Monday newspaper round-up: Green levies, Thames Water, oil prices

(Sharecast News) - The government is to slash green levies on thousands of businesses, in an effort to bring down sky-high energy costs for firms and boost the manufacturing sector in Labour heartlands. The measure is a key plank of the long-awaited industrial strategy, a 10-year plan to boost sectors ranging from the creative industries to manufacturing. - Guardian Lenders trying to take control of Thames Water are attempting to thwart environmental campaigners by asking the government to block them from pursuing high court claims. Creditors owed £13bn by Britain's biggest water company want ministers to order the Environment Agency (EA) to prioritise "environmental betterment over punitive enforcement" - which they believe would "significantly mitigate" the risk of campaigners bringing judicial reviews or private prosecutions. - Guardian

British Airways and Singapore Airlines have suspended flights to Dubai in the wake of US airstrikes on Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning. The UK's flag carrier cancelled its two scheduled flights to Dubai and Doha, the capital of Qatar, that were set to depart from Heathrow Airport on Sunday afternoon, with BA saying no services will operate to or from the Gulf states for the day. - Telegraph

Oil prices will surge above $100 a barrel if Iran blocks the world's most important crude shipping route in retaliation for America bombing its nuclear sites, analysts believe. Iran's parliament voted on Sunday to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint through which tankers carry about a fifth of global oil supplies. - The Times