Overview Chris Grayling has been rewarded for his loyalty to Theresa May with the role of transport secretary. Mr Grayling, who backed Brexit during the EU referendum campaign, was the chairman of Theresa May’s successful leadership campaign. His appointment comes over a year after he was replaced as justice secretary by leadership hopeful Michael Gove – he spent two years in the role. Since then he has held the role of leader of the House of Commons. The transport brief takes on extra significance, with a number of key decisions to be made over nationally significant projects – decisions to which Mrs May has to find immediate solutions. Those include the £55.7bn High Speed 2 programme, on which £1.4bn has already been spent but which continues to come under fire for its costs. The decision on runway expansion is also a matter for Cabinet, as made clear by Mrs May earlier this week. Though the PM is unlikely to favour Heathrow’s expansion, she has indicated she will listen to the views of Cabinet before making her decision. Mr Grayling has previous experience overseeing the transport brief, spending nearly two years as shadow transport secretary from 2005 to 2007. On Heathrow: As MP of Epsom and Ewell, Mr Grayling’s constituency is not near the flightpath of Heathrow but is instead 29 km from Gatwick. He hasn’t gone on record declaring support for Gatwick or Heathrow. In 2009, the Independent reported that Mr Grayling had privately voiced concerns over the party’s opposition to Heathrow. On HS2: The new transport secretary is a supporter of HS2. He has voted in favour of the line throughout the line’s Preparation Bill and Hybrid Bill processes. He was one of 399 voters to vote HS2 through the House of Commons in March. Roads: Mr Grayling is against road pricing. As shadow transport secretary he said a national road pricing scheme for roads was not “realistically achievable in the near future”. Voting record Generally voted for lower taxes on fuel for motor vehicles. Almost always voted for higher taxes on plane tickets. Consistently voted against slowing the rise in rail fares. Almost always voted for reducing the rate of corporation tax. Generally voted for measures to reduce tax avoidance. Voted a mixture of for and against stronger tax incentives for companies to invest in assets. Has never voted on ending financial support for some 16-19-year-olds in training and further education, according to the website theyworkforyou.com. Registered interests Mr Grayling has land and property portfolio of more than £100,000 providing him with a rental income of over £10,000 a year. He also employs his wife Sue Grayling as office manager, according to the website theyworkforyou.com. Former roles Justice secretary: Sep 2012–May 2015 Employment minister: May 2010–Sep 2012 Shadow home secretary: Jan 2009–May 2010 Shadow work and pensions secretary: July 2007–Jan 2009 Shadow transport secretary: Dec 2005–July 2007 Shadow leader of the House of Commons: May 2005–Dec 2005   Source link

BKK Nett AS, the Norwegian power company based in Bergen, will soon be the operator of a recording breaking subsea power link as Nexans just completed a project to install the world’s longest and deepest 420 kV XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) insulated submarine cable system. In a turnkey project worth around 75 million euros to reinforce the grid in western Norway, Nexans has delivered 90 km of 420 kV AC XLPE cable. This contract fulfils Nexans’ vision of helping to meet the growing global demand for electricity.   The new power link, comprising three single core cables in parallel, runs between Mongstad and Kollsnes, crossing two fjords: Hjeltefjorden and Lurefjorden. At its deepest point, the cables were installed at 390 m, making this both the world’s deepest 420 kV XLPE system, and longest at this depth, with a length of 22 km. The cable system for the two fjords are manufactured, delivered and installed by Nexans. The cables were laid by Nexans’ cable laying vessel, C/S Nexans Skagerrak. In the near-shore areas, the cables were mainly protected with HDPE pipes, outer shells or trenched by water jetting. Tom Skattum, project manager at Nexans Norway, said, “Achieving these new world records was a great challenge for Nexans and this contract for BKK represents the height of Nexans’ expertise in submarine power cables.” The submarine cables have been manufactured at Nexans’ facility in Halden, Norway, and laying was completed in May 2016. This will be followed by termination work on shore, ready for the handover testing in autumn 2016.   Source link

©Bloomberg Japan is planning to invest huge sums in coal technology to replace the winding down of nuclear power Caterpillar cut its full-year sales and profits forecast for a second straight quarter on Tuesday, highlighting the struggle to call a bottom to an emerging market downturn amid fresh risks created by Brexit and geopolitical turmoil. Weak demand for equipment used in the mining and energy sector continued to weigh on its business while the strong dollar and weaker capital spending in Europe ate into its overseas sales. More On this topic IN Construction Brad Halverson, chief financial officer, said in an interview that the slump in demand was not only a reflection of the broader economic environment but the fact that miners had until a couple of years ago bought more heavy equipment than they needed, which was weighing on replacement demand. On a more positive note, he said dealers had started to see demand for spare parts to rebuild 50 tonne mining trucks, although this year it was expecting to sell only 100 new trucks compared with previous years when it sold between 600-700. “If you go back historically, we’ve not had more than two years down [in sales] since the late 20s, 30s, before it has started to recover,” Mr Halverson said. “For us to be in our fourth year . . . is something we’ve not experienced.” Although the US heavy machinery maker, best known for its yellow excavators, said commodity prices appeared to have stabilised, they remained at low levels and the group warned that the fallout from the Brexit vote in the UK and turmoil in Turkey added to the lack of predictability. Mr Halverson said that the company had contingency plans in place in case the various difficulties in Europe were exacerbated. It is reducing costs by $2bn this year and is prepared to take out further costs if necessary, while spending on areas such as adding digital equipment to its machinery which it sees as a key growth opportunity. If you go back historically, we’ve not had more than two years down [in sales] since the late 20s, 30s, before it has started to recover. For us to be in our fourth year . . . is something we’ve not experienced – Brad Halverson, chief financial officer The company warned that more lay-offs were expected in the second half as it tried to adapt to the tough trading environment. “World economic growth remains subdued and is not sufficient to drive improvement in most of the industries and markets we serve,” the company said in a statement. Caterpillar said it expected sales and revenues to be in a range of $40bn to $40.5bn in 2016. This compares with its previous outlook of $40bn to $42bn issued in April, the $40bn to $44bn guidance in January, and the $47bn recorded in 2015. It expects profits to come in at a midpoint of $2.75 a share this year, or about $3.55 excluding restructuring costs. This is down from the guidance given in April for $3 a share (or $3.70 a share excluding restructuring costs) and the forecast of $3.50 a share (or $4 a share excluding restructuring costs) issued in January. The cut in forecast comes as second-quarter revenue tumbled 16 per cent to $10.3bn. Sales fell in all categories and drove profit down to 93 cents a share, compared with $1.31 per share last year. Adjusted earnings — which exclude restructuring costs — came in at $1.09 a share, ahead of forecasts of 96 cents a share. The recent recovery in commodity prices has yet to translate into increased mining activity or a rise in equipment purchases. Mining companies are trying to adjust their balance sheets and cost structures, and may continue to delay equipment purchases. Analysts at Jefferies also noted that Caterpillar has 20 “key facilities” in the UK and said potential trade restrictions stemming from the country’s decision to leave the EU could impact businesses. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link