‘Big four’ mobile firms outperformed by smaller rivals in annual survey
Three, O2 and Lycamobile were the lowest performing networks in the survey of more than 5,000 mobile users by Which? Source link
All posts tagged: firms
4 UK travel firms plunge into liquidation or cease trading – all bookings cancelled | UK | News
4 UK travel firms have plunged into administration or ceased trading in 2026 (Image: Getty) Four travel firms have ceased trading in 2026 and cancelled all bookings. With jet fuel prices soaring following the Iran crisis and international travel hit with uncertainty thanks to travel warnings, there could yet be more companies pushed to breaking point. When holiday businesses do collapse, bookings are cancelled and holidaymakers lose their trip and their money, unless their firm was covered by ATOL protection. In January, Regen Central Ltd went into liquidation and cancelled all trips without refunds. The firm, which was founded in Hertfordshire in 2011 before moving to London, lost its ATOL protection on January 13. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Regen Central had no outstanding ATOL protect bookings, and that those sold as accommodation only, non flight or flight only bookings are not protected by ATOL. Read more: Three airlines plunge into administration or liquidation – all flights cancelled Read more: UK chocolatier plunges into administration – in business since 1986 On January 23, British …
Shipping firms seek clarifications before crossing Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News
Shipping companies said several things had to be clarified, including the presence of mines, Iranian conditions, practical implementations. Published On 17 Apr 202617 Apr 2026 Shipping companies have cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open but said they would require clarifications, including about the risk of mines, before vessels move through the entry point to the Gulf. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to all commercial vessels during a 10-day Lebanon ceasefire accord, prompting a fall in oil and other commodity prices while stock markets rose. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list All commercial ships, including United States vessels, can sail through the strait, although their plans need to be coordinated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency. Transit would be restricted to lanes which Iran deemed safe, adding that military vessels were still prohibited, the official said. “We are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, …
Indonesia’s Prabowo Calls for Criminal Charges Against Firms Resisting Forest Crackdown
JAKARTA, April 10 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered prosecutors on Friday to file criminal charges against companies that refuse to cooperate with a task force he launched to crack down on illegal activities in the country’s forests. The task force, made up of military personnel, prosecutors and environmental regulators, has since early 2025 been seizing areas controlled by companies and individuals, ordering them to pay fines for what they describe as illegal business operations in designated forest areas. A total of 5.88 million hectares (14.5 million acres) of oil palm plantations and 10,257 hectares of mining concessions have been taken over so far, according to the deputy head of the task force, Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin – nearly twice the size of Belgium. Speaking at a ceremony marking the task force’s efforts, Burhanuddin handed 7.23 trillion rupiah ($423.18 million) of fines paid by implicated companies over to the finance ministry. Prabowo praised the task force’s work and warned that anyone who refused to cooperate would be seen as going against the president himself. …
Why Singapore firms are moving some operations overseas – and what that means for jobs
SINGAPORE OFFERS CREDIBILITY, EFFICIENCY Ms Teo said the pattern of moving some functions out of Singapore has already been taking shape for years – particularly in banking and financial services, where shared service centres in Malaysia now handle many support functions. “Offshoring is not today’s business. It has been there for a decade,” she noted. “The support functions, the know-your-client roles, customer care roles, HR operations, finance operations, marketing operations roles, typically will be moved to Malaysia. But we do see a trend that the higher value jobs (will) still (be retained) in Singapore.” These include leadership roles, project management positions and specialist jobs, Ms Teo said. This is because Singapore still offers value many companies want, including reliability, efficiency, strong regulation and governance, she added. Prof Agarwal concurred, saying Singapore offers credibility to clients, as well as rule of law and an environment that is hard to replicate elsewhere. For those reasons, some functions are much less likely to move out of Singapore, especially in the areas of research and development, high-end pharmaceuticals and chip manufacturing, he said. Even with higher wages and …
