Thursday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, high streets, X boss

(Sharecast News) - Thames Water paid almost £2.5m to senior managers from an emergency loan that was meant to be used to keep the failing utilities company afloat - and has refused to claw back the payments, newly released documents reveal. The struggling water supplier paid bonuses totalling £2.46m to 21 managers on 30 April. - Guardian As much as £5bn is needed to revive ailing UK town and city centres, with areas including Bradford in Yorkshire, Newport in south Wales, and Blackpool in Lancashire having double the proportion of empty shops as London, a study has found. A report from the Centre for Cities thinktank showed that the health of high streets across the country has varied significantly, and called for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power. - Guardian

The boss of X has announced she is stepping down just days after owner Elon Musk announced plans to launch a new political party. Linda Yaccarino, who joined the social media company in 2023, said she had decided to step down as chief executive after a "historic turnaround" for the company, which was snapped up by Mr Musk in a $44bn (£32bn) deal in 2022. - Telegraph

Britain and France have agreed to co-ordinate their use of nuclear weapons for the first time to defend Europe from "extreme" threats. In a declaration signed during Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK, the French president and Sir Keir Starmer pledged to work "more closely than ever before" on nuclear deterrence. - Telegraph

A majority of Federal Reserve officials have warned that President Trump's trade tariffs would have "persistent effects" and few see any reason to cut interest rates at the central bank's next meeting later this month. Only "a couple" of officials at the federal open market committee's mid-June meeting said they felt the cost of borrowing could be reduced as soon as this month, while most remained worried about the inflationary pressure they expect to come from Trump's use of import taxes. - The Times