Good morning. Thames Water has appointed the former boss of power supplier Aggreko as its new chief executive as it faces intensifying scrutiny over its financial health.

Chris Watson will take up the job in January next year. He was previously in the army, has an MBA from Imperial College and led Aggreko for seven years. Before that he was on the board and executive committee of international energy and services company Centrica.

Weston’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Thames Water, which is facing higher financing costs on its £18.3bn debt pile, as well as an outcry over sewage pollution. This week chair Sir Adrian Montague apologised to MPs for any “confusion” caused when the utility described a shareholder loan as “equity”, as he sought to allay concerns over its finances.

Montague said Weston had “a proven track record working in regulated environments, turning round business performance and improving customer experience”.

Weston said he was “looking forward to joining Thames Water at this crucial time for the business and the wider water sector”. He replaces Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran, who were acting as joint interim chief executives following former boss Sarah Bentley’s abrupt exit in the summer.

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Former BP chief executive Bernard Looney will forfeit up to £32.4mn over “serious misconduct” related to failing to disclose past relationships with colleagues. Looney left abruptly in September after the oil major received allegations about his conduct, and he admitted he hadn’t been “fully transparent” with the board. Yesterday BP said it had concluded that Looney had knowingly misled the board, and had sacked him without notice.

Outsourcer Serco has announced an acquisition and forecast higher than expected profits for next year. The company has bought German immigration services business European Homecare for €40mn (£34mn), and said it was expecting 6 per cent growth in underlying profits to £260mn in its 2024 financial year on the back of new contracts and improvements in efficiency. In a pre-close trading update the company said annual revenue for the current year was expected to be at least £4.8bn (up around 7 per cent) while underlying profits would be around £245mn.

Electronics retailer Curry’s reported a 4 per cent drop in like-for-like revenue in its first half to £4.2bn and a £16mn adjusted pre-tax loss, down from £17mn last year. The troubled retailer, which has been hit by slow consumer spending, said profitability in the Nordics (where it faces intense price competition) had “improved” despite a “difficult consumer environment” and stuck to its annual guidance.

The outlook for the UK housing improved in November according to a closely watched property survey, aided by easing mortgage rates. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its measure of forecast sales over the next three months rose to six in November, up from minus 17 in October. It was the first positive reading since April 2022.

US stocks have rallied after the Federal Reserve held interest rates at a 22-year high yesterday. But new forecasts from central bank officials pointed to 75 basis points worth of cuts next year — a more dovish outlook for rates than in previous projections.

Tesla is seeking to hire a government affairs specialist in Sweden to help resolve escalating strikes against the US carmaker in Nordic countries. The company is looking for someone with “a proven track record of getting regulatory changes made in the Nordics”.

And Vivendi, the French media conglomerate, is considering splitting itself up into three businesses that would be listed separately, in what would be a major overhaul piloted by owner Vincent Bolloré.

Today’s Big Read looks at an unprecedented new scheme by the Japanese government to coax its famously high proportion of cash savers into investing. Will it work?