6:35 am, April 25, 2024
Labour vows to be the most ‘pro-business government’ UK has ever seen
Labour’s ‘number one mission’ is to expand the economy by being ‘more pro-business than Tony Blair’, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
The Leeds West MP said she believes her pro-business approach will be ‘the way to improve living standards and to achieve our potential’ as a nation ‘by unlocking private business investment’.
Reeves told The Times: ‘If I become chancellor, the next Labour government is going to be the most pro-business government this country has ever seen.’
Ex-England star John Barnes banned as company director over unpaid taxes
Former England and Liverpool footballer John Barnes has been banned as a director after his company failed to pay more than £190,000 in corporation tax and VAT.
Barnes, 60, has signed a disqualification undertaking banning him from being a company director for three and a half years, the Insolvency Service said.
His company, John Barnes Media Limited, failed to pay £194,111 in corporation tax and VAT between 2018 and 2020, with HM Revenue and Customs its only known creditor when it ceased trading.
Boeing posts £286m loss amid safety scrutiny
Boeing lost $355m (circa £286m) on falling revenue in the first quarter – another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes.
Chief executive David Calhoun said the firm is in ‘a tough moment’ and its focus is on fixing its manufacturing issues, not the financial results.
Company executives have been forced to talk more about safety and less about finances since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.
Shetland spaceport receives range licence as launch plans progress
The spaceport at the northern-most tip of the UK has received its range control licence from the regulator as it prepares for its first launch this year.
SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst has been given permission by the Civil Aviation Authority to clear and control the ‘downrange’ zone during launches.
It means the CAA is confident the spaceport can keep maritime and aviation traffic secure when rockets blast off from the site on the Shetland Islands.
Insurance principles aim to manage cost of paying monthly for motor cover
Members of the Association of British Insurers have committed to new steps to help manage the amount that people paying monthly for their motor insurance are charged.
Recent research from Which? indicated that the rates being charged by some insurers to pay for monthly cover resemble the interest applicable for credit card borrowing.
Charges should be made completely clear to consumers and be reasonable, relative to the cost to the insurer, the ABI said.
Small firms urge Ofgem to act over spiralling energy standing charges
A growing number of small businesses are complaining of vastly inflated standing charges on top of their standard energy bills – some as much as 13 times the level of three years ago.
The Federation of Small Businesses has written to Ofgem, urging it to act over fast-growing standing charges paid by small companies, particularly those in rural areas.
One business owner reported an increased standing charge from 70.94p per day in July 2021 to 969.64p per day in September 2023, more than 13 times higher. FSB policy chairwoman Tina McKenzie said: ‘We want Ofgem…to discern whether energy companies are behaving fairly towards their small firm clients.’
ITV boss reveals Mr Bates vs The Post Office drama made loss of around £1m
ITV boss Kevin Lygo has revealed the hit drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office made a loss of around a million pounds as he discussed the pressure broadcasters are facing due to increased competition from more media outlets.
The show, detailing how hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system, prompted public outrage and helped put the Horizon scandal under the spotlight.
Lygo, the MD of media and entertainment at ITV, told the Voice of the Listener & Viewer spring conference yesterday: ‘Mr Bates has made a loss of something like a million pounds and we can’t continually do this. There is so much choice and competition now in your homes every night.’
Mercedes reveals electric version of G-Class
Mercedes has revealed its latest addition to the EV market with the EQG – an electric version of the firm’s iconic G-Class.
The electric version will come with a 116kWh lithium-ion battery pack and will give a claimed range of 294 miles on a single charge. The vehicle uses 200kW DC charging, too, enabling it to be rapid-charged from 10 to 80% in 32 minutes.
Four individually controlled electric motors produce the equivalent of 579bhp and give a torque output of 1,164Nm.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Lithia confirms hundreds of job losses at Pendragon as US giant kills off CarStore
- Profit, sales and revenue figures all plummet in difficult set of Q1 results for Tesla
- Fiat takes aim at ‘sleepwalking’ UK government with country ‘on the cusp of an EV crisis’
- Automotive industry charity launches Ben Health Checks to give workers a ‘personal MOT’
- RAC Cars to get fresh website after firm signs up to five-year partnership with Heycar
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed 4.43 points down yesterday to end the day on 8,040.38. The Cac 40 was down 13.92 points at 8,091.86, the Dax was down 48.95 points at 18,088.70, and the Dow Jones was down 42.77 points at 38,460.92.
Weather outlook
Western Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland will have a bright start today, says BBC Weather. Elsewhere, there’ll be cloud and scattered showers for many, wintry over north-eastern Scottish hills.
Friday will be a day of sunshine and showers for many, particularly in the north and east. The far south-west could see a few heavier showers occasionally. It’ll turn drier and brighter to end the day.
