Newspaper Summary
The Times
Gatwick takes aim at rival with pledge to stagger expansion: Gatwick will open a new front in its campaign to build a second runway by promising to stagger the work over two decades, The Times has learnt.
Alliance Trust acts to reassure investors: The embattled Scottish investment trust in the midst of a corporate battle with its largest shareholder has attempted to reassure investors that its turnaround is well under way and that its funds are outperforming those of competitors.
L&G makes first foray into Europe with Dutch deal: Legal & General has expanded its reach in the pension risk transfer market by signing its first deal in Europe.
Ministers ‘to rethink solar subsidy cuts’: The government is expected to row back on its decision to end support for rooftop solar panels, relaxing its plan to cut subsidies for the industry by nearly 90%.
U.S. poised to scrap oil export ban as price slump continues: The price of oil slumped by more than 3% amid fresh evidence of rising global oversupply and as the U.S. Congress prepared to scrap a 40-year-old ban on American oil exports.
Chinese eye Rosneft as Russia plans to sell stake: Russia is planning to sell a stake of up to one fifth in Rosneft, the state-owned oil producer in which BP is a big shareholder, as it struggles to bolster its finances.
SuperGroup dismisses ‘bizarre’ note from Liberum: SuperGroup has brushed off claims that it was overstocked in the run-up to Christmas and was forced to slash prices, claiming that a “bizarre” analysts’ note that knocked 10% off its shares was at odds with reality.
The Independent
BHS Owner breaks silence, signing up turnaround expert: The new Owner of BHS has appointed a turnaround expert as Chief financial officer, marking its first significant boardroom appointment since buying the struggling high street chain in March.
Black Friday is here to stay, according to Dixons Carphone Boss: Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse Boss says Black Friday is here to stay, even if it is abandoned by the supermarkets who brought it to the U.K.
Adidas may still sponsor scandal-hit Fifa: Sportswear giant Adidas might still consider sponsoring Fifa, even if the international football governing body does not reform itself.
U.K. unemployment drops to pre-crisis levels: The U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 5.2% in the three months to September, its lowest level in almost 10 years, despite predictions that the jobless rate would remain steady at 5.3%.
Financial Times
RBS plans to sell Williams & Glyn next year: RBS said it was now planning to sell Williams & Glyn next year after receiving “a number of informal approaches” for the business.
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Barclays considers scaling back in Africa: Barclays is rethinking its near-century long presence in Africa as part of a review led by Jes Staley, its new Chief Executive.
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Bats Global Markets makes second attempt at IPO: A second attempt by Bats Global Markets to go public is under way nearly four ways after technical problems forced it to scrap its initial public offering.
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FedEx surges on upbeat earnings outlook: Shares in FedEx rose in after-market trading after the express parcel service said it expected “solid earnings growth” over the next six months after recording robust results for the three months ended November.
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Strong dollar hits Oracle sales and profits: Oracle’s latest quarterly sales and profits took a hit from a stronger U.S. dollar, but its cloud computing business, which it is counting on as an engine of growth, posted gains.
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Hilton aims to inject hotel portfolio into Reit: Hilton is aiming to spin off its hotels into a real estate investment trust, the latest in a wave of companies seeking to capitalise on high property valuations as the industry shifts attention to managing, rather than owning, hotels.
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GE signals faster growth after shake-up: General Electric has projected that its underlying earnings per share can grow by more than 50% over the next three years, holding out the prospect of faster growth following a radical restructuring of its businesses.
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Valeant reports sales and profits plunge: Valeant said sales and profits had plummeted during the final three months of the year and cut its earnings guidance for 2016, as the Canadian drugmaker insisted it would recover from a months-long crisis that has wiped more than $50 billion from its market value.
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Supply growth pushes oil near seven-year low: Oil fell back towards a seven-year low on Wednesday as more evidence of swelling global supplies weighed on the market and as the U.S. Congress agreed a deal that could see restrictions on exports lifted.
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Lex:
U.S. monetary policy: at last: The Federal Reserve has finally achieved lift-off. Its 25 basis point rise came at the last moment, consistent with its pledge to start tightening policy in 2015. Three months ago it declined the opportunity, on concerns that “recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity”.
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Fairchild: fair is fair: Fairchild Semiconductor put the silicon in Silicon Valley. It pioneered the use of the material in chips. But Fairchild has long been overshadowed by other companies in its industry. Its stock has gone sideways for years. The company is now forced to fend off a bid from a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
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Casino: dicey: With over 50 subsidiaries in 14 countries, Casino Guichard, the French retail conglomerate, has spread its bets wide. Now for the discipline: this week it announced a structural reshuffle aimed at raising over €2 billion in cash to reduce debt.
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Lombard:
RBS gives funds frog-kissing opportunity: Fund Managers are exposed to a similar fate when they participate in dual track sales of the kind Royal Bank of Scotland is organising to dispose of challenger bank Williams & Glyn.
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Cut above the rest: Rising dollar interest rates increase debt costs, putting pressure on resources companies to cut dividends. Glencore and Anglo have already suspended payouts, leaving BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as the two other big miners teetering like green bottles on the wall.
