Britain's Thames Water completes initial debt lifeline drawdown
The second tranche of the 1.5 billion-pound super senior facility is expected, if and when it becomes available, to provide liquidity until at least September 2026, Thames Water said, provided certain conditions are met.
($1 = 0.7380 pounds)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Duke Energy seeks to merge Carolina utilities, projecting more than $1B in customer savings
Duke Energy Corp. says its move to combine electric utility subsidiaries in North and South Carolina into one entity could save customers more than $1 billion over a decade. The Charlotte-based utility said it formally asked federal and state regulators on Thursday for permission to join together Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, which have several million customers. The savings would come in part from streamlining operations and spreading out infrastructure expenses. The two entities have operated separately since the 2012 merger of Duke Energy and Raleigh-based Progress Energy. Duke Energy, which likens the request to moving two company divisions into one, said in a news release that it wants the change to be effective Jan. 1, 2027. The two entities combined own 34,600 megawatts of energy capacity, producing electricity for 4.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in service areas covering 52,000 square miles (134,680 square kilometers). Duke Energy is the dominant electric utility in North Carolina. Under the current setup, Duke Energy must maintain four different retail-rate structures — two for each subsidiary in each state — and produce four annual filings for state regulators who approve rates — creating confusion for the public. If the combination is approved, the company said, rates would blend gradually between the sets of customers. The company says a combination means fewer resources would be needed to meet electric demands compared to if the two entities remained separate. They could run fewer energy production units, using less fuel and spending less on maintenance, the release said. The two entities already work together on managing electricity demand and other efficiencies. 'Combining our two utilities reduces customer costs, simplifies operations, supports economic growth and promotes regulatory efficiencies, all of which will create value for customers in both states,' said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, executive vice president and CEO at Duke Energy Carolinas. 'There will be no immediate changes to retail customer rates or services.' Duke Energy, one of the nation's largest electric holding companies, said it projects retail customer savings from the combination to reach more than $1 billion through 2038. That's after any expenses, with additional savings expected after that. Duke Energy Carolinas' coverage area spans much of central and western North and South Carolina, including Charlotte and Durham in North Carolina, and Greenville and Spartanburg in South Carolina. Duke Energy Progress generally covers eastern and central North and South Carolina -- including Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilmington in North Carolina and Florence and Sumter in South Carolina. But its coverage area also includes Asheville, North Carolina, in the west. The combination needs approval from North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They would all continue to regulate the combined utility.
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wellington cafe owners distraught after two break-ins in a week
A cafe owner has said her family is distraught after the premises were broken into twice in one Akhtar runs the Early Bird Cafe in Wellington Railway Station, which was targeted on Tuesday and again on Thursday, causing more than £1,000 in well as smashed windows, stock was stolen along with a drill, plus loose change and the staff's tips Akhtar said: "The business is like our second home, we spend so much time here and we spend so much effort trying to build it up from scratch. It feels as if someone's attacked my home. It's just too personal." While the family tried to "get on with it" after the first incident, Mrs Akhtar said the second break-in was "a really big blow"."Because it just feels personal now, like someone's got it in for us and keeps coming back," she cafe owner added that her children were very upset by the break-ins and that the family were scared the intruder would return."They think that they're going to attack my home as well," she said."So my daughter didn't sleep all night because she was really really upset." As a result of the damage, the cafe has had to close for two days to get the windows boarded up, turning customers the business had insurance, their premium would cost more than paying for the repairs, and paying out of the profits would hit their ability to cover stock, wages and mortgage payments."I know it's not a large sum of money - but it's money that will help us to pay our rent, pay our mortgages, food costs, and it's just impacted us a lot," Mrs Akhtar said. "We can't take orders from customers so our regular customers have been turned away. We can't afford to keep closing the business."With the family struggling, they received a lifeline in the form of support from a local firm, CS Solicitors, which provided them with new windows. Mrs Akhtar said: "People like CS Solicitors, when they step forward and say to us 'look, you're part of this community and we're willing to help you', it means a lot to us."Without their support we wouldn't have been able to repair the windows as quickly as we hoped." Mohammed Khan from CS Solicitors told the BBC: "These thefts are not simple, petty thefts. These shake livelihoods, they take away the trust we've built within our community and that's something we want to restore as quickly as possible."People need to be aware and come forward if they know something."British Transport Police said it received a report at 07:40 BST on 14 August of a burglary at the cafe."Officers attended and inquiries into the incident are ongoing," a spokesperson said."An investigation has also been launched into an incident of criminal damage at the same location on Tuesday August 12."Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 109 of 14/08/25." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
World equities flat, crude oil prices fall as Trump, Putin hold high-stakes talks
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Global stocks were flat but still traded near record highs on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held high-stakes talks in Alaska over Ukraine. U.S. Treasury bond prices fell across the board with markets anticipating a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The Dow hit an intra-day record high during the session, becoming the last of Wall Street's main indexes to climb to a new peak this week. The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped, dragged down mainly by technology, financials, industrials and utilities stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 0.08%, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab fell 0.29% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab fell 0.40%. "This market continues to move higher and the story is just earnings and margins," said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group in New Jersey. "The inflation numbers that we saw this week were mostly services and in a services-based economy like ours, this is good for profit margins." Data showed that U.S. retail sales increased solidly in July, rising 0.5% from the prior month, after an unexpected spike in producer price data on Thursday renewed inflation concerns and pared market expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. European shares touched a near five-month high before pulling back, as investors drew encouragement from a largely positive earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab index finished flat at 0.06%. The MSCI All Country World Index (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab consolidated recent gains. It was last flat at 951.70, just shy of the record level of 954.21 set on Wednesday. Trump and Putin met face to face in Alaska in a high-stakes meeting that could determine whether a ceasefire can be reached in the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. Trump has said a second summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could follow if the talks with Putin go well. Details and the longevity of any agreement will be key, and for now investors are on standby. Ukraine's government bonds - key indicators of the mood - have largely stalled in recent days at a still-distressed 55 cents on the dollar. "There's still a small degree of risk premium in European markets because of the war. Any type of resolution will ultimately pare that back," said Shaniel Ramjee, co-head of multi-asset at Pictet Asset Management, adding that oil and other commodity prices could also react. "But I think that the market has learnt not to expect too much from these negotiations. Ultimately, Zelenskiy and the Europeans are not invited. They will need to be involved in any final negotiation," Ramjee added. The two-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 1.1 basis points to 3.751%, paring earlier losses. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.7 basis points to 4.32%. In currency markets, the dollar weakened 0.38% to 146.72 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.15% at 0.806 against the Swiss franc . The euro was up 0.48% at $1.1702. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading down 0.34% at 97.85. Japanese GDP data released on Friday showed the economy expanding by an annualised 1.0% in the April-to-June quarter, beating analyst estimates. Brent crude fell 1.5% to settle at $66.85 per barrel. U.S. crude fell 1.8% to settle at $62.80. Spot gold rose 0.09% to $3,338.65 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled almost flat at $3,382.60. Cryptocurrency markets stabilised after bitcoin touched a record $124,480.82 on Thursday. It was down 0.78% at $117,033.52.
