Wednesday newspaper preview: South West Water, Hyve, Royal Exchange

(Sharecast News) - A utility company has been fined £1.85m for supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak made hundreds of people sick and forced thousands of households to boil their water. South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, in the spring and summer of 2024. - Guardian The Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil, charging that the world's 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are "unreasonable'' and that "burden or restrict US commerce". Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he received the decision "with indignation". The Brazil president also blamed the decision by the US administration on his rival in October's elections, Flávio Bolsonaro, the senator who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, once nicknamed "the Trump of the Tropics" by his allies. - Guardian

Labour has been warned it risks "locking young people out of work" after it published sweeping new proposals for its zero-hours contract ban. The Government has been accused of fuelling Britain's youth unemployment crisis after the release of new consultation documents in which it suggested extending protections for people on zero-hours contracts to millions of workers. - Telegraph

Britain "must fight" to attract foreign investment, the chief executive of Barclays has said, as the UK's share of international funding declines. CS Venkatakrishnan, Barclays' chief executive, said the UK risked losing its allure as a global investment hub amid the "growing intensity of international competition". The UK's share of foreign capital has fallen over the past decade from 8.6pc to 7pc, a study by the bank found, even as Labour has attempted to win over international investors since taking power. - Telegraph

The private equity firms that snapped up Hyve, a British business events organiser, for less than £500 million in the aftermath of the pandemic have sold it on for about triple that sum three years later. Hellman & Friedman, an American private equity house, on Tuesday agreed to buy Hyve from Providence Equity and Searchlight Capital for $1.8 billion (£1.34 billion). - The Times

The retail element of the Royal Exchange, one of the City of London's most recognisable buildings, has been put up for sale. Its American owner, The Ardent Companies, has instructed agents to find a buyer for the basement, ground floor and terrace that it bought for close to £50 million less than four years ago. - The Times