Paul Sandle

Vodafone reported a drop in service revenue in its largest market Germany in the first quarter, reflecting broadband and TV losses after a new law ended automatic renewals and a new IT system underperformed.

Vodafone is making progress towards resolving issues in its biggest market Germany after suffering a drop in service revenue there, its chief executive said on Monday.

Britain said on Monday it was collaborating with Japan and existing partner Italy on its next-generation fighter jet programme, with joint concept analysis expected to lead to decisions on deeper partnerships by the end of the year.

Rolls-Royce said it would start testing this year a prototype of its UltraFan engine, the world's largest turbofan, which has been designed to be up to 25% more efficient than its first generation Trent engines.

Aero-engineer Rolls-Royce said it was playing a "long game" on winning orders to power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner after fixing most issues with its Trent 1000 engine, even though one final modification had been pushed out to next year.

EasyJet will buy 56 Airbus A320neo aircraft and convert a previous order to 18 new A321neo aircraft, the British airline said on Tuesday, fulfilling options in a 2013 deal with the European planemaker.

Low-cost airline easyJet said on Monday it was cutting thousands more flights this summer after London Gatwick and Amsterdam airports reduced capacity and it battled staff shortages on the ground and in the air.

Meta Platforms won an appeal against Britain blocking its acquisition of Giphy on a single procedural ground, but the country's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) endorsed the regulator's finding that the deal could harm competition.

London's long-delayed and over-budget Crossrail finally opened to passengers on Tuesday, offering faster journeys from Heathrow Airport and Berkshire in the west to Essex in the east through a series of new, long tunnels under Britain's capital.

Low-cost carrier easyJet said it was "in the right place" to meet pent-up demand for summer flights, with bookings above pre-pandemic levels in the last 10 weeks and sold ticket yields for the fourth quarter 15% higher than in 2019.

Burberry's prospects depend on how quickly its biggest market, China, recovers from COVID-19 lockdowns, the British luxury goods brand said on Wednesday while reporting higher sales and profits for its 2022 financial year.

Rising inflation and a tough economic backdrop will hold back Vodafone's earnings this year and could complicate its dealmaking efforts, the mobile phone group warned on Tuesday.

British Airways-owner IAG cut back plans to ramp up short-haul flights to avoid disruption at Heathrow airport this summer, sending its shares skidding 8% on Friday after admitting it doesn't have enough staff to cope.

British Airways-owner IAG has scaled back plans to ramp up short-haul capacity at Heathrow airport, saying a cut of around 5% to its summer schedule would provide stability for passengers and avoid disruptions seen earlier in the year.

Facebook owner Meta started its appeal on Monday against Britain's ruling that it must sell Giphy, arguing the fact that rival Snap offered far less to buy the animated-images provider undermined the rationale used to block the deal.

EasyJet said it was yet to see an easing of crew sickness that is causing it to cancel flights and disrupt the Easter plans of thousands of travellers, but it was confident it would be able to return to a near pre-pandemic schedule this summer.

Thousands of holidaymakers have seen their Easter getaways disrupted or cancelled because airlines and airports do not have enough staff to meet the recovery in demand as pandemic restrictions are eased in Europe.

Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Warren East will step down by the end of the year after steering the aero-engine maker through the worst of the pandemic, though fresh challenges loom following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

London's Heathrow airport, Britain's busiest, saw its lowest number of passengers since 1972 last year and suffered wider losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed demand for business travel and holidays.

The cable giant beat Rupert Murdoch, and his backer Disney, in the battle for Sky with an eye-watering $40 billion bid.

Murdoch's Fox said the performance of Sky since December 2016, including the renewal of the right to show English Premier League matches at a lower price than expected, justified its higher offer.