“
The UK consumes 60,000 tonnes of blueberries a year, of which 90 per cent are imported, although sales of locally produced blueberries are up 13 per cent this year. Trade association British Berry Growers (BBG) said: “Everyone thinks blueberries are a tropical fruit grown overseas.”
Nuclear energy The Czech government has chosen Rolls-Royce to build mini nuclear power plants for the state energy company, CEZ. France, the United States and Japan had also submitted bids to supply small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), the first of which will be located near the Temelín nuclear power plant and should be completed before 2035.
Salary scale Ferrovial’s board of directors received €25.5 million during the first half of 2024, 45 percent more than in 2024, the Spanish multinational announced. The infrastructure company, which is now listed in New York as well as Spain, attributed the pay rise to “short and long-term bonuses” and the “significant” rise in Ferrovial’s share price from €26,773 to €36,045.
Most read in Euro Weekly News
Not so expensive Mobile phone prices fell 11.7 percent in August, according to the latest figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Computers were 5.9 percent cheaper, the INE said, due to a broader technological offering and fewer people working from home.
Cuts Metro Bank announced a series of job cuts as it carried out an £80 million (€95 million) plan to cut costs. It expects to cut 300 roles across commercial operations, IT and support, following the £925m (€1.1bn) rescue operation in 2023 when Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal took control of the bank.
Without problems Madrid approved BlackRock’s 20 percent stake in the gas and energy company Naturgy, which is considered a company of national strategic importance. The world’s largest asset manager acquired Naturgy shares by taking over Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a $12.5 billion (€10.8 billion) transaction in January 2025.
Equity Big Four accounting firm Deloitte has revealed it plans to equalize parental leave for all staff in the UK in January 2025 by giving men the same 26 weeks of fully paid leave that women currently receive. Deloitte hopes this will make it easier for more women to advance their careers and become partners, the company said.
New image Fashion company Adolfo Dominguez reported €126.7 million in sales for the year ending February 29, 2024, compared to €114.18 million in 2023, and a net income of €730,185. This represented an improvement on €158,656 in 2022-2023, although the company recorded losses of €1.4 million between February and May 2024.
Compensation time Industry regulator Ofgem ordered Ovo, the UK’s fourth largest domestic energy supplier, to pay £2.37 million (€2.81 million) in compensation to 1,395 customers because of the time it took to the Bristol-based company to resolve their complaints. In some cases, these complaints took up to 18 months to process, Ofgem said.
“
