Shield poorer households from costs of clean energy plans, says Ofgem

Britain’s clean energy future risks creating “winners and losers” if lower-income households are not shielded from the costs added to energy bills to pay for it, the head of the energy regulator has said.Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s chief executive, said a “systematic approach” to sharing the rising costs of the government’s green power ambitions was needed to avoid poorer households facing soaring monthly payments.The regulator for Great Britain launched a root-and-branch review on Wednesday into how the costs of upgrading the energy networks can be recovered through home energy bills in a way that is fairer.The review could include plans to cut standing charges for lower-income households while wealthier customers pay a higher cost for upgrading the energy system.Brearley told the Guardian: “All of these changes that one might make to create a better energy system will have winners and losers

HSBC boss says Rachel Reeves putting up bank taxes would harm UK growth

The boss of HSBC has joined a growing chorus of bankers cautioning Rachel Reeves against increasing taxes on banks in her autumn budget, warning it risked “eroding” investment and ultimately harming UK growth.Georges Elhedery, its chief executive, said banks in the UK were already subject to the highest level of taxes on profits compared with other sectors, and paid more than in most other countries. He said placing further financial pressures on lenders could spell trouble for the UK economy.“Additional taxation on banks does run the risk of eroding our continued investment capacity in the business and in supporting our customers, and ultimately in delivering growth for the UK,” he said on Wednesday, as the bank revealed a 29% drop in second-quarter profits.The intervention comes amid growing speculation that Reeves could use her autumn budget to announce a fresh round of tax rises, as forecasts for public finances worsen

Charity in legal action against minister for failing to act over Thames Water

A river charity is taking legal action against the environment secretary, Steve Reed, accusing him of an unlawful failure to publish his policy on taking failing water companies into temporary nationalisation.Lawyers for River Action argue that Thames Water has breached its duties and violated its licence conditions seriously and repeatedly, making it the clearest possible case for special administration.Special administration is a temporary insolvency and restructuring process for companies that provide essential public services such as water, energy and transport. It is designed to ensure continuity of service while the company is stabilised and restructured.There is a bespoke special administration regime (SAR) for the water industry, which was created in 1991 and is designed to prioritise customers and services while putting financial interests second

Ministers take note: now is the moment to fight to keep AstraZeneca’s listing in London | Nils Pratley

It was an opportunity for Sir Pascal Soriot, as chief executive of AstraZeneca, the UK’s finest pharmaceutical firm, to kill the story stone dead if he wished. Does he want to move the company’s stock market listing to the US, as reported by the Times a few weeks ago? He declined to answer. Then he did something else: he turned his press conference after Tuesday’s half-year numbers into a declaration of love, more or less, for all things American.“The US is the country in our industry where innovation is taking place,” he said, noting that half the group’s sales will be in the US by 2030. The new multibillion-dollar manufacturing facility in Virginia – part of a $50bn investment in the US over the next five years – had progressed to signoff in 33 days

AstraZeneca chief executive hails ‘vital importance of US’ as Trump tariffs loom

AstraZeneca’s chief executive has hailed the “vital importance of the US” to the British drugmaker, days after announcing a $50bn (£37bn) investment in the country at a time when Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs are looming over the sector.Pascal Soriot, who leads Britain’s most valuable company, refused to comment, however, on recent media reports that AstraZeneca is considering moving its main stock market listing from the UK to the US.Soriot told reporters on Tuesday he had met a large number of members of Trump’s administration, including the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick.He said AstraZeneca, which is headquartered in Cambridge, had discussed with officials “how we can contribute as a company to the pharmaceutical sector in the US, also how we can invest and how we can actually help deliver medicines to patients in America that are made in America”.Asked by reporters whether AstraZeneca had requested any commitments from the US administration in return for its $50bn investment, the largest manufacturing investment in the company’s history, Soriot said it had not

Trump’s 15% tariff on medicines will harm patients, say EU drugmakers

The European pharmaceutical industry has condemned the US move to put 15% tariffs on medicines imported from the EU, calling the taxes a “blunt instrument” that would harm patients on both sides of the Atlantic.They were responding to a White House text of the deal that inferred the 15% baseline rate on imports from the EU would also apply to drugs if the agreement is implemented on the US side on Friday as expected.“As part of President Trump’s strategy to establish balanced trade, the European Union will pay the United States a tariff rate of 15%, including on autos and auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors,” the text said.The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries (EFPIA) said: “Tariffs on medicines are a blunt instrument that will disrupt supply chains, impact on investment in research and development, and ultimately harm patient access to medicines on both sides of the Atlantic.”The trade organisation represents drug companies across the bloc including Bayer in Germany, Novo Nordisk in Denmark, and US multinationals with operations in Ireland such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson