Newspapers: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 040816

The Times

Walmart addresses ecommerce woes with tilt at Jet.com: Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, is understood to be in talks to buy Jet.com, the upstart online retailer, months after telling investors that it would be more aggressive in expanding its ecommerce business.

Job vacancies up 8% as shortage of skills takes its toll: The number of jobs advertised last month was higher than at the same time last year, suggesting that Britain’s booming jobs market was not affected by the EU referendum result, according to Reed.co.uk, the recruitment website.

North Sea workers start 2-day strike: Wood Group said that it was “hugely disappointed” as hundreds of its staff in the North Sea prepared to start a 48-hour strike. Seven Shell platforms are expected to be affected after trade union leaders and Wood Group failed to reach a compromise over pay and conditions.

Pressure on water stocks rises amid clawback fears: Water and energy shares were under pressure after a warning that utilities’ traditional status as a haven for investors during market turbulence was no longer justified.

Weak copper sales drag Rio’s earnings down: Rio Tinto’s profits nearly halved, according to the first set of results published by the mining group under its new Chief Executive, who said that commodity prices were likely to remain low for some time.

Hulu is the future of Time: Time Warner is to pay $583 million in cash for a 10% stake in the video streaming site Hulu, which is set to launch a new online pay-TV service early next year.

Goldman fined $36 million for using stolen Fed reports in its advice: Goldman Sachs has been fined for a second time after the Wall Street bank used stolen confidential Federal Reserve reports to advise a client.

Higher taxes hit price of houses in prime London: An overhaul of stamp duty rates in 2014 and an extra tax on second homes have had a greater impact on London’s most expensive homes than Brexit, according to Knight Frank.

EDF knew May wanted rethink on Hinkley Point: The Chief Executive of EDF knew that the British Government wanted to take more time to review the Hinkley Point nuclear contract before the French company’s board voted to approve the investment.

Rush to withdraw savings as threat of negative rate looms: Savers appear to be hoarding cash at the fastest pace since the financial crisis over fears that the Bank of England may cut interest rates into negative territory to cushion the economic blow from Brexit.

The Independent

Bitcoin plunges 10% after $65 million hack: Bitcoin plunged more than 10% after one of the largest exchanges halted trading because hackers stole about $65 million (£49 million) of the digital currency.

JPMorgan to pay ex-prisoners $447,000 damages after ‘exploiting one of most vulnerable groups imaginable’: JPMorgan Chase’s contract to provide debit cards to inmates released from federal prison may have backfired after a former convict raised a ruckus.

Ofgem to cap prices on pre-payment energy meters and make market ‘fairer and more competitive’: Ofgem is to press ahead with proposals to introduce a price cap on pre-payment meters, the energy industry regulator has announced.

Financial Times

Scottish miner predicts golden future: A Scottish mining company has celebrated its first gold production with champagne and canapés halfway up the cloud-shrouded mountain that it believes holds about £200 million of the precious metal.

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Vodafone and Liberty Global win EU approval for Dutch merger: Vodafone and Liberty Global have secured approval from Brussels for their plan to combine their Dutch businesses, clearing the way for the companies to create the Netherlands’ second-largest mobile and cable operator.

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Moneysupermarket Chief Peter Plumb quits after 8 years: The Chief Executive of Moneysupermarket is to step down after eight years in which shares in the price comparison site have risen fivefold.

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Ex-Google venture capitalist turns up at medtech’s TrialReach: Eze Vidra, a leading venture capitalist, has become the latest big tech name to join TrialReach, a U.K. start-up that has thus far avoided the funding problems he says are being experienced by others following the Brexit vote.

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Dubai International Airport reopens after jet crash-lands: Dubai International airport, one of the world’s busiest, has reopened after suspending operations for nearly six hours on Wednesday after an Emirates passenger jet crash-landed and burst into flames.

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Profits double at Apollo as value of portfolio companies rises: Apollo Global Management more than doubled profits in the second quarter as the private equity group raked in performance fees, and the value of its portfolio companies rose.

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TIAA in talks to buy EverBank for $2.5 billion: TIAA is in talks to buy the lender EverBank Financial for about $2.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest sign that the not-for-profit pensions group is diversifying its operations.

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Lex:

Walmart: Propulsion needed: Walmart seems too attuned to the short-term return goals of its restless shareholders to blow $3 billion on a dicey online start-up. After a profit warning in October, to which an incremental $1.5 billion investment in ecommerce contributed, Walmart’s shares had their sharpest one-day fall for 25 years; it has been trying to provide reassurance on margins ever since.

