Bengaluru — British carpet maker Headlam warned on Wednesday that revenue will drop materially during the next two years as the flooring distributor refocuses on core customers, while the Middle East conflict drives costs higher across the industry.
The wider housing sector has been bracing for war-driven cost pressures, with higher energy prices raising the risk of inflation across energy-intensive building materials and squeezing margins.
Consumer spending on home improvements has continued to decline, Headlam said, adding that the Middle East war has significantly raised prices for polypropylene and fuel, creating cost pressures for the British flooring industry. Reuters
EU and Switzerland plan for 1-day trade settlements
London — The EU and Switzerland on Wednesday took a step towards introducing one-day settlement of trades (T+1), as industry-led committees issued a joint testing plan to banks, brokers and asset managers ahead of the planned move next year.
The three jurisdictions have committed to moving to T+1 on October 11 2027.
Financial market infrastructure firms, including Euroclear, Euronext and Clearstream, have been encouraged to be available to test one-day settlement over five windows in 2027. Reuters
Vestas eyes Scotland factory amid offshore wind demand
Bengaluru — Vestas is planning to build a turbine parts factory in Scotland to meet growing demand for offshore wind in Britain and Europe, the Danish wind turbine maker said on Wednesday.
The final decision for the more than €250m investment will be made if Vestas secures sufficient orders in Britain’s seventh and eighth clean power auction rounds, it said in the statement.
The plant would produce nacelles and hubs for Vestas’ flagship offshore turbine, the V236-15.0MW. Reuters
Mitsubishi to end copper smelting at Onahama in 2027
Tokyo — Mitsubishi Materials said on Wednesday that it has decided to cease processing copper concentrate and operating the associated smelting facilities at its Onahama smelter and refinery by the end of March 2027.
The company expects to book an impairment loss of ¥21bn ($132m) in the fourth quarter of the current financial year ending this month, primarily relating to the fixed assets of the smelter, it said in a statement. Reuters
Merck to buy Terns Pharma in $6.7bn deal
Bengaluru — Merck said on Wednesday it would buy biotech Terns Pharma in a deal valued at up to $6.7bn, as the drugmaker races to bolster its cancer pipeline ahead of the looming patent loss for its blockbuster therapy Keytruda. Reuters
Airtel Africa chair Mittal to step down, Vittal succeeds
Bengaluru — Telecoms group Airtel Africa said on Wednesday that its chair, Sunil Bharti Mittal, will step down in July and be succeeded by industry veteran and GSMA chair Gopal Vittal.
The London-listed company also said that Shravin Bharti Mittal will assume the role of deputy chair. Reuters
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