Companies to watch: Shell, Royal Mail and Primera Air

Here’s an overview of some key companies the Yahoo Finance UK team is monitoring today in Europe:

Shell

European energy giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.L) announced Tuesday it’s moving ahead to develop a massive liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Canada. It’s the first major new LNG project to win approval globally in five years and it’s the largest energy investment in Canadian history.

Shell said construction of the site at Kitimat in the province of British Colombia will start immediately. LNG exports from the facility are expected by the mid-2020s.

Shell has a 40% stake in the project, which is expected to cost roughly $14bn to build. Other smaller stakeholders include PetroChina, Korea Gas, Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.

Shares in Shell were steady on Tuesday.

Royal Mail

Shares in the 500-year-old postal service Royal Mail (RMG.L) slumped by about 8% to a record low on Tuesday morning after the firm warned annual profit would be far lower than expected. It’s been hit by weaker letter volumes and shrinking margins. The warning came out late on Monday afternoon.

Primera Air

Nordic budget airline Primera Air announced it would stop all its operations as of Tuesday, making it the latest European airline to go bust.

Britain’s Monarch Airlines collapsed in October 2017 after falling victim to intense competition and a weaker pound.

Air Berlin, which was Germany’s second biggest airline, filed for bankruptcy in August 2017.

Primera had had big plans to launch transatlantic flights between Europe and the US for prices that were clearly too good to be true, starting around €149 (£132, $172).

Italian companies

Shares in companies traded on Italy’s FTSE MIB index took a sharp drop before regaining their poise on Tuesday. Political posturing by Italian lawmakers, and their threats to increase government spending and the government deficit, led to negative sentiment in the markets. Yields on 10-year Italian bonds surged to their highest level in over four years and the euro took a hit.

“Verbal toing and froing between Italy and Brussels is likely to keep investors a little cautious of piling back into Italian assets,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Peugeot

French automaker Peugeot (UG.PA) — also known as PSA Group — is launching a number of new models at the Paris International Motor Show this week.

One concept car that stood out from the crowd was the all-electric DS X e-Tense, which features an asymmetrical frame along with a Nespresso machine, a glass floor and feather details behind the passenger seat. The car was unveiled on Tuesday.

With files from Reuters