Volkswagen indicates shortage of Chinese chips would hit profits

Volkswagen has signalled that its annual profit targets are at risk without sufficient computer chips, in the latest sign that an expected shortage of semiconductors from China could hit carmakers across Europe.The struggling German automotive firm said a series of cost cuts and new model launches were helping to offset a slump in Chinese demand, but it added that forecasts were based on the “adequate availability of semiconductors”.Carmakers in the EU have said they may have to close production lines amid dwindling supplies of chips from Nexperia, the Chinese-owned producer.Beijing banned exports from Nexperia after the Dutch government took over the company, which is based in the Netherlands, at the end of September and suspended its Chinese chief executive after the US raised security concerns.VW company sold 6

Virgin Media O2 teams with Musk’s Starlink to offer improved UK rural mobile coverage

Virgin Media O2 has announced a partnership with Elon Musk’s satellite company aimed at improving rural mobile network coverage in the UK.The deal with Starlink is said to be the first of its kind to allow consumers to automatically connect phones via satellites when no standard mobile signal is available, tapping into the company’s position as the world’s largest satellite-to-mobile constellation.The service is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026, making it the first British operator to use Starlink’s more than 650 satellites to connect to compatible customer handsets.The new service, O2 Satellite, will allow customers to use messaging and data services in more rural areas for an extra monthly fee. Initially, voice and video calls will not be available, although WhatsApp voice calls may work

Shell’s profits pass $43bn after production hits new highs in Brazil and Gulf of Mexico

Profits at Shell have climbed to more than $43bn for the year so far after fossil fuel production in the Gulf of Mexico reached a 20-year high and production in Brazil set a new record.The oil company reported better than expected earnings of $5.4bn for the third quarter, a 27% increase on the $4.3bn in the previous three-month period – but lower than the $6bn recorded over the same period a year earlier.The FTSE 100 company is on track to report lower annual profits this year compared with 2024 due to lower oil and gas prices in the global market, but the company claimed to have “one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry”

Virgin Trains on track to challenge Eurostar cross-Channel monopoly with access to key depot

Richard Branson’s train company is a step closer to challenging Eurostar’s monopoly on transporting passengers across the Channel after the UK rail regulator approved Virgin Trains’ application to use a key depot in east London.The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) approved the application to use the Temple Mills depot in Leyton, which is used for maintaining and storing trains. It said this would unlock £700m of investment in new services and create 400 jobs.Access to Temple Mills is a critical step in helping Virgin Trains challenge the monopoly held by Eurostar, which has been the only passenger service allowed to access the Channel tunnel since it opened in 1994. Temple Mills is the only train depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel

Benefits of a four-day week are ever clearer, despite Steve Reed’s stance

In his stern letter to South Cambridgeshire district council, the housing secretary, Steve Reed, criticised the decline in “key housing-related services including rent collection, reletting times and tenant satisfaction with repairs” during its trial of a four-day working week.The independent report he refers to is a dense 104-page document packed with tables, graphs and complex terminology, but its findings are not too difficult to decipher – the vast majority of the council’s services were not adversely affected by the trial.The academics from three UK universities who wrote the report said their analysis had found that 21 of 24 objective performance indicators – key council services or functions – were stable or improved.Reed homed in on the three areas that showed some decline – rent collection, tenant satisfaction with repairs and average days to re-let housing stock – and there is a clear downward trajectory on the graphs in these areas. But the report states there is no definite correlation between the trial and the declines

Business and charity leaders urge ministers to lead England’s transition to four-day week

More than 100 business and charity leaders have called on ministers to “lead the country’s transition toward a shorter working week”, after the local government secretary criticised a council for shifting to a four-day work pattern.Steve Reed wrote to South Cambridgeshire district council, the first English council to trial a four-day week, raising concerns about performance and value for money, and expressing his “deep disappointment” over the policy.In a letter leaked to the Telegraph, he claimed an independent report had shown performance “declined in key housing-related services including rent collection, reletting times and tenant satisfaction with repairs”.On Thursday, more than 100 leaders across multiple sectors signed an open letter to the business secretary, coordinated by the 4 Day Week Foundation, urging the government to create a working time council to guide the shift towards a shorter week.“As business leaders, trade union leaders and advocates who have witnessed the successful transition to a four-day working week (with no loss of pay) in many contexts, we can say with confidence that it is not just an idea for the future – it is already delivering results today,” the letter states