Deeper problems than Jeremy Kyle are making ITV a turn-off for investors (22 hours old)

Gambits like BritBox may not save the broadcaster in a market dominated by Netflix and other tech interlopersAs ITV became embroiled in the scandal over the death of a Jeremy Kyle Show participant last week, its top brass moved quickly to purchase £200,000 of stock in the troubled broadcaster. The move by chief executive Carolyn McCall, chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette and finance chief Chris Kennedy came as ITV faces a battle to regain the faith of investors after shares fell to a six-year low. But despite the potential severity of the scandal – following the deaths of former Love Island contest[...]

M&S must hope Ocado will turn its food problems into trifles (7 hours old)

This week’s full-year results are unlikely to make appetising reading, but the promise of internet shopping offers hopeShareholders in Marks & Spencer might be forgiven for starting this week with a sense of scepticism. The stalwart of the British high street is set to announce its full-year results on Thursday, and expectations are already low.The past decade has seen a number of attempts to revive the fortunes of the chain but problems persist – an ageing customer base, expensive food halls and confusing promotions among them, according to chief executive Steve Rowe. Continue reading...

Leyland leaves past behind to show UK could become more productive (22 hours old)

The truck maker has contributed to startling growth in production efficiency across one part of the north-westWith the whirring shriek of a factory siren, the afternoon break at Leyland Trucks comes to an abrupt end on an unusually hot spring day in Lancashire. Once part of the sprawling British Leyland automotive empire that epitomised Britain’s industrial decline in the 1970s – a model of corporate failure, disrupted by strikes and uncompetitive on the world stage – the old truck division in the town of the same name, a handful of miles from Preston, now contributes to the strongest growth i[...]

It will take another crisis for governments to step up to the spending plate | Larry Elliott (3 hours old)

But as Keynes has shown, loose monetary policy is not the only way to respond to stagnationAlvin Hansen’s timing could hardly have been worse. In early 1939, almost a decade after the Wall Street crash and six months before Hitler invaded Poland, he said America’s best years were behind it. An ageing population, fewer migrants and the exhaustion of existing technologies meant there would never be complete recovery from the Great Depression. Instead, the US was stuck in what Hansen called secular stagnation, in which secular means persistent or long term.The second world war meant the idea of s[...]

Labour’s plans for cheap green energy are no more than electric dreams (5 hours old)

Proposals for renationalising gas and electricity are based on hopes of buying companies on the cheapLabour’s plans to renationalise water, energy and rail companies have widespread support and with good reason: these industries are failing to meet the legitimate expectations of the public.The question mark that hangs over these proposals is whether expectations are now being ramped up to such an extent that taking these industries back into public ownership will almost certainly be considered a failure. Continue reading...

Rail chiefs confident timetable change will not repeat 2018 chaos (1 day old)

More than 1,000 extra services a week will be added to UK timetables from SundayRail passengers have been advised to check times before travelling from Sunday as train operators prepare for a fresh timetable change, following months of scrutiny and preparation to avert the chaos that engulfed the railways last May.The biggest changes will come on South Western Railway (SWR) from Monday, with hundreds of extra services a week from the home counties into Waterloo station in London. Nationwide, more than 1,000 extra services a week will be introduced into the timetable. Continue reading...

ExxonMobil evacuates foreign staff from Iraqi oilfield (1 day old)

Oil firm’s decision comes as regional fears grow of potential US-Iran conflictThe US oil company ExxonMobil has reportedly evacuated all of its foreign staff from an oilfield west of Basra, in Iraq, and is flying them to Dubai.The move came after the US pulled non-emergency staff from its embassy in the capital, Baghdad, on Wednesday out of apparent concern over perceived threats from neighbouring Iran, to which Iraqi Shia militias are allied. Continue reading...

Trump cools trade war by lifting North American metal tariffs (1 day old)

Steel and aluminium imports from Mexico and Canada affectedTrump pauses implementation of auto tariffs on EU and JapanThe Trump administration moved to cool the simmering trade war with its major trading partners on Friday, ending tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico and announcing a pause on planned tariffs on cars and car parts.“I’m pleased to announce we’ve just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico,” Donald Trump said. “We’ll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs.” Continue reading...

