Business news

• Mitie in advanced talks to buy Interserve's support services arm for £250m

  24-06-2020 23:51 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Outsourcers Mitie and Interserve are in advanced talks to merge their support services arms, which would create a group with more than 80,000 UK employees Mitie is looking to buy Interserve’s facilities management business for around £250m, which is expected to be announced as soon as tomorrow when it is set to announce its full-year results. It will fund the takeover of its rival with a £200m rights issue to help fund the deal and strengthen the balance sheet of the combined c
  
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• England goes al fresco to help hospitality sector rebound

  24-06-2020 23:32 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Restaurants and pubs in England will be able to serve customers on pavements, terraces and even in car parks under a relaxation of planning laws due to be put before parliament on Thursday, as the government seeks to restart the stalled hospitality sector on July 4.Britain is slowly reopening after more than three months of lockdown that has pushed some businesses to the brink and forced the government to borrow billions to support its economy.The government will present legislation aimed at all
  
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• Canada's BlackBerry quarterly revenue misses estimates on virus hit

  24-06-2020 23:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian company, which sells security software to companies and governments as well as infotainment software to carmakers, were down about 3% after the bell.Light vehicle sales in the United States, among BlackBerry's biggest markets, fell nearly 27% in March from a month earlier.The quarter also benefited from strong demand for BlackBerry's enterprise security software as companies spent more on bolstering IT security to protect data of employees now working remotely.
  
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• BlackBerry misses quarterly revenue estimates on virus hit

  24-06-2020 23:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Significant job losses and shuttered dealerships due to the health crisis have led to a sharp decline in sales of cars, which use the software platform for infotainment and other services."BlackBerry QNX was impacted by macro headwinds in the auto and other embedded sectors but we are starting to see signs of a recovery", Chief Executive John Chen said in a statement.Total revenue for the first quarter ended May 31 fell 16.6% to $206 million (165.82 million pounds) from a year earlier.
  
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• Prince William visits Oxford hospital fighting Covid

  24-06-2020 23:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Duke of Cambridge visited the University of Oxford’s Vaccine Group today to learn more about their work to fight COVID-19. Prince William spent the afternoon at the Churchill Hospital where vaccine trials are now underway.
  
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• Twitter bans pro-Trump ‘racist baby’ meme maker for copyright violations

  24-06-2020 22:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Logan Cook was permanently banned from the platform days after he posted a video criticising CNN that used doctored footage from the news channel.
  
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• US shares hit as virus surge revives economic fears

  24-06-2020 22:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Disney drops 4% as a rise in US virus cases prompts outcry over reopening plans.
  
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• Kinesis Reveals New Interface for its Kinesis Exchange

  24-06-2020 21:34 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Kinesis today releases a new user interface for the Kinesis Exchange, bringing a smooth user experience and all-new responsive chart functionality to the trading platform.
  
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• Brussels signals compromise possible in ‘level playing field’ talks

  24-06-2020 20:57
  UK officials ‘cautious but optimistic’ deal can be done in intensified Brexit meetings as focus shifts to October
  
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• Exclusive: Global tailings dam standards fall short of changes sought by civil society groups

  24-06-2020 20:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A sweeping global standard that sets out how the world's largest miners care for waste dams falls short of measures environmental and civil society groups say are needed to avert future disasters, according to a copy of the final draft seen by Reuters.A panel of industry, investor and U.N. groups has been working for more than a year on the standard, triggered by the 2019 collapse of Vale SA'sBrumadinho upstream tailings dam that killed more than 250 people.The standard is not binding but the pa
  
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• EasyJet launches £450m rights issue to shore up Covid defence

  24-06-2020 20:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  EasyJet launches £450m rights issue to shore up Covid defence. Issue, worth up to 15% of share capital, could be opposed by founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou
  
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• Google to automatically delete people's location data and searches

  24-06-2020 20:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google will automatically wipe users' location history, search results, voice and YouTube activity data after 18 months, as it faces investigations in Europe and the United States over how it handles consumer's privacy. The change in policy, announced by Google boss Sundar Pichai on Wednesday, will apply to Google accounts and existing account holders who turn on their location history. Mr Pichai said Google only wanted to keep people's histories as long as it would be useful to them. Those with
  
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• CrossFit sold after George Floyd backlash

  24-06-2020 20:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Owner Greg Glassman stepped down as chief executive earlier this month.
  
