Newspapers: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 040116

The Times

British business rises to be a world leader in optimism: British businesses entered the new year more optimistic than those in almost any other country, with high hopes for rising profits and job creation, according to research.

Lloyds ready to resume normal service with summer stake sale: Lloyds Banking Group is set to become a fully privately owned company by the summer for the first time since its £20 billion taxpayer-fund bailout as the state sells its remaining 9% stake.

Stand up and fight new rules, new banks tell Treasury: Small banks are pressing the government to fight proposed capital rules that could force them to curtail new lending or compel them to launch emergency rights issues.

Depp delivers a little scent of star quality: Johnny Depp helped The Fragrance Shop to a strong Christmas season, with sales up by almost 12%.

Jaeger gives its would-be buyers the cold shoulder: Jon Moulton, the private equity tycoon who owns Jaeger, has rebuffed offers to buy the fashion chain as too low, even though the business is worth little more than half the amount his Better Capital vehicle has pumped into it.

Magdalen College takes over science class: Magdalen College has taken control of Oxford’s science park after buying out its co-investor. The deal comes more than two decades after the college funded the development of the estate as a business centre for start-ups and international companies to conduct research.

Property tax takes heavy toll in Edinburgh: Top-end Edinburgh house prices slipped by 0.5% in the final three months of last year, hit by the impact of a new property tax that replaced U.K. stamp duty in Scotland.

Locations revealed for thousands of new homes: More than 30,000 homes will be built on five sites across Britain in a scheme that aims to replicate the achievements of the Docklands development, the Prime Minister will claim.

The Independent

M&S loyalty card scheme Chief Suzanna Broer departs in wake of misconduct claim: Marks & Spencer has parted ways with the head of its new loyalty scheme for allegedly using racist language, it has emerged just days before the company gives an update on the Christmas period.

Consumers flock to high streets on ‘Take Back Tuesday’ to return unwanted Christmas presents: The British public returning unwanted Christmas gifts led to a jump in footfall on high streets last week on ‘Take Back Tuesday’.

Financial Times

U.K. and Irish companies most optimistic in EU: Companies in the U.K. and Ireland are the most optimistic in the European Union going into 2016, despite the prospect of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the bloc later this year.

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Cameron plans to commission affordable homes: David Cameron will on Monday announce plans to revive Docklands-style housebuilding on public land, with the government directly commissioning thousands of affordable new homes.

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GSK and AstraZeneca prescribe different treatments: For GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca — twin pillars of Britain’s pharmaceuticals sector — 2016 promises to be a critical year. Under their respective Chief Executives, Sir Andrew Witty and Pascal Soriot, both are pursuing difficult turnrounds — and the next 12 months will go a long way towards determining their success or failure.

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Dominant New York corporate law firms increase market share: Global corporate law firms have consolidated their market share over smaller rivals as a record year for mega deals among large companies benefited the most well-known names among legal advisers on mergers and acquisitions.

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Investors look to India as the next solar power: As recently as a few months ago, the alternative energy targets announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2014 seemed wildly overambitious — even to solar electricity enthusiasts in the industry. But a surge of investment in solar power stations now makes them look merely optimistic.

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Brookfield and KIC buy Berlin real estate: Berlin’s real estate complex at Potsdamer Platz — where five of the city’s broad avenues converge near the Brandenburg Gate — has been bought by a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners and the state-owned Korea Investment Corporation in a €1.3 billion deal.

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GSK Chief fights back to regain investor faith: GlaxoSmithKline’s embattled Chief Executive is preparing to launch a big push to reset investor perceptions of the struggling U.K. drugmaker as it enters a crucial period in efforts to revive growth.

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Lex:

Coal: The king is dead: Fetch your pencil and ruler. After governments agreed in Paris to start cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions before 2050, there is enough information to chart any pure-play coal producer. Coal is the most polluting energy source. So, mark one dot at the current share price, another at zero for 2050, and connect them. Voila!

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The Daily Telegraph

Shire nears $32 billion takeover of Baxalta as pharma deal frenzy tips into 2016: The FTSE 100 drug maker Shire is close to agreeing a $32 billion (£21.6 billion) takeover of Baxalta after pursuing the U.S. rare disease specialist for more than six months.

Odey flags up threat of U.K. house bubble in fears for global economy: Leading hedge fund Manager Crispin Odey has warned that a series of threats to the global economy, including the potential bubble in the U.K. housing market, will make 2016 a difficult year for investors.

