The Times
Former Director of failed lender lands job as chairman of Barclays U.K.: Sir Ian Cheshire, the former Chief Executive of B&Q’s owner Kingfisher, is poised to become chairman of the U.K. division of Barclays Bank, the part of the lender being ring-fenced to protect taxpayers from any future banking crisis.
Chocolate producer is full of beans: Divine Chocolate, the Fairtrade Chocolate producer, has increased net profits by more than 38 % to £443,000 in its latest year, which is good news for a cooperative of more than 85,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana. They are entitled to a 44 % share of the profit in the form of a dividend.
Alarm over new plans for pensions: Government plans for an overhaul of company retirement schemes risk putting a hole in the nation’s pensions lifeboat.
Adviser to Tesco-Booker takeover working for watchdog: The consultancy helping to make the competition case for Tesco’s merger with Booker has provoked concerns over a potential conflict of interest after winning a contract with the regulator.
BP faces questions on growth prospects: BP is under pressure to show how it will boost production and cashflow at a strategy update, three weeks after saying that it needed higher oil prices to balance its books.
Foreign investors hit the shops on Oxford St: Data from Savills shows that Oxford Street properties are increasingly being bought by non-U.K. landlords, with buyers investing in the once run-down east end of the central London street.
City lines up against Alliance plan to buy back Elliott stake: Several City institutions are believed to have voted against proposals put to ’s annual meeting of Alliance Trust in Edinburgh aimed at allowing Elliott Management, the activist investor, to exit the share register.
20,000 jobs ‘at risk’ if stakes are cut on gaming machines: The imposition of a maximum stake of £2 on lucrative gaming machines in high-street betting shops would wipe out thousands of jobs and cost the Treasury £1 billion in tax, according to research for bookmakers.
App to identify best graduates makes its debut: One of the nation’s biggest graduate recruiters is using mobile gaming to help speed up the search for the brightest student talent.
Low-paid are unaware of their rights: A poll carried out among low-paid workers by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows widespread ignorance of their financial rights.
Investors ‘may fall victim to crocodiles’: Small investors in the Chinese stock market are being preyed on by “crocodiles” and “thieves”, according to Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
The Independent
Warren Buffett avoids politics in his annual letter to shareholders: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett always draws a big audience with his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders but this year’s edition doesn’t break much new ground.
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.
No debt relief for Greece, says German deputy finance Minister Jens Spahn: Greece must not be granted a “bail-in” that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, Germany’s deputy finance Minister has said, reiterating his government’s opposition to debt relief for Athens. “There must not be a bail-in,” Jens Spahn told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Financial Times
Modi adviser cautions on tax probe after demonetisation: Narendra Modi’s government should pull back from trawling through bank accounts to search for tax evasion in the wake of the country’s demonetisation policy, the Indian prime Minister’s own Chief economic adviser has urged.
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Former JPMorgan China head invests in aircraft leasing: The investment banker who quit as JPMorgan’s head of China at the height of a U.S. investigation that uncovered “systematic bribery” in the bank’s programme to recruit the children of Chinese officials, has invested in the fast-growing aircraft leasing industry.
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Panmure Gordon launches online platform: Panmure Gordon is launching an online brokerage platform on Monday, as the U.K. stockbroker and its traditional rivals face pressure from falling commission rates, regulatory change and a slowdown in corporate deals.
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Swiss Re shifts focus to ‘risk knowledge’ amid profits squeeze: Swiss Re, which acts as a financial backstop for much of the global insurance industry, plans to tap the expertise of drugs group Novartis in a revamp of its research activities to be unveiled this week.
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BoE official warns against return to ‘light-touch’ regulation: The U.K.’s top banking supervisor has warned against rolling back reforms made in the wake of the financial crisis, arguing against any “retreat” to light-touch regulation after Brexit and the election of President Donald Trump.
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Investors pulled $5.2 billion from hedge funds in January: Investors pulled $5.2 billion from hedge funds in January and some said they would further reduce their allocation to the sector this year after being disappointed by performance.
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Deutsche Bank cuts bonus pool by ‘almost 80%’: Deutsche Bank has cut its 2016 bonus pool by “almost 80%”, one of its top managers has said, as Germany’s biggest bank battles to shore up its financial position in the wake of heavy fines.
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StanChart seeks Indonesian solution by end of next year: Standard Chartered Chief Executive Bill Winters has identified three options for resolving the U.K.-listed bank’s unsatisfactory position in Indonesia.
