Tuesday newspaper round-up: Asda, Capricorn Energy, Wirecard

MPs have called for a ban on forced installations of prepayment meters amid fears that elderly and vulnerable people are being effectively cut off from heating and power supplies. Prepayment meters (PPM) are under the spotlight as thousands of warrants allowing forced installations are being issued while households struggle with a rise in the cost of energy. – Guardian

A raft of nuclear power station closures have condemned France to two years of low output at the height of the European energy crisis, the country's state-owned electricity company has said. EDF is forecasting annual output below historic typical levels until 2024 as it grapples with maintaining its ageing fleet. – Telegraph

Asda is battling a shortage of shopping trolleys in the crucial lead-up to Christmas. The supermarket is waiting on stocks of trolleys to be replenished after placing an order in October, as manufacturers in China are impeded by rigid Covid restrictions and a surge in cases. In some locations across the UK, Asda shoppers have been faced with empty trolley racks as a result. – Telegraph

A leading investor in Capricorn Energy is attempting to oust almost all of the oil company’s board in protest at a proposed merger it has called “a quick sale at the wrong price”. Palliser Capital, a hedge fund that owns almost 7 per cent of the FTSE 250 group’s shares, has requisitioned an emergency general meeting to seek the removal of seven of the nine directors including Simon Thomson, the chief executive, who has led the company for more than a decade. – The Times

Wirecard was “a swindle from the beginning” with the former chief executive Markus Braun at its core, a key prosecution witness in a criminal fraud trial examining its collapse has told a court in Munich. Oliver Bellenhaus, who was head of the German payments group’s subsidiary in Dubai, became a chief witness in the case after turning himself in to the authorities in 2020. – The Times