Newspapers: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 240815

The Times

It’s a car crash as Rolls and Bentley sales dive in China: Sales and production of British-built luxury cars have gone sharply in to reverse as the crisis in China begins to bite in factories around England.

Angry cats? Don’t get upset . . . Japan tells Buzzfeed: Buzzfeed is bringing its angry cats, quizzes and listicles to the Japanese market by the end of this year.

Barcelona is top of Britons’ go-to list: The British prefer the combination of beautiful beaches, buzzing bars and Antoni Gaudí’s architecture to the sophistication of New York or the romance of Paris.

Clydesdale shrugs off concerns over £2.5 billion IPO price: The Boss of Clydesdale Bank has denied suggestions that its £2.5 billion stock market listing could be in trouble as he confirmed that the Australian-owned lender had already held talks with more than 20 key investors.

Leftwinger would seize sold-off assets: Jeremy Corbyn could take Royal Bank of Scotland back into state Ownership as part of a renationalisation of once-public assets judged to have been sold off too cheaply by the current Conservative government.

Insurers see holes in plans for flood cover: Insurers are scrambling to prepare for a crucial new government-backed scheme to make sure that householders in high flood risk areas have access to affordable cover with only eight months to go before it takes effect, according to a study.

House prices across Britain set to rise 30% in four years: House prices are expected to rise by nearly a third over the next four years, with almost every English region overtaking the capital, but the devaluation of the Chinese yuan is hitting demand for prime London homes.

BT snatches Ashes victory from Sky: The shake-up of Australian cricket has continued apace after the country’s cricketing board handed the rights to games down under, including the next Ashes series, to BT Sport.

The Independent

Pension system changes are putting people off saving for their retirement, experts warn: People are struggling to calculate how much they need to save for retirement, given a lack of clarity about what they can expect from the state pension scheme, according to the pensions company Aegon.

Cost of buying compared to renting narrows amid house price rises: First-time buyers save £670 a year paying for their home compared with the cost of renting but the gap is narrowing, according to research.

Government’s flagship research and development centres urged to hire apprentices: The Government’s flagship scheme to foster shared research and development between business and scientists in highly skilled work such as nuclear engineering has fewer than 100 apprentices, figures reveal.

Market rout wipes $182 billion off the world’s 400 richest billionaires, according to research: The turmoil in global markets has wiped $182 billion (£116 billion) off the wealth of the world’s 400 richest billionaires, according to research by Bloomberg.

Financial Times

Britain reopens Tehran embassy with promises of enhanced trade: Philip Hammond, the U.K. foreign secretary, reopened the country’s embassy in Tehran on Sunday, and promised that British trade will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of his country’s improving relationship with Iran.

Gulf Keystone hires British MP Zahawi: Gulf Keystone has turned to a British MP of Kurdish origin to bolster its dealings in the crisis-hit region.

Met office loses BBC weather forecasting contract: The Met Office has lost its lucrative weather forecasting contract with the BBC after nearly a century of providing the service.

South32 to cut costs and capital expenditure: South32 revealed plans to slash costs and capital expenditure as it reported its first financial results since the diversified mining group was spun out of BHP Billiton in May.

Tech investor Klaus Hommels raises new €350 million fund: The venture capital firm led by Klaus Hommels, an early backer of Skype, Facebook and King.com, has raised a €350 million fund to create one of the biggest tech investors in Europe.

Africa private equity group raises $1.4 billion to invest in continent: Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based company, has amassed the largest pool of private equity capital yet for investments across Africa.

Zurich Insurance seeks more time for £5 billion RSA offer: Zurich Insurance has called on its bid target RSA to give it more time to table a formal offer for its U.K. rival after the two sides made progress on the prospective £5 billion-plus deal over the weekend.

Japanese smartphone supplier turns focus to cars: Japanese suppliers such as Nitto Denko, the world’s biggest maker of optical films used on Apple’s iPhone screens, are rushing to expand sales for parts used in cars to offset an increasingly mature smartphone industry.

Agco sees renewed demand for agricultural equipment taking root: The head of Agco, one of the world’s largest makers of combine harvesters and tractors, said he was optimistic that demand would start to recover next year after a tough two years of sliding earnings amid falling commodity prices and slowing emerging market economies.

Distilleries make a spirited return as boutique booze flourishes: A taste among trendy younger drinkers for unusual and bespoke sipping spirits has fuelled a rapid rise in the number of distilleries in the U.K.

Wizz Air continues steady ascent to fill regional gap: József Váradi, Wizz Air’s Chief Executive, wants the performance of central and Eastern Europe’s largest airline to speak for itself.

The Daily Telegraph

Business tsar backs plea for rates cut: The Government’s “business tsar” has backed an emphatic call from the nation’s retailers for a fundamental reform of business rates to boost Britain’s productivity.

Building Bosses at Persimmon to net £600 million: Executives at Britain’s largest housebuilder are closing in on the first tranche of a potential £600 million-plus payout, which would rank as one of the most generous bonus schemes the City has ever seen.

Rebekah Brooks returns as Murdoch dealmaker: Rebekah Brooks, the former Chief Executive of News International and editor of the Sun, has re-emerged from the phone hacking scandal as a News Corp dealmaker.

BT should be stripped of Openreach says Chris Bryant: BT should be should be stripped of control of the national broadband network to curb its dominance and improve broadband services, according to the shadow culture secretary.

Banks in new drive to make customers switch: Banks are launching a multi-million new advertising campaign to promote the current account switch service (CASS), the Telegraph understands, as the number of customers moving between banks has disappointed the industry.

