The Times
Consumers to foot bill for smart meter chaos: An £11 billion plan to install 50 million smart meters in homes in England, Wales and Scotland by 2020 has been thrown into chaos by proposed EU reforms to Britain’s electricity market.
Mike Ashley is a monster, says MP as Sports Direct under fire over pay claims: Sports Direct came under fire in parliament over claims that it pays workers less than the minimum wage.
Third Avenue Chief’s exit adds to pressure on junk bonds: The junk-bond market was hit by renewed selling after Third Avenue Management, the troubled investment firm, ditched its Chief Executive after the collapse of one of its junk-bond funds.
Insurer of Foo Fighters’ ‘broken leg tour’ sold: The insurance broker that helped the Foo Fighters with the cost of cancelling European dates on their tour after Dave Grohl, the band’s Founder and frontman, broke his leg this summer has been sold to an American rival for an undisclosed sum.
Trafigura strikes gold on back of oil trading: Record oil trading at one of the world’s biggest commodity groups has translated into a $776 million windfall for 600 of its staff that own the privately held company.
Greene King Chief Rooney Anand joins Morrisons board: Wm Morrison has completed its boardroom revamp with the appointment of the Chief Executive of one of Britain’s biggest brewing and pub companies as its senior independent Director.
Pearson drops e-textbook price increase after revolt: Pearson has been forced to backtrack on plans to raise the price of electronic text books sold to academic libraries after a revolt by university groups.
The Independent
Investors prepare lawsuit against Quindell: Small shareholders who claim they were cleaned out by the Quindell scandal have initiated legal action against the AIM-listed company to the tune of £9.5 million.
Shell-BG takeover worth $70 billion gets green light from China: BG Group has said its takeover by Shell has been given the green light by the Chinese regulatory authorities.
Nurofen Owner Reckitt Benckiser ordered to stop selling ‘misleading’ target specific painkillers: An Australian court has ordered Nurofen’s U.K. Owner to stop selling several versions of the popular painkiller that were identical to its standard ibuprofen pills, but nearly twice as expensive.
Financial Times
Coinsilium becomes first block chain company to float: A British company is preparing for what it says is the first ever initial public offering of a blockchain technology group, after raising £1 million.
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AudioBoom shares slide after warning on slow revenue growth: Shares in AudioBoom fell a quarter after the streaming company warned that revenues were “below market expectations” in a year when the number of times its clips were played almost doubled.
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STJ annual revenues pass £10 million for first time: Revenues at STJ Advisors, the corporate finance advisory boutique, passed the £10 million mark for the first time in its latest financial year, after the European market for initial public offerings burst back to life.
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Man Group set to appoint Lord Livingston as Chairman: Man Group, the FTSE 250 hedge fund Manager, is close to hiring Lord Livingston, who was formerly U.K. trade Minister and BT Chief Executive, as its new Chairman ahead of Jon Aisbitt stepping down next year.
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RPC to buy bottle-tops maker Global Closure Systems: RPC, the plastic-packaging producer, is to buy a maker of screw caps and bottle tops in a deal valued at nearly half a billion pounds that underlines the gathering pace of consolidation in the sector.
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Top Right Group sets out stall with new name Ascential: Top Right Group, the information and events company jointly owned by Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group, has changed its name to Ascential as it prepares for a £1 billion sale or initial public offering.
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Mahindra conglomerate snaps up Italian car designer Pininfarina: Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra’s conglomerate bought Italian car designer Pininfarina on Monday as the group looks to add flair to its offerings while continuing its push into Europe.
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CityFibre to challenge BT after network purchase: CityFibre, which owns broadband infrastructure, will step up its challenge to BT following the £90 million acquisition of a national fibre network from regional telecoms group Kcom.
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Lex:
AstraZeneca: in search of a blockbuster: Jimmy Carter can tell you why AstraZeneca is contemplating paying $5 billion for an unquoted Dutch biotech company with a single product in phase III trials. The former U.S. President recently declared himself cancer-free following treatment with pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug marketed by Merck & Co.
