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☆ Britain's banks told to justify low savings rates by end of August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Britain's banks and building societies have until the end of August to justify to regulators why some of their savings rates are low or face sanctions, the markets watchdog said on Monday, as Bank of England rates look set to rise to their highest since 2008. Smaller lenders offer higher savings rates than their bigger rivals, the FCA added. "Firms offering the lowest savings rates will be required to justify by the end of August how those rates offer fair value, according to the consumer duty that enters into force today," the FCA said in a statement. Banks and building societies offering the lowest rates have to complete a "fair value" assessment for the regulator by the end of August. The FCA will also review the timing of changes to savings rates each time BoE rates move, publish an analysis every six months of easy-access rates, analyse how savings products contribute to profitability and, by the end of March 2024, review how firms engage with customers.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Banks, BoE, Huw Jones, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Financial Conduct Authority, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Santander UK, Barclays, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, FCA, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ King Charles Doesn’t Have as Many Swans as He Used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The counters on the River Thames recorded 94 cygnets, as young swans are called, compared to 155 last year. Mr. Barber said he didn’t expect this year’s count to be quite as low as it was, and that the numbers were the most disappointing in years, Mr. Barber said. He added that 2009 was a worse year, when the uppers counted 84 young swans. The count was 166 cygnets in 2021 and 147 cygnets in 2019, he added. But there was also good news: Even though the number of cygnets was low, they were all in excellent health, Mr. Barber said.

Persons: That’s, Barber Locations: United Kingdom, England

☆ Clashes in Kenya over tax hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Young cygnets and swans are counted and have their health assessed during the 'swan upping' census on Britain's River Thames, in a tradition that dates back to the 12th century when swans were an important food source.

Persons: Young cygnets

☆ Raging wildfires spread in Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Young cygnets

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - The spectre of rising corporate debt defaults exacerbating a global economic slowdown has for months been largely brushed aside by resilient credit markets. Now, long-feared corporate debt woes are starting to hit home, while more companies are being downgraded to a junk credit rating - facing higher borrowing costs as a result. Retailer Casino, with 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) of net debt, is in court-backed talks with creditors; Britain's Thames Water is in the headlines with its 14 billion pound ($18.32 billion) debt pile. For FACTBOX: Corporate debt woes are on the rise, click here. Nonetheless, not all firms may be able to survive the challenges of vast debt, higher interest and business costs and declining profits.

Persons: Julius Baer's, Markus Allenspach, Guy Miller, Miller, it's, Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott Will, Emery, Elena Lieskovska, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: SBB, P Global, U.S, Reuters, ICE, Zurich Insurance, ABN AMRO, European Central Bank, London Finance, Bain Capital, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Spain, Europe

☆ Factbox: Corporate debt woes are on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Size of debt: 14 billion pounds ($18.33 billion). The firm said earlier in July shareholders would provide 750 million pounds, but warned it would need an extra 2.5 billion pounds between 2025-2030. Size of debt: 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) in net debt. What's at stake: Casino faces 3 billion euros of debt repayments in the next two years, with rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's warning a default is likely. Deadlines to watch: Casino aims to secure an agreement with creditors by July 27.

Persons: Toby Melville, What's, Jean, Charles Naouri, Casino, Daniel Kretinsky, Kretinsky, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: Thames, REUTERS, Water, Casino, SBB, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, LONDON, Sweden, France, England, Czech, Brookfield, Spain, Barcelona

☆ Simon Cowell says the sexual assault of a former 'X Factor' contestant was 'horrific and heart-breaking'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Simon Cowell said the sexual assault of an "X Factor" contestant was "horrific" and "heartbreaking." Simon Cowell described the sexual assault of a former "X Factor" contestant as "horrific and heart-breaking" after she criticized the support provided by the show's producers. Spraggan, who performed her own songs in her audition for "The X Factor," pulled out of the show during production, citing illness. "The X Factor" has faced criticism from other former UK contestants over their treatment. The X Factor was produced by Thames [part of Freemantle] and Syco, who were primarily responsible for duty of care towards all of its programme contributors."

