Newspapers today: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 200116

The Times

Top investors to demand answers from Rolls-Royce: One of the City’s most influential investor groups is set to intervene again at Rolls-Royce to help investors obtain answers as to how the jet maker was able to get away with decades of systematic corruption and bribery.

Poor sales put Pets at Home in doghouse: Pets at Home, a retailer of pet food, accessories, veterinary and grooming services, said that subdued trading in its merchandise division, where revenues were flat compared with the previous year at £177.4 million, held it back in the vital third-quarter.

Viva la Revolución expansion: A chain of Cuban cocktail bars is wowing revellers from Manchester to Milton Keynes and its owner is on the hunt for further sites.

China lashes out at ‘protectionist’ Trump: Beijing has hit back at claims by the incoming U.S. commerce Chief that it is the “most protectionist” among large economies.

Miner electrified by the search for Cornish lithium: It is a picturesque county that has been better known for its tin mines, but Cornwall could soon become more famous for a different metal if a City miner has its way.

Strewth! Vegemite goes back down under: As national events go, it is akin to bringing home the Ashes. Vegemite is back in Australian hands after Mondelez, the American consumer giant, agreed to sell the salty, Marmite-pretender spread to Bega Cheese.

Zodiac tells Safran to pull up a chair: President Hollande hailed the €8.5 billion deal between Safran, the engine-maker, and Zodiac, the aircraft seat manufacturer, to form the world’s third largest aerospace supplier.

U.S. economy continues to strengthen: Americans filed fewer new claims for unemployment benefits than at any point in the past four decades, figures showed, as a slew of economic data pointed to continued strengthening in the U.S. economy.

British Land remains upbeat on occupancy: Hopes that demand for commercial property would not be damaged by the Brexit vote were boosted when British Land reported its occupancy rate had declined only slightly in the third quarter.

Toshiba seeks help as losses are revealed: Toshiba is seeking help from a state-owned bank after disclosing huge new losses which potentially exceed the net value of the company.

Price rises in mix for Finsbury Food: Finsbury Food has warned further price rises are inevitable as it battles to limit the impact of spiralling costs.

BHP agrees date for mine settlement: BHP Billiton has moved closer to drawing a line under financial liabilities for the Samarco dam disaster, reaching an agreement with Brazilian authorities to settle civil claims by June.

Halfords moves up a gear after revenues surge: Halfords has recovered from a disappointing first half after reporting a stronger third quarter and announcing a £20 million dividend for shareholders.

The Independent

New York ‘already a gainer’ from Brexit says Goldman CEO Blankfein: Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said New York is “already a bit of a gainer” from Brexit as the Wall Street firm slows its previous policy of moving operations to London.

Barclays CEO: Post-Brexit U.K. likely to be ‘financial lungs of Europe’: The Chief Executive of Barclays has said that – even after a hard Brexit –the U.K. will most likely continue to represent “the financial lungs for Europe.”

Samsung Boss arrest warrant dismissed but bribery probe continues: A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed an arrest warrant against the head of Samsung, the country’s largest conglomerate, amid a corruption scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

The dollar is rising again on the prospect of higher interest rates: The U.S. dollar surged against a range of currencies overnight and remained steady in early London trading on Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen suggested that interest rates in the U.S. could rise quickly this year.

Toyota examining ‘how to survive’ in post-Brexit Britain after Theresa May’s Single Market announcement: Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota has warned it is examining “how to survive” in a post-Brexit U.K. just days after Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain would leave the single market as part of the divorce from the bloc.

RBS considers accepting multi-billion-pound legal hit over mortgage bond mis-selling probe: Royal Bank of Scotland is considering taking a multi-billion-dollar settlement over a U.S. mortgage securities probe, that would give an indication of the size of the full settlement, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Financial Times

Barratt’s Finance Chief departs with immediate effect: The Chief Financial Officer of the U.K.’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, has left the company with immediate effect after disagreements with other senior staff. Neil Cooper, a former finance Director at Bovis Homes, had joined Barratt in November 2015 from William Hill, the bookmaker. His abrupt departure was announced in a notice to the stock exchange late on Thursday.

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U.S. bankers hatch two-stage Brexit plan for City: Senior U.S. bankers are privately drawing up contingency plans for Brexit that would give them more time to decide how many jobs to move out of London, in contrast with the industry’s public rhetoric about mass relocation.

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Chemring returns to profit on back of restructuring: U.K. defence group Chemring has swung back into profit and reinstated its dividend after receiving a boost from the weaker pound.

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Pearson Chief faces shareholder unrest: Several top shareholders in Pearson, blindsided by the scale of Wednesday’s profit warning that led to a 30% drop in the shares, are calling on the board to review John Fallon’s role as Chief Executive.

