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What can I substitute for soy sauce? : Current Woman Le MAG

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Quirk in US maritime law may be key to liability in Baltimore bridge disaster

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The investigation continues to determine why a container ship, the Dali, smashed into a pillar of the 2.6 km span of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge in early morning darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and leaving six construction workers presumed dead.

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However, establishing the precise cause of the accident will be just the first step in untangling the question of who will shoulder the financial cost of the disaster, which will be considerable. 

John Neal, chief executive of the leading global insurer Lloyds of London, told British media on Thursday that the accident is “certainly going to be one of the largest marine losses in history”.  

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Mathilde Jakobsen, senior director of analytics at the credit rating agency AM Best, agreed, noting that “while the total cost of the bridge collapse and associated claims will not be clear for some time, it is likely to run into the billions of dollars”. 

The tragedy could lead to up to $4 billion in insurance claims, Morningstar DBRS said.

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Reinsurers – insurers that handle risks that are too large for insurance companies to handle alone – “will bear the bulk of the insured cost of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore”, according to Jakobsen. 

The Dali’s insurer, Britannia P&I Club, is part of a global group of mutual insurance organisations that pool liability for the shipping industry

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Known as protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs, they provide “liability cover for most shipping vessels” and “collectively insure approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage”, notes Jakobsen.  

Insurance claims from the bridge collapse will take a long time to determine and involve the families of those who died, the injured, those suffering damage to property, cargo and the cost of the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the US eastern seaboard.  

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Maritime law from the 19th century

But according to the maritime lawyer John Fulweiler, the Dali’s owners, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private, will certainly try to limit their liability from lawsuits by using a 19th century US maritime law that he calls “a powerful tool that favours vessel owners”.  

The law was originally meant to prevent shipping companies from having to pay overwhelming losses from accidents at sea. 

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The ship’s owners, Fulweiler told FRANCE by email, can petition federal court under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, and bring all potential claims against them “into a single courtroom before a single federal judge”.  

“When the Act is triggered, the court issues an order halting all claims that might be pending in other forums,” notes Fulweiler. 

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“It’s an old piece of legislation” that produces “a lot of injustices,” says Fulweiler, by capping the ship owner’s liability to a sum equal to the “post-incident value of the vessel” and the earnings it collected from carrying the freight on board. 

The wreckage wrought by the Dali is estimated to far exceed its current value.  

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According to Fulweiler, “the murky waters of the marine world give amplified lobbying power to those representing marine insurers and vessel owners”. 

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

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Off the deep end: France’s love of swimming pools

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With more than 3 million private swimming pools, France has more “piscines” than any other nation in Europe. We find out why the sector has been booming for years and how the government is using AI to crack down on illegal pools. We also look into the challenges, benefits and heritage of France’s public swimming pools.  

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Remains of George Washington’s long-lost grandnephews are identified using DNA from 200-year-old bones found in unmarked graves

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Unmarked graves belonging to the grandnephews of the first US president have been identified after 200 years using DNA.

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The bones belonged to Samuel Walter Washington and George Steptoe Washington Jr., along with their mother, Lucy Payne Washington.

The graves were discovered during a 1999 excavation at the Harewood Family Cemetery in Charles Town, West Virginia that aimed to find the remains of Washington’s younger brother, Samuel Washington.

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Researchers at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used DNA from the fragmented bones and a living descendent, Samuel Walter Washington.

This marks a significant discovery for the researchers who said their findings could lead them to identify service members extending back to World War II.

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Researchers identified the remains of three of George Washington's ancestors using new DNA sequencing methods

Researchers identified the remains of three of George Washington’s ancestors using new DNA sequencing methods 

George Steptoe Washington Jr. lived from 1806 to 1831 and was buried in the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

George Steptoe Washington Jr. lived from 1806 to 1831 and was buried in the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Samuel Walter Washington lived from November 16, 1734 to September 26, 1781 and was a planter, politician and military officer buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Samuel Walter Washington lived from November 16, 1734 to September 26, 1781 and was a planter, politician and military officer buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

In the study, the researchers had set out to identify all the unmarked graves at Harewood Cemetery and believed the recovered remains belonged to George Washington’s descendants, but conducted DNA tests to be sure.