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Warren Buffett suggests shift from Berkshire’s long-term perspective: Berkshire Hathaway’s eye-catching recent bets on Apple and U.S. airline stocks are not likely to prove as enduring as the investments that it made on Coca-Cola or American Express more than two decades ago, according to readers of Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders.
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GSK ‘real world’ study offers new model for drug trials: GlaxoSmithKline has conducted the world’s first drug trial under “real world” conditions — closely watched by an industry under greater pressure than ever to prove the value of its medicines to cost-constrained health systems.
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Rare Chinese public boardroom battle breaks out at Yingde Gases: An independent shareholder in Yingde Gases is pushing for a board seat as the Chinese group becomes the subject of a rare public Asian boardroom battle — and one that could produce something almost equally unusual: inbound Chinese dealmaking.
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IMI on hunt for deals to bulk up its business: IMI is on the prowl for acquisitions, with Chief Executive Mark Selway saying the U.K.-listed valve manufacturer had “significant firepower” despite being hit by tough conditions in global energy markets.
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Italian Chief emerges from retirement to seal Linde mega deal: The stakes are high for Aldo Ernesto Belloni. Lured out of retirement in December to complete the mega deal between German chemical group Linde and Praxair of the U.S., the new Chief Executive of the Munich-based company may on occasions yearn for the quieter life of a pensioner.
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Dealmaker Michael Klein helped kill Kraft Heinz bid for Unilever: Warren Buffett was persuaded to drop Kraft Heinz’s $143 billion takeover approach for Unilever by the corporate financier Michael Klein, making the dealmaker the unlikely executioner of what would have been the second-largest merger in corporate history.
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Rise of premium beer in China boosts small brewers: Ignoring the cheap beer on tap in a dim and smoky Beijing bar, Cheer Qiu reaches into a fridge bursting with craft ales and pulls out a bottle of locally made Panda Brew, flavoured with honey.
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Telefónica makes push into artificial intelligence: Telefónica has launched an artificial intelligence layer to its network that will allow its customers to interact with the company via a digital assistant called Aura.
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Nokia brand goes back to basics with phone relaunch at MWC: The Nokia ringtone, a snippet of a Francisco Tárrega waltz, was once so ubiquitous that academics calculated it was heard almost 2 billion times a day around the world.
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Lex:
Tiffany & Co: silver fox: Tiffany fired its Chief Executive the day the ad aired. Activists have demanded three board seats. They will get them. Sales are slipping. The woe threatens to worsen as a result of tight security around the Trump Tower, which is near Tiffany’s famous New York store.
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The Daily Telegraph
U.K. rises to become third most important country for company growth prospects, PwC says: The U.K. has risen a place in investors’ eyes to equal Germany as the third most important country for company growth prospects in a sign that Brexit has not weighed on the country’s international business standing.
More technology visas granted after fears of worker shortage: The Government will grant more visas to technology workers in a major boost to the industry’s attempts to secure access to overseas talent after the Brexit vote.
Anglo American Boss: I’d rather take a pay cut and keep shareholders happy: Mark Cutifani, Boss of Anglo American, has said he is happy to take a pay cut as part of an overhaul to the mining group’s remuneration policy.
Lidl boost for U.K. produce in Europe: Discount supermarket Lidl might be known for bringing bargain bratwurst to the U.K., but the German chain is enjoying its own Brexit boost after exporting £300 million worth of British goods across Europe.
Tensions rising for Go-Ahead as unions set to discuss more Southern action: Tensions will be rising ahead of Go-Ahead’s interim results (February 28) as the RMT union, whose industrial action has blighted Southern rail services, meets on the same day to discuss the potential for further future action.
O2 lines up robots to handle customer enquiries: O2 is seeking to cut costs in its customer service operation by encouraging people to talk to a new artificially intelligent robot rather than contact its call centres.
The Guardian
U.K. workers’ wages fell 1% a year between 2008 and 2015, TUC says: Workers in the U.K. saw their wages fall by 1% a year in the period following the financial crisis, putting the country in 103rd place in a global ranking of pay growth compiled by the TUC.
Chris Grayling tells Japan: some of our trains are superior to yours: Transport secretary Chris Grayling is lobbying Japan, the country that pioneered modern high-speed trains, to buy rolling stock from Derby as part of the government’s post-Brexit trade push.
