Closing post
Time to wrap up…
The company hopes to agree a deal by the end of June, and complete it by the end of September.
Its appeal to lift customers bills by more than regulators allowed has been paused while talks continue, but the CMA will consider appeals by five other water companies.
Geopolitical tensions have pushed the gold price to a new all-time high of $3,038 per ounce. Analysts said the weaker dollar, and fears of a global trade war, were fuelling a new gold rush.
The dollar has recovered ground this afternoon, after slipping to a four-month low which saw the pound trade at $1.30 for the first time since November.
Updated
Back on bosses’ earnings… the CEO of Centrica’s pay packet has almost halved.
Chris O’Shea received £4.322m last year, the company’s annual report shows, down from £8.231m in 2023.
The decline was due to a lower bonus – O’Shea’s variable remuneration declined to £3.376m, down from £7.328m last year.
Two years ago, O’Shea admitted that a £4.5m pay packet was “impossible to justify”.
