Newspaper Summary
The Times
Ex-KPMG partner’s rule change ‘cleared’ old firm: The Financial Reporting Council has come under renewed pressure over alleged conflicts of interest after it emerged that a former KPMG partner who works for the regulator had driven through a change in the rules that may later have helped to clear his erstwhile employer over the HBOS audit.
Nespresso reveals new taste for large, milky coffees: Most Europeans may find Britons’ fondness for pint-sized milky coffees abhorrent, but in a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, Nespresso has created a machine to make what it calls the “perfect large cup of coffee”.
Directors call for tax breaks to boost business confidence: The Chancellor should enhance tax breaks for investment to bolster confidence among businesses at a time when optimism about the future is falling, the Institute of Directors has claimed.
Opec feels glow of slow-burning oil prices plan: Khalid al-Falih was unfazed. It was early June and Brent crude was back down below $50 a barrel, just where it had been last November before he and his Opec counterparts had agreed a deal to curb output and supposedly boost oil prices — yet Saudi Arabia’s energy Minister was resolute. “I am confident the strategy is working,” he said. “We have to give it time.”
$8 billion resort scheme in Athens to create jobs and boost growth: Greece looks set to end years of delays and pave the way for an €8 billion private development that the country’s international investors believe will boost growth and job creation in Europe’s weakest economy.
JP Morgan told to pay $4 billion damages in estate dispute: Max Hopper could not have known that they would be at the centre of a dispute between his widow, his stepchildren and America’s largest bank, which this week was ordered to pay more than $4 billion in damages for alleged failings in its handling of his estate.
The Independent
Monarch stops selling flights as midnight deadline looms: As thousands of Monarch passengers fly to Spain, Portugal, Greece and beyond, the beleaguered airline has effectively stopped selling tickets.
Liam Fox warns EU it will ‘harm its own people’ by failing to start post-Brexit trade talks: Liam Fox has launched an outspoken attack on the EU, saying it will risk harming its own people if it refuses to enter talks on a post-Brexit trade deal within weeks.
Minister insists U.K. will leave EU ‘as one nation’, spurning suggestion Northern Ireland could stay in single market: Northern Ireland will leave the EU’s single market and customs union with the rest of U.K., its Secretary of State has insisted, in a slapdown to Brussels.
Ryanair accused of ‘barring customers from new compensation offer’ over cancelled flights: Ryanair is facing accusations it barred passengers from its new compensation flight offer by issuing refunds without informing customers they could switch airlines if they preferred.
Philip Hammond announces £400 million injection for northern transport ahead of Conservative conference speech: Philip Hammond has announced a £400 million boost for transport links in the North in attempt to speed up train journey between major cities.
The Daily Telegraph
Amazon’s quest to become the next Apple: Amazon is best known for its colossal online retail operation and in recent years it has also become a cloud computing powerhouse thanks to its Amazon Web Services arm, but last Wednesday’s event in Seattle was more reminiscent of the product launches held by the likes of Apple.
Profits soar by 38% at British arm of activist investor Elliott: The British section of the U.S. hedge fund Elliott saw profits surge last year after a string of high-profile campaigns that cemented its status as one of the most influential activist investors in the U.K.
Aviva ups “silver quota” with pledge to hire 1,000 new Baby Boomers by 2022: Aviva is ramping up its push to have a more grey-haired workforce by pledging to hire another 1,000 employees older than 50 by 2022.
Pressure mounts on Deutsche Chief as investors lose patience: Deutsche Bank investors are losing patience over the time it is taking boss John Cryan to turnaround the lender, with one top shareholder warning he will feel the heat if things don’t move forward in the next six months.
Twitter profits drop 21% in the U.K.: Profits at Twitter’s U.K. arm slid by 21% last year despite almost £80 million in advertising sales.
Robot revolution to boost jobs in London but not in the North: The forthcoming robot revolution threatens to exacerbate the North-South divide, creating jobs in London and the South East, but destroying those elsewhere in the country, an economic think tank has warned.
Oil experts fear ‘October Surprise’ as geopolitics returns to haunt: Three geostrategic crises threaten to erupt in the petroleum world at the same time in October, raising the risk of a sudden loss of oil supply just as the global economic expansion drives up demand.
The Guardian
Scandal-hit 2 Sisters suspends chicken production at West Midlands plant: The country’s largest supplier of supermarket chicken has suspended production at one of its main processing plants after undercover filming revealed poor hygiene standards and food safety records being altered.
Chinese firm behind Essex nuclear plant refuses to reveal security information: The Chinese state-owned company planning a nuclear power station in Essex refused to share the security arrangements for a Chinese nuclear plant with the British authorities, it has been revealed.
Richard Branson to invest in Saudi Arabia’s tourism project: Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson will invest in a Red Sea project that aims to turn 50 Saudi Arabian islands into luxury tourism destinations, the Saudi government announced on Sunday.
Salvage firm hopes to net gold worth £125 billion sunk by German U-boats: A transatlantic salvage operation will put to sea on Monday to recover some of the estimated £125 billion worth of gold and other precious metals sunk by German U-boats while being shipped to pay for Britain’s first and second world war efforts.
Comic Relief and Fairtrade back ethical gold mining in east Africa: Comic Relief and Fairtrade have joined forces with the Dutch government to back a $15 million (£11 million) scheme to support ethical gold mining in east Africa after a successful pilot project in Uganda.
