Wednesday newspaper round-up: Meta, Royal Mail, Octopus Investments

(Sharecast News) - A New Mexico jury on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties after it found the company misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation, against its users. This is the first bench trial to find Meta liable for acts committed on its platform. - Guardian Daniel Křetínský, the Czech billionaire who bought Royal Mail's parent company for £3.6bn last year, has insisted that service has not declined under his ownership, despite heavy criticism of late deliveries and price rises. In a defensive and sometimes impassioned performance in front of MPs on the business select committee, Křetínský said he was "deeply sorry" for any letters that arrive late. - Guardian

The chairman of Ed Miliband's state-backed energy company has argued for "more North Sea production" to slow job losses in the oil and gas sector. Jürgen Maier, the former Siemens boss who now oversees Great British Energy (GB Energy), said more domestic oil and gas drilling was needed to buy time for workers in the North Sea so they could retrain for net zero jobs. He said increased drilling would also generate higher tax revenues and produce fewer carbon emissions than imports. - Telegraph

A leading City fund manager is set to cut a fifth of its staff to keep pace with rapid AI changes upending the asset management industry. Octopus Investments, which manages nearly £15bn, is to put 130 roles at risk of redundancy in an effort to streamline its operations, City sources said. Most of the roles are understood to be back-office positions. The company employs just over 600 staff, meaning about one in five roles will go. - Telegraph

The group behind Alton Towers and the London Eye has written down the value of Madame Tussauds by £262 million, as the 190-year-old attraction battles falling visitor numbers. Merlin Entertainments said the writedown on its famous wax museum business was a result of the "challenging macro environment, particularly in North America and Asia", but said it was focused on "reinvigorating" the brand this year "in line with changing consumer trends". - The Times