Business
Carmaker resumes vehicle production following cyberattack
Jaguar Land Rover has begun restarting Range Rover production lines in Solihull, aiming for all its manufacturing sites to be fully operational by the end of next week, following a major cyber attack that halted operations.
Employees returned to the Solihull plant in the West Midlands on Thursday, after a phased production restart began on Wednesday. Operations had been suspended for more than a month following the significant hack.
The remaining Solihull lines, which produce the Range Rover Velar SUV and Jaguar F Pace models, are set to resume next Monday. Vehicle manufacturing at Halewood, Merseyside, will also restart then.
Overseas factories in Pune, India, and Brazil are scheduled to follow later next week, marking the final sites to recommence operations, the group confirmed.
JLR global manufacturing director Luis Vara said on Wednesday there was a “strong sense of unity and momentum” among production workers. Staff had been working from home since the firm’s systems were compromised on August 31.
The cyber attack occurred at a particularly crucial time for car firms, as September traditionally boosts demand for new vehicles with the release of the latest registration plates.
The incident also caused significant disruption to the firm’s global operations, with suppliers being left in limbo as production froze.
On Monday, JLR revealed a sharp drop in sales over recent months following the cyber incident, adding it had been a “challenging quarter” as it also grappled with the impact of higher US tariffs.
Sales fell by 17.1 per cent to 85,495 units between July and September, compared with the same period a year ago, with UK sales dropping by nearly a third.
The volume of wholesales tumbled by 24.2 per cent year on year to 66,165 units.
JLR said this partly reflected the production freeze since the start of September.
The group’s production restart began with its engine plant in Wolverhampton and its battery assembly centre in Coleshill, Birmingham, on Wednesday.
It also restarted stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood in Merseyside, and Solihull, on Wednesday, together with key areas of its Solihull vehicle production plant, such as its body shop, paint shop and its logistics operations centre.
This was followed by operations at its vehicle manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia.
Mr Vara said on Wednesday: “There is a strong sense of unity and momentum as we get back to doing what we do best, building quality luxury vehicles for our customers.”
The firm has the largest supply chain in the UK automotive sector, which employs around 120,000 people and is largely made up of small and medium-sized businesses.
The Government recently announced it would underwrite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to JLR to give suppliers some certainty over payments, helping bolster JLR’s cash reserves, but calls mounted for more to be done.
JLR said on Tuesday that its extended support package would see suppliers paid much faster than under the usual payment terms, by as much as 120 days early.
It will start with qualifying JLR suppliers seen as critical to the restart of production, then will be expanded to cover some non-production suppliers who have also been affected.
JLR also vowed to pay back financing costs for those JLR suppliers who use the scheme during the restart phase.
A raft of other businesses have been hit by major cyber attacks in recent months, including beer giant Asahi, high street retailer Marks & Spencer and nursery group Kido Schools.
Business
India opposes China-led IFD pact’s inclusion; flags risks to WTO framework and core principles – The Times of India
India on Saturday said it has strongly opposed the China-led Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement being incorporated into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework, flagging concerns over its systemic implications, PTI reported.The issue was raised at the ongoing 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the WTO in Yaounde, Cameroon, where Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said such a move could weaken the institution’s foundational structure.“Incorporation of the IFD agreement risks eroding the functional limits of the WTO and undermining its foundational principles,” Goyal said in a social media post.“At #WTOMC14, drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi ji’s philosophy of Truth prevailing over conformity, India showed the courage to stand alone on the contentious issue of the IFD Agreement and did not agree to its incorporation into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 Agreement,” he said.Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement contains Plurilateral Trade Agreements that are binding only on members that have accepted them, unlike multilateral agreements which apply to all members.Goyal said that as part of WTO reform discussions, members are deliberating on guardrails and legal safeguards for plurilateral agreements before integrating any such outcomes into the framework.“In view of the systemic issue at hand, India showed openness to have good faith, comprehensive discussions and constructive engagement under the WTO Reform Agenda,” he added.India had also opposed the pact during the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi.The Investment Facilitation for Development proposal was first mooted in 2017 by China and a group of countries that rely significantly on Chinese investments, including those with sovereign wealth funds. The agreement, if adopted, would be binding only on signatory members.
