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Monday newspaper round-up: Russian debts, BrewDog, Virgin Atlantic

(Sharecast News) - A Russian default on its debts after western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine is no longer "improbable", but would not trigger a global financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday. The Washington-based fund's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the sanctions imposed by the United States and other nations were already having a "severe" impact on the Russian economy and would trigger a deep recession there this year. The war in Ukraine will also drive up food and energy prices, leading to hunger in Africa, she added. - Guardian The boss of BrewDog, James Watt, hired private investigators to obtain information about people whom he believed were taking part in a smear campaign against him and repeatedly accused one woman of being involved until she blocked him on social media. According to multiple sources and evidence seen by the Guardian, private investigators who said they were working for Watt approached people to gather evidence about those who he appeared to believe had maligned him. - Guardian

Virgin Atlantic will reignite its decades-long dogfight with British Airways after a fortuitous bet that oil prices would rocket paid off following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a departure from previous years, Sir Richard Branson's airline has locked in fuel prices for 2022 at $90 a barrel, saving the carrier tens of millions of pounds, The Telegraph can disclose. - Telegraph

The government is exploring whether old coal-fired power stations that are due to close this year could be kept open to ease the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Officials have approached EDF to find out if its West Burton A plant in Nottinghamshire could continue generating beyond its planned September closure date, The Times can reveal. - The Times

Companies face fresh pressure to pull out of Russia after Rishi Sunak told them to "think very carefully" about investments there. The chancellor warned yesterday that there was "no case for new investment in Russia". He also welcomed announcements by businesses including BP and Shell that they were offloading Russian assets. Sunak said: "The government supports further signals of intent." His intervention escalates government efforts to urge companies to sever links with Russia. - The Times

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Friday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, National Lottery owner, FCA
(Sharecast News) - An energy minister has told the bosses of Great Britain's biggest energy suppliers to do more to help households get on top of their unpaid energy bills this winter, before the government spends almost £2.5bn to help write off the country's record high debts. Energy bosses were summoned to a roundtable meeting on Thursday to discuss the government's plan to pay down the energy debts of about 2.4m of the hardest-hit households. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: North Sea drilling, Poundland, ESG funds
(Sharecast News) - The UK is "dangerously" dependent on China for critical raw materials needed for the military, renewable energy infrastructure and AI, a parliamentary investigation has found. MPs on the business select committee called for an urgent centralised policy and the creation of a "critical minerals finance facility" to help fund rare earth and other critical mineral mines, and deploy grants, equity and debt to accelerate a diversification programme. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Trade deals, fridge hacks, AMD
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham is preparing to announce billions of pounds of trade deals with the EU covering everything from youth visas to pet passports under his vision of a much closer relationship with the bloc. With the prime minister scheduled to meet his European counterparts in Brussels on 20 November, officials have all but agreed three deals that would allow farmers to sell freely to the continent and travellers to take their animals abroad more easily. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Poundland staff, Apple, Anthropic
(Sharecast News) - The founder of Poundland has warned that staff at the retailer could be out of work for "years" if it collapses, as he called on the owners of the troubled chain to accept a proposed buyout deal. Steve Smith, who set up the firm with a store in Burton upon Trent in 1990, said: "Once these jobs are lost, they are lost" from Britain's struggling high streets. His warning comes as the chain's 12,000 employees face uncertainty over their future in the run-up to Christmas. - Guardian

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