Newspaper Summary
The Times
Former Director of failed lender lands job as chairman of Barclays U.K.: Sir Ian Cheshire, the former Chief Executive of B&Q’s owner Kingfisher, is poised to become chairman of the U.K. division of Barclays Bank, the part of the lender being ring-fenced to protect taxpayers from any future banking crisis.
Chocolate producer is full of beans: Divine Chocolate, the Fairtrade Chocolate producer, has increased net profits by more than 38 % to £443,000 in its latest year, which is good news for a cooperative of more than 85,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana. They are entitled to a 44 % share of the profit in the form of a dividend.
Alarm over new plans for pensions: Government plans for an overhaul of company retirement schemes risk putting a hole in the nation’s pensions lifeboat.
Adviser to Tesco-Booker takeover working for watchdog: The consultancy helping to make the competition case for Tesco’s merger with Booker has provoked concerns over a potential conflict of interest after winning a contract with the regulator.
BP faces questions on growth prospects: BP is under pressure to show how it will boost production and cashflow at a strategy update, three weeks after saying that it needed higher oil prices to balance its books.
Foreign investors hit the shops on Oxford St: Data from Savills shows that Oxford Street properties are increasingly being bought by non-U.K. landlords, with buyers investing in the once run-down east end of the central London street.
City lines up against Alliance plan to buy back Elliott stake: Several City institutions are believed to have voted against proposals put to ’s annual meeting of Alliance Trust in Edinburgh aimed at allowing Elliott Management, the activist investor, to exit the share register.
20,000 jobs ‘at risk’ if stakes are cut on gaming machines: The imposition of a maximum stake of £2 on lucrative gaming machines in high-street betting shops would wipe out thousands of jobs and cost the Treasury £1 billion in tax, according to research for bookmakers.
App to identify best graduates makes its debut: One of the nation’s biggest graduate recruiters is using mobile gaming to help speed up the search for the brightest student talent.
Low-paid are unaware of their rights: A poll carried out among low-paid workers by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows widespread ignorance of their financial rights.
Investors ‘may fall victim to crocodiles’: Small investors in the Chinese stock market are being preyed on by “crocodiles” and “thieves”, according to Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
The Independent
Warren Buffett avoids politics in his annual letter to shareholders: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett always draws a big audience with his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders but this year’s edition doesn’t break much new ground.
U.K. ‘more valuable for growth despite Brexit concerns’: Investors view the U.K. as a more valuable place for growth despite widespread concerns over Britain’s future outside the European Union, according to a report.
No debt relief for Greece, says German deputy finance Minister Jens Spahn: Greece must not be granted a “bail-in” that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, Germany’s deputy finance Minister has said, reiterating his government’s opposition to debt relief for Athens. “There must not be a bail-in,” Jens Spahn told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
The Daily Telegraph
U.K. rises to become third most important country for company growth prospects, PwC says: The U.K. has risen a place in investors’ eyes to equal Germany as the third most important country for company growth prospects in a sign that Brexit has not weighed on the country’s international business standing.
More technology visas granted after fears of worker shortage: The Government will grant more visas to technology workers in a major boost to the industry’s attempts to secure access to overseas talent after the Brexit vote.
Anglo American Boss: I’d rather take a pay cut and keep shareholders happy: Mark Cutifani, Boss of Anglo American, has said he is happy to take a pay cut as part of an overhaul to the mining group’s remuneration policy.
Lidl boost for U.K. produce in Europe: Discount supermarket Lidl might be known for bringing bargain bratwurst to the U.K., but the German chain is enjoying its own Brexit boost after exporting £300 million worth of British goods across Europe.
Tensions rising for Go-Ahead as unions set to discuss more Southern action: Tensions will be rising ahead of Go-Ahead’s interim results (February 28) as the RMT union, whose industrial action has blighted Southern rail services, meets on the same day to discuss the potential for further future action.
O2 lines up robots to handle customer enquiries: O2 is seeking to cut costs in its customer service operation by encouraging people to talk to a new artificially intelligent robot rather than contact its call centres.
The Guardian
U.K. workers’ wages fell 1% a year between 2008 and 2015, TUC says: Workers in the U.K. saw their wages fall by 1% a year in the period following the financial crisis, putting the country in 103rd place in a global ranking of pay growth compiled by the TUC.
Chris Grayling tells Japan: some of our trains are superior to yours: Transport secretary Chris Grayling is lobbying Japan, the country that pioneered modern high-speed trains, to buy rolling stock from Derby as part of the government’s post-Brexit trade push.
