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Friday newspaper round-up: Thales, energy price cap, The Observer

(Sharecast News) - New inheritance tax rules for farmers could be changed to make it easier for those 80 and over to hand down their farm without it incurring the tax, in what would be a partial climbdown by the government after a bruising row with farmers and a huge protest march in Westminster on Tuesday. The Treasury is understood to be assessing the impact of changes, including amending gifting rules for over-80s so they can pass on their farm to their family without having to live for seven years after making the gift. - Guardian

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating suspected bribery and corruption at Thales Group, a multinational aerospace and defence electronics contractor. The company, which is headquartered in Paris and has a UK subsidiary employing more than 7,000 staff, is known in defence circles for its varied businesses, which include making missiles and launchers, supplying sonar systems for the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines and designing the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. - Guardian

Italy, Abu Dhabi and Cyprus are among a group of countries seeking to woo Britain's rich following the government crackdown on nom-doms. Countries are holding events across London to convince the UK's 67,000 non-doms - UK residents with tax domiciles elsewhere - to relocate in the wake of the election and Labour's first Budget. - Telegraph

Energy bills for most households in Britain will rise by an average £21 to £1,738 a year from January, increasing the pressure on millions of people. Ofgem, the energy regulator, raised the price cap by 1 per cent, from £1,717 in the present quarter, in response to a rebound in wholesale gas prices amid mounting global political turmoil and extreme weather events. - The Times

The former editor of The Observer has criticised plans for it to be sold after its suitor warned it was "heading down a path to closure" if a deal cannot be struck. Paul Webster, who retired on Saturday after 28 years at the Sunday newspaper, said the proposed sale to the digital start-up Tortoise Media would "severely damage the reputation" of its owner the Scott Trust. - The Times

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(Sharecast News) - California's home-insurance safety net does not have enough money to pay all of the claims from damage caused by the Los Angeles wildfires and has asked private insurers to contribute $1bn toward those claims. All private insurers operating in California are required to contribute to the Fair plan, a plan of last resort established so all Californians would have access to fire insurance. More than 450,000 California homeowners got their insurance through the Fair plan in 2024 - more than double the number in 2020. As of 4 February, the plan had received more than 4,700 claims from the Palisades and Eaton fires, almost half of which were for "total losses". - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - The British economy is on course to expand by 1.5% this year after the budget gave a boost to public spending but could be blown off course if Donald Trump goes ahead with threatened tariffs, a leading economic thinktank has warned. In a boost to Rachel Reeves after a bruising month of negative economic figures, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) upped its annual growth prediction from 1.2% to 1.5%. - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk escalated his feud with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday. The billionaire is leading a consortium of investors that announced it had submitted a bid of $97.4bn for "all assets" of the artificial intelligence company to OpenAI's board of directors. The startup, which operates ChatGPT, has been working to restructure itself away from its original non-profit status. OpenAI also operates a for-profit subsidiary, and Musk's unsolicited offer could complicate the company's plans. The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed bid. - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - An increasingly complex tax system is burdening the government and businesses with hundreds of millions of pounds more in administration costs, Whitehall's spending watchdog has warned. The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) also said "poor levels of service" meant some taxpayers and their representatives were "finding it more difficult to deal with their tax matters and are losing trust in HM Revenue & Customs [HMRC]". - Guardian

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