News in brief: Bank chairman ditches Weir job, Meggitt looks to a lift from overhauls, EU may act over Dhaka disaster

Rescue workers attempt to rescue garment workers from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka. Two Western retailers have promised to compensate families of garment workers killed while making their clothes in a Bangladesh factory building that collapsed last week in the country's worst industrial accident.

Sajid Hossain/Reuters

1 May 2013

The chairman of the Green Investment Bank has given up the same role at Weir Group, the FTSE 100 manufacturer of turbines and slurry-handling equipment.

The shares fell 1% today on news that Lord Smith of Kelvin will step down at the end of the year to be replaced by Charles Berry, who is also chairman at coal-fired power station group Drax. Weir also said that it expected low single-digit revenue growth this year.

Meggitt looks to a lift from overhauls

Aircraft parts maker Meggitt today shrugged off uncertainty around defence budgets, saying it had grown revenues “modestly” so far this year.

Chairman Sir Colin Terry said Meggitt was forecasting mid-single-digit revenue growth this year, mostly thanks to an expected recovery in demand for after-market maintenance contracts — the overhauling of jets and engines.

EU may act over Dhaka disaster

The European Union may take trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its clothes, in order to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed hundreds of factory workers.

Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh’s garment exports into an industry worth $19 billion (£12 billion) a year industry.