The Times
Pfizer nears transforming $150 billion deal for Allergan: Pfizer is poised to seal its merger with the Dublin-based Allergan imminently in a deal that would propel the combined company to the top of the “big pharma” league table, creating the world’s biggest player by sales.
Marconi to break radio silence after intermission: Marconi is synonymous with one of the most sensational corporate collapses. Now, the name is set to rise again after a small British phone maker announced plans to revive it in the digital radio market.
CBI Boss declares truce in wage war: The new head of the CBI is seeking a truce with government by dropping claims that the £9 national living wage will cost jobs.
Co-op asks members to join board as clean-up continues: The Co-operative Group has asked its 8.4 million members to apply to become company Directors.
PayPal ready to branch out and take on the banks: PayPal has fired a shot across the bows of Britain’s high street banks by revealing that it is considering further expansion into traditional financial services.
Unethical practices ‘still abound despite efforts to sharpen standards’: Unethical practices are still rife among accountants in Britain despite efforts to improve professional standards and the fallout of corporate scandals such as the collapse of HBOS, according to research published.
Shell joins queue of investors waiting on Iran oil contracts: Iran will fire the starting gun this week in a race to develop some of the world’s biggest oil and gas reserves when it reveals the terms for new oil contracts to foreign investors, including Royal Dutch Shell.
It’s a minefield: sale of £10 million subsiding stately home falls to pieces: A secretive millionaire who had agreed to buy Britain’s largest privately owned stately home has decided to back out of the £10 million deal because subsidence means “half of it is falling into a hole”.
The Independent
Right-to-buy policy ‘will cut new-build social housing’: The controversial extension of “right to buy” to housing association tenants – a key election pledge of the Conservatives – is set to trigger a 10% fall in public home building this year, construction industry experts warn .
Paris terror: Footfall at shops and attractions plummets across U.K. in week following attacks: The number of shoppers on British high streets and visitors to tourist attractions has plummeted in the week after the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Financial Times
Rolls-Royce Chief to outline revival timetable: Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Warren East will set out a timetable for reviving the fortunes of Britain’s premier engineering group, in an attempt to restore investors’ faith after five profit warnings.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f08e9350-8fc1-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#axzz3sHaCec10
HSBC to hire non-Executive contender to succeed Chairman Flint: HSBC aims to quell investor unrest ahead of its annual meeting next spring by hiring at least one new non-Executive Director who will become a candidate to succeed Douglas Flint as Chairman.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/97c90962-8fbc-11e5-a549-b89a1dfede9b.html#axzz3sHaCec10
Pfizer-Allergan tie-up would mark M&A high point: Pfizer’s imminent $150 billion takeover of Allergan to create the world’s biggest drugmaker will mark a fresh pinnacle in an intense year of dealmaking across the pharmaceuticals sector.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/838b69b4-8fa7-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#axzz3sHaCec10
Dragon Oil looks to back $10 billion gas link: Dubai-owned Dragon Oil is in talks to invest in a $10 billion pipeline to deliver natural gas from Turkmenistan to India, a potential boost to the project after several western oil companies failed to secure a role.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7a314692-9112-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af.html#axzz3sHaCec10
Taiwan considers lifting China semiconductor ban: Taiwan’s government is seeking to lift a ban on Chinese investment in its crucial semiconductor design industry, a highly controversial move just two months before an election that could bring to power an opposition party skeptical of closer ties with Beijing.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f7b7e16c-8f31-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#axzz3sHaCec10
Deutsche Bank tests password-free mobile security: Deutsche Bank is experimenting with new antifraud technology that uses the way you handle and hold your phone to work out if you are really you.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2c0d80b6-8f96-11e5-a549-b89a1dfede9b.html#axzz3sHaCec10
CMA CGM is exclusive talks with Neptune Orient Lines: France’s CMA CGM is in exclusive talks to buy Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines, in what would be one of the biggest acquisitions in the shipping container industry in years.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/88dca012-907f-11e5-94e6-c5413829caa5.html#axzz3sHaCec10
Lex:
EMC: The wrong track: The biggest ever tech deal looks fragile. Ever since Dell and Silver Lake agreed to pay a headline $67 billion for EMC last month, the data storage company’s stock has underwhelmed, From an acquisition price touted as $33.15 a share, EMC now trades at about $25.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/88161a18-901c-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af.html#axzz3sHaCec10
The Daily Telegraph
ATP secures record $160 million in deals as sponsors flock to ‘clean’ image: The reputation of tennis as a “clean” sport has helped the ATP, which holds the final of its World Tour in London tonight, secure sponsorship deals worth $160 million (£105 million) over the next five years, according to the head of the association.
