The Times
Mitie set to put worker on its board: One of Britain’s largest employers of low-paid workers is planning to take up Theresa May’s challenge to leading companies by appointing an employee representative to its board.
French blamed for scuppering London Stock Exchange merger: A proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Germany’s Deutsche Börse is all but dead amid allegations of French political and regulatory interference.
Soften Brexit by keeping EU rules, say businesses: Businesses are calling for European Union regulations to remain in place to minimise the cost and disruption of Brexit, according to a report by the British Chambers of Commerce.
Hammond gets £29 billion to play with in budget: Philip Hammond will have an extra £29 billion to play with in next week’s budget, a think tank says, as better growth and stronger tax receipts hand the government its first windfall since 2014.
Dow equals 30-year record run: The Dow Jones industrial average equalled a 30-year record run last night when it closed at a new high for the twelfth consecutive session.
Sun shines on Sotheby’s bottom line: Shares in the British auction house, which is listed in New York, rose 15.7% to $46.39 by the close of trading on Wall Street after the company reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations.
U.S. seeks way to level sanctions on China: The United States would sidestep World Trade Organisation rules and level sanctions directly against China and other nations under proposals being considered by the White House.
Consumers holding off on big buys: Consumers are increasingly worried about their personal finances as food and fuel prices rise, according to a survey.
Ethnic pay gap remains hidden: Businesses will not be forced to publish details of the pay gap between employees of different ethnicities, after Ministers rejected the recommendation of an independent review.
Slashing bank regulation ‘will lead to worse crisis than 2008’: A group of former top bank regulators has warned the U.S. and European authorities that rolling back the reforms of the past eight years could sow the seeds for a worse financial crisis than 2008.
Virgin Active brings back its former Chief: Virgin Active has reappointed Matthew Bucknall, the health club chain’s co-Founder, as Chief Executive following the “mutually agreed” departure of Paul Woolf after three and a half years in the role.
Chinese set to pay £1 billion for Cheesegrater: British Land and Oxford Properties are close to selling their stakes in one of the City of London’s most distinctive modern buildings to a Chinese bidder in what would be one of the U.K.’s largest ever land deals.
The Independent
U.K. firms call for Brexit to be delayed if a trade deal isn’t struck: U.K. business leaders are demanding that the timing of Brexit be pushed back if the Government proves unable to strike a comprehensive trade deal within the two-year negotiating period leading up to the split.
Super rich foreign buyers are bargain-hunting for London’s homes: The pound’s post-Brexit vote slump against the dollar has considerably sweetened the appeal of London’s residential property market for millionaires from India, Turkey and the Middle East, according to new research.
Britons stand to lose £1.1 billion of loose change hoarded in piggybanks: British customers stand to lose up to £1.1 billion worth of loose change hoarded in piggybanks, jars and drawers when the current £1 coin goes out of circulation later this year, Mastercard has warned.
British workers have one of the worst pay deals in the world: U.K. workers saw their wages fall by an average of 1% a year in the period following the financial crisis, putting the country almost at the very bottom of a national ranking of wage growth compiled by the Trades Union Congress.
May’s post-Brexit plan for economy ‘would not come close’ to working: Theresa May’s plan to cut corporation tax to keep the U.K. competitive after it leaves the EU would be “no silver bullet for a hard Brexit”, a leaked note from a top City economist has suggested.
U.K. ‘more valuable for growth despite Brexit concerns’: Investors view the U.K. as a more valuable place for growth despite widespread concerns over Britain’s future outside the European Union, according to a report.
Financial Times
Pemex hits production target for first time in 5 years: Pemex, Mexico’s national oil company, reaped the rewards of a new focus on efficiency as it slashed its 2016 net loss by nearly 60% from the year before, cut operating costs by 26% and hit its production target for the first time in five years.
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Eni Chief denies wrongdoing in Nigerian corruption case: The Chief Executive of Eni has defended himself against allegations of corruption related to a $1.3 billion Nigerian oil deal and said he still wants to go ahead with the giant offshore development involved in the scandal.
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Prosper to sell up to $5 billion in loans to Fortress and Third Point: Prosper, one of the biggest online lenders in the U.S., has taken a significant step in securing its future by agreeing to sell up to $5 billion of its loans to a consortium including Fortress and Third Point.
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CLSA to close U.S. equities business: CLSA has pulled down the shutters on its U.S. equities business, becoming one of the highest-profile victims of a big squeeze on research.
