Tuesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Elon Musk, youth unemployment

(Sharecast News) - A rescue deal for Thames Water is under threat because of a potential change in prime minister, government insiders have said. Ministers are negotiating a takeover deal for the stricken water company with a consortium of creditors led by American investment firm Elliott Management. But government sources said that deal, which some expected to be concluded this month, has run into problems in part because of the uncertainty surrounding Keir Starmer's position as prime minister. - Guardian The operator of Belfast harbour plans to spend £1.3bn over the next 25 years to take advantage of strong economic growth in Northern Ireland, in what would be one of the largest non-governmental investments in the region's history. The Belfast Harbour Commissioners said the money would be spent on upgrading the port, with the possibility of residential property developments that could add another £750m in investment on top. - Guardian

Elon Musk has lost a legal fight against OpenAI, clearing the way for the ChatGPT maker to launch a $1tn (£745bn) flotation. In a unanimous verdict on Monday, a US jury ruled against the Tesla billionaire, saying he had left it too late to bring his case against OpenAI. The nine-person jury found that OpenAI, Sam Altman, its chief executive, and Greg Brockman, its president, were not liable for Mr Musk's claims against the company. They said Mr Musk had brought his case after the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations. - Telegraph

English wine makers have suffered their worst spring frost in a decade, raising fears it could wipe out harvests at vineyards across the country. Nicola Bates, the chief executive of industry group WineGB, said a number of vineyards would not make "a lot of wine this year" after they were struck by plunging temperatures earlier this month. - Telegraph

A recent fall has led to levels of youth employment approaching the decline seen during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The number of payrolled employees aged 16 to 24 fell by 4.3 percentage points, or 330,000 people, between December 2022 and December 2025, to 50.6 per cent from 54.9 per cent. - The Times

The liquidators of Evergrande, the collapsed Chinese housebuilding group, are seeking damages of more than $8 billion from its auditor PwC. They accuse the Big Four firm, which signed off on Evergrande's accounts for 14 years before its failure in 2021, of being negligent in its audit work. A Hong Kong court was told on Monday that the liquidators, Edward Middleton ⁠and Tiffany Wong of Alvarez & Marsal, were seeking 57 billion yuan ($8.4 billion), which they could use to repay some of Evergrande's creditors. - The Times