The researchers believed the recovered remains belonged to Washington’s descendants because the burial ground sat on the land of the Harewood Estate, which was built by Samuel Walter Washington in 1977.

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The most common form of DNA profiling is short tandem repeat analysis – which repeats DNA sequences to verify family connections – but it is often difficult, if not impossible, to use this method on degraded remains.

People who were embalmed using post-war techniques – such as Samuel, Lucy, and George Steptoe – involved formaldehyde which can damage the DNA.

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Instead, the researchers performed a series of DNA tests that compared the remains to a living descendant: S.W. Washington. 

The researchers analyzed the Y chromosomes to determine the paternal relationship and mitochondrial DNA sequencing to determine the maternal relationships to build a family tree.

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The grandnephews were more closely related than previously thought because of a cross-cousin marriage

The grandnephews were more closely related than previously thought because of a cross-cousin marriage

The Herewood estate in Charles Town, West Virginia

The Herewood estate in Charles Town, West Virginia

The family of three was buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

The family of three was buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing detects the smallest forms of biological material that is passed down from a mother to her child.

They also used a new method that analyzed DNA data from 95,000 sets of genomes which houses all the genetic information of a person.

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‘This particular case gave us an opportunity to test methods for extended kinship prediction that we developed using a set of known, degraded DNA samples needing identity confirmation,’ said senior author Charla Marshall, Deputy Director of DoD DNA Operations. 

‘Our laboratory is currently validating these novel methods to be used in routine casework.’ 

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Through these methods, the researchers not only confirmed that Lucy, Samuel and George Steptoe Jr. were Washington’s descendants, but they were surprised to find that their family tree was closer than they expected. 

The familial relationships were one degree closer, but the researchers were able to confirm that it was due to cross-cousin marriages in the Washington family tree. 

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‘Our data confirmed the identities of the three sets of remains, and we furthermore resolved which male was the direct ancestor of S.W. Washington, the living descendant,’ Marshall added.

Samuel was Washington’s brother and a planter, politician and military officer who lived from 1734 to 1781.

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He was the county lieutenant of Berkeley County, Virginia during the early revolution and resigned in 1777 at 43 years old.

Little is known about George Steptoe II who lived from 1806 to 1831.

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He was the youngest son of a Virginia planter and militia officer who died of Tuberculosis at 36.

This is not the first time researchers have had to use new DNA methods after scientists analyzed the hair of a man who claimed to be the great-grandson of Sitting Bull – a legendary Native American Chief. 

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In 2021, the scientists used autosomal DNA from a lock of Sitting bull’s hair to match it to Ernie Lapointe and found it was a positive match.

Now, uncovering Washington’s grandnephews through new DNA sequencing could mean that formerly unknown and unidentified remains can be identified.

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It will allow the researchers to expand the reference points to third and fourth-degree living relatives ‘in an effort to increase the number of DNA-assisted identifications, particularly those of past conflicts such as World War II, Korea, Cold War, and Southeast Asia/Vietnam,’ Marshall said.

Dailymail.com has reached out to the authors for comment. 

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France takes down fake website inviting volunteers to ‘enlist in Ukraine’

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French authorities have uncovered a website containing a fake recruitment drive for French volunteers to join the war in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

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The site has now been taken down by French services, a government source, who asked not to be named, told AFP without giving further details on the nature of the operation.

The site, which is now inaccessible, said 200,000 French people were invited to “enlist in Ukraine“, with immigrants given priority.

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A link to the site – that resembled the French army’s genuine recruitment portal – had been posted on X, formerly Twitter, the French defence ministry said.

“The site is a fake government site,” the ministry said, also on X, “and has been reposted by malevolent accounts as part of a disinformation campaign”.

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The ministry did not name any suspects in the website spoof, but a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the site bore “the hallmarks of a Russian or pro-Russian effort as part of a disinformation campaign claiming that the French army is preparing to send troops to Ukraine”.

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French President Emmanuel Macron angered the Russian leadership last month by hardening his tone on the conflict sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to rule out sending ground troops and insisting Europe had to do all that was needed for a Russian defeat.

Similar recent examples of disinformation posts included pictures of French army convoys wrongly presented as moving towards the Ukrainian border, the official said.

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The fake website invited potential recruits to contact “unit commander Paul” for information about joining.

The defence ministry and government cyber units are investigating, ministry staff told AFP.