U.K. banks face £5 billion lawsuit over forex claims: U.K. banks could be facing additional legal bills of as much as £5 billion as private investors look to launch legal action relating to allegations of foreign exchange rate manipulation, according to senior lawyers who have run successful lawsuits in the U.S. and hope to do the same in London.

Inmarsat awaits satellite launch that is hoped will send revenues rocketing: Inmarsat will launch its third Global Xpress satellite on Friday, completing a network that the company hopes will deliver a $500 million (£320 million) boost to its annual revenues by 2020.

Lloyds throws £500 million lifeline to Britain’s struggling farmers: Lloyds has set up a £500 million emergency fund to help struggling British farmers facing late subsidy payments under the new Common Agriculture Policy.

World’s biggest smartphone market hits saturation as sales in China fall for first time: Smartphone sales in China, the world’s biggest market, have fallen for the first time as the country’s authorities attempt to restore investor confidence in the rapidly cooling economy.

The Guardian

China to allow pension fund to invest in stock market for first time: China has cleared the path for local authority pension funds to invest in the stock market for the first time, potentially channelling hundreds of billions of yuan into the country’s struggling Shanghai exchange.

Pace of rent rises quickens as average U.K. rent reaches £937 a month: Average rents in the U.K. reached £937 per month in July as the pace of increases took a significant step up amid a shortage in the supply of housing.

Persimmon’s Managers to share £240 million, with £20 million for Mike Farley: Mike Farley, the former Boss of Persimmon, is to collect nearly £20 million in shares this December, part of a £240 million payout lined up for Managers at the housebuilder.

Daily Mail

Mining profits gloom as prices of raw materials tumble to six-year low amid fears Chinese slowdown will hit global growth: Investors are braced for another round of disastrous results from mining companies this week as the commodities rout takes its toll on profits.

Eurostar hit record one million passengers last month thanks to sun-hungry Britons flocking south: Britons searching for summer sun in the south of France helped Eurostar hit a record one million passengers in a single month.

Banks in line for another £40 billion bill as fresh wave of charges over mis-seling and foreign exchange rate rigging looms: Britain’s biggest banks are facing a new compensation bill of up to £40 billion as a fresh wave of charges over mis-selling and foreign exchange rate rigging looms.

Buoyant advertising group WPP wins huge new contracts as profits escalate: Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising group WPP is this week set to report a sharp increase in profit for the first half of the year.

GVC threatens to walk out on £1 billion takeover battle for online gambling giant Bwin.party: GVC Holdings says it could ‘walk away’ from the fight for online gambling giant Bwin.party if the board continues to recommend an offer from arch rival 888 Holdings.

PPI claims firm set up by family behind banned Yes Loans makes £4 million profit: Profit has rocketed at the Payment Protection Insurance claims company set up by the family behind rogue debt brokerage firm Yes Loans.

Soho’s streets are paved with gold as profits soar at London-based property empire Soho Estates: Soho Estates, the London-based property empire built up by the late porn baron Paul Raymond, has revealed profits of £18.9 million on a £27.2 million turnover for the year to March 31, 2015.

Daily Express

Menkind acquires boys’ toys rival: Gadget retailer Menkind has acquired rival RED 5, the spiritual successor to The Gadget Shop, for an undisclosed sum.

China crisis hammers stock market: £160billion taken off the value of U.K. companies: London-listed companies have seen approximately £160billion wiped off the value of their shares over the past fortnight, as the global stock market rout looks set to enter a third week.

Dollar strength hits Tiffany profit: Iconic jewellers Tiffany & Co is set to post falling profits and sales when it unveils its second quarter results on Thursday.

The Scottish Herald

Bwin.party, Aldermore and Cineworld to publish results: The latest developments in the takeover moves for bwin.party will be in focus while challenger bank Aldermore and Frankie & Benny’s Owner The Restaurant Group also update the City on progress.

Deloitte partners see average earnings reach £822,000: Partners at Deloitte have seen their average earnings rise from £750,000 to £822,000 as the accountancy firm posted a seven% rise in profits.

PG Paper buys two former Tullis Russell brands: PG Paper has acquired two brands owned by the collapsed papermaker Tullis Russell.

Ernst & Young adds another Scottish partner: Accountancy firm Ernst & Young has added its 12th new partner in Scotland this year.

The Scotsman

‘Twin-engined’ economy will drive growth, says CBI: Rising household spending and robust business investment will help to fuel a “twin-engined” boost from the U.K. economy, the CBI said as it raised its growth forecasts for this year and next.

Investors hope Petrofac serves up some good news: Oilfield contractor Petrofac delivers interim results and analysts are hoping for some good news on progress with its Laggan-Tormore project.

City A.M.

Energy secretary on track to slash solar subsidies: Energy secretary Amber Rudd is gearing up to slash solar power subsidies as part of the government’s latest effort to cut costs for consumers.

Manufacturers say U.K. is losing out to global rivals: British manufacturers are worried about falling behind their overseas competitors, according to a new survey out.

Pendennis sails into rough waters as expansion plans dent its profits: Luxury yacht builder Pendennis has said that sales and profits dipped last year as it invested millions of pounds in refurbishing and expanding its shipyard in Falmouth, Cornwall.

Landlords sell rental homes after 17 years: Landlords are holding on to properties for longer than they were before the last recession, with the average time between a landlord buying and selling a property rising by five years since 2007, according to lettings giant Countrywide.

BHP Billiton expected to cut costs as profits tumble on low prices: Mining giant BHP Billiton is set to slash its capital expenditure for the next year as volatility in the commodities sector continues to drag global markets, analysts have warned.

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