The Times
Swiss diss Stock Exchange tie-up with Germans: The company behind the FTSE indices was again in focus after a Swiss broker put the chances of a planned $20 billion tie-up with a German rival completing at no better than 50/50.
Airbnb finds room for bike rides and Frisbees: Airbnb is “thinking beyond accommodation” as it considers expanding into other businesses. The accommodation-listing service is capitalising on the success of the sharing economy, which is also enjoyed by the likes of Uber, the ride-hailing group.
Shortfall in U.K. pension funds up for third month: Pension fund shortfalls at Britain’s biggest listed companies have worsened for the third month running, adding to the general anxiety triggered by the travails of Tata Steel and BHS.
America bans sale of e-cigarettes to the under-18s: Electronic cigarettes will be regulated the same way as tobacco in America under rules that place the first federal controls on an industry that has grown from nothing to $3 billion in a few years.
Thumbs up for patience at Alibaba: Alibaba has urged investors to have patience as it develops new ideas after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted lower profit growth than expected in its final quarter of the year.
New heavyweight in consumer’s corner as Lewis hands over: Martin Lewis is to give up his job as editor-in-Chief of MoneySavingExpert to concentrate on his role as Executive Chairman of the financial tips and advice website that he founded before selling to MoneySupermarket for £87 million.
Whyte & Mackay has £24 million dram of cheer: Whyte & Mackay has reported profits of £24.2 million in its first full year under the Ownership of Emperador Distillers.
News Corp posts $149 million loss after one-off legal settlement: Digital subscriptions and advertising accounted for more than half of revenue at News Corp’s news and business information service, Dow Jones, for the first time, as the company stepped up its investment in its online businesses.
The Independent
Morrisons reports second consecutive quarter of sales growth: Morrisons reported its second consecutive quarter of sales growth, signaling that changes made by Chief Executive Officer Dave Potts have stabilized the business after a four-year slump.
BT profit beats expectations after EE wireless acquisition: BT, the U.K.’s former telecommunications monopoly, reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, bolstered by the acquisition of mobile operator EE.
Sainsbury’s uses gas produced by its own food waste as energy to run stores: Sainsbury’s is now generating 10% of its energy consumption from leftover food waste.
KFC launches edible chicken-flavour nail polish: KFC is taking its “finger lickin’ good” slogan to new extremes by creating edible fingernail polish. The nail polish, sourced from “natural ingredients”, is being tested in two classic KFC flavours: hot and spicy and original.
Financial Times
Sir Philip Green calls on MP to resign from BHS inquiry: Sir Philip Green has reacted furiously to suggestions that his knighthood could be at risk over the BHS pension gap and has called for the resignation of the head of a Parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of the high street retailer.
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Japan’s prime Minister warns over Brexit threat to investment: Japanese investment into Britain could fall if the country leaves the EU and ceases to be “a gateway” to Europe, its prime Minister warned on Thursday.
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Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber seeks to revive $10 billion Barclays claim: Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, Britain’s 15th-richest person, has asked a New York appeals court to revive the $10 billion damages claim he brought against Barclays over the collapse of a Saudi-backed property deal in 2001.
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Hotel Chocolat float values group at £167 million: Hotel Chocolat has priced its listing on London’s junior market, valuing the upmarket chocolate retailer at £167 million.
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Sanofi threatens to go hostile in $9.3 billion pursuit of Medivation: Sanofi has threatened to oust the board of Medivation if the U.S. biotech company continues to resist its $9.3 billion takeover offer — but the French drugmaker held out the prospect of a higher bid if its target agreed to enter talks.
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Rolls-Royce reveals £1 billion cost-cuts ambition: Warren East, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce, on Thursday declared an ambition to cut £1 billion in costs and said profits would barely pass break-even in the first half of 2016.
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Amazon deal doubles size of air cargo fleet: Amazon has signed a new leasing deal for cargo jets, doubling the size of its fleet and underscoring its ambitions to grow its air transport network.
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Inmarsat runs into short-term headwinds: Shares in Inmarsat fell more than 7% after the British satellite company warned that sales would be lower than expected this year given short-term problems in a number of core markets.