Barclays bets on stock boom as world money growth soars: Barclays has advised clients to jump into world stock markets with both feet, citing the fastest growth in the global money supply in over thirty years and an accelerating recovery in China.
Rolls Boss to cut engineer’s bloated management: Rolls-Royce Boss Warren East to slim down management in operational review as he comes under pressure from activist investor
Legal & General considers an end to quarterly reporting: Legal & General is considering whether to scrap its quarterly trading updates, in a move that would bring the insurance and investment group in line with the practices it has supported in other companies.
Black Friday backlash for smaller retailers: The looming Black Friday shopping frenzy is sparking a backlash with a growing number of retailers shunning the promotional activity.
EE proposes restrictions on mobile adverts: EE, Britain’s biggest mobile operator, is considering introducing technology that will hand smartphone users the power to control the advertising they see online, in a clampdown that would cause major upheaval in the £2 billion mobile advertising market.
The Guardian
MPs to look into £13 billion sale of Northern Rock mortgages to Cerberus Capital: MPs are to look into the sale of £13 billion of former Northern Rock mortgages to the U.S. private equity group Cerberus Capital, to examine whether the deal was in the public interest.
More spending cuts will damage economy, TUC report warns: The government’s “fixation” on the size of the state is straining vital public services and undermining social stability, according to a report from the TUC, which argues that further cuts could damage the economy.
Softening of tax credit blow to be funded by housing benefit cuts: The Chancellor, George Osborne, is expected to fund the softening of the blow of controversial tax credits reductions by taking away housing benefit from many of the same people who will lose out.
New CBI Chief Carolyn Fairbairn backs EU membership: Carolyn Fairbairn, the new head of the CBI, has backed Britain remaining in a reformed European Union and expressed confidence that Europe would not tear the employers’ organisation apart.
Manchester airport passenger numbers reach record levels: Passenger numbers at Manchester airport have reached record levels, passing the pre-financial crisis peak to reach 23 million in a year for the first time.
Three businesses fined total of £250k for nuisance calls: A government watchdog is to take steps against nuisance phonecalls and texts this week, issuing written warnings to more than 1,000 companies it believes are actively buying and selling lists of names and numbers used for cold calling and texts.
Daily Mail
Devolution of business rates could lead to a high street war between towns, warn experts: The devolution of business rates could lead to a high street war between towns, experts have warned.
Rugby World Cup and increased demand for food sees hike in annual profits for pub chains Mitchells & Butlers and Marston’s: Phil Urban, the new Chief Executive at All Bar One Owner Mitchells & Butlers will present his debut results having taken the helm in September. Analysts forecast the Birmingham-based pub group will lift full-year pretax profit by 10.8% to £190.7 million.
Lloyds investors slam scope of £7 million report on HBoS collapse as they say it ‘does not go far enough’: A £7 million report into the failure of HBoS ‘does not go far enough’, according to Lloyds investors who shouldered much of the bill for the collapsed bank.
Worldpay glitch leaves 15,000 stores unable to accept credit and debit cards – a month after £5 billion float: Almost 15,000 Worldpay retailers were left unable to accept credit and debit card payments last week – just a month after the financial services giant completed a £5billion stock market float.
