Sunday newspaper round-up: Glencore, Tesco, Vodafone

(Sharecast News) - Glencore is being prodded by an influential investor, Bluebell Capital Partners, not to delay letting go of its environmentally damaging coal mining business. The FTSE 100 listed outfit's plan had been to acquire Teck Resources, merge its coal unit with it and to then spinoff and list the combined company on the New York Stock Exchange. After Teck rebuffed its offer, those plans are at risk, but Bluebell is urging Glencore to let go of that business, saying that the remainder of the company would then fetch a higher valuation. - Financial Mail on Sunday Tesco is starting to pressure suppliers to cut their prices, an early indication that grocery shoppers may soon see the cost of their weekly purchases ease. According to Ged Futter at The Retail Mind, suppliers want further price increases. The news comes as consumers face a 23% jump on average for a typical basket of Easter staples when compared to a year earlier. Nonetheless, Futter expects that the price of dairy products, which were among the first to jump in 2022, will be among those that will fall the quickest. - The Sunday Times

A tie-up between Vodafone and rival Three, who operate the UK's third and fourth largest mobile networks, will be agreed within weeks, The Mail on Sunday understands. An agreement would follow six months of negotiations between Vodafone and Three owner CK Hutchinson. But potential sticking points did exist, including separate network sharing deals and how to go about disentangling Vodafone UK from its parent group. Three however was thought to be intent on a deal given the risk that continued investment in its network might prove unsustainable. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Britain's High Street is facing a £90bn bill as a result of upgrades forced on it by net zero rules. Failure to take action may otherwise render 91% of all retail space unlettable by 2030, estate agent Savills says. Under the government's plans, commercial properties would need to have an minimum energy performance rating of C by 2027 for them to be able to be rented out. A B rating would be necessary three years afterwards. Savills puts the cost of those upgrades at between £55bn to £90bn for the UK as a whole and at £10bn for London alone. - The Sunday Telegraph

Tourists from France and Germany have begin to shun the UK, tourism leaders fear, on account of the limits to travel with identity cards. Tourism has started to recover since Covid restrictions in Europe were lifted in 2022, but it was increasingly evident that significant numbers of French and Germans were staying away. Less than half the populations of those two countries had a valid passport. Brexit has also left a perception of the UK as being less welcoming to tourists. - Guardian