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U.S. natural gas: hot in here: Temperatures approaching 70 degrees this past weekend had New Yorkers sweating in Central Park. That is nothing compared to the heat on U.S. gas producers. Gas prices have fallen below the symbolic $2 per million British thermal unit level, from $3 a year ago, and the amount of gas in storage is at a record. The price of the commodity has been depressed for years as drillers have kept drilling even in the absence of profit.
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Cheniere: that which we are, we are, maybe: Entrepreneurs, like Tennyson’s Ulysses, strive, seek, find, and refuse to yield. Ulysses, however, did not strive at the pleasure of a board of Directors. It was his boat; if he wanted to sail beyond the sunset and touch the Happy Isles, so be it. Not so Charif Souki, co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive of Cheniere, which owns liquefied natural gas export facilities.
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Lombard:
Shell can claim BG despite burden of proof weighing on van Beurden: John Maynard Keynes was famous for changing his mind when the facts informing his decisions changed. Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Shell, is becoming infamous for his attachment to a decision whose factual foundation is eroding. The oil price, the data point against which the world economy and Shell’s purchase of BG Group are correlated, has changed drastically.
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The real Midlands engine: Rolls-Royce, once the conquering hero of British manufacturing, has suffered a betrayal of sorts from the prime Minister. His office has contemplated lifting the aero-engine maker’s protection against foreign takeover, even as investors such as Neil Woodford have sold the shares. The rationale appears to be that, in extremis, an overseas bidder could turn round the struggling business more effectively than its board can.
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The Daily Telegraph
Living wage will cost British companies more than £1 billion, report claims: The Government has been urged to cut red tape to help British companies cope with the £1 billion cost of the new living wage.
Emergency Opec meeting aired as Russia braces for sub-$30 oil: Opec will be forced to call an emergency meeting within weeks to stabilize the market if crude prices fail to rebound after crashing to seven-year lows of $35 a barrel, two of the oil cartel’s member states have warned.
Lockheed Martin secures its place as the world’s biggest defence company: Sales by the world’s 100 largest arms companies fell by 1.5% to $401 billion last year, as militaries cut spending for the fourth year running.
Yahoo told: cut 9,000 of your 10,700 staff: Yahoo is facing shareholder pressure to pursue other alternatives besides a complex spin-off of its internet operations while Chief Executive Marissa Mayer struggles to revive the company’s revenue growth.
Rolls-Royce nationalisation claims attacked as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘damaging’: Claims that Rolls-Royce’s submarine business may be nationalised or merged with another defence group to safeguard work on Britain’s new nuclear deterrent are “ridiculous” and “hugely damaging” to the engineering business, according to analysts.
HelloFresh creator whips up online cookery course, 60 Second Chef: The creator of recipe delivery box business HelloFresh is launching a new start-up this week, which he claims could grow faster than his first venture.
China ‘to move £500 billion sovereign wealth fund to New York’: China Investment Corp, the government’s $747 billion (£493.2 billion) sovereign wealth fund, is shifting its focus to U.S. investments and broader global ambitions as it prepares to move its North American headquarters to New York from Toronto early next year, according to reports.
Accounting watchdog accused of flunking HBOS probe: The decision not to investigate KPMG over its audits in the run-up to the collapse of HBOS was made prematurely and before the evidence was available, it has been claimed.
The Questor Column:
KCOM 5.7% dividend boosted by asset sale: Hull-based telecoms group KCOM has greatly improved its financial situation following an asset sale, leaving the 5.7% dividend income looking increasingly attractive. The company provides telephony and broadband services to homes and businesses in the Hull area. Formerly known as Kingston Communications, it has a strong regional brand and has been in business since 1882, when it operated a telegraph system. About six years ago, the group decided it wasn’t large enough to compete with the likes of Openreach in the infrastructure world. ‘s sale saw KCOM offload some legacy network assets to CityFibre, following the change in strategy. KCOM sold the assets for £90 million. They were held on the balance sheet at £41.8 million, so a £48 million one-off profit should be recognised at the year end. The cash will be used to pay down debt, and management expects net debt of about £13 million following the deal. KCOM reported revenue up 3% to £178 million and pretax profits up 2% to £24.2 million for the six months ended September 2015. Analysts expect results for the full year to provide revenue of £348 million and pretax profits of £50 million, giving earnings per share of 7.65p. Management have committed to paying at least 6p in dividends until 2018, offering a prospective yield of 5.7%. Questor recommended the shares for income last year (Buy, 95p, July 30, 2014) and that advice remains. Buy. KCOM at 106.25p +3.75p. Questor says “Buy”.