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SoftBank nears deal to merge satellite groups OneWeb and Intelsat: SoftBank is leading efforts to consolidate the space technology sector with talks to merge OneWeb, the U.S. satellite start-up it backs, with Intelsat, one of the world’s largest commercial satellite operators.
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Delhi warns of ‘teething problems’ when tax reform kicks in: Businesses operating in India should be ready for “teething problems” when the country introduces a landmark tax reform this year, Arun Jaitley, finance Minister, said on Monday.
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Noble Group returns to profit after restructuring: Noble Group, the Singapore-listed commodity trader, returned to a small profit in 2016, avoiding a second annual loss as it continued its search for a strategic investor amid a corporate restructuring.
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Not just the Oscars causing a head ache for PwC: The industry watchdog announced it was investigating PwC over its audit of business technology firm Redcentric’s accounts. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said its investigation would “consider, but not be restricted to, issues regarding misstated accounting balances.”
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WHO raises alarm over drug-resistant superbugs: The World Health Organization has issued a call to arms to companies and governments to develop antibiotics to combat superbugs’ growing resistance to existing medicines.
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Carmakers eye production in Pakistan as local market accelerates: The national surge in sales has prompted three global carmakers to commit in the past few months to starting production in Pakistan, potentially doubling the number of foreign carmakers in the country.
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GE’s Jeff Immelt urges Trump deregulation and tax reforms: Jeff Immelt, Chief Executive of General Electric, has said he hopes the Trump administration will do more to support sales of the company’s products in world markets, reversing past U.S. governments’ failures to help American manufacturers or workers for a generation.
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Trinity Mirror seeking to bundle newspaper industry: Trinity Mirror, the U.K.’s largest local newspaper group and publisher of the Daily Mirror, is eyeing further consolidation, as the industry races to tackle the long-term decline of print publishing.
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SpaceX plans to fly private astronauts round the moon: Elon Musk raised the bar again for private space flight on Monday, as his SpaceX rocket company said it planned to fly two private individuals around the moon before the end of next year.
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Huawei rings the changes with plans for clever phones: Mr. Yu says that smartphone sales are not the limit of Huawei’s ambitions, as the company looks to move into artificial intelligence and the realm of everyday connected devices, known as the internet of things.
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Uber asks senior engineer to resign over harassment claims: Uber has asked one of its most senior software engineers to resign after reports that he faced sexual harassment allegations in a previous job at Google that he failed to disclose to the Silicon Valley transportation company.
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Warren Buffett reveals Apple stake of more than $18 billion: Warren Buffett has revealed that Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Apple is twice as large as previously disclosed at more than $18 billion but said that the iPhone maker’s share price is now so high that it is no longer an attractive investment.
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Trump’s new FCC Chairman calls for ‘regulatory humility’ on 5G: Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for a greater degree of “regulatory humility” to open the door to greater investment in 5G and fibre networks.
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Spain’s Telefónica says U.K. needs more fibre in its broadband diet: Telefónica has stepped up the pressure on Ofcom to stimulate more competition in the British broadband market, claiming that the U.K. is being left behind in the laying of fibre-optic cables.
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Lex:
Priceline: luxury trip: Priceline’s new Chief Executive used to run the online travel agent’s busy acquisition team. In the past five years alone, Priceline acquired Kayak for $1.7 billion, OpenTable for $2.4 billion and this month agreed to buy Momondo for $550 million. Seven other deals had no pricetag attached.
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Hamilton Lane: no carry trade: Hamilton Lane is set to price its IPO this week at an estimated enterprise value of $1.4 billion. It is the latest alternative asset manager to tap public markets. But its disdain for the big bucks of “the carry” — performance fees — distinguishes it from New York powerhouses such as Blackstone and Apollo.
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Lombard:
Trinity Mirror investors will want to see what’s on at the Express: Were it real or widely read, however, one suspects Trinity Mirror Boss Simon Fox might be interested — because Monday’s results showed how consolidating local titles can paper over big cracks in print advertising sales. Adding Local World’s regional titles enabled Trinity Mirror to boost its total revenues by 20%, to £731 million, despite like-for-like print ad sales falling 18%.
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ABF’s four-horse race: Racing quadrigas — the chariots pulled by four horses in Hollywood epic Ben Hur — was a precarious sport, writes Kate Burgess. Health and safety wouldn’t allow it — too often, charioteers fell off the back. But we do have the corporate equivalent of a quadriga in Associated British Foods: an awkward conglomerate harnessing such ill-matched brands as Primark, British Sugar, Twinings tea and Ovaltine. Market purists say it should trade at a discount, but ABF’s shares trade close to 22 times earnings forecast for 2017.
