Tuesday newspaper round-up: Inflation, Thames Water, Randox

Britain’s next government is poised to benefit from easing pressure on household finances after a slowdown in inflation in stores and a fall in fuel prices, but costs remain “too expensive” for many families. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that annual UK shop price inflation cooled last month to 0.2%, down from 0.6% in May – the slowest pace since October 2021 – as retailers cut the prices of many of their key products, including butter and coffee. – Guardian

Thames Water has been urged to show greater transparency over its finances and accused of “financial chicanery” after it emerged its board had approved a £150m dividend hours before its shareholders U-turned on providing emergency funding. The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the struggling water supplier agreed to the payout at a meeting on 27 March. – Guardian

A husband and wife duo who built an outdoor theatre on the grounds of their Suffolk farm estate have been catapulted into Britain’s rich list after netting £2bn from the sale of their financial data business. Mark and Lindy O’Hare, who own a Grade-II listed farmhouse and 350-seat theatre, have struck a deal to sell their data group Preqin to fund giant BlackRock for £2.5bn. – Telegraph

The future of a major British aerospace plant is in doubt with up to 2,400 jobs at risk following a carve-up of owner Spirit AeroSystems between Boeing and Airbus. A chunk of Spirit’s operations at the facility in Belfast have been left without an owner, putting the long-term future of the entire factory in danger. Boeing is to buy Kansas-based Spirit for $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in order to gain control of a key supplier to its troubled 737 Max jet, while offloading operations that provide components for Airbus to its European rival. This means Airbus will be taking control of a part of the Belfast factory that oversees wing and fuselage production for the Airbus A220 regional jet. – Telegraph

Randox plunged from Covid-era annual profits of £190 million to a loss of £40 million in 2023. The Northern Ireland-based health diagnostics firm, which sponsors the Grand National, said the losses had been expected as it had needed to restructure its operations after the pandemic. – The Times