Ambush! Rebel Dermot Desmond planning to slice through Ladbrokes and Gala Coral tie-up: Irish billionaire and rebel shareholder Dermot Desmond is planning to disrupt in person the City meeting, in which shareholders will vote on a proposed £2.3billion mega-merger between Ladbrokes and its rival Gala Coral.
Expansion on the menu at celebrity hang out Hakkasan as group set to open new restaurants in Indonesia and the U.S.: Restaurant and nightclub Hakkasan’s appetite for global expansion has grown with new openings planned in Indonesia and the U.S. next year.
Family behind world’s leading maker of fighter jet ejection seats pockets dividends of £40 million: The family behind the world’s leading maker of fighter jet ejection seats received dividends of £40 million last year.
Thomas Cook set for slide after year of problems as Tunisia’s terror attack and Greek crisis weigh on business: Belaguered travel firm Thomas Cook is expected to reveal a fall in turnover and profits when it announces its full-year figures on Wednesday.
The Scottish Herald
More Scottish companies can join Skyscanner and FanDuel as unicorns: Specialist technology investment bank GB Bullhound has identified 12 Scottish companies which it believes could go on to emulate Skyscanner and FanDuel and attract a $1 billion valuation.
BCC calls for clarity on apprenticeship levy: British Chambers of Commerce has called for greater clarity over the U.K. Government’s proposed apprenticeship levy. BCC has voiced concerns the scheme is effectively an additional payroll tax on larger firms and warned some companies have put investment and training plans on hold.
Scottish Equity Partners invests in SportPursuit: Scottish Equity Partners is among the investors who have put £9.5 million into online sportswear flash sale business SportPursuit.
The Scotsman
Osborne must stay firm on deficit reduction, says IoD: The Chancellor has been urged to “hold his nerve” on the government’s deficit reduction programme by a leading business lobby group ahead of his key Autumn Statement and spending review this week.
New CBI head bemoans ‘male’ dinners: The first-ever female head of the CBI employers’ lobby group has questioned why so many business dinners are held, saying they are “not very inclusive” for women.
Glasgow nappy firm Tots Bots to expand workforce: A Glasgow-based nappy firm is to expand its workforce by nearly 25% over the next year after a five-figure investment from U.K. Steel Enterprise (U.K.SE).
City A.M.
Small food suppliers hit the hardest by supermarket price wars: Britain’s small food manufacturers have emerged as the biggest casualties of the supermarket price wars, according to new research out that reveals how the gap between the profit margins of the suppliers and their bigger competitors is widening.
Small business confidence hits second-lowest level since 2012: Confidence levels at U.K. small and medium-sized businesses are waning, according to new survey figures published. The confidence index from accountants BDO dropped to a score of 61.8 this month from 64.3 six months ago.
HMRC collects £3.5 billion from investigations into big businesses’ underpaid corporation tax: HMRC collected an extra £3.5 billion in corporate tax from challenging businesses on their payments in the last tax year, according to figures from Pinsent Masons.
Christmas spending to hit £16.5 billion as 60% of Brits head to discounters for their festive food shop: Britons are feeling a bit more generous this Christmas than they were last year thanks to improved economic conditions and higher wages, new figures show, with spending set to reach £16.5 billion over the festive season.
The financial sector jobs boom is spreading across the U.K.: The jobs boom that has engulfed the capital and its financial sector is now on its way to other regions of the country, according to new figures released this morning.
U.K. consumer confidence rebounds on record employment and cheap fuel: Consumer confidence has rebounded after three months of steep decline due to a rise in positivity toward the jobs market, new survey figures reveal. The consumer confidence index published this morning by Lloyds Bank hit a score of 158, up five points from October.
Deutsche Bank eyes further job cuts in London to reduce costs: Deutsche Bank could be about to cut 1,000 more jobs in London as it further scales back on its investment bank.