Persons: Simon Cowell, Lucy Spraggan, Spraggan, she'd, Rylan Clark, they'd, I'd, Tim Whitby, Spraggan wasn't, Cowell, Lucy, Katie Waissel, Simon Cowell's Organizations: Guardian, Morning, Fremantle, BBC News, ITV, Thames Locations: London, Fremantle

☆ Thames Water’s leaky financials are far from fixed: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The privately owned UK water company managed to cobble together a rescue from existing shareholders. But in this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss why the fresh funds may not be enough, and the threat of nationalisation hangs over the sector as a whole. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Oliver TaslicOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Bayer crop spinoff would be tricky but bountiful
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) new CEO may be considering some valuable crop rotation. The 49 billion euro seed-to-drug maker’s shares rallied 3% on Monday after a Friday report by German news service Platow Brief said the company may spin off its troubled crop science division. The crop science division was born of Bayer’s disastrous takeover of Monsanto in 2018, and the German conglomerate is still grappling with lawsuits alleging that its weedkiller caused cancer. If it offloads the crop science division, Bayer could indemnify the new owners against the cost of future litigation up to a certain point. Currently, the crop science division throws off a lot of the combined company’s cash.

Persons: maker’s, Bill Anderson, Bayer, Anderson, Aimee Donnellan, Liam Proud, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Monsanto, Twitter, Thames, Thomson Locations: China

☆ Thames rescue looks far from watertight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Thames Water is stepping back from the brink, a little bit. Shareholders, led by Canada’s Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, have now agreed to pony up 750 million pounds. They’ve also acknowledged even more will be allowed over the next regulatory review period between 2025 and 2030. Bonds issued by Thames’ holding company, Kemble, rose as much as 10 percentage points following the news. That depressed price suggests there’s a long way to go before Thames is on dry land.

Persons: They’ve, Bonds, Kemble, Neil Unmack, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Canada’s, Thames, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Canada’s Ontario, Thames, China

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Thames Water has become the poster child for a British water industry under fire for its poor environmental record and financial mismanagement. After a period as a listed company, Thames Water was acquired by German utility RWE (RWEG.DE) in 2001. Thames Water said on Monday they would provide 750 million pounds, and added it had strong liquidity of 4.4 billion pounds. FINANCESNearly 60% of Thames Water's debt is index-linked, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor's, saddling it with higher repayments as inflation soars. Thames Water was fined 3.3 million pounds last week, while Southern Water was fined 90 million pounds in 2021.

Persons: Margaret Thatcher's, Australia's Macquarie, Abu, Hermes, Ofwat, Sarah Young, Chiara Elisei, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Margaret Thatcher's Conservative, Water, Thames, Ontario, BT, China Investment Corp, Thames Water, Macquarie, Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities, The Times, Environment Agency, Southern Water, Thomson Locations: Britain, Here's, Abu Dhabi, Thames, Southern Water, United, England

Thames Water, weighed down by 14 billion pounds of debt and under pressure over its environmental record, had told shareholders it needed 1 billion pounds to help fund its turnaround. British ministers have been monitoring Thames Water amid fears it could need a government rescue if shareholders refused to invest more. "Shareholders have also acknowledged that delivery of the turnaround plan is likely to require the provision of further equity support," Thames Water said. The 750 million pound investment is subject to Thames Water improving the business plan underpinning its turnaround, it said. Core earnings (EBITDA) fell 3% to 1.1 billion on revenue which grew 4% to 2.3 billion pounds.

Persons: Ian Marchant, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Water, Thames, China Investment Corp, Thomson Locations: Ontario

☆ Thames Water secures $962 million from investors but says it will need more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —Investors in Thames Water have agreed to put an extra £750 million ($962 million) of equity funding into the troubled utility to hold off a temporary takeover by the government. The utility anticipates that an additional £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) of equity funding will be needed in the five years to 2030. “The additional investment announced today is the largest equity support package ever seen in the UK water sector and underscores our shareholders’ commitment to delivering Thames’ turnaround,” the company’s chairman, Ian Marchant, said in a statement. Thames Water, which provides water and wastewater services to 15 million people in London and the southeast of England, has been at the center of a wider crisis in the sector. Heavily indebted UK water companies are under growing financial pressure as interest rates soar and they must also invest billions of pounds to upgrade aging infrastructure and tackle sewage spills and leakage.

Persons: Ian Marchant Organizations: London CNN — Locations: Thames, London, England

☆ Thames Water: Why Britain's water industry is struggling with sewage spills, huge leaks and crushing debts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The UK water sector is “clearly in a state of multiple crises,” said Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford. Thames Water in troubleThe industry’s long-running problems have been thrust into the spotlight by a looming cash crunch at Thames Water, which serves 15 million people in London and the southeast of England. An aerial view of a Thames Water sewage treatment works in west London. A screen displays real-time notifications of sewage leaks into waterways in the region controlled by Thames Water in January 2023. Will Thames Water be nationalized?