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Russian court overrules Strasbourg on Yukos award: Russia’s constitutional court has ruled Moscow should not pay €1.9 billion damages awarded to shareholders of the defunct Yukos oil company by the European Court of Human Rights, putting Moscow at loggerheads with Europe’s top human rights organisation.

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Citigroup pays $25 million to settle U.S. ‘spoofing’ charges: Citigroup will pay a $25 million penalty to settle U.S. charges of “spoofing” the U.S. Treasury market, making it the first bank to be caught in the crackdown on the illegal trading practice.

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London Mayor warns on EU rivals trying to grab City finance jobs: Sadiq Khan, London mayor, has said leaders of rival European cities are “sniffing around” trying to woo business across the English Channel.

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Indonesia probes corruption related to Rolls-Royce and Airbus: Indonesia’s anti-graft agency has placed two people under investigation for suspected corruption in the purchase of aircraft and engines from Airbus and Rolls-Royce, in the widening fallout from the U.K.’s four-year investigation into the blue-chip jet turbine maker.

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Tesla avoids recall over fatal Autopilot crash: Tesla will not have to recall any vehicles in the U.S. following a fatal crash last year involving its semi-autonomous Autopilot technology, the U.S. road safety regulator has ruled.

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Carrefour posts fifth consecutive year of sales growth: French retailer Carrefour has posted its fifth consecutive year of like-for-like sales growth as revenues rose in its key European and Brazilian markets, offsetting the continuing struggles at its lossmaking Asian business.

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Uber pays $20 million fine over misleading driver earnings’ claims: Uber has agreed to a $20 million fine to settle claims that it misled drivers with inflated promises about potential earnings, the latest in a series of fines and settlements the company has faced around the world.

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Airbus taps Silicon Valley expertise to speed production of A350: Airbus is tapping Silicon Valley data mining firm Palantir to help accelerate production of its new A350 aircraft, potentially saving the European aerospace group hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming years.

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Trump team backs call for crackdown on China over semiconductors: Donald Trump’s incoming trade team is backing a call from the Obama administration to take a hard line on China over semiconductors, after outgoing officials likened the potential impact of Beijing’s investment in the sector to the devastation seen in the global steel industry.

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CSX shares soar as rail industry veteran takes aim: Shares of CSX, the biggest railroad in the eastern U.S., soared by the most on record after it emerged that an Executive with a reputation for efficiency was laying plans to shake up the company.

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Lex:

IBM: kicking the buckets: Since 2013 Big Blue has carved its results in two, demanding attention for “strategic imperatives”, such as its cloud and analytics businesses, and implicitly not the rest, which lacks a name but might be called “old dying stuff like mainframes”. Such slicing and dicing is not necessarily egregious, but it is less common to make that split when the unloved rump still accounts for 60% of revenues. As Thursday’s quarterly earnings showed, the 14% growth in the shiny parts is not enough to make up for a decline elsewhere. Overall, revenues continue to fade.

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U.S. railways: business bucket list: Wellness experts advocate prioritising life experiences over chasing money. Hunter Harrison, a 72-year-old railways Executive, has absorbed this message. He resigned late on Wednesday as the Chief Executive of Canadian Pacific Railway after a successful five-year stint. But he is not retiring. Nervous rivals may soon wish he was. The veteran businessman is now leaving his contract early, forsaking $C118 million in pay. Canadian Pacific is withholding this because their erstwhile leader is not going off to play shuffleboard in Florida. Instead, another activist investor wants him to ply his skills at a larger North American railway, CSX.

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Safran/Zodiac: minorities in the cheap seats: French jet engines group Safran has made overtures to compatriot Zodiac Aerospace previously. It is not hard to see why controlling shareholders in the aircraft seat maker are sitting more comfortably this time. But the deal they have concocted is hardly accommodating to other investors. At the time of Safran’s previous bid in 2010, Zodiac’s management was adamant that it had a viable future as a niche supplier to the aviation industry. The deal’s enterprise value of €9.6 billion is 21 times Zodiac’s forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Even allowing for Zodiac’s depressed profits, that looks a full price; Rockwell Collins agreed to buy B/E Aerospace last October for 12 times ebitda.

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Lombard:

Pearson’s textbook error calls pay policy into question: Shareholder anger over Pearson’s profit warning may be better understood through the prism of two emails. Some years ago, the former owner of the Financial Times sent journalists details of their annual bonus: £90, before tax. On Wednesday, an automated email brought less wonderful news: “PSON: price decreases by 20% from prior close”. PSON went on to fall by 30% in a day.

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Skies clear for Chemring: For a company that makes chaff — the high-tech tinfoil spat out by warplanes to confuse radar-guided missiles — Chemring has taken a lot of flak. Investors were up in arms last summer, after the defence group said underlying losses had more than tripled in the first half of the year, to £4 million, and warned full-year results may fall short of analysts’ rangefinders. Heavy selling sent Chemring shares into a dive — down 35% in a day.

