Barclays Share News (BARC)

The Telegraph has said that household water bills across England and Wales are to fall by 5% in real terms by 2019-2020 following a decision by Ofwat. "The ruling will almost certainly hit the profits of the UK's water companies," the paper said.New York's financial regulator is looking at whether Barclays and Deutsche Bank used "complex computer algorithms" to rig the currency markets, according to The Times. The investigation is said to be at an early stay and has reached no firm conclusions.The House of Representatives "narrowly passed" a $1trn spending package on Thursday night, just two and a half hours before the deadline to avert a shutdown of the federal government, the Financial Times reported. "The day's chaotic events were another reminder of the capital's increasingly polarised political climate, as well as a signal that fresh faultlines may lie ahead in a Democratic party still regrouping after its stunning losses in November's midterm elections," the paper said.France is falling into deflation as manufacturers have had to cut prices to retain their market share while the European Central Bank has been pressured into taking action before it's too late, The Telegraph has reported. Meanwhile, the Bank of Italy has now come out to warn that a further price drop would have "extremely grave consequences for economies with very high public debt", according to the publication.In-fighting has swept through the UK Independence Party (UKIP) as officials have claimed that one of the party's primary sources of funding has pressured them into accepting former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton as a parliamentary candidate, according to the Financial Times.According to The Guardian, sports retail giant Sports Direct has refused to rule out the opportunity of purchasing stakes in rival retailers despite a £23m drop in the value of strategic investments relating to Tesco and Debenhams. "We have a history of strategic stakes and that may or may not continue," said Dave Forsey, the group's chief executive.Markets in Greece tumbled for a third consecutive day as a senior minister warned that the government was still short of sufficient support to avoid a general election that could lead to anti-austerity left wingers taking control of the country, reported The Times.Yodel, the second-biggest delivery company in the UK after Royal Mail has warned of a parcel backlog ahead of Christmas, saying that deliveries could take three days longer than planned to arrive, The Guardian said. Yodel handles parcels on behalf of a number of retailers, such as Amazon, Argos and Tesco Direct.