be up to 20 storeys high. Of course that will cause some concern from people who live in the area, who have chosen to live there, because it’s a beautiful part of the world.

We’re not saying we don’t want it, I think people in my part of the world are welcoming it. We’d also like some assurances from the government they will include social and affordable housing in these developments. We really don’t have any detail as of yet and that’s the stuff that’s missing at this point.

Continue reading...

Qantas ordered to pay $170,000 to three workers illegally sacked at start of pandemic

Posted on by

Judge rebukes airline for ‘vast legal costs’ expended to defend claims of illegally firing baggage handlers

A federal court judge has rebuked Qantas for the “vast legal costs” expended to defend claims it illegally sacked almost 1,700 baggage handlers in 2020, as former workers move a step closer towards a compensation payout.

Justice Michael Lee ruled on Monday that three test cases should receive $30,000, $40,000 and $100,000. They suffered varying amounts of “non-economic loss”, the court ruled.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Number of homes sold in UK up by a third, says Rightmove

Posted on by

Autumn price bump failed to emerge as buyers spoiled for choice, with properties on market at a 10-year high

The number of homes being sold is up almost a third, year on year, so far this month, although the traditional autumn price bump has failed to emerge due to buyers being spoilt for choice, with the number of properties for sale at a 10-year high, according to Rightmove.

The number of sales agreed is up 29%, with the number of house hunters contacting estate agents up 17%, despite some market uncertainty caused by the looming budget at the end of October.

Continue reading...

Water companies raise bonuses to £9.1m despite record sewage discharges

Posted on by

Third of total comprises bonuses at Severn Trent as indebted Thames nearly doubles payouts to executives

Bonuses for water company bosses in England and Wales rose to £9.1m this year despite record sewage discharges into rivers and seas.

More than a third of that total comprised bonuses at Severn Trent, which was fined £2m this year for “reckless” pollution but lifted its bonuses to £3.36m.

Thames Water almost doubled its payouts to executives, from £746,000 in 2021-22 to £1.3m in 2023-24, despite its CEO quitting halfway through the year.

Data from Companies House, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, show that overall bonuses increased from £9.013m last year to £9.127m this year.

The payouts pile further pressure on the regulator, Ofwat, to intervene in the decisions of water company boards. Last year, raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.

Continue reading...

Big business calls for $10bn housing reform fund to reward Australian states that streamline supply

Posted on by

Business Council of Australia also recommends phasing out stamp duty and fast-tracking migrant workers for building industry

The nation’s peak business body has called for a $10bn housing reform fund that will pay out to states that fix the regulation and planning bottlenecks contributing to the supply crisis.

The Business Council of Australia is also pushing for the nation-wide removal of stamp duty on homes, warning that it disincentivises people from moving to smaller dwellings and freeing up larger homes.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘It’s desperation’: Ireland’s restaurant industry facing crisis with daily closures

Posted on by

Rise in VAT, inflation and people working from home has led small business owners to demand government support

Blazing Salads, Dillingers, Assassination Custard and Brasserie Sixty Six in Dublin, Church Lane and Sage in County Cork, and Barnacles in Galway.

These are just some of the most recent additions to the list of more than 600 restaurants that have been forced to close in Ireland in the last year in what is being seen as a growing crisis for the country’s high street and tourist offering.

Continue reading...

Post Office considering making branch operators fund ‘losses pool’, inquiry told

Posted on by

Option among those explored, as state-owned body looks to recover £12m a year written off over Horizon scandal

The Post Office is looking into the possibility of creating a “losses pool”, funded by branch owner-operators, as it seeks to address the mounting financial issue of shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets.

Following damning high court judgments in 2019, which ultimately resulted in hundreds of postmasters being exonerated over wrongful prosecutions for shortfalls linked to faulty Horizon software, the Post Office pursues losses only if there is an agreement with the branch owner-operator.

Continue reading...

Biden’s economic legacy could decide the presidential race in Scranton

Posted on by

The politically split Pennsylvania town shows why the race is so close – and it’s unclear whether the president’s legacy will be enough to carry Harris over the line

From the north, motorists pull into Scranton via the Joseph R Biden Jr Expressway. Cutting through the scenic Pocono Mountains, now at the start of autumn color season, they are greeted with a towering, electric billboard, blaring an encapsulating – if divisive – message to this working-class town: “Democrats for Trump,” it reads. “Economy,” it continues, with a green checked box next to the word.

The sign in Biden’s hometown is the perfect fall 2024 welcome mat in this crucial swing state filled with voters whose economic anxiety or satisfaction will decide next month’s election.

Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves will tax businesses to plug £9bn black hole in NHS

Posted on by

The chancellor is set to announce a revenue-raising budget designed to reset Britain’s public finances

Rachel Reeves is set to use one of the most pivotal budgets of recent times to call on businesses to pay more tax to help restore the NHS, amid warnings that the health service has been left with a £9bn hole in its finances.

The chancellor is expected to stake her reputation on a tax-­raising budget designed as a reset of the public finances. She has already had to deal with cabinet skirmishes over funding unveiled alongside the statement. However, Reeves is understood to believe that the public will accept a multibillion-pound hike in business taxes if it is linked to repairing the health system’s finances.

