Lisburn car dealer in ‘deep shock' after being dropped as new Volkswagen supplier
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Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd use secret weapon in Benjamin Sesko transfer after learning from Erling Haaland snub
Manchester United have beaten competition from Newcastle to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig after relying on the expertise and relationships of one of their staff Benjamin Sesko has made the leap from RB Leipzig to Manchester United in a £74million transfer – and there will be one familiar face at Old Trafford. Sesko has snubbed a move to Newcastle in favour of joining United, who have paid £66.4m up front plus a further £7.6m in potential add-ons. The 22-year-old striker will slot into Ruben Amorim's new-look front line, alongside fellow new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. United's press release announcing the capture of Sesko makes it clear how delighted they are to land the Slovenia international in what they view as a coup, given their lack of European football this season. 'The desire that all of our new signings have shown to join the club this summer highlights the appeal and stature of Manchester United,' said director of football Jason Wilcox. That may well be true, but Wilcox also has one of his colleagues to thank after landing Sesko from under Newcastle 's nose. Christopher Vivell was instrumental in getting the deal over the line, thanks in large part to his connections with Sesko and his agent Elvis Basanovic. Vivell only joined United last summer, initially as an interim director of recruitment, but by February he had secured the role permanently. Omar Berrada, who joined the club from Manchester City last summer to become chief executive, had pushed for Vivell's arrival, having got on well with him in their previous roles. The 38-year-old German left Chelsea under a cloud in July 2023, just seven months after arriving as technical director. But Berrada and United were not fazed and brought him in. They are now seeing the fruits of that decision. Vivell has a good reputation in Germany, where he began at Hoffenheim before joining the Red Bull Group. That is where he encountered Sesko, signing him for Red Bull Salzburg initially before bringing him to sister club Leipzig in 2023. Sesko scored 39 goals in 87 games for Leipzig, attracting plenty of Premier League attention, including from Arsenal. And while he cited United's history and the project laid out by Ruben Amorim as reasons for joining, he also was encouraged by Vivell's presence, having had only good experiences in his previous two moves involving the German. Sesko isn't the only highly rated young striker who Vivell has snapped up in his time, as United well know. Back in 2019, United wanted to sign Erling Haaland from Molde, having been given a recommendation by then-managed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But they did not succeed in chasing the Norwegian superstar, who snubbed a succession of bigger clubs to join Salzburg, having been courted by Vivell. 'The big clubs wanted him too,' he later explained. 'But they wanted to do a loan programme, which neither his father nor Erling wanted. That's why we managed to bring him to us.' Vivell worked with former United manager Ralf Rangnick at Red Bull and also tried to hire Erik ten Hag for Leipzig before he left Ajax for United. Those connections are incidental compared to those with Sesko, which helped land who United hope will be the answer to their goalscoring woes.
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- South Wales Guardian
Jaguar Land Rover sees profits almost halve after US tariff hit
The group reported a 49.4% plunge in underlying pre-tax profits to £351 million in its first quarter to the end of June. It follows a 9.2% drop in revenues to £6.6 billion, after a temporary pause in exports to the US and the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models ahead of the launch of new electric ranges in 2026. JLR said US tariffs had a 'direct and material impact on profitability and cash flow in the period'. But it added the 'US-UK trade deal will significantly reduce the financial impact of US tariffs going forward'. The Tata-owned group last month dealt a blow to workers, announcing plans to axe up to 500 management jobs in the UK. The cuts will impact 1.5% of its UK workforce of more than 33,000, with the jobs going as part of a voluntary redundancy programme for managers. JLR chief executive Adrian Mardell said the results come amid 'challenging global economic conditions'. He added: 'We are grateful to the UK and US governments for delivering at speed the new UK-US trade deal, which will lessen the significant US tariff impact in subsequent quarters, as will, in due course, the EU-US trade deal announced on July 27.' It has been a challenging time for the group, with its recent rebranding and advertising strategy attracting controversy. Mr Mardell also announced plans to retire in November after three years at the helm and 35 years with the company. He will be replaced by PB Balaji, group financial officer of Tata Motors. JLR halted new shipments to the US in April but restarted exports in early May amid hopes that a trade deal for the sector would be struck. The car firm saw wholesale sales in North America drop by 12.2% year-on-year in the quarter after the pause. The group has since welcomed trade deals with the US, which reduced tariffs on UK-made vehicles exported to America from 27.5% to 10% from June 30. An EU-US trade deal was also announced on July 27, which will reduce the tariffs on JLR's vehicles made in the EU and exported to the US from 27.5% to 15%.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
European shares post biggest weekly gain in 12 powered by financials
Aug 8 (Reuters) - European shares posted their biggest weekly gain in twelve weeks on Friday, as banking stocks continued to drive the benchmark index upwards, while investors watched for signs of a potential Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab rose 0.2% on the day, taking its weekly gains to 2.2%. The euro zone banking index (.SX7E), opens new tab rose 1.9% on Friday, making it the top performing sector year-to-date with a 56.8% gain. Banking stocks have benefited from investors seeking shelter in domestically-focused equities due to uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies, while analysts have also highlighted strong performance during the earnings season. "Financials are once more the key differentiator, with strong results across the board, accounting for three quarters of the upside surprise," strategists at BofA Global Research said. "Given financials' outsized share in index earnings, better-than-expected quarterly earnings for the sector has helped to lift consensus estimates for the market overall by 5% since mid-July." Globally, investors monitored geopolitical developments after Bloomberg News reported that the United States and Russia are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Moscow's occupation of territory seized during its invasion. Defence stocks (.SXPARO), opens new tab fell 0.8% on the day, leaving annual gains at 51.4%, just below the banking sector. Shares of German reinsurer Munich Re ( opens new tab fell 7.2% and ranked among the top decliners on the benchmark index after it trimmed its fiscal-year outlook for insurance revenue. Insurance stocks (.SXIP), opens new tab declined 1.6%, a day after hitting a record high. Shareholders in Germany's Thyssenkrupp ( opens new tab are set to vote on a spin-off of its defence division, sending its shares up 2.7%, with European spending on defence raising expectations for the company's value. Of the 198 companies in the STOXX 600 that reported earnings through Tuesday, 53% exceeded analysts' estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG. Global markets also tried to gauge the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. Rate cut expectations strengthened after President Donald Trump announced Stephen Miran's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, likely bringing dovish policy views to the table. Strong corporate results and increasing confidence in Fed rate cuts have helped European stocks rebound from the five-week lows reached last Friday. Lotus Bakeries' ( opens new tab shares added 10.9% after the Biscoff brand owner reported strong first-half results, its best daily performance in over a year. German IT service provider Bechtle's ( opens new tab shares jumped 11%, the strongest performer on the benchmark index, after the company confirmed its full-year guidance. Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab extended gains made the previous day after rival Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens new tab weight-loss pill's late-stage study showed that it lagged Novo's injectable obesity treatment Wegovy.
