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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Avanti West Coast, Twitter, FTSE reshuffle

(Sharecast News) - Labour has called on ministers to claw back £12m in dividends paid by Avanti West Coast to its shareholders last year, when it was subsidised by £343m by the taxpayer. Figures released by the rail watchdog on Tuesday showed that Avanti paid out £12m in 2021-22 from management and performance fees. - Guardian Subsidising the railways has cost British households £1,800 each over the past six years, new figures show. Taxpayers have been forced to inject £50.4bn to prop up the railways since 2016/17 as fare income is not enough to balance the books. Figures released by regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on Tuesday showed Government funding was £13.3bn in the year to March 2022, compared with £17.6bn in the previous year. - Telegraph

Republican rising star Ron DeSantis has warned Apple that banning Twitter from the iPhone would be a "huge mistake" as a row rages over free speech on the social network. The Florida governor, seen as a leading contender for the presidency in 2024, on Tuesday praised changes pushed through at Twitter by Elon Musk, including the end of bans for right-wing politicians such as Donald Trump. - Telegraph

Three companies look set to be promoted to the FTSE 100 next month, including what would be a blue-chip debut for the insurer Beazley, although Abrdn now looks likely to miss out. The fund manager had seemed set for a swift re-entry to the top tier of the London Stock Exchange, having been demoted at the reshuffle in September. - The Times

The government has repeated its goal of making the UK a global cryptocurrency hub even as the fallout from the FTX collapse continues to reverberate around the world. Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister, said he stood by that ambition, although he placed the emphasis on fiat-backed stable coins rather than the more volatile privately-created crypto assets. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Toblerone, Rolls-Royce
(Sharecast News) - A group of creditors to troubled Thames Water are poised to vote on whether to grant an emergency £2.4bn loan to keep the company afloat, as campaigners raise concerns it could add £40 to each household's bills in interest alone. A consortium of creditors, called London & Valley Water, will vote on Thursday on whether to increase a funding facility for the debt-laden utility company to £5.4bn to keep it operating to autumn 2027. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Sizewell plant, Rosebank oilfield, Google
(Sharecast News) - The government's plan to fund a multibillion-pound nuclear plant at the Sizewell site in Suffolk represents a "terrible deal" for the UK taxpayer over the rest of the century, according to the government's spending watchdog. MPs on the public accounts committee (PAC) have warned the government that the cost of the Sizewell C nuclear reactor could spiral to almost £48bn, leaving bill payers on the hook to provide an extra £9.8bn to construct the plant before 2040 and a further £12bn over its 60-year operating life. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Shop price inflation, Microsoft, Helsing
(Sharecast News) - Shop price inflation has risen to the highest level in two and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium, which warned that "the dam is starting to break" when it comes to retailers trying to limit price rises for customers. The lobby group said shop price inflation was 2.1% year on year in October, a sharp rise compared with 1.4% in September, and an indication that retailers were beginning to pass on the rising costs of energy and food ingredients since the Middle East conflict broke out. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Pensioners and the Budget, interest rate expectations, Audi US factory
(Sharecast News) - The chancellor will use his Budget this week to protect pensioners and those saving for their retirement, as he announces plans to shield nearly 1m people from paying income tax. John Healey is expected to confirm on Wednesday that the full state pension will rise by £489 to £13,036 - equivalent to 3.9%. However, the rise will push about 1m people on low incomes who rely on the state pension above the £12, 570 personal allowance threshold, meaning they would be dragged into paying income tax. To retain the principle that the state pension is not taxable, Healey is expected to announce a rise in the tax-free allowance for low-income pensions to £13,036. The move will cost taxpayers £200m a year by 20230 - The Times

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