Thursday newspaper round-up: Telegraph, AstraZeneca, Boeing
The government has said it intends to launch a second investigation into the Barclay family’s complex deal to transfer control of the Telegraph, after its Abu Dhabi-backed consortium partner revealed a last-minute corporate structure change that has raised public interest concerns. The culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, said she was “minded to” issue a new public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to call in the regulators Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to look at RedBird IMI’s move to create a new UK holding company to house the Telegraph and its sister magazine, The Spectator, when it takes control of the titles. – Guardian
Despite putting a new vehicle on the market, announcing another for 2025 and beating Wall Street’s expectations for vehicle deliveries, Tesla was not able to shake off its disappointing third quarter. The electric vehicle manufacturer brought in $25.1bn in revenue and posted $.71 in earnings a share in the fourth quarter of 2023, missing analyst expectations of 25.76bn in revenue and $0.74 earnings a share. The company’s fourth quarter revenue increased 3% year over year from $24.3bn in 2022. – Guardian
UK electricity prices have risen faster than almost any other developed country since 2019, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has found. Soaring wholesale costs and an increase in net zero levies have led to British households paying more for their power, as they now face the third highest prices in Europe. – Telegraph
AstraZeneca is seeking up to £100 million in government support to expand a vaccine production facility in northwest England. In a potential boost for both British manufacturing and the life sciences sector, the UK’s most valuable public company plans to submit a formal application next month to gain access to public funding to help to develop its nasal flu vaccines plant in Speke, near Liverpool. – The Times
The boss of Boeing said yesterday that the manufacturer would support the operation of its aircraft only if it was “100 per cent” confident in their safety after a federal regulator grounded some of its 737 Max 9 fleet. Dave Calhoun, the company’s chief executive, who was in Washington for meetings with senators, said: “We don’t put planes in the air that we don’t have 100 per cent confidence in.” He said that Boeing fully understood “the gravity of the situation”. – The Times