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• The government cannot allow Tata to buckle under Covid pressure

  24-06-2020 20:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The government cannot allow Tata to buckle under Covid pressure. Unlike Virgin, the steel maker really does have a claim to qualify for the Treasury’s Project Birch scheme
  
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• Italy's TIM to cash in 1.6 billion euros from sale of INWIT stakes

  24-06-2020 20:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Telecom Italia (TIM)said on Wednesday it was set to cash in 1.6 billion euros (1.45 billion pounds) from the sale of direct and indirect stakes in mobile tower group INWITas the phone group presses ahead with its planned debt reduction."We are fully convinced that digital networks, which showed their resiliency during the coronavirus crisis, will increase their importance globally", Mathias Burghardt, head of Ardian Infrastructure, said in a statement.Under the agreement, TIM will sell to a cons
  
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• Michael Flynn wins ruling ordering judge to dismiss case against him

  24-06-2020 20:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A US federal appeals court ordered a judge to immediately dismiss the criminal case against Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. A divided three-judge panel on Wednesday said US District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington did not have the authority to decide on his own whether to grant the government’s surprise motion to dismiss the case or examine whether it was part of a corrupt effort to aid one of Mr Trump&r
  
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• ECB to release documents to defuse German court challenge

  24-06-2020 20:09 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank agreed to give vital documents to German authorities to prove the proportionality of ECB policies, two sources said, in a step to defuse a challenge threatening to undermine its powers to keep the euro zone together.Germany's Constitutional Court ruled in May that the ECB overstepped its mandate with over 2 trillion euros of government bond purchases, ordering the Bundesbank to quit the scheme unless the ECB can prove proportionality within three months.
  
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• John Lewis appoints Pippa Wicks as executive director

  24-06-2020 20:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  John Lewis appoints Pippa Wicks as executive director. The senior Co-op executive will join department store chain in August, replacing Paula Nickolds
  
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• Bayer offers $10bn to settle Roundup claims

  24-06-2020 19:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Bayer has offered to pay more than $10bn (£7.9bn) to settle legal action brought by 125,000 Americans who say their cancers were caused by Roundup weedkiller. The move would resolve about three quarters of the claims brought against the German company over Roundup, which was made by Monsanto. Bayer bought the US firm two years ago for $63bn in a deal now regarded as one of the most disastrous takeovers in corporate history. "The Roundup settlement is the right action at the right time for
  
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• Retail and leisure price rises inevitable on lower expected footfall and short supply of goods

  24-06-2020 19:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Businesses have been warned by ministers not to hike their prices to make up for customers lost through social distancing as they have already been given billions of pounds by the taxpayer. Pubs and restaurants will only be able to operate at 70 per cent of normal capacity when they open on July 4, and a quarter of restaurants intend to put their prices up to make up for lost revenue under the new Covid-secure rules, according to a poll. There have also been warnings that pubs will have to charg
  
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• Retail and food price rises inevitable on lower expected footfall and short supply of goods

  24-06-2020 19:50 via uk.news.yahoo.com
  
  Businesses have been warned by ministers not to hike their prices to make up for customers lost through social distancing as they have already been given billions of pounds by the taxpayer. Pubs and restaurants will only be able to operate at 70 per cent of normal capacity when they open on July 4, and a quarter of restaurants intend to put their prices up to make up for lost revenue under the new Covid-secure rules, according to a poll.
  
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• Pubs and shops warned not to raise prices as lockdown eases

  24-06-2020 19:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Businesses have been warned by ministers not to hike their prices to make up for customers lost through social distancing as they have already been given billions of pounds by the taxpayer. Pubs and restaurants will only be able to operate at 70 per cent of normal capacity when they open on July 4, and a quarter of restaurants intend to put their prices up to make up for lost revenue under the new Covid-secure rules, according to a poll. There have also been warnings that pubs will have to charg
  
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• Businesses warned not to raise prices as lockdown eases

  24-06-2020 19:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Businesses have been warned by ministers not to hike their prices to make up for customers lost through social distancing as they have already been given billions of pounds by the taxpayer. Pubs and restaurants will only be able to operate at 70 per cent of normal capacity when they open on July 4, and a quarter of restaurants intend to put their prices up to make up for lost revenue under the new Covid-secure rules, according to a poll. There have also been warnings that pubs will have to charg
  
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• Company behind Bisto, Mr Kipling and McDougall's expects UK sales surge

  24-06-2020 19:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Company behind Bisto, Mr Kipling and McDougall's expects UK sales surge. Shares in Premier Foods rise 14% as people turn to home cooking in pandemic
  
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• Exclusive: Petrobras to receive offers for Bahia refinery on Thursday, sources say