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Lex:
Square: warm and fuzzy: Politicians are addicted to folksy anecdotes about real people. So is Square, the payments processor, whose featured customer during Thursday’s results was Jack’s Bar-B-Que — founded in 1976, the same year Square and Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey was born!
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Centrica: green party: Centrica, the U.K.-listed power and gas distributor, has woken up and smelled the carbon. Earlier this month it announced the purchase of Neas, a specialist trader of renewable energy based in Denmark, to complement its own trading business.
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Alibaba: toothless: The pronunciation could stay the same. But Alibaba is stuck outside the blue-chip new economy club that includes Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. This despite a business model (e-commerce intermediary) that would fit in with, but not reproduce, that of the other members.
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Lombard:
Bailey’s blurred role at Burberry makes his position precarious: Mr Bailey had planned to be a low-profile Boss when he succeeded Angela Ahrendts at the top of the fashion group in 2014. Some hope. Doubts about the appropriateness of his appointment multiplied as the shares fell 34% in a year.
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BT: Pass-agg Patterson: We may surmise Mr Patterson was indulging in passive-aggressive signalling of the kind common among fractious couples. He made the investment conditional on “regulatory support”.
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The Daily Telegraph
British shoppers boost RSA and Provident earnings: RSA and Provident Financial, two of the country’s biggest financial services firms, have given rosy forecasts for this year in spite of a rocky period for shoppers and stormy financial markets in recent months.
Pubs code delayed over ‘drafting errors’: A new code to regulate the pub industry has been delayed after the Government discovered a number of “technical drafting errors”.
Shawbrook Bank profits from consumer debt boom: Confident consumers ramped up borrowing from Shawbrook Bank in the first three months of 2016, helping drive the specialist lender’s profits up by 43% year on year.
Eurozone lowflation going nowhere, ECB admits: Eurozone inflation has failed to gain momentum, the European Central Bank has admitted, as its stimulus schemes have so far been unable to push price growth closer to target.
British Airways Boss hits back at claims that Brexit would raise air fares: The head of British Airways’ parent company has rejected suggestions that air fares will rise in Europe if Britain leaves the European Union.
Pension insurer taps Chinese investors in £250 million fundraising: Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has raised £250 million in a rights issue, which included bringing Chinese investors into the group.
Reckitt Benckiser Boss apologises for South Korean disinfectant deaths: Rakesh Kapoor, the Chief Executive of Reckitt Benckiser, issued a personal apology for 96 deaths in South Korea, one day after the region’s biggest retailer called for a boycott of the consumer goods giant.
The Questor Column:
Inmarsat sends a signal to investors to step back: It’s just a case of being in the right place at the wrong time, Inmarsat has assured its investors. Despite its best laid plans, the satellite and communications company admitted that its full- year revenue is expected to fall short of expectations after a hammering by twin downturns in both the energy and maritime markets. Inmarsat is the global leader in mobile satellite technology, and a must-have safety and distress signal provider for all large marine carriers operating in global trade. But the steady decline of the shipping and commodities sectors has weighed heavily on the group. The maritime downturn is a more difficult storm to weather. Since the 2008 economic meltdown, the glut of available cargo ships has crushed freight rates, forcing shipping companies under. More recently the slump in emerging Asian markets late last summer poured further pain into the maritime sector and a jittery macroeconomic picture seems likely to keep global markets on edge. So, too, was the delayed launch of its third new-generation satellite, the Global Express. The consequential 15-month delay to Inmarsat’s own launch means the company has the right technological offering but faces a different market from the one it might have approached last year. Beyond the thorny issue of the macro environment, the group has seen strong growth in the aviation sector which in the first quarter posted a 15% gain to $31.2 million (£22 million). Inmarsat may not be able to control global macroeconomics but the group has been diligently positioning itself as the backbone of industries’ digital data needs. In time, Inmarsat’s stock may be worth revisiting. But, with the global economy on shaky ground, that won’t be until there is some convincing evidence its challenges are firmly in hand. Sell. Inmarsat at 863p-67p. Questor says “Sell”.