Sell Old Mutual as South Africa feels the pain: Old Mutual, the South African-based financial group, saw its shares surge almost 9% as some stability returned to the country’s government following the appointment of a new finance Minister. Old Mutual generates about half of its profits from its banking operations under the Nedbank brand, which in turn is almost entirely focused on lending to corporates across South Africa and the wider continent. Once you add in the asset management and life insurance operations, the profits generated from South Africa rise to about 70% of the group total. Old Mutual has made efforts to diversify away from the sub-continent. The acquisition of U.K. investment Manager Quilter Cheviot was completed in February, and the group still retains a 78% stake in its U.S. asset management business that was floated last year. Old Mutual is performing well, with recent acquisitions and strong demand from retail investors in South Africa helping the group report a 31% rise in sales to £8.1 billion for the three months to the end of September. However, investor concern and falling equity markets led to an £11 billion fall in assets under management to £319 billion. The shares might look like good value, trading on 10 times forecast earnings and offering a 4.7% prospective dividend yield, but Questor is concerned about the focus on emerging markets and what happens when U.S. interest rates begin to rise. Sell. Old Mutual at 157.8p +2.1p. Questor says “Sell”.
The Guardian
FTSE falls to three-year low as oil price plunge rattles markets: The FTSE 100 has fallen to a three-year low as global markets dropped sharply again, with investors unnerved by a further plunge in oil prices and the prospect of a U.S. interest rate rise this week.
Thousands of London flats to come back on to the market, estate agent says: Thousands of unbuilt flats and apartments could come back on to the London property market over the next two years as foreign investors seek to cut their losses, according to a new study.
U.K. pay rises likely to fade fast, thinktank warns: Britain’s long-awaited pay recovery this year will quickly evaporate in 2016 unless productivity significantly improves, a leading thinktank has warned.
Bank of England deputy vows to ‘tread carefully’ on interest rates: The Bank of England deputy Governor, Minouche Shafik, has said she will not vote for an interest rate rise until she is convinced wage growth has recovered.
Daily Mail
Ryanair accused of using a ‘letterbox’ firm in what German court described as an ‘especially serious case of tax evasion’: Ryanair has come under scrutiny over allegations it has used a ‘letterbox company’ to reduce its tax bill.
‘Disappeared’ Chinese businessman Guo Guangchang turns up at meeting having been ‘assisting officials with investigation’: Guo Guangchang, who co-founded Club Med’s Owner Fosun International, disappeared for nearly two days last week, and the company temporarily suspended trading in its shares. It is understood he was seized by police.
Temporary power supplier Aggreko pulls tender to provide generators for the Rio 2016 Olympics: Aggreko has withdrawn its tender to provide generators for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
U.K.’s biggest shoe seller Kurt Geiger sells for £245 million to private equity firm Cinven: Britain’s biggest shoe seller Kurt Geiger has been sold for £245 million and now has its fifth Owner in 10 years.
Ex Diageo Boss Paul Walsh teams up with private equity firm in bid to snap up Peroni and Grolsch: Paul Walsh, the former Boss of Guinness Owner Diageo, has teamed up with private equity firm TPG Capital in an attempt to snap up the Peroni and Grolsch beer brands.
Astrazeneca eyeing merger with Dutch-U.S. rival Acerta Pharma in bid to fight off threat from copy-cat drug makers: Astrazeneca took another step in its drive to fight off a threat from copy-cat drug makers by revealing talks about a potential £3.3billion deal with a Dutch-U.S. cancer drug firm.
