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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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Friday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, triple lock, ONS data crisis
(Sharecast News) - Consumers will pay higher energy bills unless the UK government speeds up work on a vast programme of upgrades to the electricity grid to enable the switch to renewables, the public spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that without faster action the extra costs associated with managing the ageing power network, which are ultimately passed on to the public, could reach £7.8bn a year by 2030. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Migration, air traffic control, triple lock
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham must overhaul Shabana Mahmood's migration reforms or risk overstretching social care and fuelling far-right sentiment, the TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, has warned. Speaking ahead of the TUC's annual congress in Brighton next week, Nowak welcomed the "sense of optimism" around Burnham's fledgling government, but he urged the PM to act in a series of areas, including migration and the cost of living. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Air traffic control breakdown, Bet365, consumer finance claims
(Sharecast News) - Flight delays and cancellations were expected to continue into Wednesday at UK airports after another air traffic control failure kept planes grounded for hours, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. At least 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday to and from UK airports had been cancelled, plane tracking site Flightradar24 said, "nearly all at London Heathrow". More than 1,000 were cancelled by about 8pm on Tuesday. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: UK retailers, Volkswagen, stock market funds
(Sharecast News) - UK retailers plan to create up to 100,000 short-term placements for young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) over the next three years to give them a first step on the ladder to paid work. In partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), more than 40 retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home, Asda and the John Lewis Partnership, will offer Neets aged 18-24 placements of two to four weeks to gain "the skills and confidence needed to take their first step into work". - Guardian

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