Persons: ”, Dieter Helm, “, ” Helm, Ofwat, Abu Dhabi, David Black, Ben Stansall, Iain Coucher, they’ve, ” Black, Margaret Thatcher’s, David Hall, Leon Neal, ” Hall, Sarah Bentley “, Maureen McLean, Helm Organizations: London CNN —, University of Oxford, CNN, Thames, Getty, Yorkshire Water, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative, Public Services International Research Unit, University of Greenwich, Thames Water, Ontario, BBC Locations: England, Wales, London, China, Abu, AFP, Yorkshire, Windsor, UK

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - As Thames Water's financial troubles raise questions about such investments, Britain will next week try to persuade pension schemes to plough billions of pounds into infrastructure and start-ups in its next leg of post-Brexit reforms. British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will on Monday set out the government's latest thinking on getting cash locked up in pension pots to work in the economy. The Conservative government's long-trailed policy focuses on persuading pension schemes to invest a portion of their money in infrastructure, start-ups and 'green' technology. But the problems at Thames Water, which is battling for survival under 14 billion pounds ($18 billion) of debt, would leave some pension schemes that had made large investments in it embarrassed, said independent pensions consultant John Ralfe. The finance ministry had no immediate comment on Hunt's speech, but the pensions industry has already said it opposes mandatory investment quotas.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, John Ralfe, Ralfe, Nobody, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Thames, British, Conservative, Amsterdam, London, EU, Thomson Locations: Britain, London's, New York, London

☆ Markets Ignore the Looming Debt Peril
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( James Mackintosh | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An aerial view of a facility of the U.K.’s heavily indebted Thames Water, whose bonds trade at bankruptcy levels. Photo: ben stansall/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesThis was supposed to be the year that higher interest rates started to bite, taking down dodgy borrowers who had loaded up on too much debt. Some are now in trouble. But investors don’t expect problems to spread far. I think they are making a mistake, especially if rates march higher.

Persons: ben Organizations: Agence France

☆ UK’s leaky water model faces a growing storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

The fallout raises two big questions: whether the regulatory regime works, and whether Britain’s water companies should still be privately owned. Average UK water bills are 448 pounds in the current year, versus 409 pounds in Scotland. One option would be to squeeze water companies – cutting allowed prices, and imposing bigger penalties on those that allow leaks. For the sector as a whole, Ofwat assumes equity comprises 45% of water companies’ 94 billion pound RCV, or 42 billion pounds. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsFollow @Unmack1 on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThames Water investors have become more “concerned” about the company’s turnaround, the chief executive of UK water regulator Ofwat David Black told a UK parliament committee on July 4.

Persons: Macquarie’s, Severn, Ofwat, Jefferies, David Black, Iain Coucher, “, Black, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Conservative, Thames, Ofwat, Reuters Graphics Regulators, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Scottish, Dwr Cymru, Barclays, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thames Water, Water, Sky News, Thomson Locations: Severn Trent, RCV, Water, Wales, Scotland, Germany, United States, Italy, Ireland, Britain

☆ UK economic growth unrevised at 0.1% in first quarter of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Britain's economy grew 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, unrevised from an initial estimate published last month, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Friday. "The final Q1 2023 GDP data confirms that the economy steered clear of a recession at the start of 2023. Friday's figures showed that households' real disposable income was 0.8% smaller than the previous quarter, reflecting higher costs for electricity, gas and food. There were also signs that people were saving less in response to the increased cost of living, as the savings ratio fell to 8.7% in the first quarter from 9.4% in the quarter before, its lowest level since the second quarter of 2022 though well above its pre-pandemic average. Stripping out volatile trade in precious metals, the ONS's preferred measure, the underlying current account deficit narrowed to 2.6% of GDP from 3.3% of GDP in the final quarter of 2022.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Ashley Webb, David Milliken, Andy Bruce, Sarah Young Organizations: REUTERS, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Germany, Ukraine

☆ US threat gives ASML new headache on China exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - ASML (ASML.AS) now has to look to Washington, not its home government in The Hague, to determine which of its top-class chip-making machines it can still sell to Chinese companies. The Dutch government on Friday moved to restrict sales by the $294 billion semiconductor giant of EUV and certain types of its DUV lithography machines. That gives Biden reach over not only Dutch firms but also suppliers like Germany’s Trumpf and Zeiss, which make lasers and lenses respectively. ASML said Friday's Dutch announcement won’t have a material impact on its bottom line. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, ASML, Rebecca Christie, ’, crouch, George Hay, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, China’s, HK, Zeiss, Union, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Washington, The Hague, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, Brussels

☆ The next revolution in monetary policy is underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Monetary policy, Milton Friedman said, acts on the economy with long and variable lags. Monetary policy regimes evolve in response to the changing nature of prevailing economic challenges – though this also takes time. The next revolution in monetary policy may be brewing. One question Gopinath did not address is how the financial system came to dominate monetary policy. When contractions hit, however, central banks eased monetary policy and governments loosened their purse strings, just as before.

