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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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(Sharecast News) - The UK government has approved the controversial Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a widely expected move that will nonetheless dismay environmental campaigners and a number of Labour MPs. While Labour's 2024 election manifesto committed to a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea, the companies behind Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield project, which is being decided on separately, have sought environmental approval for existing licences. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, North Sea workers, tobacco companies, John Lewis
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company. In an early test of his promise to bring "the essentials of life" under public control, the prime minister is urging his advisers to go back to the drawing board and create a new list of policies for the utility. One option being looked at is to convert about £100m of outstanding fines into a government stake in the company, saving its creditors money but giving ministers some say in how it is run. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Profit warnings, British steelmakers, Microsoft
(Sharecast News) - The number of profit warnings from UK-listed companies has risen to the highest level in two years, as the war in the Middle East triggers a surge in costs for businesses before the budget. With less than a fortnight before John Healey's tax and spending statement to the Commons, the consultants EY-Parthenon said companies quoted on the London stock market had issued 65 warnings in the three months to the end of September. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Banks, Meta, John Lewis, Big Four accountancy firms
(Sharecast News) - John Healey is poised to tax Britain's banks in his 28 October budget, to help offset the damage inflicted on the public finances by war in the Middle East, the Guardian understands. The chancellor is in Bangkok, where the International Monetary Fund has praised the UK's progress towards balancing the books, urging him to "stay the course". To keep the Treasury's deficit reduction plans on track in the face of rising government borrowing costs, the Guardian understands Healey has decided to tap the financial sector for additional revenue. - Guardian

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