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The Daily Telegraph
Jones the Bootmaker owners hoist ‘for sale’ sign over retailer: Jones Bootmaker, one of the oldest brands on the British high street, has been put up for sale by its owners in a move that raises questions over the future of its 170 shops and thousands of employees
Netflix in talks with mobile operators for ‘pay as you go’ smartphone service: Netflix is in talks to introduce a ‘pay as you go’ option for smartphones in collaboration with mobile operators, in what would mark a departure from the TV and film streaming service’s subscription charges.
Japanese giants itching to pull the plug on French debt: Japanese investors are increasingly alarmed by political risk in Europe and may be forced to liquidate large holdings of French public debt if the situation deteriorates further.
Red tape fears over plan to boost careers of minority groups: Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith led a government review which found that Britain’s gross domestic product takes a 1.3% hit a year – equivalent to £24 billion – because people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups are being held back in their careers as a result of their skin colour.
Bunzl tops FTSE 100 with ‘strong’ performance boosted by weak pound: Outsourcer and logistics group Bunzl topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard after posting a market-beating rise in annual profits.
The Guardian
BMW considers making electric Mini outside U.K. due to Brexit worries: The new electric Mini could be made in Germany rather than the U.K. because of the uncertainty caused by Brexit.
U.K. falls in love again with Fairtrade bananas and coffee: Sales of Fairtrade goods have risen for the first time since 2013 as the increasing popularity of bananas and coffee sold under the ethical label offset falling sales of cocoa and sugar.
NHS faces £1 billion annual bill after ‘reckless’ change to injury payouts: A “reckless” government-ordered change to the way awards are calculated for car crash injuries or botched medical operations will add up to £75 car insurance premiums, and land the NHS with an additional annual £1 billion bill, the insurance industry has warned.
City watchdog sounds alarm bells over hard Brexit: A hard Brexit poses risks to the integrity of financial markets and could make it harder to protect consumers from wrongdoing by banks, the head of the City regulator has warned MPs.
Spring budget 2017: drop in government borrowing predicted: Solid economic growth and strong tax receipts since the Brexit vote have put Philip Hammond on course to announce a drop in government borrowing when he presents his spring budget next week, a leading thinktank has predicted.
Waterstones Chief defends decision to open unbranded stores: The managing Director of book retailer Waterstones has defended the company’s decision to open three unbranded stores, saying it will be good for “customers, town centres and… staff.”
Daily Mail
Mining company strikes jackpot finding more than a million ounces of gold in Kenya: Acacia Mining believes it has found more than a million ounces of gold in western Kenya. The company announced an ‘inferred mineral resource’ – when mineral content is estimated from geological evidence but not yet fully verified – at its project in the Liranda Corridor. It plans to drill this year.
1.6k Tesco managers get demoted with up to £5k pay chop as supermarket seeks to revive flagging fortunes: Tesco is demoting 1,600 managers at its convenience stores and cutting their pay. The supermarket is scrapping the deputy manager role at its Express outlets across the U.K.
Housebuilder Persimmon set to return £2.8 billion to shareholders as it sees profits leap 23%: Persimmon vowed to return more money to shareholders after profits jumped 23%. The housebuilder said it will hand investors a total of 925p a share, or more than £2.8 billion, in the ten years to 2021.
B&M budget store Bosses pay themselves millions through tax havens, Daily Mail investigation reveals: Bosses of Britain’s fastest-growing discount chain have funnelled more than £150 million through tax havens in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands, the Mail can reveal.
Even bakeries get burned by hackers, top insurer warns ‘ill-equipped’ small businesses: Bakers are not immune from the hacking epidemic spreading across Europe, a top insurer has warned. Hiscox Boss Bronek Masojada said small businesses faced just as much risk as large ones from cyber crime – but many did not have the resources to combat it.
Ian King, 60, outgoing CEO of BAE Systems cashes in £794k of shares: The outgoing Chief Executive of BAE Systems has cashed in more than 130,000 shares. Ian King, who retires in June, sold 130,026 shares at 611p each on Thursday, making £794,458.86.
Daily Express
Nicola Sturgeon sends pound plunging amid SNP demand for fresh independence referendum: The pound has fallen against the euro and dollar amid growing concerns Nicola Sturgeon is set to spark a fresh political crisis by calling a second Scottish independence referendum.
