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Friday newspaper round-up: Steelworkers, TM Lewin, AstraZeneca, Bulb

Fri 18 Mar 2022 07:32

(Sharecast News) - Thousands of steelworkers were the victims of pension regulation failures that left some with losses of up to £489,000, an official report has found, prompting accusations that the UK financial watchdog was "asleep at the wheel". The National Audit Office's findings relate to a 2017 scandal involving members of the British Steel pension scheme, many of whom were persuaded to transfer their retirement savings by advisers who then pocketed huge fees. - Guardian

The shirtmaker TM Lewin has called in administrators for the second time in less than two years, becoming the latest victim of the general shift to working from home. The business, which operated 150 shops before the pandemic, has operated a solely online business since first calling in administrators in June 2020. As well as its specialism, shirts, it sells suits, knitwear, coats and accessories such as ties. - Guardian

AstraZeneca is braced to abandon efforts to get its Covid vaccine approved in the US if it is simply "banging its head against a brick wall indefinitely" with regulators. Sir Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's head of research and development, said the company did not need to "push [its Covid-19 vaccine] in places we are not needed or wanted". - Telegraph

HSBC may be closing down dozens more of its branches in the real world, but in the virtual world the bank is embarking on an expansion drive. It has bought a plot of virtual real estate in The Sandbox, an online gaming space majority-owned by the Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands. The bank did not say how much it paid for the land, which it will use to engage with its customers and sports and gaming fans in the metaverse. - The Times

MPs have called on the government to explain why it has barred administrators to Bulb Energy from hedging its gas and electricity purchases, leaving taxpayers exposed to rising costs as prices soar. Britain's seventh-biggest household energy supplier collapsed in November with 1.6 million customers and was placed into a government-backed special administration regime. The administrators, from Teneo, were provided with an initial £1.7 billion taxpayer loan. - The Times

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Thu 29 Oct 2026 07:19
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
Wed 28 Oct 2026 07:16
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
Tue 27 Oct 2026 07:12
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
Mon 26 Oct 2026 07:23
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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