Warren Buffett, ‘Oracle of Omaha’, criticises Wall Street and praises immigrants: The billionaire Warren Buffett, whose stock picks have turned Berkshire Hathaway into one of the most successful conglomerates in the world, criticised Wall Street on Saturday, saying investors should “stick with low-cost index funds”.
Hi-tech financial firms flee U.K. amid doubts over Brexit: An exodus of “fintech” companies from Britain has begun, the Chief Executive of a leading firm has said, dashing the government’s hopes of building the U.K. into a world leader for the industry.
Daily Mail
Unilever launches £2.5 billion shake-up for top brands - and Bertolli and Flora could be culled: Consumer goods giant Unilever is on the brink of unveiling a cull of top products including Flora margarine and Bertolli spreads.
Whole Foods Market’s clampdown on U.K. store thefts help lift profits for the second year running: A clampdown on store thefts helped the British arm of Whole Foods Market make a profit for its second consecutive year.
Daily Express
Housing duo expected to positive annual figures despite Brexit blip: Britain’s property market will be in sharp focus this week as two of the biggest housebuilders post annual figures after a solid year for the sector, despite a Brexit vote blip.
Lloyds to focus on ‘bread and butter’ banking: Lloyds is an increasingly bread & butter bank – focused on high street, SMEs and consumer banking.
Raw deal for savers continues as low interest rates expected to last until 2019: Interest rates will stay at record lows for at least two more years, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders chairman Peter Hill.
The Scottish Herald
Monks chair is top supporter of trusts: Serial investment trust chairman James Ferguson is a far bigger supporter of the vehicles he represents than most of his counterparts in the Scottish investment trust sector, ploughing nearly £9 million of his own cash into four different portfolios.
Services sector prices to rise at fastest pace in around a decade: Rising costs are expected to fuel the fastest increase in prices charged by U.K. services firms for around a decade, writes Ian McConnell.
Firm plans to double headcount as it grows overseas: The Founder of Copylab, the Glasgow-based investment writing and communications agency, has highlighted ambitions to double the size of its workforce to about 120 over the next three years.
North Pole vision brings out entrepreneur in gardener: As gardeners look forward to the approach of spring following Storm Doris we hear from a man who has grown a successful business from modest beginnings out of his love of plants and the great outdoors.
Edinburgh next as £5 million workspace opens doors: The Firm behind Glasgow’s latest flexible co-working space has revealed that up to £5 million was spent on the venture, with an Edinburgh facility also being planned.
Tech firm makes app to help with business resilience: Stirling technology firm Dogfi:sh Mobile has secured an investment from Barclays worth tens of thousands of pounds which it will use to develop a community-based app for businesses.
The Scotsman
Currie & Brown lands museum contract at Stirling Castle: The Glasgow office of a global asset management and construction consultant has been chosen to project manage a multimillion-pound redevelopment of a historic attraction in Stirling Castle.
Housebuilders bounce back as sales surge: Britain’s housebuilding sector will provide solid evidence this week that it has bounced back from the economic malaise that led to scores of construction firms going bust, despite the industry facing fresh headwinds.
Consumers switching of energy suppliers reaches six year high: Switching of energy suppliers has surged to a six-year high as householders increasingly shop around for better deals on gas and electricity.
New campaign to thwart Royal High School hotel bid: Leading heritage bodies are joining forces on a major new campaign against a plan to turn one of the Scottish most celebrated landmarks into a luxury hotel – warning it “threatens to ruin Edinburgh’s cityscape forever”.
City A.M.
Alarm bells sound for U.K. business as rising costs and inflation threaten to squeeze margins: Business groups have renewed calls for government to support companies in the upcoming Budget as firms face a toxic mix of rising inflation, spiralling operating costs and squeezed margins.
Interest rate rise could push 18,000 more into bankruptcy: A hike in interest rates will push thousands more Britons into bankruptcy, according to calculations from the government’s Insolvency Service.
Chancellor slams EU for tit-for-tat spat with U.S., over requirements for holding companies for non-EU banks: The Chancellor has revealed he is less than impressed with the European Commission for proposing a holding company rule for banks which could hurt non-EU lenders, as the EU retaliates against similar measures in the U.S.
Trump’s economic adviser targets tax reforms ahead of major speech: U.S. President Donald Trump’s first Budget will focus on tax reforms instead of cutting back popular entitlement programmes, according to his main economic adviser.
London Stock Exchange expects the EU to block its £21billion mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse: The London Stock Exchange’s controversial £21billion merger with Deutsche Boerse was thrown into chaos late on Sunday night, after it emerged that regulators in Brussels are likely to block the deal.