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Metro AG: divide and conquer: Judging only by its long-term stock chart, Metro AG’s restructuring efforts appear to have misfired. The chart — which shows a stock price 40% lower than 10 years ago and a sideways trend for the past five — is deceptive, though. Metro is doing the right thing. It just needs to do more of it.

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HSBC: dividend doubt: If HSBC can deliver something resembling stability, its shares will rise. Trying for more is a mistake. That maintaining the status quo is hard enough was made clear on Wednesday. The bank announced that both its progressive dividend and its target of double-digit returns on equity by next year would be scrapped.

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Lombard:

M&A fees: an Arm and a leg for Robey Warshaw: M&A bankers would make the same argument as they contemplate an average fee of £14 million for an apparent fortnight’s work on SoftBank’s purchase of Arm.

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Embarrassment of riches: HSBC is a reverse version of a particularly importunate beggar. The refrain of Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver is: “Want any spare change? No? Well, I’m going to stuff some in your pockets anyway”.

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The Daily Telegraph

Netflix extends lead over Amazon in streaming battle: Netflix has rapidly extended its lead over its main rival, Amazon Instant Video, as Britain’s most popular subscription streaming service, according to Ofcom data.

Next enjoys sales bounce despite consumer caution: Next has shrugged off fears that Brexit would dampen shoppers’ enthusiasm after posting better-than-expected sales for the last three months.

Reduced fear of redundancy means people taking holiday at levels not seen since 2007: Fewer worries about the prospect of losing their jobs means that the amount of holiday British workers are taking has returned to pre-recession levels.

Google follows Amazon into the sky with drone delivery tests: Google has won the go-ahead to begin testing delivery drones in the U.S., as it looks to match Amazon in a market that has huge potential.

SoftBank makes legally-binding pledge to keep ARM in Britain: SoftBank has pledged to legally guarantee that ARM Holdings’ headquarters will remain in the U.K. after its £24 billion takeover of the British microchip designer.

Tesla posts $293 million loss but says production is on track: Tesla reported a loss of $293 million (£220 million) for the second quarter – the electric car maker’s thirteenth consecutive quarterly loss – as sales failed to meet analysts’ expectations.

Standard Chartered back in the black with $1 billion profit: British-based bank Standard Chartered is back in profit, earning $994 million on an adjusted basis in the first half of the year.

Hotel operator Millennium & Copthorne hit by terrorism and Brexit: A string of terrorist attacks and uncertainty over Britain leaving the European Union have knocked profits at Millennium & Copthorne and forced the hotel operator to review how much it spends on new hotels and refurbishment projects.

The Guardian

Cash handouts are best way to boost growth, say economists: Direct cash handouts to households would be a better way of boosting Britain’s flagging economy than the interest-rate cuts expected from the Bank of England on Thursday, according to a group of progressive economists.

U.K. services sector contraction adds to recession fears: The City is braced for the Bank of England to cut interest rates to a new record low after Threadneedle Street was provided with fresh evidence of the hit taken by the economy in the immediate post-Brexit-vote period.

Supermarket price promotions targeting less healthy food, survey finds: U.K. supermarkets are being urged by a consumer group to play their part in fighting obesity as research reveals more than half their recent promotions were for junk food, sweets and fizzy drinks rather than healthy options.

Irish exporters feel chill from Brexit fall in sterling: Business activity and jobs in Ireland are already under threat because of the fallout from Brexit, a key Dublin trade body has warned.

Daily Mail

UBS Rogue trader Kweku Adoboli crowdsources £15k to fund his extradition battle: Ghanaian rogue trader Kweku Adoboli, 36, who lost UBS £1.3 billion in unauthorised trades, has raised £15,000 through internet crowdsourcing to fund his battle against extradition.

Bank to hammer savers again: Rate cut a ‘foregone conclusion’ as economy suffers worst month since recession: An interest rate cut is a ‘foregone conclusion’ as the British economy reels from its worst month since the depths of the last recession, experts said.

Share drop for AXA as French insurance giant misses key target: AXA FAILURE French insurance giant AXA has disappointed investors by missing a key target. The company’s underlying earnings were flat at £2.6 billion in the first half of the year – despite a promise six weeks ago that it was aiming for annual growth of 3% to 7%.

The Barnardo’s boy done good: Berkeley Boss earned £21.5 million last year… and that’s a £2 million pay cut!: The Founder and Chairman of housebuilder Berkeley Group earned a whopping £21.5 million last year – although this represented a pay cut of nearly £2 million.

Daily Express

HSBC hurt by Asia slowdown as profits plunge 29%: HSBC said it would continue to bank on China’s growth prospects despite a “turbulent” half-year in which tumbling oil prices and an increase in bad loan costs sent profits plunging 29%.

