Business
HS2: Construction begins on tunnel from west London to Euston
Work has started to dig the tunnel that will take the HS2 rail line from west London to Euston in the capital’s centre.
The first of two boring machines was switched on by Rail Minister Lord Hendy and Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Prime Minister, at Old Oak Common on Tuesday.
The 190m-long boring machine is named Madeleine, after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society.
It is expected to take about 18 months for the machine to complete the 4.5-mile journey from Old Oak Common in west London.
Madeleine was built in Germany and transported to the UK in parts. A 750-tonne crane lifted the components into an underground box at one end of the station, where it was reassembled.
Madeleine’s companion machine is named Karen, after Karen Harrison, the first female train driver in the UK, who was based out of the Old Oak Common depot. Karen will be launched in the coming months.
The machines will excavate and construct the tunnel as they move, slotting concrete segments into place. The tunnel will reach depths of 50 metres.
At the launch of the machines, Jones said: “There’s nothing boring about tunnel boring.
“We’re boosting the links between our big cities across the country to create more opportunities for people to trade, meet and socialise with each other, turning the corner on years of decline.”
Lord Hendy said the machines were “an engineering marvel” and “brings HS2’s journey to Euston another step closer to reality”.
HS2 has been beleaguered by delays and setbacks and the cost has snowballed to at least £80bn.
There have been reports the project could cost £100bn, even after the legs to Manchester and Leeds were scrapped. A revised cost and schedule for HS2 will be published this year.
Under the previous government, there were doubts over whether HS2 would terminate in Euston due to funding costs. In 2023, work on a new station at Euston was put on pause.
Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said extending the high-speed rail project from Old Oak Common to Euston would be reliant on private investment.
However, in her Budget in October the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, committed to the funding required to begin tunnelling work to Euston.
It is still not clear exactly what the station will look like, or when it will be completed.
A new body, the Euston Delivery Company, is due to lead delivery of what the government says will be an “affordable and integrated transport hub”. This new body has yet to be established.
The government says taking HS2 to Euston is “essential to unlocking the project’s full economic potential”.
One of the most expensive aspects of HS2 has been the need for tunnels. The track from London to Birmingham needs to be as straight as possible to allow for high speed.
Objections from local residents and the need to protect areas of outstanding natural beauty through which the route runs have pushed up costs.
The first phase of the project was initially scheduled to open by the end of this year.
This was pushed back to between 2029 and 2033, but it has since been confirmed that that deadline will also be missed.
Business
Top stocks to buy today: Stock recommendations for May 7, 2026 – check list – The Times of India
Top stock market recommendations: Aakash K Hindocha, Deputy Vice President – WM Research, Nuvama Professional Clients Group has picked Godrej Properties, V-Mart Retail, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories as the top stock recommendations for May 7, 2026. The analyst has also shared his outlook for Nifty, Bank Nifty. Let’s take a look:Index View: NiftyThe index has broken out of its consolidation band of 23750 – 24300 as global news flow acted as a tailwind in the second half of yesterday’s session. 24000 is now likely to act as base for an up move towards 24770 / 25000. A 2 week range has broken out, and initial upside can unfold for a target of 500 points higher.Bank NiftyBank Nifty as well has broken out from its sideways one-week range, the index had been underperforming for the past 1 week to Nifty while that underperformance seems to be ending now. The ongoing leg can now open for another 1000 pt upside for a target of 57100 odd.
Stock recommendations:
Godrej Properties (BUY):
- LCP: 1867
- Stop Loss: 1750
- Target: 2080
Godrej Properties is on the verge of an 18-month sloping trendline breakout which could potentially mark an end to its ongoing 6 quarter correction which eroded over 50% of market value from its all-time highs. Stock is likely to gain further traction given its weightage on the Nifty Realty index and strength across the board on the index. Nifty realty is by far the best sectoral index on percentage gain from turf to current highs in this broader market recovery started from fiscal 2027.V-Mart Retail (BUY):
- LCP: 650
- Stop Loss: 610
- Target: 714
An inverted head and shoulder pattern has broken out on daily charts of VMART. This is a textbook style formation given both shoulders in the pattern have spent an equal amount of time in its formation before breaking out. Stock has also closed at a 12 week high yesterday with results due today, expectations have built up on the counter while price action suggests a northward continuation to unfold.Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (BUY):
- LCP: 1311
- Stop Loss: 1265
- Target: 1420
The stock has broken out from its18-month consolidation on weekly charts with it completing its retest of the breakout as well. With Nifty Pharma index making a fresh all time high, a strong tailwind on all of its components are here to play. DRREDDY has ~10% weightage on the index and its rising 200 DMA is likely to act as a smoothened support going forward. Strong traction is likely to unfold once the stock starts trading above the 1325-1330 zone. (Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India.)
