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Sunday newspaper round-up: Energy bill freeze, Iceland, National Grid

(Sharecast News) - Lizz Truss declined in an interview with BBC One to rule out freezing energy bills in some form if she were elected, vowing to take action within a week if she were. Truss, who is widely expected to come out on top in the Tory leadership contest, vowed she would reveal her plans to ease the pain from soaring energy prices and expanding energy supply within seven days after entering Number 10. A plan to restart economic growth through tax cuts would be forthcoming within a month from assuming office. Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has proposed keeping the cap in place throughout the winter, putting the cost to the Treasury at £29bn. - The Sunday Telegraph Iceland boss Richard Walker called for a price cap on energy, arguing in an interview that otherwise "it might just be easier to mothball shops or temporarily close them because the energy costs are just completely unsustainable." The grocer had been especially hard hit because due to its need to store food in fridges and freezers. Higher energy bills recently led the frozen-foods chain to put off new store openings after his energy bill jumped by £20m, more than doubling the total. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

Campaigners have taken aim at what they said was energy regulator Ofgem's needlessly blocking construction of a giant cable linking the Orkney islands to the British mainland. That proposal, from SEE, could help reduce the country's dependence on foreign supplies because the green energy projects across the islands regularly produce more energy than they can actually use. Instead, the surplus could be delivered to the UK's National Grid. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

Moderna is preparing to bring to market a six-in-one jab capable of protecting people against Cobid-19 strains, flu and respiratory syncytial virus by winter 2025. The announcement by Moderna's UK boss, Darius Hughes, was made ahead of the scheduled launch, on Monday, of the biotechnology outfit's new bivalent vaccine, which protects against both the original coronavirus strain and Omicron. Moderna also pledged investment for a new manufacturing plant and research centre in the UK with links to universities with access to its platform. - The Sunday Times

Prospective PM Lizz Truss believes it is fair to give priority to national insurance cuts which benefit high-earners 250 times more than the poor. In remarks to BBC One, Truss said it was wrong to analyse all economic policy through the lens of redistribution. According to Truss, growing the economy was more important than reducing inequality. She also pledged immediate help over energy bills, but chose not to provide specifics. Details of her policies would only be given should she defeat Rishi Sunak and become the next Tory leader. - Guardian

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Greenland, Morrisons, Cisco Systems
(Sharecast News) - Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president's envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year. Amid Trump's imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland's eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a "strong warning" from the government. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Heatwaves, AI data centres, CoreWeave
(Sharecast News) - Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June's unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn. Updating its assessment to include last month's high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: consumer confidence, easyJet, Thames Water
(Sharecast News) - Consumer confidence hit its highest level in almost two years in July, according to research that indicated the closing stages of the men's football World Cup and more people holidaying in the UK lifted summer spending. A truce in the Middle East conflict in June and the arrival of a new prime minister in No 10 also gave a lift to consumers after a long period of heightened uncertainty. A long-running monthly consumer spending survey by Barclays showed that 30% of those surveyed felt confident about the strength of the UK economy in July - representing a 21-month high and a six-percentage-point improvement on June. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Harvey Nichols, Heathrow, Lloyds Banking Group
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has promised a series of measures to tackle the cost of living, including a ban on fake discounts and making it easier for people to escape unwanted subscriptions. The crackdown on "rip-off" business practices is expected to benefit consumers to the tune of £400m a year and will be the first in a range of "everyday fixes" to be implemented in the coming months. - Guardian

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