Europe’s crisis-hit banks could topple the entire world economy: Some of Europe’s biggest banks are a key risk to the world economy, with Italian firms posing the biggest worry, a top think tank has warned.

Pensioners warned to think twice about cashing in: Britons are seizing on pension freedoms to cash in their retirement pots but experts warn they must use their new powers wisely. Almost 400,000 people have withdrawn £6 billion since April last year. HM Revenue & Customs figures suggest older people are cashing in with a huge rise in withdrawals in the last three months.

The Scottish Herald

Whisky firms could face huge tariff increases after Brexit: Scotch whisky producers have been warned the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union will increase trade tariffs by as much as 20% in a number of core markets.

Data firm backed by Sir Tom Hunter to ‘help retailers compete with Amazon’: Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital has, along with Accenture, led a $15 million funding round for U.S. data analytics company DynamicAction.

Scottish deal activity falls amid Brexit uncertainty: The number of investments made in potential high growth private companies in Scotland fell in the first half amid the uncertainty generated by the Brexit referendum in June, research has found.

Firm behind plans to develop giant Shetland oil field sees losses widen: Xcite Energy, which hopes to develop the Bentley heavy oil field east of Shetland, lost $600,000 (£460,000) in the three months to 30 June, compared with $400,000 in the same period last year.

PR agency names new Chairman: Former Hibernian Chairman Malcolm McPherson has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Scottish PR and digital marketing agency, The BIG Partnership.

North Sea deals for SengS: SengS, the Ellon-based engineering and services firm, has won North Sea contracts worth £500,000. The company, which provides engineering, testing, control and hydraulic systems and tooling to the energy industry, has agreed deals with two operators and two international service companies in the past three months.

Pension transfer redress to be reviewed: People given unsuitable advice to transfer out of final salary pension schemes may be due more redress than has been offered in the past, the regulator has said.

The Scotsman

Aggreko profits hit by ‘difficult’ trading conditions: Temporary power provider Aggreko said its profits fell by almost a third during the first half of the year amid a “difficult” trading environment.

School furniture firm in £3 million plan to double workforce: A school furniture specialist is set to double its workforce in Dumfriesshire as part of a £3 million expansion plan.

Devro warns of higher costs linked to U.S. shake-up: Sausage skin maker Devro warned that costs linked to the shake-up of its U.S. manufacturing operation will be higher than previously expected.

Exports down 0.5% before Brexit vote, new data reveals: The volume of international exports from Scotland has fallen and the value of retail sales has flat-lined, new economic data shows.

City A.M.

Revenues up at 21st Century Fox on higher advertising spending: Media conglomerate 21st Century Fox reported a mixed bag of results, as revenues were below analysts’ expectations but earnings per share surpassed estimates.

A rate cut could wipe £1.4 billion off operating profits at the U.K.’s top banks: Profits will be decimated at the U.K.’s top banks if, as widely expected, the Bank of England cuts interest rates to a historic low of 0.25% .

TripAdvisor shares drop as hotel revenue slumps and online competition heats up in second quarter: Lower hotel revenues and costly expansion investments hit travel site TripAdvisor’s quarterly revenues.

Wells Fargo has shrugged off the Brexit blues as it says it experienced “no material impact” on its business: U.S. banking giant Wells Fargo & Co said that it did not experience any material impact on its U.K. or other foreign businesses as a result of the pro-Brexit vote last month.

Silicon Valley star gets green light for moon landing mission: The U.S. government has given a Silicon Valley-based company permission to send a robotic lander to the moon next year for a two-week mission.

Office Depot to close stores and cut costs after its Staples tie-up failure: U.S. stationery supplier Office Depot is planning to close a further 300 stores over the next three years to help cut costs by $250 million (£187 million).

Game Digital expects revenues to be down but earnings on track with expectations: Retailer Game Digital was unable to claw back the ground lost in the first half of the year according to a pre-close annual trading announcement released.

Almost 80% of Directors support the end of the government’s plans for a fiscal surplus by 2020: A survey of more than 1,000 members of the Institute of Directors has shown a dramatic swing towards support for further government spending.

Twitter’s share price takes flight on buyout rumours: Shares in micro-blogging site Twitter have jumped on rumours former Microsoft Boss Steve Ballmer and Saudi investor Prince Al-Waleed Bin-Talal could make a buyout offer for the company.

Fitch warns European oil majors unlikely to break even this year: Fitch warned that the cash-strapped European oil majors are unlikely to break even until next year. It comes after Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total and Eni revealed a disappointing set of first half results.

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