Deliveroo is set to significantly broaden its offerings beyond its core takeaway service, introducing a new feature that will allow customers to book restaurant reservations directly through its platform.
The initiative, named Deliveroo Reservations, is scheduled to launch initially in London this Thursday.
Customers will gain the ability to secure tables at a range of prominent London eateries, including Dishoom, Dove, Hide, Kricket, Barrafina, and Kolae. This expansion marks a strategic move for the company, which was acquired by US-based DoorDash for £2.9 billion last year.
The new reservation system integrates technology from SevenRooms, a restaurant booking platform business that DoorDash also purchased for approximately £900 million.
This integration follows DoorDash’s own expansion into restaurant bookings on its platform in the United States late last year, setting a precedent for Deliveroo’s latest venture.
This move is central to Deliveroo’s ambitions to grow beyond its established takeaway delivery model in the UK. While the feature will first be rolled out to restaurants in London, Deliveroo has indicated plans to extend the service across the wider UK later in the year.
Suzy McClintock, vice president for consumer and new verticals at Deliveroo, commented on the development: “This launch is about supporting restaurants to grow in new ways. Whether it’s a Deliveroo order or a reservation in store, we want to drive discovery, demand and revenue across every channel.”
She added: “By fully integrating SevenRooms into the Deliveroo app, we’re giving restaurants access to new customers and giving diners an easier way to discover and book some of London’s best tables – all in one place.”
Joel Montaniel, vice president and co-founder of SevenRooms, echoed this sentiment, stating: “Bringing reservations into the Deliveroo app gives London restaurants a new way to connect with diners and grow, while making it easy for consumers to discover and book great restaurants.”
Business
Warner Bros. Discovery books $2.9 billion net loss tied to Paramount deal, restructuring costs
An American flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12, 2025.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday reported a staggering net loss for the first quarter, but it has an explanation.
The company booked a net loss of $2.9 billion, far larger than the net loss of $453 million it reported in the year-earlier quarter.
The figure included $1.3 billion of “pre-tax acquisition-related amortization of intangibles, content fair value step-up and restructuring expenses” as well as the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner Bros. Discovery owed Netflix after their pending transaction fell through in February.
Netflix walked away from its proposed deal to buy WBD’s assets after Paramount Skydance came in with a higher offer. Paramount agreed to pay the termination fee as part of its agreement to buy the entirety of WBD, but the cost lives on WBD’s books until the close of that deal.
Since the amount is refundable to Paramount under certain circumstances, such as if it were to terminate the deal with Paramount for a higher offer, the obligation would be shifted to WBD.
Paramount’s proposed acquisition received approval from WBD shareholders in April and is currently in the midst of a regulatory review process. On Monday, Paramount said in its earnings release that it has “made significant progress” toward closing the deal, which it expects to be completed in the third quarter.
WBD on Wednesday also reported first-quarter revenue that was down 1% year over year to $8.89 billion. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization was up 5% to $2.2 billion. WBD had $33.4 billion in gross debt at the end of the quarter.
Streaming continued to be a highlight for the company.
Total streaming revenue was up 9% to about $2.89 billion as subscriber revenue increased due to the expansion of HBO Max — WBD’s flagship streaming platform — in international markets. Advertising revenue for the unit was up 20% due to an increase in customers subscribing to the ad-supported tier.
The company said in a shareholder letter it exceeded its guidance of more than 140 million global streaming customers at the end of the first quarter, and it remains on track to surpass 150 million global subscribers by the end of the year.
WBD’s portfolio of pay TV networks, which includes CNN, TBS and the Discovery Channel, continued to weigh on the company. The linear TV networks reported $4.38 billion in revenue, down 8% from the prior year. The company said linear advertising revenue was down 11%, which was primarily driven by the absence of NBA media rights from its portfolio.
Revenue for the film studio division, meanwhile, increased 35% to $3.13 billion year over year.
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