HISTORIC SHIPYARD: Money worries for Harland & Wolff
Credit: CC/Grunel
Titanic worry Belfast-based shipyard Harland Wolff warned that the company might not survive if a £200 million (€233.09 million) loan guarantee from the government failed to materialise owing to state aid rules. This could put at risk a £1.6 billion (€1.86 billion) contract to build Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships.
Late homework Brussels asked the Spanish government for proof that it had introduced effective systems to prevent China’s Huawei accessing the 5G network. This was one of the reforms and conditions that Madrid had to comply with by 2022 in order to receive a fourth payment of European Union funds worth €10 billion.
Raspberry float Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi, whose low-cost computers help children to learn about IT, has sold 60 million units worldwide since 2012 and now intends to list on the London stock market. The business could be valued at £500 million (€582.72 million) the Sunday Times said on initially reporting the float.
Looking ahead Construction and infrastructure group ACS posted a first-quarter net profit of €177 million, an 8.4 per cent increase on 2023. The firm headed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had a turnover of €8.70 billion during this period, prompting a “minimum” net profit forecast of €600 million for the entire year.
Booting up Boots US owner Walgreens Boots Alliance is increasing efforts to find a buyer for the British pharmacy chain and working with experts to establish discussions with likely firms, according to Bloomberg reports. Insiders said that Walgreens would want £7 billion (€8.16 billion) for the 174-year-old company.
Going up Brussels increased its 2024 growth prediction for Spain to 2.1 per cent thanks to domestic demand and a strong labour market, Economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said. Implementing the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) would underpin investment growth, he added.
Light fingers Archie Norman, Marks Spencer chairman, maintained that police had little interest in dealing with shoplifters and many store thefts were never solved. Retailers had to spend “a lot of money” on tackling the problem and although shoplifting in M S stores had been reduced, this was mainly due to measures the retailer had introduced, Norman told LBC Radio.
Day jobs A recent survey by economic think-tank Fedea found that 83.7 per cent of employees working in Spain’s hospitality industry were overqualified for their jobs, compared with 68 per cent in other European countries. Fedea also found that 76.6 per cent of Spain’s agricultural workers and 73.1 per cent employed in logistics were also overqualified.
Going out Former UK Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who announced he would not run as a Tory MP in the next election, was named chairman of Very Group, owned by the Barclay family. Expected to take over on June 1, he will be replacing. Aidan Barclay.
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Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share?
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