King congratulates England on reaching Euro 2024 final
The King has congratulated the England men’s football team on reaching the final of Euro 2024.
In a message following the Three Lions’ 2-1 win against the Netherlands yesterday, Charles sent the players the royal family’s ‘very best wishes’ and ‘warmest congratulations’, adding: ‘Good luck, England.’
Sunday’s final in Berlin will see Gareth Southgate’s team face Spain.
Triple murder suspect in hospital after being found in cemetery
A triple murder suspect remains in hospital after being found in a cemetery following a manhunt.
Kyle Clifford, 26, was wanted in connection with the crossbow killings of Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC 5 Live racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, in Bushey on Tuesday.
He was found with injuries in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, yesterday afternoon and taken to a major trauma centre for treatment. Police said no shots had been fired by officers and no arrest had yet been made.
Consumers to learn of likely water bill rises for next five years
Consumers in England and Wales will today learn by how much their water bills are likely to rise over the next five years and what firms will have to do to improve their services in return.
Regulator Ofwat will release its ‘draft determinations’ when it signs off on firms’ requests for bill rises based on their spending plans, ahead of a final decision at the end of the year.
Southern Water has requested the highest increase in bills among the utility companies of 73% to £727 a year, while Wessex Water has requested a 36% increase to £690 a year. Sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023 to 3.6m hours.
Nato allies call China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine
In its most serious rebuke against Beijing, Nato allies have called China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over China’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.
The sternly worded final communique, approved by the 32 Nato members at their summit in Washington, makes clear that China is becoming a focus of the military alliance.
Beijing has denied that it supports Russia’s war efforts and insists that it conducts normal trade with its northern neighbour.
Pilots’ union recommends Aer Lingus pay deal
Aer Lingus pilots will be asked to accept a 17.75% pay increase in a ballot, following a recommendation by their representative body.
It comes after a work-to-rule, which began at the end of June, resulted in the airline cancelling hundreds of flights.
The 17.75% figure was recommended by the Labour Court following engagement with Aer Lingus and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association.
Royal Mail to ditch train fleet
Royal Mail is to ditch its fleet of trains as part of major changes to how it delivers post.
The postal service said yesterday that its near-30-year-old freight trains are at the end of their operational lives and that it won’t be buying new ones.
Instead, it’ll use a combination of commercial rail services, its existing road network and reduced air services to transport mail.
Regulator overhauls UK stock market rules to be ‘more straightforward’
The UK’s financial regulator has set out an overhaul of the country’s stock market rules amid rising pressure after a string of firms shunned London listings.
The Financial Conduct Authority said new rules will apply from the end of this month to create a ‘more straightforward’ listing structure.
The shake-up will include scrapping rules that currently force a shareholder vote on transactions between UK-listed companies and ‘related parties’ – a hurdle partly blamed for Cambridge-based chip firm Arm’s decision to list in the US over London last year by backer SoftBank.
Ariel launches all-new Nomad with Ford Focus ST engine
British manufacturer Ariel has announced the second generation of its Nomad model – injecting some serious off-road capability.
The biggest change is that Ariel has ditched its long-standing relationship with Honda and swapped the four-cylinder engine from the Civic Type-R with Ford’s 2.3-litre turbo from the Focus ST.
Output is now up to 305bhp in the most ferocious version, with Ariel claiming the new Nomad is capable of 0-60mph in just 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 134mph. It’s priced at £67,992.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Car dealer tax dodgers revealed as HMRC publicly outs ‘deliberate defaulters’
- New Suzuki Swift and Dacia Duster get just three stars for safety from Euro NCAP
- Dieselgate lawyers have their ‘absurd’ costs estimates slashed by judges
- Land Rover serves up most profitable used cars so far in 2024
- Ford goes back to the future as it revives iconic Capri nameplate as electric SUV
- Consumer car finance new business volumes and values take a tumble
- UHY Hacker Young partners with elite law firm to tackle potential overcharge from tyre suppliers
- Motability Operations director explains how big changes at mfldirect will make buying easier for car dealers
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed 53.70 points up yesterday to end the day on 8,193.51. The Cac 40 was up 64.89 points at 7,573.55, the Dax was up 171.03 points at 18,407.22, and the Dow Jones was up 429.39 points at 39,721.36.
Weather outlook
Today will be mostly dry in the north-west and the south with sunny spells, says BBC Weather. Early rain in eastern Scotland will clear but it’ll remain quite cloudy. Elsewhere will be mostly cloudy with some showers.
Friday will be cloudy and mostly dry but a few sunny spells will be possible in places. There’ll be scattered showers for some in the west and south but northern Scotland will see thicker cloud and spells of rain.