Ryanair Holdings (RYA) faces legal action over refusal to compensate cancelled flights. Passenger flights grounded by strikes must be repaid under EU law, warns Civil Aviation Authority. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority is taking legal action against Ryanair over the airline’s refusal to compensate thousands of UK customers affected by flight disruption over the summer. Ryanair was hit by its worst ever strikes in the summer, as walkouts by pilots and cabin crew over pay and conditions forced it to cancel flights, including to major holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy and Portugal. Passengers have made claims for compensation to the airline, but these have been rejected by Ryanair on the grounds that the disruption arose from “exceptional circumstances” and therefore exempt. However, the CAA says passengers are entitled to compensation under EU law.
Brazilian Car Wash scandal draws in Glencore (GLEN) and Trafigura. Commodity giants under investigation as police move focus to Petrobas fuel-trading deals. Oil deals by the commodity trading giants Glencore, Vitol and Trafigura are under investigation as part of the Car Wash investigation, the vast corruption scandal that has rocked the Brazilian establishment. Federal police in Brazil said they had been examining alleged bribery involving Petrobras, the huge national oil company that has been at the centre of the Car Wash affair.
Barclays (BARC) customers in switch threat over tar sands investment. Up to 30,000 account holders sign petition against pipeline projects in US and Canada. Thousands of Barclays customers have threatened to switch to another bank unless it promises not to invest in pipelines for oil from tar sands, dubbed the “dirtiest fuel on the planet”. Greenpeace, which occupied a branch of Barclays on Wednesday morning and erected signs branding it “The Dirty Bank”, said 30,000 customers signed a petition calling on the lender to pledge never to fund controversial tar sands projects. Of those who signed the petition, 6,000 told the environmental group that they were ready to close their accounts if Barclays did not heed their warning, while some said they had already done so. “Moving your bank account is quite a big undertaking, so we were genuinely surprised when people started doing it without us even suggesting it,” said the Greenpeace oil campaigner Hannah Martin. “This new information shows that the opposition to Barclays funding dirty tar sands projects isn’t just broad but deep. “People are prepared to put themselves through a bit of bureaucratic hassle to try to persuade their bank to do the right thing.”
Clothing brand Joules Group (JOUL) stocks up in case of no-deal Brexit. UK firm brings forward spring-summer orders and rents warehouse in mainland Europe. The British clothing brand Joules is stocking up early on next year’s spring and summer ranges and has rented an EU warehouse in preparation for a no-deal Brexit. The company said it was bringing forward its product orders for its spring and summer 2019 ranges, including its classic striped Breton Harbour tops, hand-drawn printed scarves and light coats and jackets. This is to ensure its deliveries will not be held up by delays at the ports if the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement in March.