Ophir Energy: Mid-cap oil explorer Ophir Energy is another stock that has taken a beating from the plummeting price of oil. And adding insult to injury last week, Ophir took another hit after its project partner backed out of a key offshore development project. If Ophir can snap up a new partner the stock should recover, particularly if oil prices continue to climb. But in a cash-strapped market this could prove easier said than done. The FTSE 250 explorer’s stock plunged 18% to 75p after its $300 million team-up with Schlumberger – the world’s largest oilfield services group – fell apart. The unlikely pair had planned to develop the Fortuna gas project off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, which was set to use floating gas liquefaction technology to compress the gas from nearby exploration fields to fill special tankers which transport the gas on the global market. Ophir was quick to say it is already lining up potential project partners and new financing plans and is confident that it will move ahead with a final investment decision on the project before the end of the year. Ophir will have its work cut out finding a new partner, so this is not a stock without considerable risk. But for now Questor is willing to wait and see. Hold. Ophir Energy at 65.2p-1.6p. Questor says “Hold”.
The Guardian
Panama Papers: U.S. launches crackdown on international tax evasion: Barack Obama is launching a crackdown on international tax evasion in response to recent disclosures in the Panama Papers revealing the scale of offshore financial activity.
Relief in sight for BHP as Brazilian judge agrees dam burst claim: A Brazilian judge has ratified the settlement BHP Billiton and Vale signed with the Brazilian government in March to cover damages for a deadly dam spill last year.
Services sector slump fans fears of U.K. economic slowdown: A sharp slowdown in Britain’s vast services sector, which covers everything from banking to hotels, has fanned fears that economic growth is stalling, hurt by a downturn in global trade and jitters ahead of June’s knife-edge EU referendum.
Oil firms have 10 years to change strategy or face ‘short, brutish end’: International oil companies such as Shell and BP must completely change their business model or face a “nasty, brutish and short” end within 10 years, one of Britain’s most influential energy experts has warned.
Oil giants should ditch high-cost projects, thinktank says: Shell, BP and five other top oil companies could raise their collective stock market value by up to $140 billion (£97 billion) if they set new strategies based on ensuring global warming is held to a 2C (4F) rise above pre-industrial levels, a new report claims on Thursday.
Centrica upsets investors with £700 million sale of new shares: Centrica has upset investors by issuing £700 million of new equity as it attempts to boost its financial position in the face of tumbling commodity prices and a loss of retail customers.
Daily Mail
Ladbrokes Bosses face pay revolt as backlash against fat cat pay intensifies: The backlash against fat cat pay intensified as investors opposed lavish awards in British boardrooms.
Cash-crisis care homes giant Four Seasons ‘is on the brink’ after posting a dismal set of results last week: Britain’s biggest care home group could run out of cash and collapse later this year, credit agency Moody’s has warned.
Founder of shamed credit card company CPP ousts new Chairman and CEO in bitter boardroom power struggle: The Founder of shamed credit card company CPP sensationally overthrew its new Bosses in the climax of a bitter boardroom power struggle.
Drivers with debts boost Provident Financial as demand for car finance surges: Provident Financial – the lender for borrowers with poor credit records – has been boosted by the booming car loan market despite a gradual decline in its traditional business.
Former banking Boss Stephen Hester bets £480k on RSA recovery: Former banking Boss Stephen Hester is betting on a turnaround at insurer RSA after it reported a solid start to the year.
Burberry set to hire senior Executive to help under-pressure Boss Christopher Bailey boost flagging sales: Burberry is understood to be considering hiring a senior Executive to work with under-pressure Boss Christopher Bailey to appease investor concern about the company’s flagging sales.
Moustachioed opera singing hero of the Gocompare.com adverts drives up sales at the price comparison website: A new advertising campaign drove up sales at price comparison site Gocompare.
Experts warn U.K. economy has ‘nearly stalled’ as key services sector slumps ahead of EU referendum: The U.K. economy has ‘near stalled’ in the second quarter as the key services sector suffered a sharp slowdown thanks to the nervousness of consumers and businesses ahead of the upcoming European Union referendum.
Daily Express
Eurozone in crisis: Greece set to default again and Italy panics over £270 billion of bad loans: Defiant Greece has again turned down creditor demands, taking the country a step closer to another default crisis and subsequently crashing out of the Eurozone.
