Friday newspaper round-up: Binance, water bosses, entrepreneurs, Amazon

(Sharecast News) - The amount Britons can earn from a side hustle without paying tax will rise to £3,000 next year in a fillip for those who make extra cash from hobbies or reselling. Up to 1.4 million people could benefit from the change announced in the budget, with the chancellor confirming the tax-free "trading" allowance will increase from £1,000 to £3,000 in April 2027. - Guardian

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has said it's investigating reports of a potential $6.3bn security breach that analysts said could amount to the most significant incident relating to digital assets on record. It wasn't immediately clear the extent of the damage hackers might have been able to cause, and Binance did not explicitly confirmed that funds had been stolen. The company said its teams are "working around the clock" to resolve the issue. - Guardian

Several water bosses will be blocked from receiving bonuses after their companies were awarded the worst possible environmental rating. One-star ratings at Southern Water, Thames Water, South West Water and Yorkshire Water were all confirmed by the Environment Agency on Thursday. This means they will now be blocked from paying executive bonuses as part of a government crackdown launched last year that seeks to prevent companies rewarding failure. - Telegraph

One in four business owners will be left worse off by John Healey's Budget despite his pledge to protect "bloody-minded" entrepreneurs. The Chancellor on Wednesday reduced tax breaks for small business owners who sell their companies while also introducing relief to fast-growing companies. But new Treasury documents show the move will harm more entrepreneurs than it helps. - Telegraph

The prime minister has demanded to know if the American owner of Poundland rejected a rescue deal and instead filed a notice to appoint administrators, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. The future of the discount retailer, which has a distribution centre in Makerfield, Andy Burnham's constituency, is in doubt after Gordon Brothers, its US owner, failed to reach an agreement with management over a solvent bid. - The Times

Amazon missed third-quarter sales and profit expectations as it reported muted growth in its online retail business ahead of the Christmas sales period. The company said overall revenue rose 12 per cent to $201.9bn, missing average analyst estimates of $202.2bn. Net income fell 2.4 per cent to $20.7bn, below analysts' expectations of $21.5bn. - The Times