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Friday newspaper round-up: Starling Bank, airlines, SFO, EDF

(Sharecast News) - Starling Bank has reported its first annual profit thanks to a surge in lending, though executives played down the impact that a controversial boom in Covid loans had on its path to profit. The chief executive and founder, Anne Boden, said the latest set of earnings were a "landmark" for the eight-year-old digital bank. Starling, which is backed by investors including Goldman Sachs and Austrian billionaire Harald McPike, swung to an inaugural annual profit of £32m for the year to March, from a loss of nearly £14m over the previous 12 months. - Guardian Airlines have been warned that they could face fines if they do not tackle "harmful practices" fuelling chaos at UK airports, including selling more tickets than they can supply and not warning passengers about the risk of cancellations. In an open letter, the aviation and competition watchdogs told carriers they could be penalised if they are shown to be contributing to the misery of passengers hit by this summer's widespread airport disruption. - Guardian

The embattled director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has vowed to fight on after an official review laid bare "disastrous" mistakes in a major bribery investigation, and the third man jailed in the case had his conviction quashed. Lisa Osofsky, who was appointed in 2018, admitted that the findings of former High Court judge Sir David Calvert-Smith made a "sobering read" but that she intends to stay put and implement his recommendations. - Telegraph

Indian conglomerate Tata Group has threatened to shut Port Talbot steel works unless it is given a £1.5bn government lifeline to help reduce carbon emissions. The company's Tata Steel UK business, which owns the plant in South Wales, has been in talks with the Government about decarbonisation plans over the past two years, but those have now stalled. As one of Britain's largest industrial groups, Tata Steel UK is a huge emitter of carbon dioxide. - Telegraph

EDF is seeking to amend the controversial subsidy contract for its £26 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear plant so that it will not be penalised even if the plant does not start to generate power by 2030. Hinkley was supposed to start up in 2025 but EDF has pushed this back to mid-2027, primarily blaming Covid disruption, and warned of the risk of a further 15-month delay. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Toblerone, Rolls-Royce
(Sharecast News) - A group of creditors to troubled Thames Water are poised to vote on whether to grant an emergency £2.4bn loan to keep the company afloat, as campaigners raise concerns it could add £40 to each household's bills in interest alone. A consortium of creditors, called London & Valley Water, will vote on Thursday on whether to increase a funding facility for the debt-laden utility company to £5.4bn to keep it operating to autumn 2027. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Sizewell plant, Rosebank oilfield, Google
(Sharecast News) - The government's plan to fund a multibillion-pound nuclear plant at the Sizewell site in Suffolk represents a "terrible deal" for the UK taxpayer over the rest of the century, according to the government's spending watchdog. MPs on the public accounts committee (PAC) have warned the government that the cost of the Sizewell C nuclear reactor could spiral to almost £48bn, leaving bill payers on the hook to provide an extra £9.8bn to construct the plant before 2040 and a further £12bn over its 60-year operating life. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Shop price inflation, Microsoft, Helsing
(Sharecast News) - Shop price inflation has risen to the highest level in two and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium, which warned that "the dam is starting to break" when it comes to retailers trying to limit price rises for customers. The lobby group said shop price inflation was 2.1% year on year in October, a sharp rise compared with 1.4% in September, and an indication that retailers were beginning to pass on the rising costs of energy and food ingredients since the Middle East conflict broke out. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Pensioners and the Budget, interest rate expectations, Audi US factory
(Sharecast News) - The chancellor will use his Budget this week to protect pensioners and those saving for their retirement, as he announces plans to shield nearly 1m people from paying income tax. John Healey is expected to confirm on Wednesday that the full state pension will rise by £489 to £13,036 - equivalent to 3.9%. However, the rise will push about 1m people on low incomes who rely on the state pension above the £12, 570 personal allowance threshold, meaning they would be dragged into paying income tax. To retain the principle that the state pension is not taxable, Healey is expected to announce a rise in the tax-free allowance for low-income pensions to £13,036. The move will cost taxpayers £200m a year by 20230 - The Times

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