Wednesday newspaper round-up: Energy prices, tube workers, Arrival

(Sharecast News) - Ministers have warned energy firms that they must pass on the benefits of lower wholesale prices to consumers, amid concern that bills could rise this spring. In a speech on Wednesday, Grant Shapps will tell energy suppliers that reduced wholesale prices must be seen in consumer prices, "no ifs, buts or maybes". In an apparent sign of government concern about the impact of reduced direct support for domestic energy bills, the energy secretary will spell out his message in a speech at the Chatham House thinktank in London. - Guardian Tube workers in the RMT union will strike on 15 March, joining Aslef in a 24-hour stoppage that will bring the London Underground to a halt. The strike, on the day of the budget, will be the first this year in London by the RMT, in a long-running dispute over pensions and reducing the number of staff. Most services were already unlikely to run on 15 March because of the strike announced by Tube train drivers in the Aslef union last week. - Guardian

A British electric van champion once valued at $13bn has been forced to fight off legal action by a creditor as it grapples with a collapsing share price. Arrival, which is listed on the US stock market, was hit with a winding up petition by a supplier over an alleged unpaid debt. - Telegraph

The Thai and Austrian owners of Selfridges have laden the upmarket department store with more than £1.7bn of debt in a higher-risk strategy that could significantly increase investment returns. Loans were booked through a number of new trading and property entities by Tiang Chirathivat and René Benko as they took control of the 114-year Oxford Street stalwart last autum+-n, according to company filings. - Telegraph

The pharmaceuticals industry has urged the government to slash a contentious sales levy back to "historical norms" as part of a wider overhaul to attract investment. In a submission to the Department of Health and Social Care, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has called for the rebate rate on sales of NHS branded medicines to be fixed at 6.88 per cent, down from an estimated 26.5 per cent this year. - The Times

Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States last night and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors' investigation into Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. "I am unbelievably sorry for my role in all of this," Singh said, adding that he had known by mid-2022 that Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, was borrowing FTX customer funds and that customers were not aware. Singh said that he would forfeit proceeds from the scheme. - The Times