Wednesday newspaper round-up: Ofgem, bank dividends, HSBC
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 29 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - The government should prepare to step in with targeted emergency support to help people and businesses that would be hardest hit by a second surge in coronavirus infections, a group of MPs has warned. Sounding the alarm over the uneven impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the commons business committee said there were major gaps in the financial support package rolled out by the government - especially for women and freelance and agency workers. - Guardian
The energy regulator has vowed to crack down on "unscrupulous" brokers that have overcharged charities, community sports clubs, and care homes for their energy by hiding their inflated commission charges. Ofgem set out the plans to help prevent more than a million microbusinesses from being ripped-off by unregulated energy brokers after finding that some were paying thousands of pounds more than they needed to. - Guardian
Bank dividend payments could be restarted within months in a boost to millions of small investors battered by the coronavirus meltdown. Lenders were forced to halt shareholder pay-outs following heavy pressure from the Bank of England after the pandemic struck - but Threadneedle Street has said it will consider plans to dole out cash from January onwards as an economic recovery begins. - Telegraph
Chinese state-backed media have put further pressure on HSBC over allegations that the bank had a hand in the arrest of a senior Huawei executive. Meng Wanzhou, the finance chief of the telecoms company, was arrested in Canada in December 2018 and is fighting extradition to the United States. She is accused of bank fraud for misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a business operating in Iran, a country subject to American sanctions. - The Times
The funding gap in the universities' pensions scheme has ballooned to £20 billion, raising the prospect of fresh strikes by academics over potential increased member contributions. The scheme's deficit rose from £5.7 billion to £12.9 billion in the 12 months to March 31, according to its latest accounts. It then rose to £20 billion at the end of June, the Universities Superannuation Scheme warned. - The Times
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