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The Times

Officials rebuked over Hinkley power plant delaying tactics: Whitehall officials were guilty of “egregious” and unjustifiable delays before revealing details of government contracts for the Hinkley Point nuclear power project awarded to a company facing a potential conflict of interest, the Information Commissioner’s Office has said.

City sees top court as passport to Europe: Europe’s highest court could still rule the City years after Brexit under plans being considered by the government in order to win a wider agreement on access to the single market.

Secret is out for online sale that may not ring true: Tiffany and trading standards officers are investigating the sale of allegedly counterfeit jewellery on a discount website.

Londongrad is alive and well as Russians splash out: The capital was once so popular with Russia’s super-rich that it became known as Londongrad, but their love affair with the luxury stores waned and their spending was eclipsed by that of their Chinese and Middle Eastern peers.

No time to waste in an uncertain universe: UKTV, the company that brings Dave and Gold to the small screen, has warned that it is impossible to predict advertising spending levels more than one month at a time. Darren Childs, its Chief Executive, said that UKTV had been forced to “take shorter-term perspectives” in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Bobbies put down their pencils and log into era of e-policing: Television cops are rarely shown doing boring paperwork, but in the real world it can represent half a day’s work for a police officer. Now a mobile electronic notebook is helping them to spend more time on the streets.

The Independent

Consumer confidence falls as inflation hits U.K. households: Rising inflation and lacklustre wage growth has hit British households and sent consumer confidence sliding in the first three months of the year, according to a new survey.

U.K. financial firms seek to use Brexit to roll back employment protections for U.K. workers: U.K. finance firms want to use Brexit as an opportunity to roll back employment law protections for British workers, a new survey has found.

Financial Times

New questions for Goldman-backed oil venture: A U.S. lawsuit against Goldman Sachs and other backers of a Houston-based oil explorer which became embroiled in African corruption allegations has shone a rare light on the ways in which companies gather and evaluate business intelligence as they pursue high-risk deals.

 

Credit Suisse braced for shareholder revolt over Executive pay: Credit Suisse is braced for a shareholder revolt this week over compensation for its top managers, despite the Swiss bank’s Executive board agreeing a voluntary 40% cut in its bonuses.

 

Trophy assets lose lustre as Qatar embraces prudence and ETFs: Qatar, owner of London landmarks the Shard and Harrods, is moving cash into exchange traded funds and index funds as part of a more “prudent” investment strategy, two people familiar with the investment strategy said.

 

U.K. watchdog warns against scrapping U.S. rules for failing lenders: Global regulatory co-operation would be threatened if the U.S. dismantled its regime for failing banks, the U.K. financial watchdog has warned as the Trump administration takes aim at “too big to fail” lenders.

 

Fast-growing medical tech industry sees $24 billion deal: Becton Dickinson, the New Jersey-based medical technology company, has agreed a $24 billion cash and shares deal to buy Bard, a healthcare equipment manufacturer, and will borrow heavily to finance the deal.

 

Sanofi plays down need for pharma deals: Sanofi’s top scientist has warned uncertainty over pricing, particularly in the U.S., is making it hard to value acquisition targets, signalling the company will not rush into dealmaking at potentially inflated prices.

 

LafargeHolcim Chief set to step down over Syria controversy: LafargeHolcim’s Chief Executive is set to step down on Monday following an internal investigation into a plant the Swiss-French cement company operated in Syria until September 2014.

 

Shareholders urged to oppose Persimmon pay deal: Two advisory groups are urging shareholders in Persimmon, the U.K.’s second-largest housebuilder, to cast negative votes on pay.

 

Adidas Boss says large-scale reshoring is ‘an illusion’: Asia’s entrenched supply chain makes the prospect of moving significant manufacturing back to automated factories in the developed world an illusion, according to the Chief Executive of Adidas in comments he said applied across the sportswear industry.

 

Renault and Nissan push ahead in smart race to connect to drivers: As Nissan and Renault aim to get ahead in the race to roll out smart vehicles that can learn and predict driving habits, carmakers are grappling with the basic question of how much extra consumers will pay for the connected services.

 

Airline group IAG buys stakes in tech start-ups: International Airlines Group, the owner of carriers British Airways and Iberia, is stepping up its digital investment by taking stakes in two technology start-ups following its first accelerator programme.

 

Lex:

Fidelity & Guaranty Life: new lease: The cloud hanging over U.S. insurers has not yet lifted. The market for FG&L’s main product, fixed-index annuities, is in upheaval. On the one hand its main distribution channel is under threat from the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. On the other, sales are at a record $61 billion — 12% higher than 2015, according to the Limra Secure Retirement Institute. Variable annuity sales have been shrinking, dropping to their lowest level since 1998. Fixed-index annuities guarantee an annual minimum return or the performance of an index, whichever is larger.

 

The Daily Telegraph

Euro surges towards six-month high on French election relief: The euro surged to its highest level in almost six months after early projections indicated that the runoff for the French presidency would come down to a second-round duel between independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Experts slam Conservative plans to cap energy bills as ‘clumsy and counterproductive’: Experts have slammed the Conservative Party’s pledge to cap energy prices if it is elected in June, calling it a “clumsy and counterproductive” move that would ring the “death knell for competition”.

U.S. burger chain Five Guys plans further expansion in Europe: The upmarket burger chain Five Guys is in talks with its U.S. parent to expand in Europe beyond the five countries it currently operates in.