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The French government has recently stepped up efforts to denounce and fight what it says are Russian disinformation and destabilisation campaigns aimed at undermining French public support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

(AFP)

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France’s parliament condemns 1961 police massacre of Algerians in Paris

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The French parliament’s lower house on Thursday approved a resolution condemning as “bloody and murderous repression” the killing by Paris police of dozens of Algerians in a crackdown on a 1961 protest to support Algerian independence.

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In recent years France has made a series of efforts to come to terms with its colonial past in Algeria.

Dozens of peaceful demonstrators died during a crackdown by Paris police on a protest by Algerians in 1961. The scale of the massacre was covered up for decades by French authorities before President Emmanuel Macron condemned it as “inexcusable” in 2021.

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The text of the resolution stressed the crackdown took place “under the authority of police prefect Maurice Papon” and also called for the official commemoration of the massacre.

The bill, put forward by Greens lawmaker Sabrina Sebaihi and ruling Renaissance party MP Julie Delpech, was approved by 67 lawmakers, with 11 against.

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Sebaihi said the vote represented the “first step” towards the “recognition of this colonial crime, the recognition of this state crime.”

The term “state crime” however does not appear in the text of the resolution, which was jointly drafted by Macron’s party and the Elysee Palace.

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Read more October 17, 1961: A massacre of Algerians in the heart of Paris

On the 60th anniversary of the bloodshed in 2021, Macron acknowledged that several dozen protesters had been killed, “their bodies thrown into the River Seine.”

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The precise number of victims has never been made clear and some activists fear several hundred could have been killed.

“Let us spare a thought here today for these victims and their families, who have been hit hard by the spiral of violence”, Dominique Faure, the minister for local and regional authorities, said on Thursday.

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She noted that efforts had been made in the past to recognise the massacre.

In 2012, then president Francois Hollande paid “tribute to the victims” of a “bloody crackdown” on the men and women demonstrating for “the right to independence”.

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The rally was called in the final year of France’s increasingly violent attempt to retain Algeria as a north African colony, and in the middle of a bombing campaign targeting mainland France by pro-independence militants.

However, Faure expressed reservations about establishing a special day to commemorate the massacre, pointing out that three dates already existed to “commemorate what happened during the Algerian war”.

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“I think it is important to let history do the work before considering a new day of commemoration specifically for the victims of October 17, 1961.”

France has made several attempts over the years to heal the wounds with Algeria, but it refuses to “apologise or repent” for the 132 years of often brutal rule that ended in 1962.

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Read moreMacron’s condemnation of 1961 massacre in Paris ‘not enough’, historians say

(AFP)

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BUSINESS LIVE: Recession confirmed; Thames Water survival fears; Lloyd’s of London swings to profit

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Britain’s economy entered a recession in the second half of last year, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics confirms, with GDP shrinking by 0.1 and 0.3 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, respectively. 

The FTSE 100 is up 0.3 per cent in afternoon trading. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Thames Water, Lloyd’s of London, Spirent Communications, AO World and JD Sports. Read the Thursday 28 March Business Live blog below.

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> If you are using our app or a third-party site click here to read Business Live 

AO World eyes more than £1bn in sales this year

AO World shares surged on Thursday as the FTSE 250 online retailer upped its profit guidance, with bosses cheering ‘clear progress’.

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On Thursday, AO told shareholders it expects adjusted pre-tax profits to come in ‘at least’ at the top of its previous guidance, of between £28million and £33million for the year to 31 March.

EnQuest posts another loss after hit from oil and gas windfall tax

EnQuest has recorded another hefty annual loss thanks to the UK Government’s windfall tax on North Sea operators.

The London-based petroleum group reported a $30.8million loss in 2023, a drop on the $41.2million loss recorded the prior year, as it paid a $77.2million charge from the Energy Profits Levy.

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Nanoco boss eyes new chapter for tech pioneer after Samsung spat

‘We’re in the strongest position we’ve been in – not just financially, but commercially – in the 20 years since we formed,’ says the chief executive of British tech pioneer Nanoco.

Since joining the AIM-listed firm in August 2018, initially as chief operating officer, Brian Tenner has endured Nanoco’s potentially fatal experience of the pandemic, a lengthy legal spat with Samsung and an attempted boardroom coup.

