Thanks for joining me. Thames Water has been told it will not be given a £500m lifeline by the end of the month, putting the supplier a step closer towards nationalisation.
Without the extra money from investors, who include Canadian pension fund Omers and the Universities Superannuation Scheme, Thames would be at risk of relying on a taxpayer-backed bailout. The business needs billions of pounds to survive.
Thames announced last year that investors were willing to inject £3.25bn into the business, with £750m expected in 2024.
5 things to start your day
1) National Living Wage should start at 18 instead of 21, says pay-setting group | Business chiefs warn change would be unaffordable
2) Crunch meeting at Thames Water amid scramble for £750m | Directors race to finalise lifeline from shareholders and avoid special administration
3) BT to convert 2,000 old payphones into advertising screens | Telecoms giant plans to triple its number of digital screens despite local backlash
4) Morrisons’ losses mount amid debt finance pressures | Higher interest rates hammer supermarket as it attempts ambitious turnaround plan
5) Insurers face record $3bn bill from Baltimore bridge collapse | Payout will be up to double the claim for Costa Concordia wreck, say analysts
What happened overnight
Asian investors trod carefully on Thursday after a Federal Reserve official floated the idea of delaying or reducing interest rate cuts.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Wellington rising, while Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta fell.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 1.5pc, or 594.66 points, at 40,168.07, while the broader Topix index lost 1.7pc, or 48.47 points, to 2,750.81.
Chinese markets recouped losses from the day before. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.1pc to 16,579.99, while the Shanghai Composite advanced 1.2pc to 3,029.01.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.9pc to 7,887.00. Taiwan’s Taiex was little changed.