Daily Express
Shell deal sees another 2800 jobs axed before 2016: Royal Dutch Shell will axe a further 2,800 jobs when it completes its £47 billion takeover of BG Group early next year.
New landlord tax will cost up to 14 months of income: The new buy-to-let charge taking effect next year will wipe out up to 14 months of income for landlords, analysis has revealed.
Boxing Day sales start early: High street stores slash prices already ahead of Christmas: Britain’s biggest high street stores have started end of season sales earlier than usual, giving last-minute Christmas shoppers the chance to score savings.
The Scottish Herald
Independent Oil and Gas makes progress with Shetland drilling plan: Independent Oil and Gas has said it will be able to drill a well off Shetland next year after agreeing terms with a drilling contractor. The London-based Independent said it has signed a contract with Transocean Drilling U.K. covering the supply of a rig that will be used for appraisal drilling on the Skipper heavy oil discovery and to target two other prospects.
London oil firm makes ‘robust’ profit from North Sea field: Serica Energy has said it can make plenty of money in the North Sea even following the latest oil price fall and emphasised it wants to buy more producing assets in the area.
New licence will allow Biogelx to expand its product range: A Scottish bio-tech company focussed on the global cell culture market has licensed new technology that will allow it to massively expand its range of regenerative medicine, cell-based therapy and drug delivery products.
Broker cuts Weir target to 800p: Weir Group shares have hit their lowest in over five years on continuing worries over the group’s exposure to the mining and oil and gas sectors.
Insurers struggling to meet guarantees to investors: Insurers across Europe cannot generate high enough returns to meet the promises they have made to policyholders, Standard Life Investments has reported.
£100 million contract renewal for Shetland and Grangemouth oil and gas terminals secures 240 jobs: Bilfinger has won a contract renewal with BP worth £100 million to provide maintenance services at oil and gas terminals in Grangemouth and Shetland – securing more than 240 Scottish jobs.
The Scotsman
Scottish audio firms hear the sound of success: The growing demand for high-end audio equipment among music fans around the world means business is booming for several Scottish firms.
Capital Document Solutions lands £3 million contract haul: Office equipment supplier Capital Document Solutions has won deals with a raft of educational establishments worth more than £3 million.
Archangels appoints Michael MacPhee as Director: Business angel syndicate Archangels has appointed former Baillie Gifford partner Michael MacPhee to its board of Directors.
City A.M.
U.K. businesses’ tax burden rises despite Chancellor George Osborne’s cuts to corporation tax: Britain’s biggest businesses paid £80.5 billion in taxes this year, up from £80 billion in 2014, with a string of new measures expected to batter firms still in the pipeline.
London rents cool off as tenant demand softens: London rents dropped in November as the market was hit by a seasonal slowdown.
Good news for U.K. consumers as research reveals food prices are expected to stay frozen in 2016: U.K. food prices will fail to grow again next year in a further boost to consumers, according to a new forecast.
Asian investors’ spending on U.K. tech M&A has jumped to almost £4.5 billion this year: The U.K.’s tech companies have been flavour of the month, or even year, for Asian investors, with Asian-led M&A worth $6.78 billion (£4.48 billion) in 2015, up from $867 million in 2014.
U.S. growth slowdown may delay second Federal Reserve interest rate hike: The U.S. economy is contracting this month, according to a survey of businesses, and is likely to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates quickly next year.
Short sellers eye Anglo American despite “radical restructuring”: Hedge funds beefed up their positions in Anglo American, even after the miner unveiled a “radical restructuring” which it hopes will enable it to stay afloat amid a prolonged rout in the price of iron ore and other metals.
South African pension fund ups stake in Lonmin after shareholders shun rights issue: South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) upped its stake in embattled platinum producer Lonmin, after shareholders snubbed a crucial rights issue.
Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks announces intention to float with IPO in U.K. and Australia: Clydesdale Bank announced its intention to float on both the London and Australian stock exchanges.
