The Bank of England will later today reveal its Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on the direction of interest rates.
Base rate is expected to be held at its current level of 4.75 per cent, amid fears of an inflationary resurgence.
The FTSE 100 will open at 8am. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Thames Water, Henry Boot and Serco. Read the Thursday 19 December Business Live blog below.
Water bills will rise by £94 in the next five years as Ofwat signs off steep price hikes
Household water bills will rise by an average of £94, or 21 per cent, over the next five years after regulator Ofwat signed off steep price hikes.
The increase in bills will pay for upgrades to pipes and reservoirs that water firms argue are sorely needed – but will also go towards paying investors.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said this week that consumers would be ‘angry’ at the hikes to the cost of water.
Thames Water fined over divi payouts
Thames Water will be fined £18million for breaking dividend payment rules, as regulator Ofwat takes action against water firms that do not link payouts to performance for the first time.
Debt-saddled Thames Water, which has 16 million customers, has become a poster child for Britain’s broken water sector following accusations investors have for decades plundered companies for dividends while neglecting infrastructure and the environment.
Ofwat had tightened rules on water companies’ dividend policy in May last year, telling firms to stop the payment of dividends if they are of poor financial health.
The regulator said Thames Water made interim dividend payouts totalling £37.5million to its holding company, Thames Water Utilities Holdings Limited, in October last year and further payouts of about £158.3million in March 2024.
The regulator, which oversees the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, said it would claw back value from £131.3million of dividend payments using price control so customers do not lose out on tax benefits.
‘(This) is a clear warning to the whole sector: We will take action against companies who take money out of these businesses, where performance does not merit it,’ Ofwat’s chief David Black said in a statement.
Nissan shares clocked up biggest gain in nearly 40 years on talks over merger with Japanese rival Honda
Nissan shares clocked up their biggest gain in nearly 40 years after it entered merger talks with Japanese rival Honda.
A deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is the top shareholder with a 24 per cent stake, and would create the world’s third-largest carmaker with 8m sales a year – behind Toyota (11.2m) and German giant Volkswagen (9.2m).
Nissan shares jumped 24 per cent but remain down 25 per cent this year. Honda fell 3 per cent.
Bank of England expected to hold base rate
The Bank of England will later today reveal its Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on the direction of interest rates.
Base rate is expected to be held at its current level of 4.75 per cent, amid fears of an inflationary resurgence.
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