Thursday newspaper round-up: Anthropic, commercial landlords, Asda

(Sharecast News) - Anthropic is planning a $10bn fundraise that would value the Claude chatbot maker at $350bn, according to multiple reports published on Wednesday. The new valuation represents an increase of nearly double from about four months ago, per CNBC, which reported that the company had signed a term sheet that stipulated the $350bn figure. The round could close within weeks, although the size and terms could change. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Coatue Management are planning to lead the financing, the Wall Street Journal reported. - Guardian Household spending on Christmas alcohol has fallen at its sharpest pace since lockdown, as squeezed shoppers scrambled to make savings. Families spent £1.9bn loading up on supermarket beer, wine and spirits for the festive season in the four weeks ending Dec 28, down 4.1pc on the same period a year earlier, according to data provider Worldpanel. The drop is the steepest since Christmas 2021, when the figures were skewed by Covid restrictions. - Telegraph

Labour's crackdown on rental fees charged by high-street landlords could wipe £11bn off the value of shops and offices, a former Treasury economist has warned. Martin Beck, who worked at the Treasury between 2001 and 2012, said a forthcoming shake-up of rental rules could lead to a 15pc property price slump and billions of pounds of losses for commercial landlords who own sites. - Telegraph

The UK government will receive a patriotic gift of more than £600 million to reduce its debt burden from a charitable fund set up to help clear the country's debt pile. The Debt Management Office said on Wednesday that gilts worth £607 million would be cancelled as part of a donation from the "national fund", set up in 1927 by Gaspard Farrer, a former banker at Barings, to help wipe out the UK's debt. - The Times

Concerns are mounting over the financial stability of Asda after the heavily indebted supermarket suffered another bruising Christmas, reigniting City speculation that it could be pushed into a break-up or merger with a rival such as Sainsbury's. The private equity-owned grocer endured the worst festive performance of any major UK supermarket, according to two industry surveys, underlining the scale of the challenge facing its chairman, Allan Leighton, as he attempts to steer a turnaround at Britain's third-largest food retailer. - The Times