LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Contacts between TalkTalk and Macquarie aimed at a £450m investment by the latter in its wholesale unit, known as PlatformX, have run into a wall. The news comes as TalkTalk races to refinance its £1bn debt pile in August, which is comprised of a £330m revolving credit facility maturing in November and a £685m loan falling due in February. TalkTalk was set to be seeking a £1.5bn valuation and Sky News reported that Macquarie wanted a 40% stake in PlatformX. The Australian investment bank was still interested but talks had stalled. TalkTalk founder Sir Charles Dunstone was scheduled to meet with banks and bondholders on Monday. - The Sunday Times



Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway hived off a large chunk of shares in tech heavyweight Apple during the second quarter while running up his cash hoard to around $277bn. Berkshire let go of 390m shares in Apple. That was on top of the $115m sold during the previous three months - despite which Apple's share price gained 23%. As at 30 June, Berkshire retained approximately 400m shares in Apple with a market value of $84.2bn. In total, Berkshire sold $75.5bn-worth of stocks over the three months ending in June. - Guardian

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will not acquiesce to calls from multiple critics for him to stand down. Baily said he will see out his entire eight-year term which finishes in 2028. Bailey also sounded a much more positive note on the economy than the Chancellor, although "there is still a lot to be done". Cautioning that he would not "get drawn into politics", he went on to add that "I do think it's good news, and a reason to be optimistic, that inflation is back on target." - The Financial Mail on Sunday

BAE Systems boss Charles Woodburn says the defence engineer is mulling a range of possible buyouts of drone makers and designers. Woodburn said that drone warfare was evolving rapidly and that demand was on the rise. The BAE chief also said that the company was studying takeovers of small British outfits in the space sector. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

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