  24-06-2020 19:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SAis set to receive binding offers for the country's second-largest refinery on Thursday, five people with knowledge of the matter said, as the state oil company aims to restart a plan to divest more than $10 billion (8.04 billion pounds) in assets.If the deal for the Landulpho Alves refinery, also known as RLAM, is concluded, it would mark a first in the producer's decade-long efforts to end its near-monopoly in refining in Brazil and open one of the top ten fuel ma
  
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• Truss attacks 'unfair' US trade practices as markets slide

  24-06-2020 19:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Liz Truss hit out at America for "unfair" trade practices as almost £50bn was wiped from the FTSE 100 amid fears of new transatlantic tariffs. In her most critical comments of Washington's approach to negotiations over a new deal, the Trade Secretary said that the US is failing to live up to its high-minded ideals and must open up its markets for British exports. It came as the White House threatened to impose new duties on $3.1bn of European goods including biscuits and gin as part of a l
  
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• Truss attacks 'unfair' US trade practices as markets drop on tariff fears

  24-06-2020 19:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Liz Truss hit out at America for "unfair" trade practices as almost £50bn was wiped from the FTSE 100 amid fears of new transatlantic tariffs. In her most critical comments yet of Washington's approach to negotiations over a new deal, the Trade Secretary said that the US is failing to live up to its high-minded ideals and must open up its markets for British exports. It came as the White House threatened to impose new duties on $3.1bn of European goods including biscuits and gin as part of
  
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• The arts and recreation sector stimulus was long promised. It is probably too little, far too late

  24-06-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The arts and recreation sector stimulus was long promised. It is probably too little, far too late. While accommodation and food services have bottomed out, the arts industry remains in crisis due to Covid-19
  
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• Lufthansa shareholder Thiele to endorse bailout - FAZ

  24-06-2020 19:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lufthansa'schances of winning approval for a 9 billion euros (8.16 billion pounds) government bailout improved on Wednesday after billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, who owns a 15.5% stake, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung he would endorse the rescue."I will vote for the proposal," the paper late on Wednesday quoted Thiele, who owns a 15.5% stake in Lufthansa, as saying.Lufthansa declined to comment.
  
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• Government fundraiser pushes back on Bank of England rescue claims

  24-06-2020 19:13 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank had to intervene in bond markets in early March to help the government raise money.
  
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• Queen's private banker Coutts aims for a greener portfolio

  24-06-2020 19:11 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Coutts, British wealth manager and private banker to the Queen, plans to cut carbon emissions in its funds and portfolios by 25% before the end of 2021 and has introduced climate-linked exclusions for the first time.The bank, part of RBS Group , said it would exclude all companies that get more than 5% of their revenues from thermal coal extraction, tar sands, or Arctic oil and gas exploration.It will also exclude any company that gets more than 25% of its revenue from thermal coal energy genera
  
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• Jet2 and Eurostar cut summer flights and trains

  24-06-2020 19:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The travel firms blame service cuts on falling demand and difficulties implementing protection measures.
  
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• Bayer to pay up to $10.9 billion to settle bulk of Roundup weedkiller cancer lawsuits

  24-06-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Bayer AG , after more than a year of talks, agreed to pay as much as $10.9 billion (8.77 billion pounds) to settle thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely-used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer, resolving litigation that has pummeled the company's share price.The German drugs and pesticides maker has come to terms with about 75% of the 125,000 filed and unfiled claims overall, it said in a statement on Wednesday of the deal to end legal disputes it inherited with its $63 billion takeo
  
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• Bayer settles Roundup cancer lawsuits for up to $10.9 billion

  24-06-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Bayer AGagreed to settle U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely-used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer for as much as $10.9 billion (£8.1-8.7 billion) after more than a year of talks, resolving litigation that has hit the company's share price."The Roundup settlement is the right action at the right time for Bayer to bring a long period of uncertainty to an end," Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann said.
  
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• Bayer settles bulk of Roundup cancer lawsuits for up to $10.9 billion

  24-06-2020 19:04 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Bayer AGagreed to pay as much as $10.9 billion (8.77 billion pounds) to settle thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely-used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer after more than a year of talks, resolving litigation that has pummeled the company's share price.The German drugs and pesticides maker has come to terms with about 75% of the 125,000 filed and unfiled claims overall, it said in a statement on Wednesday of the deal to end legal disputes it inherited with its $63 billion takeover
  
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• Google says it will no longer save a complete record of every search

  24-06-2020 19:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google says it will no longer save a complete record of every search. The firm will now delete its saved records of a new user’s activity after 18 months
  
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• U.S. probes Kia headlight failures, GM steering issues

  24-06-2020 18:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday it has opened two investigations into reports of headlight failures in 392,000 KiaSorento sport utility vehicles and steering issues in 781,000 General Motorsvehicles.NHTSA said it had received 74 reports of sudden, unexpected loss of headlights in model year 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles including some while drivers were making a turn or traveling on the highway.Kia did not immediately comment.
  