Labour Leavers’ claims that EU blocks state takeovers are rejected by experts: There is a group of Labour MPs who support a clean Brexit to break free from the shackles of a corporatist cartel that blocks state intervention.
Daily Mail
London tops the charts for stock market floats, with 14 sales raising £2 billion: London was one of the busiest markets for floats over the previous quarter, the latest data has revealed. On the main market, 14 floats raised £2 billion, while 16 admissions on AIM raised £916 million.
Music-identifying app Shazam makes just £40 million despite its billion-dollar valuation: A British tech star valued at $1 billion made just £40.3 million in revenue last year.
Stella McCartney’s success as eco-friendly and cruelty-free approach boosts profit at her fashion empire: Stella McCartney’s clothing range includes an £835 handbag lined with recycled plastic bottles, and she has pledged to reuse rubbish that had been dumped into the ocean.
Monarch quadruples cost of flights hours before it is ‘set to go bust’: British airline Monarch has quadrupled the cost of its flights to limit the fall out just hours before it could collapse.
Nisa boss suddenly quits after less than three years in the role - but Co-op takeover talks continue: The Chief Executive of supermarket chain Nisa has left suddenly during takeover talks. Nisa said that Nick Read had moved on after less than three years in the job, but did not give a reason.
Daily Express
Pensions crisis ‘in 11 years’ as the middle-aged give up on saving for retirement: A pensions crisis is possible in just 11 years because almost half of middle-aged workers have given up saving, a study warns.
Power of Attorney: Increase in dementia cases means protection is more important: The growing number of Britons who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s risk financial disaster as well unless they have made careful plans before losing mental capacity.
Lloyds faces court over HBOS fiasco: Lloyds Banking Group is set to face disgruntled shareholders in the High Court on October 18, over claims that it misled them during its 2008 rescue of ailing rival HBOS.
Mortgage warning: Repayments set to jump as rates forecast to rise above 3%: Mortgage bills are set to jump and house prices will be hit as rates rise over the next two years, a top economist group has warned.
The Scottish Herald
Would an energy price cap be better than switching providers?: Not only do the Big Six energy companies - British Gas, EDF, Npower, E.on, Scottish Power and SSE - regularly raise their standard tariffs but, according to a report released in August, they fail to reward us for loyalty too.
Glenfiddich distiller toasts a major hike in profits: Scotch whisky firm William Grant & Sons has served up a near 50% hike in pre-tax profits to £260.2 million, powered by growing sales of Glenfiddich, Hendrick’s and The Balvenie.
Life will go on after Brexit, Scot JCB boss declares: Scot JCB, the Glasgow-based plant machinery firm, has highlighted upbeat sentiment among customers in the housebuilding and farming sectors as it reported an 8% profits hike, while declaring its confidence that “life will go on” after Brexit.
Job fears at North Sea group as half-year losses widen: Losses have widened at Independent Oil and Gas as the group warned it may have to cut jobs in order to reduce financing requirements.
The Scotsman
Dani Garavelli: Doublethink economy’s revenge on Ryanair: Airline’s shame should remind us that we’re the ones who are being ripped off by the something-for-nothing business model, writes Dani Garavelli
Tesco sales set to rise as recovery continues: Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket group, is expected to reveal further progress in its sales recovery under Chief Executive Dave Lewis this week – its seventh successive quarter of growth.
Concern over environmental impact of North Coast 500 route: It has been hailed as one of the most successful innovations for the Scottish tourism industry in modern times.
City A.M.
Growth in the U.K. consulting industry slows as businesses cut back on non-essential spending in the run-up to Brexit: Consultancy firms saw the rate of growth in their fee income slow last year, in what the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has called a worrying sign for the U.K. business economy.
Slower car sales mean dealers are sitting on £27.3 billion in unsold stock: Car dealers in the U.K. are sitting on a record £27.3 billion worth of inventory, as the levels of unsold stock grow.
Staveley ditches West End law firm for U.S. heavyweights Quinn Emanuel in Barclays dispute: PCP Capital Partners, the investment firm founded by Amanda Staveley, has ditched West End law firm Fladgate as its advisers in its £1.2 billion court battle against Barclays.
Be At One cocktail chain set to double its bar portfolio after £20 million refinancing: Cocktail bar chain Be At One is set to double its portfolio size after completing a refinancing deal. The group said it would be able to grow to 70 locations over the next five years thanks to the £20 million agreement with Santander U.K.
Dong Energy estimates wind industry exports could be worth £7 billion to U.K. economy: Energy firm Dong Energy estimates that the export value of wind energy could be worth up to £7 billion, and is hoping that Britain can seize the opportunities posed by Brexit.
Spain’s Alantra asset management gets a London foothold through Catalyst merger: Spanish asset management and investment banking firm Alantra will combine with London-based Catalyst in a deal worth £30 million, it was confirmed last night.
Corporate finance firm Centrus snaps up Virgin Atlantic adviser MDT Group: Centrus Advisors, a London-based corporate finance firm, has begun motoring along the acquisition trail as it acquired transport specialist MDT Group, an adviser to Virgin Atlantic and Arriva.
Private equity firm Lonsdale aims to create a challenger consultancy through P2 and Certeco merger: Lower mid-market private equity firm Lonsdale Capital Partners announced it was backing the merger of its portfolio company, programme management consultancy P2, with business change consultants Certeco.