AstraZeneca’s numbers are good but trouble in China could drag it down | Nils Pratley

In the world of two weeks ago, AstraZeneca’s share price probably would have enjoyed a strong day on the release of Tuesday’s third-quarter numbers. The profit figure beat forecasts and the UK pharmaceutical company raised its guidance for growth in full-year revenues and earnings from “mid-teens” to “high teens”.Meanwhile, Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, unveiled a $3.5bn (£2.7bn) investment programme in the US and talked bullishly about prospects in AstraZeneca’s biggest market

Post Office to announce branch closures and job cuts in cost-cutting drive

The Post Office is expected to announce the closure of dozens of branches and cut up to 1,000 head office jobs as it seeks to reduce costs to secure its financial future.There are about 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK, of which 115 are wholly centrally owned. The rest are operated by independent post office operators under contract and partners such as WH Smith and Tesco.The Post Office is seeking to shut or refranchise most of its wholly owned network, known as crown post offices, affecting as many as 1,000 jobs.It has been reducing the number of crown post offices for a number of years

Genetic testing firm 23andMe cuts 40% of its workforce amid financial struggles

The genetic testing firm 23andMe said on Monday it would cut about 40%, or 200 employees, from its workforce and discontinue further development of all its therapies as part of a restructuring program.“We are taking these difficult but necessary actions as we restructure 23andMe and focus on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships,” said the company’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki.The company said it was evaluating strategic alternatives, including licensing agreements and asset sales, for its therapies in development.The company has been left with few options as its value has plummeted in the aftermath of a massive data breach. The DNA testing company is being investigated by British and Canadian authorities over the 2023 breach that exposed 6

TechScape: Will Elon Musk fire a third of the US government?

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian. In this week’s newsletter: Elon Musk and Donald Trump want to create a “Department of Government Efficiency”, crypto wins big across the board, and a modern equivalent of Lysistrata takes hold on TikTok. Thank you for joining me.Trump, president-elect of the US, said he wants to appoint Musk, the world’s richest man, as the country’s “secretary of cost-cutting” to reduce bureaucracy in the federal government by an order of $2tn, roughly a third

‘We don’t have any contact’: England will not benefit from Jones’ Springboks links

England will not be benefiting from the insider knowledge of their ­former Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones this weekend after it emerged that neither their players nor key staff members have been in contact with the Irishman, still supposedly employed remotely by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).England’s senior assistant coach, Richard Wigglesworth said he had not spoken to Jones and the players also say they have received no input from him before Saturday’s big game against South Africa. Jones handed in his resignation as defence coach after the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand but has not yet been formally released from his RFU contract.Steve Borthwick said last month Jones, who has been replaced as defensive guru by Joe El-Abd, would be ­analysing and studying opponents from home but Wigglesworth and the centre Henry Slade both indicated they had seen little sign of it.“I’ve not spoken to him,” said ­Wigglesworth, who previously worked closely with the former ­Ireland international

UK Athletics turns down Grand Slam Track involvement over financial concerns

UK Athletics has rejected the chance to be involved in Michael Johnson’s $30m (£23.5m) new Grand Slam Track competition because it fears it is too much of a financial risk. Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium and the London Stadium were rumoured to be among candidates to host one of the four events, which launches in Jamaica in April 2025. Los Angeles will be involved along with Miami, with the final venue to be announced this week.Many elite athletes, including the four-times US Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Britain’s Olympic 1500m silver medallist Josh Kerr have signed up for the series, which is modelled on the four tennis grand slams and has a prize fund of $12