Company News in Brief

SpaceX expands Starlink satellite networkSpaceX will buy wireless spectrum licences from EchoStar for its Starlink satellite network for about US$17bn, a major deal seen as crucial to expanding Starlink’s nascent 5G connectivity business.The Elon Musk-owned aerospace company announced the purchase on Monday.The companies also agreed to a deal enabling EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access Starlink’s direct-to-cell service, extending satellite coverage to areas currently without service.The spectrum purchase allows SpaceX to begin building and deploying upgraded, laser-connected satellites that the company says will expand the network’s capacity by “more than 100 times”.Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, said the deal would help the company “end mobile dead zones around the world ... With exclusive spectrum, SpaceX will develop next-generation Starlink Direct to Cell satellites, which will have a step change in performance and enable us to enhance coverage for customers wherever they are in the world.”The move comes amid soaring wireless usage. In 2024, Americans used a record 132 trillion megabytes of mobile data, up 35 per cent on the previous all-time high, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) said on Monday.SpaceX has launched more than 8 000 Starlink satellites since 2020, creating a distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted demand from militaries, transport firms, and consumers in rural areas.– Al Jazeera David Hodnett steps up as CEO of SBSAThe Standard Bank Group has announced the appointment of David Hodnett as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (SBSA).Hodnett, currently serving as the Group’s Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and head of its Corporate Affairs portfolio, brings 30 years of professional experience and extensive institutional knowledge to the role.Having joined the organisation two decades ago, Hodnett has built a strong track record within South Africa’s financial services sector, demonstrating consistent leadership and strategic acumen.In this leadership reshuffle, Thabani Ndwandwe will take over Hodnett’s previous role as Group Chief Risk Officer, while retaining his responsibilities as SBSA’s CRO. Ndwandwe, who joined the group in 2004, has accumulated two decades of experience managing complex risk portfolios across multiple jurisdictions.The transition underlines Standard Bank’s commitment to developing internal talent and ensuring risk management remains a priority.– IOL Badenoch ‘worried’ UK may need IMF bailoutKemi Badenoch has said she is “really worried” that the UK might be forced into a 1976-style bailout from the International Monetary Fund.The Conservative leader told BBC Newsnight that the UK could be forced to go “cap in hand” to the IMF unless the government produces a credible growth plan.She made her remarks while offering to work with Sir Keir Starmer “in the national interest” to cut welfare spending, saying that cuts and growth were needed to help the government escape a “doom loop” of rising taxes and precarious public finances.A Labour Party source said Badenoch had a “brass neck” for offering such advice, after the Conservative government had “crashed the economy”.Chancellor Rachel Reeves dismissed the suggestion that the UK would require an IMF bailout during an interview with the BBC last week.The Labour government of late Prime Minister Jim Callaghan was forced to apply for a US$3.9bn emergency loan from the IMF during the 1976 sterling crisis. That episode severely undermined the government’s economic credibility and remains a seminal event in post-war economic history.Asked what made her think the UK might be heading for another bailout, Badenoch replied: “A lot of the indicators are pointing in that direction. Many very well-respected commentators and economists are saying this.”While some economists on the right have raised the prospect of a repeat of the 1976 crisis, others have dismissed such concerns as hyperbole.– BBC Jaguar Land Rover extends shutdown after cyber attackJaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) UK factories are expected to remain closed until at least today, following disruption caused by a cyber attack just over a week ago.The car plants at Halewood and Solihull, its Wolverhampton engine facility, and production sites in Slovakia, China and India have been unable to operate since the company fell victim to the attack.Production line staff have been instructed to remain at home.JLR shut down its IT systems on 31 August to protect them from damage, but this has caused major disruption. The company says it is working around the clock to restart its networks in a controlled and safe manner, liaising with third-party cybersecurity specialists and law enforcement.Last Thursday, staff were told to stay at home until at least Tuesday as the carmaker continued to grapple with the fallout.JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, has not commented on reports that disruption could continue for several weeks.Under normal circumstances, the company builds about 1 000 cars a day. The stoppage has had a significant impact on suppliers, with some understood to have told their own staff not to come into work.The attack occurred at what is traditionally a peak time for new vehicle deliveries, coinciding with the release of new registration plates on 1 September.– BBC Murdochs reach deal in succession battleA years-long succession battle within Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire has drawn to a close, with his son Lachlan set to control the news group.The deal, announced on Monday, will ensure the ongoing conservative leaning of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post after 94-year-old Rupert’s death.Under the agreement, Lachlan will control a new trust while siblings Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will cease being beneficiaries of any trust with shares in Fox or News Corp.It follows years of tension between the media mogul and three of his children over the future of the family-owned newspapers and television networks.The Murdoch family’s internal disputes served as inspiration for the hit television drama Succession. Monday’s deal – the finale of the real-life saga – ends all litigation over the family trust.– BBC

Company News in Brief

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