Business
Middle East crisis: Jubilant FoodWorks reports some Domino’s outlets affected by LPG shortage – The Times of India
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL), which operates Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin Donuts in India, has reported constraints in LPG cylinder supplies across parts of its store network due to the ongoing West Asia war, according to ET.In a filing to the BSE, the company said, “Operational impact at this stage is limited and being actively managed. The company is taking several steps to conserve LPG and working overtime to move to alternate energy sources like electricity and piped natural gas (PNG).”It added that it is in continuous touch with oil marketing companies to track developments and respond to the evolving situation. “The company is in constant engagement with oil marketing companies (OMCs) to remain apprised of the latest developments and plan operational responses accordingly, given the rapidly evolving nature of the situation,” the filing said.The company noted that it is closely monitoring the situation as supply disruptions persist.The impact is being felt across the restaurant industry, with several chains facing similar challenges due to LPG shortages.On March 10, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) had advised its five lakh members to consider shorter operating hours, reduce items requiring long cooking times or deep frying, and adopt fuel-saving measures such as using lids while cooking, in view of supply constraints linked to the Gulf war.
Business
Russia sells reserve gold for first time in 25 years to fund Ukraine war deficit: Report – The Times of India
Russia has begun selling physical gold from its central bank reserves for the first time in 25 years, as the government seeks to plug a widening budget deficit driven by sustained military expenditure, according to a report by Berlin-based news outlet bne IntelliNews.Regulatory data show that between 2022 and 2025, Russia sold gold and foreign currency worth over RUB 15 trillion ($150 billion), followed by an additional RUB 3.5 trillion ($35 billion) in just the first two months of 2026, the report noted. In January alone, the Central Bank of Russia sold 300,000 ounces of gold, followed by another 200,000 ounces in February.The move marks a significant shift in reserve management. Earlier, gold transactions were largely notional, involving transfers between the Ministry of Finance and the central bank without physical movement of bullion. In recent months, however, the central bank has started selling actual gold bars into the market.As a result, Russia’s gold holdings have declined to 74.3 million ounces, the lowest level in four years. The disposal of 14 tonnes in January and February is the largest two-month sale since the second quarter of 2002, when 58 tonnes were offloaded in a single tranche.The sales come as Russia’s fiscal position comes under increasing strain. The government ended 2025 with a budget deficit of 2.6 per cent of GDP, compared to an initial projection of 0.5 per cent, Berlin-based bne IntelliNews report noted. Economists estimate the actual deficit could be closer to 3.4 per cent, with some payments deferred to 2026 to limit the reported gap.Pressure on the budget has intensified as oil prices weakened in the second half of the year and US sanctions tightened, reducing the contribution of oil and gas tax revenues to about 20 per cent of total revenues — roughly half of pre-war levels.The decision to sell gold has also been influenced by the sharp rise in bullion prices to above $5,000 per ounce. This surge has pushed Russia’s international reserves to over $809 billion as of February 28, including around $300 billion of assets frozen in the West, according to the Central Bank of Russia. Of this, gold reserves alone are valued at about $384 billion.Russia currently holds more than 2,000 tonnes of gold, making it the world’s fifth-largest sovereign holder, according to World Gold Council data. The country had built up these reserves over the years to reduce dependence on dollar-denominated assets, especially after sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and further tightened after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Since 2022, the Ministry of Finance has relied on multiple funding channels to manage budget pressures. These include drawing from the National Welfare Fund, which still holds around RUB 4 trillion, increasing issuance of domestic OFZ treasury bonds, and raising value-added tax rates, which account for about 40 per cent of government revenues.The shift to selling physical gold suggests that Russia is now tapping its liquid reserve buffers more directly, underlining the growing fiscal strain as the conflict in Ukraine continues into its fourth year.
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