Thursday newspaper round-up: Goldman bankers, train strikes, Uber

(Sharecast News) - Goldman Sachs bankers are reportedly at risk of having their bonus pool slashed by up to 40%, in what could be the lender's largest cut to payouts since the 2008 financial crisis. The bank is still in the process of deciding the size of its bonus pools for 2022, but the prospective cut could mean its 3,000 investment bankers endure the most significant drop in variable pay among their peers, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news. - Guardian Germany has snubbed British-backed Eurofighter jets in favour of a €10bn deal for US-made F-35 aircraft as it orders a fleet capable of carrying a nuclear arsenal. The 35 planes will carry American atomic weapons based in Germany, replacing ageing Tornado warplanes. - Telegraph

Train strikes are almost guaranteed to ruin the rest of Christmas and return to work in the New Year as warring bosses and union leaders enter a "cooling off period". Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT), will on Thursday be warned by ministers and rail chiefs that they will not back down in the response to his union's hardline tactics. - Telegraph

More than a million households and businesses have signed up to a National Grid scheme that pays them to reduce their electricity usage at peak times to help avoid blackouts. However, the fall in demand that can be achieved from these consumers is still significantly lower than the level that may be required to avert power cuts in a crisis, the company admitted. - The Times

Profits at Uber's London arm rose by 96 per cent last year as the easing of Covid-19 restrictions allowed it to charge more for taxi rides. Uber London, the licensed operator for the ride-hailing group in the capital, said profit margins had improved in 2021 compared with the previous year, filings show. This was because it had not made any profit on certain rides during a larger portion of 2020 because of lockdowns. - The Times