The Times
Barclays fined $13 million for failing to protect U.S. clients: Barclays is to pay more than $13.75 million to settle charges from U.S. regulators that it left thousands of customers in America out of pocket after encouraging them to make unsuitable mutual fund investments over a five-year period.
Heineken enjoys a bountiful harvest: Although apple trees have been grown in Britain since before the Romans, it was under the Normans that cider making was established and by the 14th century production was taking place in counties including Somerset, Norfolk, Kent and Herefordshire.
Making pots of money for shareholders with no big deals: Simon Wolfson has made pots of money for his shareholders over the past decade. This year was no different. That’s the point about Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise: as usual, there were no big deals this year, no significant shifts in strategy, no noisy egocentric statements. Instead, once again, he stuck to the knitting.
Osborne pay rise forecast is ‘far too optimistic’: Average wage growth next year will trail far below official forecasts despite George Osborne promising that his national living wage will boost pay, according to experts.
Workers die at Chilean gold and copper mine: Two workers have died after an accident at a mine in Chile that is operated by Xtract Resources, an AIM-listed company.
Dairy Crest completes £65 million sale of milk unit: Dairy Crest, the maker of Cathedral City cheddar and Clover spread, has completed the sale of its milk operations to Müller U.K.
Competition inquiry into Sainbury’s pharmacy sale: Britain’s competition regulator is to carry out an in-depth investigation of Celesio’s proposed purchase of J Sainsbury’s pharmacy business in a move that could derail the deal.
House values surge £500 billion over the year: The value of Britain’s homes has rocketed by more than £500 billion over the past 12 months despite recent evidence of a slowdown.
The Independent
George Osborne’s labour market policies ‘will backfire and hit pay growth’: Wages will grow more weakly in 2016 than official forecasters are expecting, thanks to George Osborne’s interference in the labour market, the country’s most prominent human resources body has warned.
Sainsbury’s pharmacy sale to face anti-competition investigation: The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation in to the sale of Sainsbury’s pharmacies to Lloyds Pharmacy.
Saudi Arabia stocks hit by public spending cuts: Saudi Arabia’s stock market has suffered following the announcement of spending cuts in the kingdom’s budget.
Nuisance caller fines triple to more than £1 million as new rules take effect: Fines levied by the information watchdog for nuisance calls soared to over £1 million last year after a change in the law made it easier to go after annoying callers.
Financial Times
Melrose Industries confident about its next acquisition: Melrose Industries on Tuesday expressed optimism over securing its next big acquisition after unveiling plans to return more than £2 billion to shareholders following the sale of Elster, its utility meter business.
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MPs to lobby Rolls-Royce over job cuts: Legislators are to meet Warren East to discuss his restructuring plans for Rolls-Royce, underlining the political sensitivities the new Chief Executive will have to navigate as he attempts to stabilise the U.K.’s flagship engineering group after five profit warnings.
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Warren Buffett faces worst year on stock market since 2009: Investment guru Warren Buffett is headed for his worst year relative to the rest of the U.S. stock market since 2009, with shares in his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway down 11% with two more trading days to go.
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DuPont job cuts hit home state hardest: DuPont, the chemicals company undertaking a $130 billion merger with Dow Chemical, has advised staff of “significant” job cuts in its home state of Delaware as part of a cost-cutting programme announced alongside the deal.
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Car-hailing pioneer Sidecar signals end of the ride: The massive amounts of money being poured into U.S. ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft showed signs of forcing a local shake-out on Tuesday, as Sidecar, one of the market’s pioneers, revealed it would shut down its service on New Year’s Eve.
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Lex:
Platinum: valuable trap: South Africa has a tin prospector to thank for at least part of its geological wealth. Adolph Erasmus found platinum by accident. Better lucky than clever it seems. Three-quarters of the world’s platinum supply sits under its soil. And it is not just a pretty metal or currency proxy like gold. Industry — mostly car manufacturers — needs it.
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Local newspapers: hold the home page: In October, Johnston Press said it was considering closing the East Lothian News and the Musselburgh News. The papers were among 50 titles the Scottish publishing group acquired through its £500 million takeover of Regional Independent Media in 2002. The market capitalisation of Johnston Press is a tenth of that sum (although its debt is £183 million).
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Roll-ups: what’s bred in the bone: Valeant’s shares sold for $240 apiece in September. They could be had for $75 in November. Now they are yours for $102. This merry ride could be explained in terms of a specific series of unseemly disclosures about drug pricing and distribution. There is also a more general explanation. Valeant is what is known in the U.S. as a roll-up — a company for which acquisitions define the business model — and roll-ups store up volatility as they grow. A shakeout, whatever its proximate cause, is bred in the bone.
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The Daily Telegraph
Oil price rout will bring end to era of Saudi Arabian largesse, warns Bank of America: A global oil price rout will bring an end to the era of Saudi Arabian largesse, as crude prices have tumbled to 11-year lows.
It’s a dog’s life: Tesco branches out into pet grooming: Tesco is to trial pet grooming services within its largest supermarkets.
Britain’s richest people see wealth rise by nearly £1 billion: The U.K.’s richest people saw their wealth increase by $1.4 billion (£900 million) in 2015, with property tycoon the Duke of Westminster leading the way.
FTSE crawls higher after Christmas close: The London stock markets enjoyed a slow but steady recovery after the Christmas shutdown, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 index rising almost 1% despite continued pain for commodity stocks.
Amazon to expand grocery delivery service: Amazon will expand the range of its U.K. delivery service for households goods and groceries as it prepares to take on the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets in the new year.