Warren Buffett, ‘Oracle of Omaha’, criticises Wall Street and praises immigrants: The billionaire Warren Buffett, whose stock picks have turned Berkshire Hathaway into one of the most successful conglomerates in the world, criticised Wall Street on Saturday, saying investors should “stick with low-cost index funds”.
Hi-tech financial firms flee U.K. amid doubts over Brexit: An exodus of “fintech” companies from Britain has begun, the Chief Executive of a leading firm has said, dashing the government’s hopes of building the U.K. into a world leader for the industry.
Daily Mail
Unilever launches £2.5 billion shake-up for top brands – and Bertolli and Flora could be culled: Consumer goods giant Unilever is on the brink of unveiling a cull of top products including Flora margarine and Bertolli spreads.
Whole Foods Market’s clampdown on U.K. store thefts help lift profits for the second year running: A clampdown on store thefts helped the British arm of Whole Foods Market make a profit for its second consecutive year.
Daily Express
Housing duo expected to positive annual figures despite Brexit blip: Britain’s property market will be in sharp focus this week as two of the biggest housebuilders post annual figures after a solid year for the sector, despite a Brexit vote blip.
Lloyds to focus on ‘bread and butter’ banking: Lloyds is an increasingly bread & butter bank – focused on high street, SMEs and consumer banking.
Raw deal for savers continues as low interest rates expected to last until 2019: Interest rates will stay at record lows for at least two more years, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders chairman Peter Hill.
The Scottish Herald
Monks chair is top supporter of trusts: Serial investment trust chairman James Ferguson is a far bigger supporter of the vehicles he represents than most of his counterparts in the Scottish investment trust sector, ploughing nearly £9 million of his own cash into four different portfolios.
Services sector prices to rise at fastest pace in around a decade: Rising costs are expected to fuel the fastest increase in prices charged by U.K. services firms for around a decade, writes Ian McConnell.
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.
North Pole vision brings out entrepreneur in gardener: As gardeners look forward to the approach of spring following Storm Doris we hear from a man who has grown a successful business from modest beginnings out of his love of plants and the great outdoors.
Edinburgh next as £5 million workspace opens doors: The Firm behind Glasgow’s latest flexible co-working space has revealed that up to £5 million was spent on the venture, with an Edinburgh facility also being planned.
Tech firm makes app to help with business resilience: Stirling technology firm Dogfi:sh Mobile has secured an investment from Barclays worth tens of thousands of pounds which it will use to develop a community-based app for businesses.
The Scotsman
Currie & Brown lands museum contract at Stirling Castle: The Glasgow office of a global asset management and construction consultant has been chosen to project manage a multimillion-pound redevelopment of a historic attraction in Stirling Castle.
Housebuilders bounce back as sales surge: Britain’s housebuilding sector will provide solid evidence this week that it has bounced back from the economic malaise that led to scores of construction firms going bust, despite the industry facing fresh headwinds.
Consumers switching of energy suppliers reaches six year high: Switching of energy suppliers has surged to a six-year high as householders increasingly shop around for better deals on gas and electricity.
New campaign to thwart Royal High School hotel bid: Leading heritage bodies are joining forces on a major new campaign against a plan to turn one of the Scottish most celebrated landmarks into a luxury hotel – warning it “threatens to ruin Edinburgh’s cityscape forever”.
City A.M.
Alarm bells sound for U.K. business as rising costs and inflation threaten to squeeze margins: Business groups have renewed calls for government to support companies in the upcoming Budget as firms face a toxic mix of rising inflation, spiralling operating costs and squeezed margins.
Interest rate rise could push 18,000 more into bankruptcy: A hike in interest rates will push thousands more Britons into bankruptcy, according to calculations from the government’s Insolvency Service.
Chancellor slams EU for tit-for-tat spat with U.S., over requirements for holding companies for non-EU banks: The Chancellor has revealed he is less than impressed with the European Commission for proposing a holding company rule for banks which could hurt non-EU lenders, as the EU retaliates against similar measures in the U.S.
Trump’s economic adviser targets tax reforms ahead of major speech: U.S. President Donald Trump’s first Budget will focus on tax reforms instead of cutting back popular entitlement programmes, according to his main economic adviser.
London Stock Exchange expects the EU to block its £21billion mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse: The London Stock Exchange’s controversial £21billion merger with Deutsche Boerse was thrown into chaos late on Sunday night, after it emerged that regulators in Brussels are likely to block the deal.
