Press Round-Up Full (Premium)
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Water firms, Labour tax raid, Boeing, BMW
The future ownership of the water industry should be decided by a citizens’ assembly to remove decision-making from boardrooms and impose democracy on the sector, a private member’s bill is to argue. Labour MP Clive Lewis, who in the past has called for water to be put back into public ownership, will introduce his bill on the future of water ownership and management later today. - Guardian.
Friday newspaper round-up: Arena Television, social care, Obama, Netflix, Pret a Manger
Liquidators of Arena Television, the failed outside broadcast business at the centre of what has been called Britain’s “largest ever” asset-based lending fraud, are suing Lloyds Banking Group for up to £285 million. Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland subsidiary are accused of processing payments “without authority”, allegedly allowing Arena’s directors to perpetrate a “substantial and wide-ranging fraud” against scores of lenders, court filings show.
Friday newspaper round-up: Microsoft, mortgage rates, Boeing, Alphabet, Trump
Microsoft beat Wall Street estimates for its third-quarter revenue last night, driven by gains from artificial intelligence adoption across its cloud services and business software products. The company said its revenues had risen to $61. 9 billion, up by 17 per cent and exceeding the $60. 8 billion, or 15 per cent rise, that had been forecast. Its net income was $21. 9 billion, up by 20% from the year before. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Royal Mail, welfare bill, Boeing, Alstom, Federal Reserve
The Labour Party is open to the prospect of a takeover of the owner of Royal Mail by the struggling postal group’s Czech billionaire investor, which is considering a renewed approach. EP Group, a conglomerate controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, revealed on Tuesday that it had made a “non-binding indicative proposal” to the board of International Distributions Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent company, on April 9 seeking its recommendation for a possible cash offer for the remainder of the shares it does not already own.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: IMF, champagne, Boeing, Plus500, Trump Media
Rising energy prices and disruption to international shipping risk “stalling” declines in inflation in leading economies, the International Monetary Fund has warned, telling central banks that the “last mile” of their battle against price rises may be the hardest. In its latest assessment of global financial stability, the IMF said markets were vulnerable to another round of volatility if investors continued to push back their expectations for interest rate cuts this year, leading to falls in bond and stock prices.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Tesla, Trump trial, Boeing, Thames Water, Apple
Tesla is to cut more than 14,000 jobs as Elon Musk’s groundbreaking electric car company feels the heat of a global price war with Chinese rivals at the same time as stalled demand for zero-emission vehicles. In an email to staff amid reports that workers in California and Texas have begun receiving redundancy notices, Musk stated: “As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity.
Monday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Middle East, fuel prices, oil exploration, tax havens
A 20-year-old children’s charity that shut down after an error by Barclays led to its account being closed was offered only £250 in compensation by the bank. JusB, which worked with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, initially was offered the sum along with an apology for a mistake that resulted in the charity being cut off from its finances for nearly a month last year. This offer was increased later to £525, which Sir Robert Neill, the charity’s constituency MP, called “trivial” and said “bears no relation to the harm done”.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, NHS strikes, rental crisis, Ford, shop prices
The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates at least twice in 2024, economists polled by The Times have said, as inflation slides to within touching distance of the official 2 per cent target and as economic growth stalls. A majority of the 41 economists who took part in The Times’s seventh annual economists’ survey said that the Bank of England would partly reverse its aggressive tightening of monetary policy amid downtrodden economic growth and weaker price pressures.
Friday newspaper round-up: Whitehall pay squeeze, rail delays, Donald Trump, short sellers, NI cuts
Civil servants are being overpromoted to get round a Whitehall pay squeeze, analysis suggests. “Grade inflation” in Whitehall is costing £1. 5 billion a year and resulting in less-qualified staff doing senior jobs, the Institute for Government has warned. At the same time, permanent secretaries and other top officials who cannot be promoted are experiencing much bigger pay cuts that are driving talented people to the private sector, the think tank warns. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Nursery places, Storm Gerrit, recycling, OpenAI, vinyls
The Labour Party is drawing up plans to create thousands of new nursery places for the under fives as part of a signature offer to working parents before the next election. Under proposals expected to be in its manifesto, the party is looking to fund new nurseries in primary schools across the country to provide continuity of education for younger children. The centres would be integrated into existing schools as part of what Labour claims will be a “modernised childcare system” available from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: First-time buyers, inheritance tax, Man U, Anglo American
The Conservatives will promise to cut the up-front cost of a home for first-time buyers as a pre-election giveaway to win over younger voters. In what is expected to be a central element of the party’s campaign, Michael Gove told The Times that it would “definitely” have a new offer in place before polling day. - The Times.