Payout juggernaut moves on as PPI deadline draws near: The August 2019 deadline on the multi-billion-pound cash cow that has been mis-sold payment protection insurance claims is prompting a shift in the broader compensation industry, with focus shifting to other areas.

Software firm Alfa firm hires pair of banks for float: A financial software specialist has hired a team of advisers to test the water for a potential £500m-plus stock market listing amid a dearth of floats in London.

The Guardian

BHS crash sets trend for a chain of closures on U.K. high streets: The retail sector is still reeling a year after the collapse of the chain, with rising numbers of staff on zero-hours contracts and other big hitters shutting shop as the internet squeezes their share of profits

Bill sets out plan to tackle ‘extortionate’ U.K. overdraft fees: Bank customers ripped off by “extortionate” overdraft fees will get support next week from a parliamentary bill that promises to protect the most financially vulnerable from escalating charges.

Tories accused of stealing Labour’s energy price cap promise: Theresa May should give Labour a round of applause for highlighting the scandal of rip-off gas and electricity bills, the former shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint has said after senior Conservatives confirmed their manifesto will include an energy price cap.

Working mothers face pay and childcare challenges, reports find: Whether it’s the gender pay gap, a lack of promotion opportunities or the demand from retailers to work longer shifts – often standing at checkouts for 10 hours straight – life can be tough for women in the shop trade.

Daily Mail

Bank of England Bosses warned about Libor financial scam as far back as 2005: Top Bank of England officials were told about Libor rate rigging as early as 2005, witnesses claim. Court documents unearthed by the Mail reveal that fears were raised about the toxic rate years before the financial crisis.

Alex Brummer: ‘Doomsayers ready to declare City is on sliding slope to decline’: The International Monetary Fund is being unhelpful again. It now acknowledges that Britain is resilient and so far, has steered clear of the economic shoals presented by Brexit and has turned critical attention to the City’s leadership as a financial centre.

Mail order firm Boden steps out onto the U.K. high street in five John Lewis stores: Mail-order fashion brand Boden is set to step out of the catalogue and into high streets across the U.K. The retailer well known for its bright prints and cosy knitwear is due to open concessions in John Lewis stores.

Eddie Stobart on its way to the London Stock Exchange’s junior market with £3 million windfall: Employees at haulage firm Eddie Stobart are in line for a windfall when the company floats this week.

Daily Express

Sterling weakness sees dividends jump by 16%: Investors have seen their dividend payments jump 16% since the start of the year thanks to a lift from a slump in the pound, a report said.

Sir Philip Green warned he could lose knighthood year after BHS collapse: Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, has been warned he could still lose his knighthood, a year after the collapse of the firm.

The Scottish Herald

Putting an app at the heart of the art: A Glasgow business has launched a £500,000 funding round to power its ambition of revolutionising the art world.

Scottish builders achieve strong first quarter: Small and medium-sized construction firms in Scotland enjoyed a sharper acceleration in growth of activity than their peers anywhere else in the U.K., a survey signals.

Pizza purist develops global fanbase in oven business: With many firms eyeing overseas markets amid concern about the outlook for the U.K. economy, we hear from an entrepreneur running a four-year-old business which has already developed a customer base that covers 60 countries.

Warning over slowing Scots office supply: Scotland’s ability to attract companies to set up operations in the country risks being hampered by the slowing supply of Grade-A office space.

Lloyds and RBS results to further highlight differing fortunes: The contrasting fortunes of taxpayer-backed lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will return to the fore this week when the pair post quarterly figures, while Barclays also reports following recent scandals.

The Scotsman

T in the Park Chief: music festivals have changed forever: For more than two decades it was a fixture of the summer calendar, with tens of thousands of Scots flocking to the nation’s biggest live music event.

Report calls for ‘bespoke immigration policy’ for Scotland: A new report for a Holyrood committee has highlighted how bespoke immigration measures could be implemented in Scotland, based on international examples.

City A.M.

Builders bullish despite post-Brexit vote price increases: Small construction firms enjoyed rising workloads in the first quarter of 2017 despite concerns over the cost of labour and materials in the wake of last year’s Brexit vote, according to a survey by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

U.K. businesses resistant to post-Brexit employment law changes: The U.K.’s exit from the EU could prompt extensive changes in employment laws. However, employers are only expressing demand for significant change in a few areas, such as sick leave and discrimination law.

Online retail M&A deals hit five-year high as more people shop online: The number of online retail or “e-tail” M&A deals has hit a five-year high, according to new research by city law firm RPC.

Former Santander and Barclays Executive Stephen Jones set to be named head of U.K. Finance: A new voice for the U.K. banking industry is expected to be named on Monday morning. Stephen Jones, a former Chief financial officer of Santander, is set to be named as the first Chief Executive of U.K. Finance, Sky News reported. Jones also formerly worked for Barclays.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) members cause concern by dropping pledge to fight protectionism: A group of International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries has sparked concerns by dropping a pledge to fight trade protectionism.

Embattled Microchip firm to sell stake in company: Imagination Technologies is considering selling a stake in its microprocessor arm following Apple saying it would stop using the troubled microchip firm’s technology from future devices.

Mergermarket rebrand fuels speculation of possible sale: ​Financial information giant Mergermarket will rebrand this summer, raising speculation among City figures that the company is about to be sold.

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