Persons: Milton Friedman, Gita Gopinath, Gopinath, ’, “, Peter Thal Larsen, Pranav Kiran, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Bank for International, IMF, Central, SVB, Signature Bank, Credit Suisse, Fed Funds, BIS, Thomson Locations: Portuguese, Sintra, Korean, United States, Europe, Central, England, London, U.S, China, Ukraine, “

☆ Thames Water's turnaround plan backed by investor USS
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), one of the largest investors in Thames Water, has given its support to Britain’s biggest water supplier after the abrupt departure of its CEO raised concerns about its viability. The British government is considering temporary state ownership of the company, which supplies a quarter of British households, if it cannot raise more funds to drive its turnaround. “We have given our backing to Thames Water’s turnaround plan and Net Zero roadmap and engage with them regularly to support their long-term strategy,” USS group CEO Bill Galvin said on Friday in a note to its sponsoring employers. Thames Water is struggling with 14 billion pounds ($17.8 billion) of debt and has failed to meet customer and environmental targets, including stemming the flow of raw sewage into rivers. ($1 = 0.7876 pounds)Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Writing by James Davey; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bill Galvin, ”, USS’s Galvin, Carolyn Cohn, James Davey, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Thames, System, China Investment Corp, Thomson Locations: Thames, Ontario

☆ Meituan's insider AI deal does not compute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Meituan describes Light Year as a leading AI innovator in China. Its backers include Meituan CEO Wang Xin and Sequoia Capital China's HongShan fund, which is controlled by a Meituan non-executive director. Meituan is paying out roughly $234 million in cash and covering some $50 million-worth of Light Year's convertible bonds. Interestingly, Meituan's total outlay is roughly equal to the target's net cash position. For investors, understanding this AI deal is no small challenge.

Persons: Wang Huiwen, Meituan, Wang Xin, Robyn Mak, ’, crouch, Eli Lilly, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Meituan, Sequoia Capital, Twitter, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, HK, China

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.1% higher. That made Spain the first among the euro zone's large economies to have inflation fall below 2%. This followed hawkish comments from U.S. and European central bank policymakers at a European Central Bank meet-up in Sintra on Wednesday, where the underlying theme was that rates are likely to stay higher for longer. Adding to recent hawkish messages from central banks globally, Sweden's central bank raised its policy rate by a quarter percentage point as expected and forecast at least one more rate hike this year. The stock was the top gainer on France's blue-chip index (.FCHI), which rose 0.4% and also helped the automaker sub-index (.SXAP) climb 1.3%.

Persons: Germany's DAX, year's, Claus Vistesen, Daniela Hathorn, Amruta Khandekar, Matteo Allievi, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Rashmi Aich, Conor Humphries Organizations: Pantheon, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Capital.com, Renault, Belgian, Severn Trent, Thames, Semiconductor, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: Spain, Sintra, Severn, Bengaluru, Gdansk

☆ UK water meltdown resurrects bank crisis dilemmas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The government may take over heavily indebted Thames Water, a hapless privately held utility unable to fund capital needs that may stretch to 10 billion pounds. Under Macquarie’s (MQG.AX) ownership, which lasted from 2006 to 2016, Thames’ debt rose to over 80% of RCV. They’re issued through a vehicle called Thames Water Utilities Finance. Thames Water CEO Sarah Bentley resigned abruptly on June 27. Thames shareholders, led by Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, committed in 2022 to provide 1.5 billion pounds of extra funds.

Persons: Ofwat, Rishi Sunak, Gordon Brown, Kemble, They’re, Sarah Bentley, “, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Royal Bank of Scotland, Thames, Ontario, Thames ’, Guardian, UK, RBS, Investors, Water Utilities Finance, Yorkshire Water, SES Water, Sky News, Thames Water, Thomson Locations: –, Thames, Yorkshire, Britain’s

☆ Casino extends creditors’ losing streak
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Casino had previously hinted that it was seeking to restructure the unsecured portion of its debt, worth around 3.6 billion euros, implying that the remaining 4 billion euros of secured debt would remain intact. That implies borrowings of less than 2.7 billion euros, based on analysts’ forecasts compiled by Refinitiv. As a result, between 1 and 1.5 billion euros of the secured debt may also be converted into equity. Casino reckons it needs at least 900 million euros of new money to finance the company’s business plan in the next few years. The winner, who will be the group’s largest shareholder, will then determine whether they can end Casino’s losing streak.

Persons: Daniel Kretinsky, Xavier Niel, Pierre Briancon, crouch, Eli Lilly, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Casino, Refinitiv, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Czech

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