'I did the right thing': Richer Sounds boss has no regrets (1 day old)

Julian Richer sleeps better after handing hi-fi firm to staff to focus on fighting ‘uncontrolled’ capitalism‘I’m doing the right thing because I sleep better at night,” says an exhausted-sounding Julian Richer, after a momentous week in which he won plaudits for handing control of his Richer Sounds business to staff.For once though, the entrepreneur’s good deeds have cost him sleep. The 60-year-old has been up all night after being engulfed in a media storm after the Guardian revealed he had transferred 60% of his shares to a John Lewis-style trust. Continue reading...

Safety changes leave owners of river barges fearing dry times ahead (1 day old)

Operators of historic vessels could be sunk by requirements costing up to £250,000 per boatOnce, thousands of sailing barges plied the Thames estuary. Today, the sight of Will, the largest such vessel still travelling on the waters in London – now converted for pleasure cruises – turns heads.Passengers on the deck of a giant cruise ship sailing up to Tower Bridge peer and wave at the historic barge below. But Will’s co-owner, Mark Tower, 60, warns that such sights – “absolutely part of the Thames maritime heritage” – could soon be lost. Continue reading...

US telecoms and tech firms fear Huawei ban fallout (2 days old [17/05/19])

White House attacks on Chinese telecoms company may have much wider impact

US chipmakers hit after Trump blacklists Huawei (2 days old [16/05/19])

Chinese group may be prevented from buying or selling parts in US as trade war escalates

MTN lists Nigerian business at $5bn valuation (3 days old [16/05/19])

Lagos float part of settlement over failure to disconnect Sim cards used by militants

BT unveils plan to hand staff £50m of shares a year (3 days old [16/05/19])

Move to give each employee stocks worth £500 annually aims to improve customer service

Can Huawei survive US blacklisting? (3 days old [16/05/19])

Chinese telecoms group will need to look elsewhere to procure key components

Trump issues order laying ground for Huawei ban (3 days old [15/05/19])

US companies will be effectively prohibited from using telecoms equipment made by Chinese group

Telecoms groups ordered to inform users of better deals (3 days old [15/05/19])

Ofcom moves to protect customers who pay ‘loyalty penalty’ after contract runs out

Vodafone faces growth test after cut to dividend (4 days old [15/05/19])

UK group is in the doldrums and 5G push looks unlikely to prove a panacea

Vodafone: maturing test (5 days old [14/05/19])

The big question is whether new systems can lift the top line

Vodafone slashes dividend 40% to boost balance sheet (5 days old [14/05/19])

UK telecoms group faces higher costs as it prepares for 5G shift

Gates-backed platform raises $110m in new drugs push (2 hours old)

Investors back Schrödinger’s plan to develop its own drugs

Microsoft-Sony combo shows gaming’s new reality (1 day old)

Amazon backs Deliveroo, Huawei’s Plan B, smart border wall, Asus ZenFone 6

Governments are the frenemies of society on hacking (1 day old)

Smart, unscrupulous players are exploiting the vulnerabilities of our digital devices

Dark kitchens/Amazon: fare comment (1 day old)

If meal delivery costs continue to fall, growth in its popularity looks unstoppable

Marketing/Thomas Cook: brand spanking view (1 day old)

Travel group’s name has cut little ice with customers seeking cheap deals online

HPE acquires supercomputer maker Cray in $1.3bn deal (2 days old [17/05/19])

Sony and Microsoft join forces in video games battle (2 days old [17/05/19])

Bitter rivals team up as challenge from Google, Amazon and Apple emerges

US telecoms and tech firms fear Huawei ban fallout (2 days old [17/05/19])

White House attacks on Chinese telecoms company may have much wider impact

Mithril Capital's Ajay Royan on the next growth frontier (2 days old [17/05/19])

And why the current obsession with negative-margin hypergrowth can only create zero-sum tech enterprises.

Amazon leads $575m funding round into Deliveroo (2 days old [17/05/19])

Investment by ecommerce group follows breakdown of talks with Uber last year