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The Daily Telegraph
Facebook and Uber team up to offer Messenger users taxi trips: Uber users can now book taxis via Facebook Messenger after the two digital giants teamed up.
Bosses call for Heathrow runway decision by May: The Bosses of some of Britain’s biggest companies have called on the Government to decide on Heathrow expansion by the end of May, amid growing fears a third runway will be mired in political wrangling and never built.
Sourced Market passes £750,000 crowdfunding target: The Sourced Market, the artisan food and drink retailer, has passed its £750,000 crowdfunding target with five days of the campaign left.
Eurozone on track for ‘solid end to 2015’: Eurozone private sector businesses enjoyed their strongest quarter of growth for four-and-a-half years, according to a closely watched survey.
Quindell secures court backing for £414 million cash return: The company at the centre of one of the biggest scandals on Aim in recent years has secured court approval to return £414 million to investors, providing a boost to its beleaguered shareholder base.
Eurotunnel to abandon ferry freight plans and sell final vessel: The company that operates the Channel Tunnel is to sell its last ferry after a bid to overturn a ruling by the competition regulator failed in the Supreme Court.
Ikano Bank: what to make of new savings account from Ikea: Ikano Bank, founded by the family behind Ikea, has entered the U.K. consumer savings market for the first time, with more deals promised for 2016, including personal loans.
Red tape and taxes force Tungsten out of banking: Tungsten is selling its banking unit to the Gupta family for £30 million after regulatory red tape, punitive taxes and high costs proved too much of a burden for the invoice processing group.
Barclays sells index business to Bloomberg for £520 million: Barclays has raked in a £480 million profit by selling its index and analytics business to Bloomberg.
The Questor Column:
Sell Twitter as shares slump to record low: Twitter shares have sunk to their lowest level on record this week as investors continue to lose patience with the social networking site and its struggles to justify an eye-watering valuation. The social network that allows users to send messages (and pictures) using less than 140 characters saw its shares slide 4% to $23.95 (£16) in New York on Tuesday. The stock has now fallen below its $26 initial public offering price from November 2013 and is significantly below the $40 at which U.K. investors got the opportunity to buy the shares on the first day’s trading. The pace of growth has hit a brick wall with the company reporting 320 million users in the third quarter, up just 1.3% on the previous quarter, and 11% higher year-on-year. The number of people using the service also leaves the group looking like a minnow compared to Facebook’s billion and a half users. Twitter has also said the outlook for the fourth quarter is unsettling after the company reported a slowdown in its number of advertisers. Dick Costolo quit as Chief Executive in June and the company announced it would be sacking 336, or 8%, of its 4,100 strong workforce in October. The majority of the costs that have pushed the company into a loss are related to share options. As Twitter expanded, it paid staff and customers with the promise of shares. But, now that the value of those shares has soared, they are adversely have an impact on the company’s profits as they are paid out. Twitter at $24.12 +0.17c. Questor says “Avoid”.
Buy AstraZeneca on lung deal: Shares in pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca moved almost 1% higher as investors backed the expansion of its respiratory business, validating our opportunistic buy recommendation in July. The biggest challenge for AstraZeneca has been around its blockbuster cholesterol treatment, Crestor, which generates about a fifth of sales for the company. To combat this, the company has reorganised research efforts to target the key areas of breathing problems, heart disease and cancer, which are all health issues associated with an ageing population. It is against this backdrop that yesterday‘s $575 million (£383 million) deal for the respiratory business of Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Company must be viewed. The deal also tidies up the drugs portfolio as it brings with it full global rights for the lung disease treatment Daliresp. AstraZeneca said it will increase earnings as soon as next year. 2016 is a crucial year for the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group as after a period of long term decline revenue and analysts from Berenberg believe earnings can grow at 13% a year for the six-year period from 2017 onwards. The profit margin is also expected to reach its lowest point at about 26% in 2016, and then recover steadily to the sector average of about 35% by 2023. Regular readers of the column would have enjoyed gains of £2.49 per share, or 6%, in less than six months. The shares are now trading on 16 times forecast earnings and offer a 4.2% prospective dividend yield. However, we still like the value of the new cancer drugs, buy. AstraZeneca at £44.16 +25.5p. Questor says “Buy”.
The Guardian
Federal Reserve announces first rise in U.S. interest rates since 2006: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday, ending an extraordinary period of government intervention in the financial markets that started at the height of the recession.
VW gets go-ahead to repair diesel cars affected by emissions scandal: Volkswagen has secured regulatory approval to repair diesel cars affected by the emissions scandal and will begin work in January.
Santander eyes RBS branch takeover: Santander has emerged as a potential bidder for 307 branches being put up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland, which is scrambling to comply with rules imposed by the EU after its £45 billion taxpayer bailout.
Rolls-Royce to scrap two divisions amid restructuring: The Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce has shaken up its senior management team and scrapped two divisions as part of his attempt to turnaround the struggling engineer.
