Voters in Houston have rejected a $4.4 billion bond issue aimed at renovating and upgrading schools. The vote was seen as a response to the state takeover that removed democratic control of the schools and ousted Superintendent Mike Miles. Superintendent Mike Miles expressed disappointment in the rejection of the proposed bond, calling it “unfortunate and … Read more
Californians decisively approved a $10 billion initiative on Tuesday to support construction projects for TK-12 schools and community colleges. Proposition 2, which passed with 56.8% of the vote, will be the first state bond for school construction since 2016, replenishing state funding that had been depleted. The victory of Proposition 2 comes as a relief … Read more
Intel announced a significant $18.7 billion set of restructuring and asset impairment charges on Thursday in an effort to streamline its operations and boost its competitiveness. The chipmaker’s latest quarter saw a less severe revenue decline than expected, leading to a 10 per cent increase in its shares in after-market trading. The company’s forecast for … Read more
Siemens has agreed to acquire simulation software company Altair for $10.6 billion in an all-cash transaction, marking a significant consolidation in the engineering software sector. The German conglomerate will pay $113 in cash per share of Altair, valuing the Michigan-based company at $10.6 billion. Altair provides data analytics technology and services to major corporate clients … Read more
The UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled a £40bn tax hike, the largest in a generation, with businesses taking the brunt of a Budget aimed at fixing Britain’s “broken” public finances and services. Extra borrowing averaging £28bn per year over the parliament has unsettled investors, pushing government borrowing costs to a five-month high. The decision … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Next is expected to generate record profits of £1bn this year, after the UK retailer bellwether raised its outlook again thanks to a sales boost from the arrival of colder weather. The FTSE 100 company, … Read more
France is facing a growing deficit, leading to significant tax increases and aggressive cost-cutting measures announced recently. Among the various steps taken by the French government is a crackdown on absenteeism in civil services, a problem that is costing the economy €15 billion. Addressing absenteeism could result in savings of around €1.2 billion as part … Read more
HSBC Holdings reported a 10% increase in third-quarter profit, surpassing analyst expectations. The bank’s wealth and wholesale banking divisions benefited from slower rate cuts, while undergoing a major overhaul. Europe’s largest bank recorded a pretax profit of $8.5 billion for the July-to-September period, up from $7.7 billion a year earlier. This result exceeded the $7.6 … Read more
The NHS in England is set to receive a £1.5 billion boost next year in order to provide an additional 2 million appointments, as announced in the Budget. However, Health Secretary Wes Streeting cautioned that this funding will only serve to “arrest the decline” of the struggling health service. The additional funds will be allocated … Read more
The Department of Education has forgiven $17.2 billion in federal student loans for almost 975,000 borrowers as of April 30, through a program that allows borrowers to seek relief if they have been misled or defrauded by their college, as found in a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Under the … Read more