U.K. watchdog launches investigation into Sainsbury’s pharmacy sale: The U.K.’s competition watchdog has launched an in-depth investigation into Sainsbury’s sale of its pharmacies to the owner of Lloyds Pharmacy.
U.K. manufacturing slumped in 2015: Flagging productivity in oil and gas, a dwindling steel industry, and muted export activity are dragging down Britain’s manufacturing sector, according to a new report.
Ashley Madison subscribers surge despite hack attack: Ashley Madison, the adultery website, has seen its popularity soar in recent months, despite a hack that exposed the personal details of millions of its customers.
Inflation hits 44% in Ukraine amid economic collapse: Inflation will hit 44% in Ukraine this year, as the embattled economy has seen prices soar amid economic collapse.
The Guardian
Stalling U.K. wage growth set to revive debate over migrant workers: Average pay growth for Britain’s workers is likely to stall at about 2% in 2016, as the ready availability of migrants makes it easy for employers to fill vacancies, according to a forecast of the labour market.
CBI head promises to play major part in Brexit conversation: The new Director General of the CBI is promising to play a leading role in the debate about whether Britain should stay in the European Union in 2016.
Nuisance calls and texts cost companies more than £1 million in fines: Companies that plague householders with nuisance phone calls and texts face fines totalling more than £1 million this year, a government watchdog has warned after tripling the financial punishment for rogue callers in 2015.
Government wants to see growth of tech sector outside London: The government is urging tech companies to target the education and healthcare sectors as it encourages the industry’s growth outside London.
Less than 10% of Executive Directors at FTSE 100 companies are women: Fewer than one in 10 Executive Directors at Britain’s top companies are female, research shows, but the U.K. is better at promoting women to CEO roles than leading economies such as Germany and France.
Court throws out Facebook lawsuit against fugitive claiming 50% stake: A New York state appeals court on Tuesday threw out Facebook Inc’s unusual malicious prosecution lawsuit against DLA Piper and other law firms that have represented a fugitive who claimed a 50% stake in the social media company.
Daily Mail
Whole Foods pays £340k to settle probe into its overcharging described as ‘the worst mislabelling investigators had ever seen’: Upmarket grocer Whole Foods has settled a probe into its overcharging of U.S. customers.
Anger as small businesses are excluded from Government-backed insurance scheme set up to protect people living on flood plains: The Boss of the Government-backed insurance scheme set up to protect people living on flood plains has sympathised with complaints from small firms that they have been excluded.
Building firms facing severe shortage of skilled workers as construction and trade apprenticeships lose popularity: Building firms are facing an ever-widening skills gap as construction and trade apprenticeships lose popularity.
Deutsche Bank agrees to sell stake in Chinese lender Hua Xia for up to £2.7 billion as it attempts to shore up finances: Deutsche Bank has agreed to sell its entire stake in Chinese lender Hua Xia in a deal worth up to £2.7 billion as it attempts to shore up its finances.
Daily Express
British homes value increases by half a trillion in 2015: The combined value of Britain’s homes has leapt by about £519 billion, or 7.2%, over 2015 as the property market recovery has continued, according to calculations by a property website.
‘Short-term politics’ risk costing jobs and stunting economic growth: An industry leader has said a “cumulative burden” on business, including an apprenticeship levy and new national living wage, risks costing jobs and hitting economic growth.
Saudi Arabia in CRISIS: Kingdom reveals £66 billion deficit amid falling oil prices: Falling oil prices have pushed Saudi Arabia into a record high state deficit and forced the government to plan spending cuts and tax rises for the year ahead.
The Scottish Herald
Aldi creating jobs as it eyes eight new Scottish stores: Aldi plans to create more than 550 new jobs in Scotland over the coming 12 months as it opens eight additional shops.
Campbell Dallas says it worked on £100 million of deals: Accountancy firm Campbell Dallas has said it has advised on more than £100 million of deals during the past year.
CBI Boss calls for balanced debate on EU membership: The Director general of the CBI has called for businesses to offer a balanced perspective on a potential British exit from the European Union.
The Scotsman
IndigoVision eyes return to profit despite weaker sales: Video security specialist IndigoVision said its sales had fallen short of hopes during the second half of the year.
Green spending in the black despite market challenges: Ethical spending and investment has continued to grow despite difficult market conditions with surging sales of electric and hybrid vehicles helping to fuel the expansion, a study published reveals.
Tesco supplies probe to be published in January: An investigation into Tesco’s relationships with suppliers is now due to be published towards the end of January, almost a year after the regulator said it had “reasonable suspicion” that the supermarket giant had breached the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
Investors cautiously optimistic over FTSE prospects: About two-fifths of stockbrokers believe the FTSE 100 will end next year between 6,001 and 6,500 points, new research has found.
City A.M.
Amazon share price touches record high after adding three million Prime members over Christmas: Shares in Amazon have touched a record high after a stellar performance over the Christmas period.
Oil prices crawl back up as the U.S. braces for colder weather: Oil prices regained some of their losses as the U.S. braced itself for a bout of cold weather, and following a session of stronger.
Funding Circle’s lending has just surpassed £1 billion: U.K. fintech unicorn Funding Circle has surpassed the milestone of lending £1 billion to thousands of small businesses across the U.K.
KPMG: U.K. tax changes will slow down buy-to-let market: The buy-to-let market will slow down next year due to a series of tax changes, accountancy giant KPMG has said.
U.K. tourists forecast to spend a record high in 2016: Tourists are not only flocking to the U.K. in record high numbers – they’re also spending more than ever before.