EU ‘scuppers’ London Stock Exchange merger with rival Deutsche Borse: The London Stock Exchange’s £21billion merger with German rival Deutsche Borse is at risk of collapsing after falling foul of European regulators.
Stock market facing avalanche of selling as Donald Trump boom to end, Dr. Doom warns: Markets are at risk of huge crash that could be triggered by an avalanche of selling, a prominent investor dubbed Dr. Doom has warned. Marc Faber said U.S. stock indices are vulnerable after surging to record highs following the election of Donald Trump.
‘There’s no bubble’ Warren Buffett has put billions into stock markets since Trump: Legendary investor Warren Buffett has bet billions on the U.S. stock markets since the election of Donald Trump and said they are not in bubble territory.
Donald Trump boosts markets ahead of U.S. Congress speech with defence spending promise: Markets are gearing up for Donald Trump’s address to the U.S. Congress on February 28, where the new President is expected to deliver news on infrastructure and defence spending, as well as tax cuts.
The Scottish Herald
FarrPoint to advise on 2021 superfast broadband target: The Scottish Government has appointed telecoms and information technology firm Farrpoint to provide advice on the planning and rollout of Scotland’s digital infrastructure action plan.
Firm plans to double headcount as it grows overseas: The Founder of Copylab, the Glasgow-based investment writing and communications agency, has highlighted ambitions to double the size of its workforce to about 120 over the next three years.
Mackie’s sets £4 million chocolate target: Mackie’s, the Aberdeenshire ice cream to renewable energy group, has targeted an eight-fold increase in chocolate sales to £4 million by 2020, as the cost of ingredients weighed on profits in its latest financial year.
‘Volatile’ markets forecast as clarity awaited: The Chairman of Standard Life U.K. Smaller Companies Trust has highlighted its belief that stock markets will remain “volatile and challenging” until there is more clarity on what Brexit negotiations will mean for the economy and businesses.
Household spending squeeze signals fall in consumer confidence: Consumer confidence eased back in February after a Brexit-fuelled jump in food and fuel prices put the squeeze on household spending.
BCC publishes Brexit blueprint: The British Chambers of Commerce has published a business blueprint for the U.K. government ahead of the upcoming Brexit negotiations.
New head of law firm says it can double revenues while keeping its focus on Scotland: The man set to take charge at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP has said the law firm can thrive as an independent focused on Scotland and is capable of doubling turnover in the next three years.
The Scotsman
Law firm Bond Dickinson expanding into Edinburgh: Bond Dickinson is to bolster its presence in the Scottish legal scene with the opening of an office in Edinburgh.
Office designer Space Solutions merges with architect: Workplace design specialist Space Solutions is expanding across the Central Belt in a tie-up with architectural and interiors consultancy has design.
Ex-Kingfisher Boss to lead Barclays’ retail bank arm: Former Kingfisher Boss Sir Ian Cheshire is to become Chairman of Barclays’ ring-fenced U.K. retail banking business.
Robot arm grabs limelight in oil technology showcase: An event set to take place in Aberdeen this week focusing on innovation in the oil and gas sector is to feature technology that could take offshore inspection to “a new level”.
Primark owner cautions over margins amid weak pound: Associated British Foods (ABF) is pencilling in a robust rise in half-year profits, but warned margins at its Primark retail chain would take a knock from the weak pound.
City A.M.
The British Chambers of Commerce is demanding more Brexit certainty from the government: British businesses have demanded the government give more Brexit certainty in a blueprint published. The British Chambers of Commerce has stated that EU member states will remain a key partner for U.K. firms, adding it is “imperative” that a new deal facilitates trade.
Mixed data for the U.S. economy as investors hold their breath for landmark Donald Trump speech: Important indicators in the U.S. economy showed a mixed picture as investors await a landmark speech by President Donald Trump.
Blockchain for banks is a “long way off” says influential central banker: Blockchain fintech has a “long way to go” to satisfy financial regulators, according to an influential board member of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Arqiva cashes in on previous investments while eyeing up new technology for future growth: Telecoms infrastructure firm Arqiva has raked in the cash over the last six months, growing its business by 10%.
Convenience store chain McColl’s scores sixth year of sales growth: McColl’s Retail Group said that its full-year revenue increased 1.9% to £950.4 million, up from £932.2 million in 2015.
Slater and Gordon reports a half-year loss, and points the finger at poor reputation in the U.K.: Australian-listed law firm Slater and Gordon revealed a loss in its half-year results, pinning at least some of the blame on its reputation in the U.K.
