Reuters UK Business

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators last month temporarily halted their investigation into British Airways owner IAG’s 400-million-euro ($434.28 million) bid to buy out Air Europa, according to a European Commission update on its site on Monday. The EU competition enforcer had been poised to hit IAG with an antitrust warning regarding the deal in …

EU antitrust regulators halt for now probe into IAG’s Air Europa deal Read More »

By Ron Bousso and Deep Kaushik Vakil LONDON (Reuters) -British finance minister Jeremy Hunt is set to announce a one-year extension of a windfall levy on energy firms’ profits in this week’s budget, industry sources briefed on the move said. The Energy Profit Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 after a jump in energy …

UK’s Hunt set to extend energy windfall tax by one year, sources say Read More »

(Reuters) – Apple on Monday unveiled a pair of new MacBook Air laptops with its latest M3 processors, betting that the more powerful models would attract consumers looking to upgrade to artificial intelligence-powered personal computers. The new MacBook Air models come with 13-inch and 15-inch screen sizes and are up to 60% faster than the …

Apple launches MacBook Air laptops with faster M3 chips Read More »

LONDON (Reuters) -British electricals retailer Currys said on Monday it would increase its minimum pay rate by 9.5%, in a move that reflects the rise in the government-mandated minimum wage. Currys, which is at the centre of a potential takeover battle, said its minimum pay rate will rise from April 1 to 11.50 pounds ($14.57) …

UK’s Currys to raise minimum pay rate by 9.5% Read More »

By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union should support struggling European manufacturers of solar panels, but cannot close its borders to imports of such products, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said on Monday. Factory closures among Europe’s few solar panel makers have prompted the industry to seek emergency support from Brussels – potentially …

EU cannot close borders to solar imports, energy chief says Read More »

By John Revill ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank posted an annual loss of 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.62 billion) for 2023, it said on Monday, as a switch to positive interest rates cost it dearly and meant it couldn’t pay a dividend for a second straight year. The SNB became the latest central …

Higher interest rates drag Swiss National Bank to $3.6 billion loss Read More »

(Reuters) – The valuation of the songs portfolio owned by Hipgnosis Songs Fund has declined at least by a fifth from five months ago, the struggling UK music investor said on Monday as it halted dividend payments for the “foreseeable future”. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm slipped more than 10% to a record low …

Hipgnosis’ songs portfolio valuation falls sharply; extends dividend halt Read More »

By John Revill ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss inflation fell in February to its lowest level in nearly two and half years, government data showed on Monday, fuelling expectations that the Swiss National Bank could cut interest rates later this month. Consumer prices rose by 1.2% compared with a year earlier, a deceleration from the 1.3% …

Swiss inflation strengthens case for central bank rate cut Read More »