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• Markets nervous over second wave fears and US-EU trade talks showdown

  24-06-2020 18:53 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The FTSE 100 closed down 196.43 points, or 3.1%, at 6123.69.
  
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• Coronavirus: Tata Steel in government talks amid bailout reports

  24-06-2020 18:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK's largest steelmaker is reportedly seeking a bailout worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
  
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• Daimler and Nvidia team up to close tech gap to Tesla

  24-06-2020 18:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Having pulled ahead in the race to develop a software-based vehicle operating system, U.S. electric car pioneer Tesla faces a new challenge from an alliance of German luxury carmaker Daimler and U.S. computer graphics specialist Nvidia.Daimler and Nvidia unveiled a deal on Tuesday to develop and equip the German company's Mercedes-Benz cars with a next-generation chip and software platform that could eventually be used to help vehicles drive by themselves.The move is a response to Tesla's abilit
  
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• Making a million in the stock market: Here’s why I reckon now is your big chance to start

  24-06-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Volatile markets can be a valuable gift to investors with the right attitude to investing. Here’s how I’d proceed to start making a million right now.The post Making a million in the stock market: Here’s why I reckon now is your big chance to start appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• New Google default wipes users' location, web history after 18 months

  24-06-2020 18:40 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Alphabet Inc'sGoogle said on Wednesday it will automatically delete some location history after 18 months for new users and make it easier for everyone to access its search, Maps and YouTube apps without being tracked.The updates to Google's privacy controls arrive as the world's largest search engine faces heightened scrutiny on its data collection practices.New privacy laws in California and Europe have prompted internet companies to adjust practices over the last two years.
  
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• Pubs and restaurants demand extra reopening help

  24-06-2020 18:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Pub and restaurant bosses have urged ministers to step in with further financial support to ease the burden of red tape they will be forced to take on in reopening next month. Hotels, pubs and restaurants were given the go-ahead on Tuesday to open on July 4 following three months of closure under the Government’s lockdown rules. Firms will be able to operate under relaxed social distancing rules if they use extra precautions such as face coverings and businesses will be required to keep a
  
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• Reopening time won’t save our profits, hospitality groups warn

  24-06-2020 18:37
  Guidelines will allow pubs, restaurants and hotels to start up again from next month
  
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• As the FTSE 100 slumps again, I’d buy this fallen giant’s shares today!

  24-06-2020 18:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  With big-cap shares hit hard by the FTSE 100 falling 160+ points early on Wednesday, this 'fallen angel' keeps getting cheaper.The post As the FTSE 100 slumps again, I'd buy this fallen giant's shares today! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• WeWork asks tiny Surrey council to waive lease payments

  24-06-2020 18:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  WeWork has asked a tiny Surrey council to waive 18 months worth of rental payments as the troubled office provider struggles to cope with a drop in demand. The SoftBank-backed firm has asked Spelthorne Borough Council to allow it skip its payments in exchange for a five-year extension to its lease at 12 Hammersmith Grove, an office building in West London. If approved the request would cost the council £4.5m in lost revenue on a building it purchased two years ago from Aberdeen Standard In
  
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• Former Hull City player Thomas Beattie comes out as gay

  24-06-2020 18:22 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Beattie is the second professional footballer from the United Kingdom to have come out.
  
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• easyJet's first-half loss widens as COVID-19 hurts travel, seeks cash

  24-06-2020 18:16 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The London-listed company reported a pretax loss of 353 million pounds for the six months ended March 31 from a loss of 272 million pounds last year.Revenue rose 1.6%, though easyJet took a hit from strikes in France, and storms Ciara and Dennis.
  
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• Airline easyJet's first-half loss widens as COVID-19 hurts travel, seeks cash

  24-06-2020 18:16 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The London-listed company reported a pretax loss of 353 million pounds for the six months ended March 31 from a loss of 272 million pounds last year.Revenue rose 1.6%, though easyJet took a hit from strikes in France, and storms Ciara and Dennis.
  
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• Airline easyJet raises cash after losses widen due to COVID-19

  24-06-2020 18:16 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Budget airline easyJeton Wednesday sought to raise up to 450 million pounds via a share placement to help it navigate the COVID-19 pandemic after reporting a bigger first-half loss."We have been decisive in meeting the challenges of the pandemic," Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren said, noting the airline had already secured 1.7 billion pounds of an expected 2 billion in additional funding.EasyJet said more customers than expected had rebooked or taken a voucher instead of a refund.
  
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