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The Daily Telegraph

Hammond delights business leaders with pledge to ‘do whatever is necessary’ to ensure the U.K.’s competitiveness: Philip Hammond has vowed to make the U.K. as competitive as possible on the world stage, describing the challenge as “an existential necessity”.

World’s top bankers excited over Trump presidency: The Bosses of some of the world’s biggest financial institutions have spoken in glowing terms about Donald Trump’s presidency ahead of his inauguration in Washington DC.

Ofgem warns big six not to increase energy bills: Ofgem has warned the big six energy companies against hiking household bills, despite experiencing a 15% rise in their costs.

Glaxo’s pharmaceuticals Boss walks away as new Chief prepares to take the helm: One of GlaxoSmithKline’s most senior Directors is leaving the company as incoming Boss Emma Walmsley moves to refresh her team.

Bank of Cyprus joins the London stock market: The Bank of Cyprus has moved its shares to the London market in the hope of tapping into global investors, marking the latest step in the company’s recovery since a bailout four years ago.

N Brown credits online shift for rise in festive sales: N Brown, the retailer behind the niche Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams fashion brands, posted an upbeat sales performance after recording the biggest surge in sales of its ladieswear ranges for eight years.

Fresh doubts surface over £3 billion opening up of water market: Plans by the water utilities to tap the £2.9 billion business water market could be hampered by low awareness and limited interest from the companies who will soon be eligible to shop around for cheaper deals.

The Questor Column:

Costly debt and shrinking shareholder base make Scottish Investment Trust one to avoid: Everyone loves a turnaround story, and Scottish Investment Trust is attempting to deliver that. The trust is almost a year into a restructure, which has brought in a new Chief Executive and new fund manager Alasdair McKinnon. The £720 million trust has also focused heavily on cost cutting. The trust cut its 11 investment staff down to four as part of the overhaul, and has reduced the ongoing charges figure from 0.68% in 2014 to 0.49% now. Mr. McKinnon thinks this is about as low as costs can go. The trust has also turned around performance, with 31% share price return in 2016, compared to 17% on the FTSE All Share and 26% for the MSCI World index, which looks more globally. The compares starkly with its longer-term performance, having returned 39% on a net asset value basis over the past three years, compared to 19% for the FTSE All Share and 49% for the FTSE All World. Much of the impact of this depends on the exit that Aviva strikes, but it marks too much uncertainty for us to consider. Particularly when other trusts operate in the same space and with a steadier track record. At 9%, the discount is too great to sell, so hold. Questor says ‘Hold’.

The Guardian

Companies must share benefits of globalisation, Theresa May tells Davos: Theresa May has told the world’s biggest companies they need to start paying their taxes and treat their workers more fairly in order to address the concerns of those who feel left behind by globalisation.

Oxfam attacks failing global tax avoidance battle: Efforts to tackle global tax avoidance are being undermined by a “race to the bottom” on corporate tax rates led by Britain and the U.S., the World Economic Forum heard on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs stalls plan to move jobs to U.K. amid Brexit uncertainty: Goldman Sachs has suspended plans to move key operations from the U.S. to London because of the uncertainty created by the vote to leave the EU. The Wall Street firm – in the midst of building a new £350 million London headquarters – had been preparing to shift more of its global operations and IT activities from New York, but now appears to have embarked on a hiring freeze.

Rolls-Royce lobbied Ministers to weaken anti-bribery proposals: Rolls-Royce, which this week agreed to pay £671 million in penalties after admitting it had engaged in corruption, lobbied Ministers to weaken proposed curbs on bribery a decade ago.

Daily Mail

Footsie in the red as traders countdown to Donald Trump’s inauguration; pound at $1.23: The FTSE 100 closed down 39.17 points at 7208.44 as traders awaited the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House.

Royal Mail share price falls to lowest level for a year as junk mail leads fall in letters posted: Royal Mail shares were suffering after it revealed a six% drop in the number of letters being sent in the nine months to Christmas. Blaming ‘overall business uncertainty in the U.K.’, Royal Mail said business letters and ‘advertising’ – or junk mail – had seen the biggest declines.

Moneysupermarket share price shrugs off TV ad controversy as comparison website posts 20% rise in revenue: Moneysupermarket’s shares jumped more than 6% after the price comparison site giant posted a 19% rise in revenue for the final three months of last year.

Daily Express

Merkel’s Finance Chief warns Theresa May not to compete with EU over Brexit: Britain must not reduce corporate taxes to gain a competitive advantage over the European Union (EU) as the U.K. gears up to leave the bloc, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned.

‘Germany has benefitted’ Euro bank Boss defends policies amid furious German criticism: Mario Draghi has been forced to defend his monetary policies from an onslaught of criticism in Germany, as the two sides continue to bicker over the best way to save the Eurozone economy.

