Sunday newspaper round-up: Gaza, Ryanair, Pearson...

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Sharecast News | 17 Dec, 2023

Updated : 12:43

Lord Cameron has joined forces with his German counterpart to call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Middle East and warn that “too many civilians have been killed” in the Hamas-Israel conflict. In a marked change of tone by the government which piles pressure on the Israeli government to end the bloodshed, the foreign secretary has united with Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, to demand “a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace”. – The Sunday Times

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is on track to earn a €100mn bonus after the low-cost airline’s shares hit a record high this week. Shares rose to €18.99 on Friday, bringing their gains for the year to more than 50 per cent and underlining Ryanair’s position as by far the most valuable airline in Europe. Under a bonus scheme agreed in 2019, O’Leary can earn share options worth around €100mn if the airline’s share price hits €21 for 28 days, or it reports €2.2bn in annual profits after tax. – Financial Times

Pearson's largest shareholder has called for the company to move its listing to the US, in another blow to the London stock market. Cevian Capital has singled out the FTSE 100 educational publisher as the next company in its portfolio that should make a move to New York. The activist investor argues that the shift would be better for the business and comes just months after it managed to convince Irish building products group CRH to move their primary listing across the Atlantic. – Mail on Sunday

Petrol prices have fallen to their lowest in more than two years, the RAC has said. A litre of unleaded petrol now costs 142.57p on average at the pumps, a price not seen since the end of October 2021. That is about 10p a litre cheaper than in the run-up to last Christmas and about 14p less than the litre price two months ago. Diesel prices have not fallen. – The Guardian

The £300,000-a-year boss of one of Britain’s busiest railway lines has agreed to resign after a string of overhead power and track failures, including one that left thousands of passengers stranded on trains for hours. Michelle Handforth, Network Rail managing director for the Wales & Western region from Paddington, is stepping down after the rail regulator launched an investigation into “poor punctuality” caused by repeated faults and emergency closures. – The Independent

Campaigners are pressing for changes to a UK government scheme for would-be first-time buyers that “fines” people if they use it to buy a home costing more than £450,000. Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, is among those calling for an urgent revamp of the rules that apply to lifetime Isas, which let people save for a first home or for their retirement. Lewis told Guardian Money this week that the scheme was, in its current form, “broken” because it unfairly takes money off some young people and they get back less than their investment. – The Guardian

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