Continue reading...

Quarter of UK summit investment came before Labour win, analysis suggests

Posted on by

Ministers heralded ‘record-breaking’ £63bn total at London event but £16.5bn appears to have preceded July election

About a quarter of the investment announced by the government at its summit this week appears to have been secured or initiated before Labour came to power.

Ministers touted £63bn of investment at the summit on Monday, where they hosted hundreds of company bosses in a showcase of the UK’s pro-growth policies.

Continue reading...

‘Best-in-class’ seats and no bog-standard loos: first look at HS2 train interiors

Posted on by

Carriages for controversial high-speed line focus on passenger comfort, innovations and headroom, mock-ups reveal

For now, it remains unclear quite how far any passenger will travel on future HS2 services – whether reaching Euston or on high-speed tracks all the way to Crewe. But however short the journey, an exclusive peek at HS2’s embryonic carriages reveals travellers will be enthroned in “the best seats of any UK trains” – even, arguably, in the toilets.

Conscious of discontent with the “ironing board” seats in some of the newest trains introduced to Britain’s railways, HS2 are putting passengers’ backs and bottoms centre stage.

Continue reading...

Boeing faces new scrutiny as US aviation agency opens safety review

Posted on by

Three-month audit by FAA was not triggered by a specific event but is part of its oversight of safety culture

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday it will open a three-month review of Boeing’s compliance with safety regulations, continuing the agency’s closer oversight of the company since a panel blew off a Boeing jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The FAA said its review will examine key areas of safety processes at Boeing to make sure that they “result in timely, accurate safety-related information for FAA use”.

Continue reading...

Musk steers X disputes to conservative Texas courts in service terms update

Posted on by

Although choosing a venue is not uncommon, northern district stands out because it’s not where X is located

Elon Musk’s X has updated its terms of service to steer any disputes from users of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter to a federal court in Texas whose judges frequently deliver victories to conservative litigants in political cases.

New terms of service that will take effect on 15 November specify that any lawsuits against X by users must be exclusively filed in the US district court for the northern district of Texas or state courts in Tarrant county, Texas.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Bondi beach reopens after tar-ball pollution; tornado warning for Victoria

Posted on by

Waverley council says no remaining evidence of the debris could be found at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Follow today’s news live

Max Chandler-Mather continued, and told ABC News Breakfast:

I would argue in this instance in the context of one of the worst housing crises we have seen in generations … now is precisely the time where we need more than tinkering around the edges and we need substantial change.

There is a building consensus we need to scrap these tax handouts. Increasingly the biggest barrier is a prime minister [who has just] gone through multiple days of scandal for buying another property and being a property investor.

So I think there’s a real moment here the government should seize to make real substantial change to the lives of hundreds of thousands of renters, and the bottom line is the Greens are ready and willing to work with Labor to do it.

Continue reading...

Infrastructure taskforce to help chancellor avoid financial sector turmoil

Posted on by

Rachel Reeves is to seek advice from City experts to ensure big projects’ value for money and reassure markets

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is taking action to ensure her budget plan for a multibillion-pound increase in government borrowing to fund infrastructure projects avoids a Liz Truss-style meltdown in financial markets.

Ahead of her tax and spending event on 30 October, the chancellor is convening on Friday the first meeting of a taskforce of leading City figures to advise on infrastructure projects. The government will also launch a watchdog to oversee public works and ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

Continue reading...

Netflix to double profits after adding millions of subscribers in three months

Posted on by

After cracking down on password sharing, expanding into ads and investing billions in live TV, group declares success

Netflix expects to double its profits this quarter after the world’s largest streaming service added more than 5 million new subscribers this summer.

After cracking down on password sharing, introducing adverts to its service and investing billions in live TV, the group declared it had “delivered” on plans to shore up its business.

Continue reading...

ECB cuts interest rates to support flagging eurozone economy

Posted on by

Fall in inflation enables central bank to bring in quarter point cut to 3.25% after business and consumer slowdown

The European Central Bank has intervened to prevent a sharp slowdown in the eurozone economy with its first back-to-back interest rate cut since the euro crisis in 2011.

With Germany on the brink of a recession and inflation tumbling across the 20 member single currency bloc, the ECB followed a reduction in the cost of borrowing at its previous meeting in September with a further 0.25 percentage point cut in its key deposit rate to 3.25%.

Continue reading...

Negative stereotypes in international media cost Africa £3.2bn a year – report

Posted on by

Focus on conflict, corruption and poverty heightens perception of risk, raising interest on sovereign debt, authors say

Africa loses up to £3.2bn yearly in inflated interest payments on sovereign debt due to persistent negative stereotypes that dominate international media coverage of the continent, according to a new report.

Research by consultants Africa Practice and the advocacy non-profit Africa No Filter suggests that media portrayals, especially during elections when global coverage is heightened, focus disproportionately on conflict, corruption, poverty, disease and poor leadership, widening disparities between perceived and actual risks of investing in the continent, and creating a monolithic view of Africa.

Continue reading...