Tuesday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Mike Lynch, IBM

(Sharecast News) - Ministers have been urged to intervene to prevent businesses struggling with gas and electricity costs from going bust, as bills are forecast to be 70% higher next year than before the energy crisis. A typical small business such as a pub, restaurant or independent retailer is paying more than £5,000 extra a year on bills than before the energy crisis that began in 2021, research by the forecaster Cornwall Insight shared with the Guardian shows. - Guardian Barclays has bulked up its half-year bonus pool for the first time in three years, raising bankers' hopes of bigger annual payouts after the lender formally scrapped the EU bonus cap this month. The bank put £675m towards its bonus pool in the first six months of 2024, according to Barclays filings. That is up from the £665m put aside for its staff bonus pot, which is made up of cash and shares, over the same period in 2023. That bonus pool will continue to be built up until the end of the year, with staff able to be paid up to 10 times their salary now that the EU cap has been set aside. - Guardian

Mike Lynch's family faces a £3bn fraud battle against the US tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with the company's long-running claim against the tech tycoon set to pass to his estate. Legal experts said Hewlett Packard Enterprise's long-running case against Mr Lynch and his former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain was likely to be transferred to the administrators of his fortune. - Telegraph

IBM is closing two of its divisions in China, the latest retreat of an American tech company from the world's second largest economy, amid mounting tensions between the two superpowers. The company is understood to be closing two business lines that specialise in research and development and testing, which will affect more than 1,000 employees. - The Times

The water sector faces a "material risk" that it will fail to raise the £7 billion of equity needed to overhaul the country's infrastructure and clean up waterways under Ofwat's investment plans, the industry has claimed. Water UK, the trade body that represents the sector, will warn Ofwat, the regulator for England and Wales, this week that the watchdog's provisional decision to cut back companies' five-year spending proposals and limit bill increases is likely to "result in significant investability issues for the sector as a whole". - The Times