Two Pennsylvania amusement firms plead guilty in illegal gambling case, as former kingpin agrees to pay $5M
Two western Pennsylvania amusement businesses have admitted to felony corrupt organizations charges in a case involving hundreds of illegal video gambling machines, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced. Buffalo Skills Games, Inc. and J.J. Amusement, Inc. will shut down as part of the plea deal and give up $5 million in assets. Investigators also pulled nearly 400 illegal machines from more than 60 sites spread across multiple counties, the attorney general’s office said. The devices were found in everyday locations like bars, gas stations and convenience stores throughout Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Crawford, Indiana, Somerset, Venango, Erie, Washington, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. ”This resolution secures a multimillion-dollar forfeiture for the Commonwealth, while assuring the companies will cease to exist,” Sunday said. “I commend our partners at the Pennsylvania State Police for helping disband a large-scale operation that involved slot machines essentially dressed up as skill games.” Authorities first outlined the case publicly in May 2025, when they revealed the seizure of more than 400 machines and filed felony charges against the two companies. Prosecutors said at …
Indian IT firms face subdued fourth quarter as war, AI concerns persist; weak rupee helps earnings
BENGALURU, April 6 : Top Indian information technology firms are set to report another lacklustre quarter, with revenue and profit seen rising around 10 per cent year-on-year largely on a weaker rupee rather than underlying growth, seven brokerages said. Uncertainties due to wars, weak discretionary spending and concerns around artificial intelligence will keep weighing on client budgets, making the revenue forecast for the next fiscal year a key focus for investors, they added. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech and other software services exporters are due to report fourth quarter results starting April 9. “We expect limited deal win surprises, patchy ex-BFSI growth and slow start to (the first half of 2027) on macro/gen AI uncertainty,” Ambit Capital analysts said in a preview note. The Indian rupee fell 4 per cent against the U.S. dollar during the March quarter, and slid to record low levels. Software services companies typically benefit as they bill in foreign currencies while incurring most costs in rupees, inflating profits when dollar revenues are converted. The $315 billion sector, employing about 5.9 …
Chinese firms market Iran war intelligence ‘exposing’ U.S. forces
As the war in Iran erupted five weeks ago, social media sleuths across Western and Chinese platforms flagged a wave of viral posts detailing equipment at U.S. bases, the movements of American carrier groups and granular breakdowns of how military aircraft were assembling for strikes on Tehran. Source link
Tech firms enter legal limbo over child abuse scanning – POLITICO
The reactions to the political deadlock have been furious: European home affairs commissioner Magnus Brunner said it was “hard to understand,” and child rights group the Internet Watch Foundation called it an “abject political failure.” Despite the lack of a legal fix, tech firms could very well continue to scan for child sexual abuse. Google, Meta, Microsoft and Snapchat’s parent company Snap said in a joint statement late on Friday that they “will continue to take voluntary action” to scan messages. “We call on EU institutions to conclude negotiations on a regulatory framework as a matter of urgency,” the tech companies said. One senior industry official involved in decisions on scanning, granted anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, said their view is that, though the end of the law makes the legal picture murky, it does not make it unlawful to scan. Firms faced a similar gap in 2020, when they fell without a legal basis to scan for content. All companies scanning for CSAM, with the exception of Meta, said they did not …
Sentiment improves among Japan’s big firms, but Iran war clouds outlook
TOKYO, April 1 : Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers improved in the three months to March, according to a closely watched survey released on Wednesday, a sign that increasing economic uncertainty from the Middle East conflict has yet to hit morale. But firms expect conditions to worsen in the next three months, the survey showed, as soaring fuel costs and supply disruptions from the Iran war cloud the global outlook and threaten to squeeze margins. The headline index measuring big manufacturers’ business confidence stood at +17 in March, the BOJ’s “tankan” survey showed, up from +16 in December. That compared with a median market forecast for a reading of +16. An index gauging sentiment among large non-manufacturers stood at +36 in March, unchanged from December. It compared with a median market forecast for +33. The survey was conducted between February 26 and March 31. Markets have been rattled since the Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and gas flows, driving up crude oil …