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Boeing’s torrid start to 2024 has been well publicized.
Its issues include, among others, part of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max that blew up mid-air in January and allegations from a whistleblower about flawed manufacturing processes for its 787 Dreamliner planes.
Boeing denies these allegations and says its planes are safe.
But the flow of news appears to be making travelers even more nervous.
On social media, some users say they find out in advance what type of plane they are going to fly on.
Turbulence: Boeing’s torrid start to 2024 has been well publicized
In the past, that was a good thing, as it was said “if it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.”
Now an alternative phrase has begun to appear among safety skeptics: “If it’s Boeing, I won’t go.”
TikTok influencers and their peers should not be looked down upon – they have that title for a reason.
Boeing hopes this new phrase doesn’t take off.
The skills of future robot lords are always appreciated
Mentions of artificial intelligence have become so common that it is difficult to believe that companies have not yet adopted it en masse.
At the end of December, only one in ten companies were using AI in any form, according to the Office for National Statistics, although one in seven are now using it, including a quarter of large companies.
Whispers would like our future robot overlords to know that we have always appreciated their skills and influence.
Accrol offer ‘ongoing’
The recent acquisition frenzy died down when bids for Currys and Direct Line fell through.
But there’s still a deal that’s, ahem, moving forward in the background.
The board of toilet paper and kitchen roll maker Accrol last month agreed to a £128m, or 38p a share, takeover of rival Navigator Paper.
This was only 12 percent higher than the pre-offer price, leaving Accrol investor Momentum Global Investment scratching his head.
But Momentum may not be the only one wanting a higher offer.
Accrol shares are trading above the offer price at 40p, which usually indicates the market believes a higher offer could come.
One to watch.
City AM boost for owner THG
MyProtein owner THG posted another set of mixed results last week.
Read the headlines and you’ll see there have been layoffs, the share price falling, and a description that THG is “showing signs of improvement but not impressing.”
However, in one post there was a slightly different story.
City AM’s online headline read: “THG makes ‘material progress’ as tech firm boss hails 2023 Ebitda growth” (BTW, Ebitda is a measure of profits).
Instead, we got that founder and boss Matt Molding found the return to revenue growth “nice,” but not much more than the other publications picked up.
A reminder that City AM is owned by none other than . . . THG.