BT to answer superfast call: BT will invest £6billion over the next three years to boost broadband and mobile services as it seeks to head off regulatory pressure for a forced separation of its Openreach network arm.
Anger as drivers hit by more petrol costs in latest prices hike: Drivers have suffered another month of rising petrol prices at the pump as retailers across the country hike costs.
The Scottish Herald
Skoogmusic launches accessible music device: Edinburgh company Skoogmusic has launched Skoog 2.0, an accessible technology device that allows users of all ages and abilities to make music has launched.
Rolls-Royce Boss insists turnaround remains on track: Rolls-Royce Boss Warren East revealed first half profits would only be near break-even in a “challenging year” for the group, but insisted its turnaround was on track.
SMEs plan for five-year growth: Small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland are planning to invest for future growth, according to research from specialist lender and savings bank Aldermore.
Edinburgh tech firm to lift off with new funding: An Edinburgh software firm that allows businesses to analyse environmental data from space has targeted growth in the U.K. and North America after becoming the first Scottish company to receive funding from Clydesdale Bank’s new Emerging Technology Unit.
The Scotsman
Goals set to name new Boss amid ‘negative’ sales: Five-a-side football pitch operator Goals Soccer Centres said its sales remained in negative territory as it prepares to unveil its new Chief Executive.
Irn-Bru wins legal battle over rival English firm’s Scots-Bru: Irn-Bru Bosses have won a legal battle with a firm who tried to launch a rival drink called Scots-Bru. AG Barr, the makers of Scotland’s other national drink, called in the lawyers after the cheeky bid by English company Sun Mark.
Clydesdale sets aside £450 million more for PPI costs: The Owner of Clydesdale Bank has revealed it has set aside a further £450 million to compensate customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).
Economy stutters as EU uncertainty hits service sector: Uncertainty in the run up to next month’s EU vote could see U.K. growth almost wiped out after figures showed the powerhouse services sector expanding at its weakest pace for more than three years.
Job satisfaction across U.K. drops to a two-year low: Job satisfaction in the U.K. has dropped to its lowest level in two years, a new poll has revealed.
City A.M.
Ryanair Boss Michael O’Leary urges Britain to vote Remain: Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has urged Britons to vote Remain in the upcoming EU referendum, telling voters they have been “sold a lie” about what will happen after the election.
Application fraud rates up by 20% as current accounts and credit cards get hit: Rates of financial application fraud have continued to climb in 2016, pushed on by credit card and current account scams.
British consumers rate origin of products at same level as price, research from Nielsen says: Six-in-ten British consumers cited a brand’s country of origin as one of the most important factors in making a purchase choice.
Canary Wharf Boss says London could be overtaken by EU cities within years if Brexit happens: Canary Wharf property Boss Sir George Iacobescu has said London would be overtaken by other key European cities within five years if Britain leaves the European Union.
Yelp share price surges on revenue of $158.6 million: Yelp’s share price jumped by 7.75% in after-hours trading after it announced revenue of $158.6 million (£109.5 million) for the first quarter of 2016 – beating analysts’ expectations of $155.6 million in sales.
Jack Dorsey’s Square posts $379 million revenue for first quarter as losses narrow: Payment processing firm Square, started by Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey, has reported revenue of $379 million (£262 million), a 51% increase year-on-year, beating analysts’ expectations.
SeaWorld shares sink as profit forecasts swim in much lower than expectations: Embattled SeaWorld forecast profit for the year that was below analysts’ estimates, sending shares towards the bottom of the ocean.
Apple and SAP join forces to create new apps for business and professionals: Tech giants Apple and SAP announced a tie-up that will see the companies create apps for business customers using iPhones and iPads.
Saudi Aramco raises oil prices into Asia in biggest hike for more than a year: Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company, is hiking oil prices into Asia in the biggest rise for over a year.
Portmeirion buys candle maker Wax Lyrical for £17.5 million: Portmeirion, the Owner of Spode and Royal Worcester has bought candles to go with its tableware after snapping up Wax Lyrical for £17.5 million.
