Threat to aircraft orders as fuel prices soar
More than $100 billion (£50.2 billion) of aircraft orders could be cancelled or postponed in the next couple of years as the high price of fuel drives airlines into bankruptcy or forces them to cut spending.
Analysts estimate that 20 to 30 per cent of the $530 billion order backlog held by Boeing and Airbus, the aircraft manufacturers, could be cancelled or delayed as the aviation industry heads towards a winter of turmoil. These cancellations would have a significant impact on aerospace suppliers such as Rolls-Royce, the engine maker.
Sharp rise in UK profit warnings
There are fresh signs of a slowing UK economy with the number of companies warning their profits would be lower than expected at a seven-year high. There were 98 profit warnings from UK-listed companies in the three months to 30 June, according to Ernst & Young, the most in that period since 2001.