Prepare for more bond tantrums in 2016, warns think-tank: European Central Bank’s self-imposed rules on bond buying could trigger more tantrums in the bond market in 2016, warns think-tank.

Former Co-op Group senior Manager brings £5 million unfair dismissal case: The Co-operative Group is set to clash with a senior Manager it hired to cut costs over claims she was unfairly dismissed for whistleblowing.

Government accused of illegally moving goal posts for emergency services network: The Government is accused of illegally moving the goal posts on a vital contract to build a critical new communications network for the emergency services in a case that could land taxpayers with a damages bill running to hundreds of millions of pounds.

Shipbuilder Cammell Laird flags up engineering skills crisis: Cammell Laird invests in apprenticeships as it reveals current staff are nearing retirement with lack of replacements available.

HBOS report to be hauled into Lloyds lawsuit: Shareholders suing Lloyds Banking Group over its purchase of HBOS in the 2008 financial crisis are set to claim that November’s report from the Bank of England into the lender’s failure bolsters their case.

The Guardian

Diesel drops below £1 per litre in the U.K. for the first time since May 2009: The price of diesel on British fuel station forecourts has dipped below £1 per litre as the falling oil price makes filling a tank the cheapest in years for Britain’s 11 million diesel drivers.

British business set to scale back spending amid Eurozone fears: Worries about the Eurozone and shaky prospects for the wider global economy have dented confidence among Bosses of the U.K.’s biggest companies, according to a survey.

End of China’s commodity boom spells pain for producers with no end in sight: The rout in commodities prices that has wiped billions from the value of energy and mining companies across the world in the past 12 months will continue in 2016, according to economists, analysts and Executives on the front line.

U.K. rail passengers ‘hit six times harder’ on fares than European travellers: British commuters spend as much as six times more of their salaries on rail fares than their European counterparts do, campaigners claim, as millions return to work paying new, higher fares.

No 10 hails building of 13,000 new homes in southern England: Ministers will commission the building of 13,000 homes on five sites around southern England, the largest housing project led by central government since the redevelopment of the Docklands in east London in the 1980s.

Major offshore wind operator plans £6 billion U.K. investment by 2020: Dong Energy, the biggest operator of offshore windfarms in Britain, has said it plans to spend a further £6 billion in the U.K. by 2020, convinced that the government is serious about supporting wind power.

Daily Mail

Hats off to the Jockey Club as crowd numbers top 1.9 million for first time: Record numbers of people attended Jockey Club Racecourses last year with crowds surpassing 1.9 million for the first time.

U.K. firms fear falling demand home and abroad in 2016: A fall in demand for goods and services at home and abroad is a big worry for British businesses this year.

Export gloom deals new blow to George Osborne’s £1trillion target: Government hopes that exports would finally begin to power ahead are set to take a knock this week when a key survey from the British Chambers of Commerce is expected to reveal a gloomy outlook.

Founders of men’s stylist service Enclothed are good fit for Forbes hot 30 list: Levi Young and Dana Zingher have hit on a successful formula to help men buy clothes.

Daily Express

Savers and drivers set for a good year: Motorists with money in the bank and a portfolio of shares could enjoy a very happy new year, according to economic predictions for 2016.

The Scottish Herald

Law firms eyeing growth as merger deals may have peaked: Senior legal figures from some of the largest firms in Scotland have suggested merger activity in the sector may have passed its peak.

Urban hotspots to push property price rises in 2016, say estate agents: House prices in Scotland will continue to rise steadily in the coming months, with property hotspots in urban areas outperforming the rest of the country, estate agents have said.

The Scotsman

Scots business confidence dips over feared slowdown: Scottish business confidence for the next six months has lost some steam as companies fear weaker U.K. demand across 2016, a new report out warns.

Edinburgh airport creates 200 retail jobs: Edinburgh Airport reveals that strong trading momentum means more than 160 new retail jobs will be created at the transport hub in the first half of 2016.

City A.M.

Ukraine gears up for London legal battle: Russia is taking its neighbour to court over an old political loan: The tense standoff between Ukraine and Russia over a $3 billion loan will enter its next stages in London as we head into 2016.

Business services drive rebound in private sector growth: The private sector gained momentum toward the end of the year, according to survey figures released.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under fire as MPs on Treasury Select Committee call for hearing over decision to scrap banking culture review: Leading MPs have slammed the City watchdog over its decision to drop a review into Britain’s banking culture, raising the possibility of an imminent public grilling of top regulators.

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