AO cheers ‘clear progress’ as electronics retailer improved profit guidance

Electronics retailer AO World has increased its profit guidance after “clear progress” over the past year.

Shares in the London-listed company rose by more than a tenth in early trading on Thursday.

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It is the latest upgrade after improving its profit outlook in November last year as its cost-cutting actions continue to bear fruit.

The retailer, which counts Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group as a major shareholder, has cut a number of jobs and closed its German business as part of its turnaround plan.

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On Thursday, AO told shareholders it expects adjusted pre-tax profits “at least” at the top of its previous guidance, of between £28 million and £33 million for the year to March 31.

It added that it expects to report revenues of around £1.04 billion for the year, after its core business returned to growth in the final quarter.

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Nevertheless, the company will still have seen revenues decline by around 8% for the year.

The ten most popular overseas stocks investors buy for their Isa

The clock is ticking for investors to use their annual Isa allowance before the tax year ends at midnight on 5 April.

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Each year, savers and investors get a £20,000 allowance that can be used to pay new money into an Isa, with the most popular types being a cash Isa or stocks and shares Isa.

Competition watchdog clears Aviva’s £460m acquisition of AIG Life

Aviva’s proposed £460million acquisition of AIG Life will not be referred to a phase two investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

In February, the CMA launched an initial probe to assess whether the acquisition could reduce competition across the UK services sector.

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Ithaca Energy shares top FTSE 350 fallers

Top 15 falling FTSE 350 firms 28032024

Spirent Communications shares top FTSE 350 risers

Top 15 rising FTSE 350 firms 28032024

MARKET REPORT: Carnival set for record year as bookings boom

FTSE 250 group Carnival is gearing up for a record year after a surge in people booking cruises for the first time.

Customers are choosing to holiday at sea rather than spend a fortune on hotels or flights.

Spirent ditches Vivai as Keysight gatecrashes deal with £1.2bn offer

Keysight Technologies has reached a deal to snap up Spirent Communications for £1.16billion.

Market update: FTSE 100 up 0.3%; FTSE 250 down 0.1%

The FTSE 100 has opened higher this morning, bolstered broadly by commodity-linked stocks, while telecommunications testing firm Spirent Communications has jumped 10 per cent on a deal with Keysight Technologies.

Energy stocks have added 0.5 per cent as oil prices edged up after two days of declines, while most base metals have been boosted by signs of stabilisation in China’s broader economy.

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JD Sports shares have climbed 5.9 per cnet after the sportswear retailer said its pretax profit for the year to 4 Febuary would meet guidance it downgraded in January in the range of £915million to £935million.

Spirent Communications is up 10.2 per cent on agreeing to Keysight Technologies’s offer valuing the firm at £1.16billion.

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M&G, Smith & Nephew and Taylor Wimpey are down between 1 and 6 per cent as they traded ex-dividend.

Breaking:Competition watchdog clears Aviva’s takeover of AIG Life

The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Aviva’s acquisition of AIG Life.

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Insurance market Lloyd’s of London toasts best result ‘in recent history’ with £10.7bn profit

Lloyd’s of London has achieved its strongest annual results ‘in recent history’ after swinging to a bumper profit from a loss the prior year.

The world’s biggest insurance marketplace, whose roots date back to a 17th-century coffee house, rebounded to a £10.7billion profit last year after making a £800million pre-tax loss in 2022.

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It credited the performance to higher interest rates and an ‘unwind of the previously booked mark-to-market loss’.

Morrisons boss says turnaround is in ‘full swing’ as sales pick up

The new boss of Morrisons says his turnaround is ‘in full swing’ after sales grew at the fastest rate for three years.

After struggling to make headway following its private equity takeover, the supermarket said sales in the three months to January 31 were 4.6 per cent up on a year earlier.

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Thames Water shareholders refuse £500m lifeline plea

Thames Water shareholders are refusing to give the debt laden utility extra cash unless the group hikes bills for customers.

Fears for the future of Thames Water, which sits on a £14billion debt pile, were heightened on Thursday as it announced shareholders will not be injecting the first £500million of funding that was agreed last summer.

The shareholders blame industry regulations they say make its business plan ‘uninvestible’.

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Commodities broker Marex Group snubs City as it files papers to list in New York

London commodities broker Marex Group is planning to list in New York.

