Spanish utility Iberdrola will this week launch an Irish retail business and plans to invest over €100m in renewable energy and storage projects on the island of Ireland by 2025. The move is part of a company-wide goal to invest around €34 billion to 2022 on renewables and energy network systems and expand in retail markets across Europe. The Iberdrola Ireland business will create around 150 jobs over the next six months, Colin McNeill, CEO retail Iberdrola Ireland and Iberdrola's UK arm ScottishPower said. | Energy giant Total said its new supercomputer - which has propelled it to a world ranking as the most powerful computer in the sector - will enable its geologists to find oil faster, cheaper and with a better success rate. The Pangea III computer, built by IBM, will help process complex seismic data in the search for hydrocarbons 10 times faster that before, Total said. The computing power of the Pangea III has been increased to 31.7 so-called 'petaflops' from 6.7 petaflops in 2016, and from 2.3 petaflops in 2013, Total said. | Leasing giant GECAS is in talks to place an order for the newly launched Airbus, industry sources said, after a subdued start to Paris Airshow for aircraft orders. An order from the aviation leasing unit of General Electric for the latest extended-range version of the A321neo could come at the air show, they said. Planemakers yesterday continued to notch up orders after a relatively quiet opening to the Paris Airshow, which runs from June 17-23, with the event overshadowed by the continued grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX. | British companies look set to cut their investment by the most in 10 years in 2019 as the Brexit crisis drags on, weighing on future economic growth prospects, a survey showed today. Business investment - key for productivity and pay growth - was forecast to fall by 1.3% this year before growing by only 0.4% in 2020, the British Chambers of Commerce said. The BCC nudged up its overall economic growth forecast for 2019 to 1.3%, reflecting a surge in stockpiling by companies before the original Brexit deadline in March. | German airline Lufthansa has lowered its profit outlook for 2019, citing intense price competition from low-cost rivals in Europe. The group's adjusted margin for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was forecast between 5.5% and 6.5%, down from 6.5% to 8% previously, Lufthansa said in a statement late last night. This would result in pre-tax EBIT of between €2 billion and €2.4 billion, compared with the previously targeted €2.4 billion to €3 billion, it said. | Safety concerns, trade wars and growing security tensions in the Gulf are dampening spirits at the world's largest planemakers as they arrive at this week's Paris Airshow with little to celebrate despite bulging order books. The aerospace industry's marquee event is a chance to take the pulse of the $150-billion-a-year commercial aircraft industry. Many analysts believe the sector is entering a slowdown due to global pressures from trade tensions to flagging economies, highlighted by a profit warning from Lufthansa last night.   |||