Blackstone Sells Biggest UK CMBS Since 2008 Financial Crisis
The CMBS accounts for about half of a broader refinancing package for Haven, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
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Train operator bucks trend by introducing first-class travel
A train operator is to introduce first-class sections for passengers willing to pay more to travel, bucking the trend for making trains standard class only. Chiltern Railways announced trains on its route between London and the West Midlands will have first-class carriages from next year. It said they will feature 'more spacious seats and improved connectivity', but will not include catering. Chiltern Railways currently has no first-class seating on its trains after abolishing the option more than a decade ago. It also stopped having a designated business zone – for which users were charged an on-board upgrade – in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several train operators in Britain have scrapped first-class travel in recent years because of a lack of demand. These include London Northwestern Railway (in May 2023), Southeastern (in December 2022) and Stansted Express (in January 2020). Others have made the switch for certain routes, such as Greater Anglia, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. First-class tickets can cost several times the amount of standard-class fares. Some long-distance operators such as Avanti West Coast and LNER provide more space, hot food and alcoholic drinks to passengers who pay the extra money. Rail historian and broadcaster Christian Wolmar said he is 'very surprised' at the announcement by Chiltern Railways as passengers wanting a premium service are 'probably in a hurry' so travel on Avanti West Coast services between London and Birmingham, which are generally more expensive but quicker. He told the PA news agency that for suburban services, premium travel is 'an outdated concept from the days of bowler-hatted gentlemen in their first-class compartment while their secretaries sat in second'. He went on: 'That era has gone. I think for those sort of services, there are very few people who would really want to pay for a premium.' Chiltern Railways is replacing its oldest carriages – Mark 3s which date back to the 1970s – with 13 Mark 5A trains from spring next year. The trains – previously operated by TransPennine Express – are already configured with first-class sections, and it would have cost millions of pounds to convert them all to standard class. Chiltern Railways said it will have more standard-class seats than today once the introduction of the new fleet is completed. Features for passengers include plug sockets and USB ports at every seat, enhanced wi-fi and digital information screens. The trains will enable additional services to be added to timetables from December 2026. Richard Allan, managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: 'We are thrilled for our customers that we will be able to replace our oldest trains, which are nearly 50-years-old, with their modern equivalent that are just six-years-old and provide significant improvement to their on-board experience. 'Chiltern will be renting more trains than it has today, which means we can operate additional services from the end of 2026 to help meet rising demand. 'The trains will be formed of modern carriages hauled by locomotives fuelled by recycled vegetable oil and fitted with the latest stop-start engine technology.' The announcement forms part of the operator's ambition to modernise and decarbonise its trains by 2030. This includes replacing its diesel trains with battery-electric trains. Rail minister Lord Hendy said: 'This Government is putting passengers back at the heart of the 21st-century railway by investing to make journeys easier, greener and more comfortable. 'We are continuing to support Chiltern as they develop a plan to introduce additional services into their timetable, giving people more opportunities to work, live and socialise.' The Department for Transport has not announced when Chiltern Railways will be nationalised as part of its strategy to bring all train operators under public control as existing contract expire or reach a break point. The operator's contract runs until December 2027.
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Aluminum can maker Ball Corp lifts annual profit forecast buoyed by strong global demand
(Reuters) -Ball Corp raised its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, after beating second-quarter results, fueled by resilient demand for its aluminum cans in key markets of North America and Europe, sending its shares up 2% in premarket trading. Ball witnessed a 4.1% rise in global aluminum packaging shipments during the quarter, up from a 2.6% rise in the prior three months. This was driven by demand from packaged food firms, as consumers opted for canned foods and beverages amid sticky inflation, prompting them to cook more at home. The company, serving clients like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Constellation Brands, increased beverage packaging sales in North and Central America to $1.61 billion, from $1.47 billion last year. The manufacturer of aluminum cups, bottles and aerosol cans now expects comparable 2025 earnings to grow between 12% and 15%, up from a prior range of 11% to 14% growth. However, tariffs on steel and aluminum have pushed up input costs for companies such as Ball. "We continue to view the direct impact from announced tariffs as manageable and are actively working with our customers to mitigate the effects of volatility in aluminum premium prices," the company said on Tuesday. Ball CEO Daniel Fisher said the company was tightly managing its costs as it expects potential geopolitical uncertainties and market volatility in the second half of the year. Excluding items, it earned a profit of 90 cents per share in the quarter, beating expectations of 87 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its revenue jumped 7.8% to $3.34 billion, above estimates of $3.12 billion.
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New US-EU trade deal on tariffs ends pharma's geopolitical immunity
For the first time in decades, the pharmaceutical industry has been directly affected by a geopolitical trade negotiation between the US and the EU. On 27 July, the US government announced a 15% tariff on branded pharmaceutical products imported from the EU. Despite the decrease from the original 30% tariff on pharmaceuticals earlier in the year, this disrupts a long-established practice of the exemption of medicines from tariffs due to their importance in public health. The 15% tariff is not expected to happen immediately as implementation will be dependent on a National Security investigation regarding pharmaceutical imports. This trade deal puts the pharmaceutical industry at risk of losing between $13bn and $19bn, with consequences that extend beyond short-term financials. It will force pharmaceutical companies to make a tradeoff between tightening their profit margins and increasing drug prices, with both paths posing a risk to patient access and payer relations. The imposition of tariffs threatens to elevate costs across the pharmaceutical value chain, and could lead to a substantial increase in drug development costs, manufacturing, and distribution, with global supply chains for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), raw materials, and equipment directly exposed. This disruption could create uncertainty in launch planning, particularly for late-stage assets with EU-based manufacturing and production planned for US entry. Companies manufacturing pharmaceutical products in Europe will need to anticipate financial exposure when planning launches in the US due to the unfavourable gross-to-net dynamics, weakened pricing leverage with US payers, and slower commercial uptake as insurers reassess cost-effectiveness due to the tariffs. Research and development budgets are already under pressure, and may be further strained as pharmaceutical companies may have to divert budget to firefight the impact of the tariffs. This could hinder innovation and pipeline investment, reducing the much-needed pace of therapeutic innovation across the industry. Earlier in the year, the US administration did signal tariffs for pharmaceutical imports could become a real possibility; this was met with proactive US investment from leading pharmaceutical companies to onshore manufacturing in the US to reduce exposure. Most recently, in July 2025, Biogen announced a $2bn investment into North Carolina, strengthening its US manufacturing position. Other pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly have also increased their investment in US manufacturing, with investments of $55bn, $50bn, and $27bn, respectively. Ultimately, the recent US-EU trade deal has increased the level of uncertainty within the pharmaceutical industry, raising concerns about the potential of tariffs increasing past 15% in the future. A once-shielded sector is facing a geopolitical shift, leaving the pharmaceutical industry vulnerable to global volatility. "New US-EU trade deal on tariffs ends pharma's geopolitical immunity" was originally created and published by Clinical Trials Arena, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
