Deliveries from Tesla have slid sharply in the first three months of the year, as the EV company grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and other challenges.   The company handed over just under 387,000 electric cars to customers, the smallest quarterly figure in more than a year.   That […]

Crisis-hit Chinese property developer Country Garden has suspended trade in its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after delaying the publication of its annual financial results.   The firm said last week that it needed more time to collect information as it restructures its debts.   It defaulted on its overseas debt last year […]

European polymer prices continued to rise over the week to 29th March. There were increases of 10 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and LLDPE. In the UK, prices rose across all grades as the Pound lost value against the Euro.   Asian polymers were mixed with reductions of between 5 and […]

The tech behind a flying car, originally developed and successfully test-flown in Europe, has been bought by a Chinese firm.   Powered by a BMW engine and normal fuel, the AirCar flew for 35 minutes between two Slovakian airports in 2021, using runways for take-off and landing.   It took just over two minutes to […]

The boss of Centrica, the energy giant which owns British Gas, has seen his pay package rise by almost £4m.   Chris O’Shea’s remuneration was £8.2m in 2023, up from £4.5m in 2022, according to the firm’s annual report.   The package consists of a salary of £810,000, a £1.4m annual bonus and £5.9m in […]

UK government borrowing in February was higher than expected, according to official figures.   Borrowing was £8.4bn, in part because of higher benefits payments such as cost-of-living support.   Economists had predicted that borrowing would come in at £6bn for the month.   However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the February number was […]

European polymer prices continued to rise over the week to 22nd March. There were increases of between 5 and 100 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Polypropylene, PVC, ABS and Polystyrene.   Asian polymers rose with increases of between 5 and 10 USD per tonne reported in the prices of […]

The Bank of England boss has said “we are on the way” to interest rate cuts after they were left unchanged at 5.25%, their highest for 16 years.   The Bank still needed to see inflation fall further, but last month’s drop to 3.4% was “very encouraging and good news,” governor, Andrew Bailey said.   […]

The US has filed a landmark lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of monopolising the smartphone market and crushing competition.   In the legal action, the justice department alleges the company abused its control of the iPhone app store to “lock in” customers and developers.   It accuses the firm of taking illegal steps […]

Japan’s central bank has raised the cost of borrowing for the first time in 17 years.   The Bank of the Japan (BOJ) increased its key interest rate from -0.1% to a range of 0%-0.1%. It comes as wages have jumped after consumer prices rose.   In 2016, the bank cut the rate below zero […]