It filed documents with the US regulator about an initial public offering –becoming the latest business to snub London’s stock market as firms look to achieve higher valuations.

EnQuest becomes latest North Sea firm to suffer windfall tax

itish North Sea-focused oil producer EnQuest narrowed its annual loss to $30.8million last year, down from a $41.2million loss in 2022, it said on Thursday.

The company said it posted a loss after tax due to the energy profit levy (EPL) which was extended by one year by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt earlier this month.

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EnQuest has for years been shielded from UK taxes as it could offset bills against reported tax losses, which stood at $2billion at the end of 2023.

‘The EPL has resulted in a number of industry participants accelerating their shift in focus away from the UK North Sea,’ said boss Amjad Bseisu.

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‘Our significant tax loss position and the impact of the EPL on marginal tax rates means that the transfer of assets to EnQuest ownership would increase their relative value to a multiple of that in the hands of existing owners.’

FTSE100 suffers a ‘somewhat unnoticed and certainly unloved rally’

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor

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‘Despite the drag of the usual raft of Thursday ex-dividend stocks, including but not limited to M&G, Melrose and Prudential, progress was also made on home shores, helped along by buying interest in the miners and oil majors. The more recent advances for the FTSE100 have resulted in a somewhat unnoticed and certainly unloved rally which leaves the premier index up by 2.8% so far this year and indeed less than 1% away from the record high of just over 8000, achieved in February last year.

‘The more domestically focused FTSE250 has also turned positive of late and is now ahead by 0.7% in the year to date despite confirmation of a technical recession in the UK. The recession is, however, widely expected to be shallow and brief and the prospects of interest rate cuts towards the middle of the year have buoyed sentiment. This also comes with the possibility that the UK market as a whole is being considered anew by international investors, who have eschewed investment but are now increasingly being tempted by the deeply discounted valuation levels compared to many global peers.’

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Americans crashing Mondi bid for DS Smith plot UK listing should their deal go through

NEW: Thames Water shareholders blame watchdog

A joint statement from Thames Water’s nine shareholders:

‘Shareholders and Thames Water have been working with the regulator Ofwat for over a year on how to address the complex challenges facing the business. These include both meeting current funding demands and the urgent need for substantial investment to improve performance.

‘These discussions led to the submission of a business plan which included the largest ever investment programme by any UK water company – over £18 billion – to improve customer service and environmental standards. To support such unprecedented investment, shareholders committed to supporting a further £3.25 billion of investment on top of the £500 million provided last year, and pledged to take no cash out of the business until a turnaround was delivered. This was a solution which addresses the root cause of Thames Water’s challenges without the need for any taxpayer funding.

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‘However, after more than a year of negotiations with the regulator, Ofwat has not been prepared to provide the necessary regulatory support for a business plan which ultimately addresses the issues that Thames Water faces. As a result, shareholders are not in a position to provide further funding to Thames Water.

‘Shareholders will work constructively with Thames Water, Ofwat and Government on how to address the consequences of Ofwat’s decision.’

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‘UK economy shows signs of steadying, yet caution remains paramount’

Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors:

‘It would be premature to declare that the economy has completely turned a corner; however, the indicators suggest that the recession experienced was relatively brief.

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‘The current expectations align more with a stabilisation in the first half of 2024 rather than a robust bounce-back, primarily due to the ongoing impact of high interest rates and their delayed effects on the market.

‘Governor Andrew Bailey’s recent remarks that interest rate cuts are now ‘in play’ for future meetings hint at potential stimuli for growth in the latter part of the year.

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‘Nevertheless, while there are indications that business activity is on an upswing, the threat of inflationary pressures making a comeback cannot be ignored.

‘Despite the base effects and a reduction in the Energy Price Cap contributing to a decrease in headline figures in the near term, the possibility of experiencing further inflationary surges persists. Such developments could constrain the Bank of England’s ability to implement rate cuts in the subsequent quarters.

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‘In summary, the UK economy shows signs of steadying, yet caution remains paramount as we navigate through the complexities of inflation and interest rate dynamics.’

Lloyd’s of London swings to £10.7bn profit

Lloyd’s of London swung to a pre-tax profit of £10.7billion in 2023, with the commercial insurance market boosted by strong underwriting and investment performance.

