Market Buzz
Thursday newspaper round-up: Passport Office, Brexit checks, Elon Musk, BT, windfall tax
The private company behind the Passport Office’s contact centre has been ordered to hire more staff to ease “unacceptable” delays. Teleperformance, the French-owned multinational that is responsible for call handling, has been “urgently tasked to add additional staff” by the Home Office, which is trying to avert a summer of chaos. - The Times.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Covid loan fraud, Brexit costs, tax rises, Tesla, TalkTV
Suitcases filled with cash from taxpayer-backed Covid loans were seized at the border as people tried to smuggle them out of the country, a Times investigation reveals today. Border force officials have stopped people at airports across Britain “carrying large amounts of money suspected from coronavirus bounce-back loans”, a Home Office source said. - The Times.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Twitter, Elon Musk, Bulb, Brexit exports, China lockdowns
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter offers shareholders the “best path forward”, its chairman declared last night after bowing to the billionaire’s $44 billion bid. The social media group dropped its resistance and approved the Tesla chief executive’s initial offer of $54. 20 per share. - The Times.
Friday newspaper round-up: BBC licence fee, Gazprom, Amazon, Apple, inflation
Ministers have formally signalled the death of the licence fee after deciding to overhaul the BBC’s 100-year-old funding model. In the first big update to British broadcasting laws for nearly 20 years, the government said it would set out a timetable for a review of the licence fee over the coming months, during which alternatives would be considered. - The Times.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Oxford Instruments, Asda, Bulb, Netflix
A few weeks after a short-lived £1. 7 billion bid to take over the rival Oxford Instruments, Spectris, the FTSE 250 precision engineering group, has sold off a large part of its own business for £400 million. The chief executive has made it clear, though, that it could revive an Oxford Instruments deal. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Rail strike, Thames Water, Tesla, mortgages
More than 40,000 railway workers are to be balloted in a dispute over jobs and pay that a union says could result in Britain’s biggest rail strike in modern history. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said staff would be asked to vote on strike action over Network Rail’s plans to cut at least 2,500 maintenance jobs as part of a £2bn reduction in spending on the network. - Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Travel chaos, National Grid, Essex traders
Holidaymakers trying to get away for the Easter weekend have been warned they are likely to face disruption whether travelling by air, rail, road or sea. Staff sickness and a shortage of workers have already caused multiple days of chaos for air passengers, with carriers cancelling dozens of flights at short notice, while ferry operators have struggled to meet demand as P&O Ferries services remain suspended. - Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Twitter, airport chaos, Imperial Brands, Glencore
A Twitter shareholder is suing Elon Musk for failing to disclose that he had bought a substantial stake in the company, affecting share prices. The Tesla CEO revealed on 4 April that he had acquired a 9. 2% stake in Twitter. Shares in the social media company soared, as investors viewed the move as a vote of confidence from the richest man in the world. - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Cancelled flights, mortgage lenders, Meggitt, Waitrose
More than a quarter of a billion people around the world could be pushed into extreme poverty this year amid a surge in global food prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing impact of Covid and rising global inequality, Oxfam has warned. Highlighting the knock-on impact of the war for the poorest people around the globe, the aid charity said two decades of progress were in danger of being reversed as the conflict pushes up prices on wholesale markets, disrupts harvests and impedes exports of vital commodities.
Friday newspaper round-up: DP World, Rio Tinto, Boohoo
The Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries has lost its status as a formal partner in one of the government’s biggest freeport projects, after widespread public anger over the firing without notice of 800 workers last month. Ministers have confirmed that DP World, the Emirati logistics giant behind P&O, no longer had a central role as a “partner” in the Solent freeport after the resignation of its UK commercial director from the scheme’s board last week. - Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Nuclear energy, NI rise, Crispin Odey
Boris Johnson is to put nuclear energy at the heart of the UK’s new energy strategy, but ministers have refused to set targets for onshore wind and vowed to continue the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas. Amid deep divisions among senior Conservatives, the strategy will enrage environmentalists, who say the government’s plans are in defiance of its own net-zero targets and neglect alternative measures that experts say would provide much quicker relief from high energy bills.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Twitter, gender pay gap, Channel 4, Uber
Twitter has confirmed it has working on an edit button, but denied the idea came after the company’s new largest shareholder, Elon Musk, held a poll on it. For years, editing a tweet already published has been a sought after feature on the site, to correct typos or embarrassing mistakes. Currently people work around it by deleting and reposting the tweet. - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Morrisons, gambling ads, airlines
Morrisons has warned its profits are likely to take a significant hit this year as the cost of living crisis and disruption due to the war in Ukraine weigh on the grocery market. The UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain said “developments in the geopolitical environment” and “ongoing and increasing inflationary pressure” since the beginning of February were hitting consumer sentiment and spending. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Twitter, mortgages, Boots
Elon Musk, Twitter’s biggest shareholder, has decided not to join the social media company’s board, its chief executive Parag Agrawal has said. Musk, who disclosed a 9. 2% stake in Twitter just a few days ago, was offered a board seat and his appointment was to become effective on Saturday. But Agrawal posted on Twitter that Musk had declined the offer. “Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said on Sunday. - Guardian .
Monday newspaper round-up: EasyJet, Motor Fuel Group, consumer confidence
Britain’s strategic heavy industries have warned they risk being left high and dry by a lack of support in the government’s upcoming energy strategy, warning that failure to follow European countries’ measures to reduce gas and electricity costs will put UK businesses at risk. The government is expected to outline long-awaited proposals this week for a once-in-a-generation drive to invest in nuclear power and possibly more onshore wind and solar power, as well as approving continued North Sea oil and gas exploration.
Friday newspaper round-up: Price hikes, P&O Ferries, S4 Capital
More UK businesses are preparing to raise prices than at any time since the 1980s, heaping further pressure on hard-pressed consumers amid recent increases in gas, electricity and petrol prices. The British Chambers of Commerce said its latest quarterly survey found almost two-thirds of firms expected to raise prices over the next three months, the highest since the survey began in 1989. m - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: French elections, British Airways, Partygate, Twitter, non-doms
Emmanuel Macron won a resounding victory against Marine Le Pen in the presidential run-off, becoming the first French modern head of state to secure re-election while holding executive power. Macron, 44, won with 58. 5 percent of the vote against Le Pen’s 41. 5 per cent after an aggressive second-round campaign in which he cast the leader of the National Rally as a far-right threat to democracy and European security. - The Times.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Twitter, British Airways, Russian oil imports
Relations between Twitter and and Elon Musk may be thawing if reports that the former is taking a fresh look at the technology magnate's £33bn takeover offer is anything to go by. According to the Wall Street Journal, the two sides were set to meet on Sunday to discuss the deal and Twitter's board was now said to be "more receptive to a deal". - Sunday Telegraph.
Friday newspaper round-up: Partygate, consumer confidence, Shanghai lockdown, Twitter, Brexit checks
Boris Johnson was forced to submit to a third investigation over lockdown parties yesterday after facing a “revolt” by junior ministers who threatened to resign rather than back him. The Times understands that at least six members of the government told whips they could not support a Downing Street plan that would have put off a decision on holding a parliamentary investigation into the events. - The Times.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Twitter, M&S, TalkTalk
Elon Musk has begun discussions with possible partners for a bid on Twitter after the iconic social media outfit put in place a so-called 'poison pill' in an attempt to thwart a mooted £33bn takeover. That stratagem was preceded by Twitter's rejection of an offer from Musk last Friday worth $54. 20 a share. The pill would be activated should Musk take his own stake over the 15% threshold. - Sunday Times.