Tycoon Wiese's Brait Seeks to Sell UK Retail Chain New Look Within a Year
Talks with potential buyers of New Look are progressing as the retailer, which has about 400 stores, focuses on growing its online sales and reducing the number of outlets from which it sells dresses and jewelry across the UK, Brait Chief Executive Officer Peter Hayward-Butt said in an interview Wednesday.
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Motor 1
a few seconds ago
- Motor 1
Stellantis Abandons Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development: 'Niche Segment'
Many people have considered hydrogen nothing more than a pipe dream from the very beginning. However, some automakers have insisted (and a few still do) that there is a future for electric vehicles with fuel cells instead of bulky batteries. Stellantis was determined to pursue hydrogen in the commercial vehicle segment, but pouring money into this technology has now come to an abrupt end. Stellantis recognized that it needed to invest a significant amount of money to make hydrogen feasible. Even if it hadn't abandoned the effort, customers would still have faced a severely underdeveloped refueling infrastructure worldwide. The automotive conglomerate also believes governments should've put more effort into incentivizing this segment to drive down prices for consumers. 2025 Opel Vivaro Hydrogen Photo by: Opel When all is said and done, 'the hydrogen market remains a niche segment,' and there are 'no prospects of mid-term economic sustainability.' Not only is Stellantis ending its hydrogen development program, but it's also abandoning plans to launch hydrogen-powered workhorses this year. New models from the Pro One commercial division were supposed to enter production this summer, but that's no longer happening. The plan was to build midsize vans in Hordain, France, and large vans in Gliwice, Poland. The silver lining is that Stellantis pledges not to reduce the workforce at the plants that were supposed to manufacture the hydrogen commercial vehicles. Additionally, the research and development team will pursue other projects unrelated to fuel cells. In early 2024, when Stellantis was still betting on hydrogen, it said it would have eight fuel cell midsize and large hydrogen vans: Citroën ë-Jumpy and ë-Jumper, Fiat Professional E-Scudo and E-Ducato, Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro and Movano, and Peugeot E-Expert and E-Boxer. While Stellantis is calling it quits, Toyota remains committed to hydrogen for the long haul. Aside from improving fuel cells with an upcoming third generation, it's also experimenting with combustion engines that run on hydrogen . The world's largest automaker is helping BMW bring its first series-production hydrogen car to market in 2028, potentially an SUV based on the next-generation X5. 2026 Hyundai Nexo Photo by: Hyundai Hyundai is not giving up on hydrogen either. It recently launched the new Nexo crossover and sees a future for fuel cell trucks such as the Xcient. Honda has a next-generation fuel cell module that it will mass-produce from 2027, featuring 50% lower production costs and more than double the durability of its predecessor. The Japanese automaker also has a joint venture with General Motors, called Fuel Cell Systems Manufacturing LLC. The 70,000-square-foot FCSM facility, located in Brownstown, Michigan, manufactures fuel cells that are sold to either Honda or GM's Hydrotec division. What about Volkswagen? Ex-CEO Thomas Schafer declared at the 2023 CES that the technology is not feasible for passenger cars , at least not in the foreseeable future: 'It's not competitive, especially not for passenger cars, the tanks take up space in the cabin. Maybe for commercial vehicles, but not in the passenger car. So, I don't see this happening in this decade. Not at Volkswagen.' Even Renault's niche brand Alpine believes hydrogen has a place in the sports car world by taunting us with a supercar powered by a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V-6 fueled by hydrogen. Renault itself cooked up a rear-wheel-drive Emblème wagon concept with a fuel cell and a rechargeable battery. However, regardless of how much fuel cell technology advances, without a suitable refueling infrastructure, these efforts will be in vain. Hydrogen Is Not Dead: BMW Thinks the 'Timing Is Right' For Hydrogen. Is It Really? Cummins Made a New Turbocharger for Hydrogen Engines Source: Stellantis Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Wall Street Journal
2 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Global Markets Fall as Tariff Uncertainty Rises
U.S. stock futures, including for the Nasdaq, fell early in Europe amid concerns over the impact of tariffs on inflation and what that might mean for monetary policy after a lower close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 on Tuesday. The Nasdaq rose 0.2% Tuesday on easing export restrictions for Nvidia, but the outlook for the chip sector isn't all rosy. ASML Holding's ASML -6.87%decrease; red down pointing triangle shares plunged early on Wednesday after the Dutch supplier of chip-making equipment said it could no longer guarantee growth in 2026 amid increasing uncertainty from Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, bank earnings landing later include Bank of America BAC -1.95%decrease; red down pointing triangle, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs GS -1.51%decrease; red down pointing triangle.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Barclays fined £42m by watchdog over money laundering checks
The financial watchdog has fined banking giant Barclays £42 million over its 'poor handling' of money laundering risks. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the fines related to separate failings linked to the WealthTek and Stunt & Co businesses. It fined Barclays Bank £39.3 million for 'failing to adequately manage money laundering risks' related to providing banking services to Stunt & Co, the firm run by socialite James Stunt. Barclays 'did not gather enough information' after starting its relationship with the business and did not carry out 'proper' ongoing monitoring, the FCA said. During this period, Stunt & Co received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a 'multimillion-pound money laundering operation'. The FCA said Barclays failed to properly consider the money laundering risks 'even after receiving information from law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield, and after learning that the police had raided both firms'. In March, James Stunt was cleared of taking part in a £200 million money laundering plot. Meanwhile, Barclays Bank UK has been fined £3.1 million after it failed to check it had enough information to understand the money laundering risk before opening a client money account for now-collapsed wealth management firm WealthTek, the FCA said. It added the Bank failed to see that WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money, before clients deposited £34 million into the firm's account. Barclays has agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3 million to WealthTek's clients who are facing a shortfall. Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: 'The consequences of poor financial crime controls are very real – they allow criminals to launder the proceeds of their crimes, and they allow fraudsters to defraud consumers. 'Banks need to take responsibility and act promptly, particularly when obvious risks are brought to their attention. 'In the first of these cases, Barclays secured a significant reduction in its fine through its extensive co-operation with our investigation and through making a voluntary payment to affected consumers at our request.' Barclays has been contacted for comment.