Deliveroo and Crowdcube join Tech City U.K.’s rising stars: Deliveroo, the upmarket food-delivery group, and the Crowdcube crowdfunding site are among 15 firms tipped as potential stars of the U.K.’s digital economy by Tech City U.K., a government-backed organisation.
Daily Mail
Domino’s buys German pizza firm Joey’s for £33 million after years of struggling to compete in the world’s fourth largest market: Domino’s confirmed a £33 million deal to create Germany’s largest pizza delivery outfit.
Senior MP questions Chancellor’s decision to sell former Northern Rock mortgages to secretive U.S. private equity firm: A senior MP has questioned the Chancellor’s decision to sell tens of thousands of former Northern Rock mortgages to a secretive U.S. private equity firm.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca agrees to buy Japanese respiratory firm and plans to spend $800 million on its Chinese operations: Drugmaker AstraZeneca was boosted by a double dose of Asian news as it agreed to buy a Japanese respiratory business and unveiled plans to spend $800 million (£533 million) on its Chinese operations.
Bonmarché collapses by almost a third following profit warning and news Boss Beth Butterwick is leaving: Shares in Bonmarche collapsed by nearly a third after a profit warning and news of the departure of Boss Beth Butterwick.
Daily Express
Bank of England called on to increase U.K. interest rates after historic U.S. hike: The Bank of England (BoE) has been called on to increase U.K. interest rates after a historic U.S. hike announced this evening.
Bank of England set to clampdown on landlord mortgages in 2016: Landlords and second-home Owners are on course for another brutal crackdown as policymakers try to deter anyone but large companies or corporates from the buy-to-let market.
Booming housing market still at risk of going bust, experts warn: This has been yet another buoyant year for the property market but experts warn the current boom could quickly turn into a bust.
Austerity Britain! Workers’ pay is worth less now than in 2006: Wage rises for British workers are slowing and still haven’t recovered from years of stagnation during the financial crisis, official figures showed.
The Scottish Herald
Bowleven directors ‘acutely aware’ of company’s share price: The outgoing Chairman of Bowleven, Ronnie Hanna, has said directors are acutely aware of the company’s share price level but he hopes the foundations have been put in place for it to improve.
Wood Group wins $400 million contract from Norwegian oil and gas giant: Wood Group expects to create 250 jobs after winning a bumper contract to provide maintenance services for Statoil in the Norwegian North Sea but the impact on its Scottish operations looks likely to be limited.
MEP supports Scotland’s first Dairy Producer Organisation: Alyn Smith MEP has thrown his support behind Scotland’s first Dairy Producer Organisation (DPO), hailing it as a vital first step in saving Scotland’s dairy industry.
Ian Marchant makes first social enterprise investment by backing Edinburgh community bakery: Ian Marchant, former Chief Executive of energy giant SSE, has made his first investment in social enterprise, backing a community bakery in Edinburgh.
Superdry Owner reveals 54% increase in profit: The Owner of Superdry has revealed a 54% leap in half-year profits and reassured over its Christmas trading plans following fears that mild winter weather had forced it to slash prices.
The Scotsman
Cala secures planning permission for Donaldson’s project: Upmarket housebuilder Cala has been granted planning permission for the redevelopment of Edinburgh’s historic Donaldson’s School.
Revamp of ex-Tesco sites could create thousands of jobs: Property developer London & Scottish Investments (LSI) has unveiled plans to redevelop a raft of former Tesco sites north of the Border.
Cybersecurity start-up nets £350,000 cash injection: A firm founded in Edinburgh that hopes to reinvent online security has raised £350,000 to develop its technology.
Record results as Lewis eyes further expansion: Digital and design agency Lewis has reported record turnover for the 2014-15 financial year, up by 13.2% to £1.6 million.
Rail debt on track to hit £4.9 billion within four years: Investments in Scotland’s rail network such as the new line in the Borders are being funded by record levels of borrowing by the Scottish Government.
City A.M.
IPO markets set for a strong start to 2016, after Worldpay’s floatation boosts fourth quarter market activity: The year has ended on a high for initial public offerings (IPO), thanks in part to Worldpay’s success recently on the London Stock Exchange, and the pipeline looks positive for 2016, according to EY research.
The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme is boosting high loan-to-value lending: The government’s Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which offers greater protection for lenders, is boosting high loan-to-value (LTV) lending, according to new figures released.
More than 600,000 U.K. homeowners are now property millionaires: More than 600,000 U.K. homeowners are now so-called property millionaires as escalating prices pushed more homes over the £1 million-mark.
EU referendum: British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) put pressure on David Cameron ahead of EU summit: Britain’s biggest business groups are putting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron as he heads to Brussels for a two-day meeting of European Union leaders.
Panic Saturday shoppers to splurge £1.1 billion on last-minute Christmas presents: Retailers are bracing themselves for a stampede of last-minute shoppers this Saturday, with more than 12.6 million customers tipped to spend over £1.1 billion on last minute Christmas presents and food.
British Airways €104 million fine for price-fixing thrown out by EU General Court: British Airways has reason to rejoice after a €104 million (£75.8 million) penalty imposed on it was thrown out by the General Court of the European Union, on the grounds that the original decision contained contradictions.