EU will fail if leaders don’t sort post-Brexit Eurozone, JP Morgan Boss Jamie Dimon warns: Europe is close to falling apart because political leaders are not fixing the problems that caused Britain to vote out of the European Union (EU), the Boss of one of Wall Street’s biggest banks has warned.

Pound leaps against euro as ECB Boss sticks by money-printing to save the Eurozone: The pound has jumped against the euro, after Mario Draghi hinted the European Central Bank (ECB) could increase the size and length of its already huge money-printing programme.

The Scottish Herald

Tyre firm thrives in tough conditions: Mcconechy’s, one of Scotland’s biggest independent car tyre firms, has revealed that operating profits have more than doubled after driving up margins in difficult market conditions.

Ian McConnell: Banks must respond to Brexit but they do not have to close branches: The big banks have delivered a most unfortunate amount of drama in the last decade. And Wednesday proved, while we might have crawled painfully away from the darkest days of the global financial crisis, there is still plenty to unfold in the big-budget banking sector soap opera.

Overseas investors show faith in North Sea oil: A North Sea-focused oil and gas firm backed by a Bermuda private equity operation has announced plans to explore in the wilds of the outer Moray Firth in an encouraging sign for the industry.

Work gets underway on social building project: Social enterprise Glasgow Together has lined up enough property renovation projects to keep between 10 and 15 ex-offenders in full-time employment.

P&O freight volume hits a five-year high: Freight services on P&O Ferries Cairnryan to Larne service have reached their highest volume for five years.

Aviva Europe Chief Executive McMillan quits group as it merges U.K. insurance businesses: David McMillan, the Chief Executive of Aviva Europe and Chairman of Aviva Global Health Insurance has left the business.

Arria rolls out SME product as it leaves AIM list: Ahead of the cancellation this morning of its shares on the London stock exchange in preparation for a primary listing in New Zealand, data technology and artificial intelligence firm Arria NLG has launched a business reporting tool for the U.K.

Lochside hotel to spend £1 million: Cameron House has revealed plans to invest a further £1 million under continuing renovation work at the Loch Lomond resort.

Saltire scheme is under way: Entrepreneurial Scotland has launched its Saltire Fellowship programme for 2017/18. The six-month leadership development scheme, which is run with Boston’s Babson College, aims to equip participants with the skills to build an enterprise of scale and gain an understanding of global business.

The Scotsman

Clydesdale reveals list of 40 Scottish branches set to close: The owner of Clydesdale Bank has published a list of 40 Scottish branches which are to be axed. Parent company CYBG will also shut a number of Yorkshire Bank branches, bringing the total number of closures across the U.K. to 79.

Airdrie Savings Bank to close its doors with 70 jobs lost: Airdrie Savings Bank, the last survivor of Britain’s independent savings banks, is to close. Staff were told in a meeting in the Lanarkshire town that the headquarters will shut, along with the remaining two branches in Bellshill and Coatbridge.

FreeAgent inks accounting software tie-up with RBS: FreeAgent, the Edinburgh-based accounting software specialist, has fought off competition from more than 30 rivals to land a deal with Royal Bank of Scotland.

Edinburgh entrepreneurs share £24,000 to spark growth: A clutch of Edinburgh’s most promising start-ups have shared £24,000 in prize money to fuel further growth at their firms.

Brewer Innis & Gunn promotes Esther Binnie to Finance Chief: Craft beer firm Innis & Gunn has promoted Esther Binnie to its board as Finance Director as it targets a doubling of turnover within the next three years.

City A.M.

Brexit hit to operations expected by institutional investors but they will continue to hold U.K. assets, according to “Brexometer”: Big institutional investors think Brexit will change their operating models but are determined to hold on to U.K. assets despite fears of a slowdown, according to a new survey.

New senior manager rules could mean fewer bumper fines for City watchdog and more days in court: New rules to hold top Bosses accountable for wrongdoings on their watch may have weakened the City watchdog’s negotiating stance if it tries to swoop in for bumper settlements.

Owner of New York Jets to become U.S. ambassador to the U.K.: The owner of the the New York Jets, Woody Johnson, will be the next U.S. ambassador to the U.K.

JP Morgan Chase reveals Chief Executive Jamie Dimon gets $28 million pay package: JP Morgan Chase Directors paid the bank’s Chief Executive Jamie Dimon $28 million (£22.7 million) in total compensation for last year, the group said.

Freezing Londoners’ travelcards would have cost City Hall £132 million a year: Expanding London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s controversial fares freeze to include Londoners’ travelcards would cost City Hall a total of £132 million a year.

IBM beats estimates but revenues fall: IBM beat estimates with its fourth-quarter results, but its shares fell in after-hours trading as it posted its 19th drop in revenues in a row.

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