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The insurance market, which has more than 50 member firms, suffered an £800million loss in 2022.

Commercial insurers, who underwrite anything from oil rigs to professional footballers’ legs, have coped in recent years with a pandemic, wars, inflation and rising losses from natural catastrophes by excluding some business and raising prices.

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‘We’ll continue working with our market to deliver consistent profitable performance through disciplined underwriting,’ Chief executive John Neal said.

Thames Water survival fears as investors refuse to provide £500m funding lifeline

Thames Water shareholders have refused to stump up a promised £500million of equity, heightening concerns about Britain’s largest water utility’s survival, after it failed to agree future bills and conditions with the regulator.

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Thames Water said is is operating ‘business as usual’, seeking to reassure its 16 million customers after a year of speculation that it could collapse under the weight of its more than £14billion of debt.

‘Discussions with Ofwat and other stakeholders are ongoing,’ Thames Water said in its statement.

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The company’s shareholders, who include Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and the UK’s Universities Superannuation Scheme, had been due to provide the new equity by 31 March.

Trader Tom Hayes vows to fight on in bid to clear his name as Court of Appeal upholds Libor rigging conviction

Convicted Libor trader Tom Hayes has vowed to fight on to clear his name after losing his appeal against conviction.

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Hayes, who was jailed in 2015 for manipulating benchmark lending rate Libor, will now seek to take his case to the Supreme Court.

The former Citigroup and UBS trader claims he was made a scapegoat for the financial crisis.

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Recession ‘almost certainly already over’

Thomas Pugh, economist at RSM UK:

‘This morning’s data confirmed that the UK endured the smallest of recessions in the second half of last year. But it’s almost certainly already over.

‘A jump in retail sales and an improvement in business surveys, such as the PMIs, point to the economy improving in the first quarter of this year. We then expect growth to accelerate in the second half of this year and into 2025 as sharply lower inflation, tax cuts and falling interest rates give households an income boost.

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‘The big unknown is how much of this rise in incomes households will actually spend. Indeed, despite real households’ disposable income growing by 0.7% in Q4, the household saving ratio rose to 10.2% in the latest quarter, up from 10.1% in Quarter 3, suggesting that households were still rebuilding saving buffers at the end of last year.

‘The good news is that consumer confidence has been improving gradually over the last year and UK consumers’ confidence in their personal finances has reached the highest since 2021 as the impact of rising real wages filters through into people’s pockets, even though consumers remain cautious overall.

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‘We expect this to continue over the next year. That suggests household savings patterns will start to return to more normal levels in the first half of the year.

‘On that basis, we think the improvement in households’ real incomes that is set to intensify later this year will translate into an increase in spending that will kick start the economic recovery and finally drag the UK out of stagnation.’

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UK recession confirmed

Britain’s economy entered a recession in the second half of last year, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics confirms.

GDP shrank by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter and by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, unchanged from preliminary estimates.

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Athens residents choking in clouds of Sahara dust amid unseasonably warm weather

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Athenians are choking in clouds of thick dust blown in from the Sahara along with unseasonably warm weather, weather forecasters and doctors warned on Thursday.

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The haze covering the Greek capital comes from southerly winds that blow dust from North Africa across the eastern Mediterranean from March to April, the head of the Greek meteorological service Theodoros Kolydas said on X, formerly Twitter.

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“A typical sandstorm with a range of 200 kilometres (about 120 miles) carries 20 to 30 million tonnes of dust and sometimes as much as 100 million,” he wrote.

The city regularly experiences such sandstorms but the current one is accompanied by unusually high spring temperatures, heightening the choking effect.

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Wednesday saw the highest March temperature in central Athens since 2009 — 25.3 degrees Celsius (77.5 Fahrenheit).

Further south on the island of Crete, the temperature reached 32 Celsius.

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The Greek Pulmonologists’ Union advised asthma sufferers and other vulnerable people to avoid “unnecessary movements and outdoor sports during the times of highest dust concentration”.

It warned that the dust can be mixed with pollen, bacteria and fungi, “a highly toxic mixture that is dangerous for the human body, particularly the respiratory system”.

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Scientists say climate change caused by human burning of fossil fuels is raising the risk of extreme weather events, including heatwaves and droughts.

The weather service said the dust clouds were expected to dissipate from Friday.

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(AFP)

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