Today’s Newspapers: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 230316

The Times

Ashley ‘scores own goal’ as Sports Direct tumbles: Sports Direct shares fell by more than 10% after Mike Ashley admitted that the retailer was in trouble.

TVR on track for new base in Wales: The new £300 million Circuit of Wales racetrack and testing facility is to be the base for the resurrected British sports car maker TVR.

Nationwide and Santander fail to sign up to ‘women’s charter’: Santander and Nationwide are among the financial services companies that have not signed up to the government’s charter to get more women into senior roles.

Oil price hits Petrobras with $10 billion loss: Petrobras, the Brazilian state-run oil giant at the centre of the nation’s crippling corruption scandal, posted losses of more than $10 billion for the final quarter of last year, the worst result in the company’s history.

Prices soar amid buyers’ stampede: The housing market boom shows no signs of petering out, with a “stamp duty stampede” being blamed for rising prices in London, the southeast and the east of England.

Failures blow £3 million hole at National Grid: National Grid has been hit with a £3 million penalty by the energy watchdog after it missed targets for repairing gas leaks.

HCA given the all-clear over hospitals: London’s biggest Owner of private hospitals has been told that it will not have to sell some of its sites. The Competition and Markets Authority agreed that new entrants into the capital’s healthcare market would ensure that patients had a range of medical options.

The £6.6 million man: Rolet’s stock on the rise: Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange, received a pay rise last year, netting him £6.6 million in total.

The Independent

George Osborne could avoid welfare and disability cuts by aiming for a smaller Budget surplus, OBR says: George Osborne’s cuts to the welfare budget could be avoided if he would aim for a “slightly smaller surplus”, according to the official watchdog of the Budget.

Brussels attacks: Oil price falls after explosions see investors switch to ‘safe’ gold and bonds: The oil price has fallen since the attacks in Brussels on Tuesday morning as investors look to put their money into so-called safe-haven assets like gold and government bonds.

Financial Times

RBS needs to cut further to hit targets: Hundreds of job cuts, more branch closures and a move to offload millions of pounds of pension expenses to employees are among the latest attempts by Royal Bank of Scotland to slash costs.

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Bellway lifts dividend after profits jump 43%: The FTSE 250 housebuilder Bellway rode a wave of house price inflation to increase pretax profit 43% in the six months to the end of January, enabling it to lift its dividend.

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European travel groups hit by terrorism fears: Shares in European airlines and travel groups fell on Tuesday after explosions in Brussels raised fears about the threat of terrorism in Europe.

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Abengoa raises €137 million in emergency loans: Abengoa, the struggling Spanish renewable energy group, raised €137 million in emergency loans on Tuesday, days ahead of a court hearing that it hopes will give it more time to persuade investors to agree to restructuring proposals.

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Woodside shelves $40 billion Browse LNG project: Woodside Petroleum has shelved plans to develop the $40 billion Browse liquefied natural gas project, the latest big energy development to be put on ice as LNG prices tumble.

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Advent drops hurdle with $13 billion mega-fund: Advent International, the global private equity group, has taken the unusual step of raising its latest $13 billion buyout fund without offering minimum returns to backers.

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Lex:

U.S. banks: sibling rivalry: A year ago, an analyst prompted a brief furore when he called for JPMorgan to break up. Its Chief Executive Jamie Dimon responded with a Jovian assertion of the special power of huge, integrated banks. No shareholder revolt materialised.

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Tesco: little by little: Tesco is taking its own advertising to heart. Recent initiatives have helped steady the ship and put the share price back on an upward trajectory. However, it will be some time before they are reflected in wider margins, bigger profits and a return to dividends.

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Green Investment Bank: greener on the other side: Lovers of paradox will be drawn to the U.K.’s Green Investment Bank. It was created to finance green infrastructure because the private sector cares only for profit; yet it is meant to show how profitable green investing is.

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Lombard:

Choo on that: Rule One: never buy shoes you can’t run away from trouble in. Rule Two: never buy shares trading above their near-term average. Combined, those heuristic tips would require one to acquire shares in Jimmy Choo but pass up on £500 pumps.

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Radio interference: Shares in chip designer Imagination Technologies soared after a $600 million bid from Apple was mooted by the aptly-named Ars Technica blog. When someone poked Apple with a stick – the Takeover Panel, presumably – the tech giant ruled out a takeover and the stock tanked.

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The Daily Telegraph

Oil prices storm back to recover 50% in two months: Oil prices have recovered by 50% in two months, capping a storming reversal of fortunes and raising hopes the world’s worst price rout is finally over.

BAT Chief’s pay jumps by £1 million despite shareholder backlash: The Chief Executive of British American Tobacco saw his pay jump by almost £1 million last year, despite an investor revolt over the company’s remuneration plans.

Gunvor posts record profits as commodity trading soars: Gunvor reported record profits of $1.25 billion for 2015 as trading activity in its core markets climbed during the commodities price rout.

Vodafone U.K. consumer Boss exits as telecoms giant faces pressure on home turf: Vodafone’s consumer Director Cindy Rose has quit after less than three years at the company, despite having been hired partly to launch a pay-TV service that has yet to materialise.

Regulator orders BT to slash prices and speed up broadband installations: BT Openreach must slash the prices it charges rivals to use its broadband network and speed up installation and repair times, the telecoms regulator has said.

North Sea firms urged to create a ‘bad bank’ for aging oil rigs: The U.K.’s North Sea oil explorers should spin off older assets into separate companies to defuse the “decommissioning time bomb” that threatens to send costs spiralling by the end of the decade.

Private equity group Advent raises £9 billion warchest: Advent, one of the world’s oldest private equity houses, has amassed a £9 billion mega-fund in six months amid an intense period of capital-raising among buyout firms.

Another central bank has taken the plunge into negative rates: Hungary has become the latest European economy to slash its main interest rate into negative territory as it attempts to revive growth and stoke inflation.

Brexit could hit retailers and food suppliers, Moody’s warns: Retailers, restaurants, and food and drink companies would be the most at risk from Britain leaving the EU, credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned.

SVG Capital toasts sixth year of growth after weathering second investor rebellion: SVG Capital, the private equity investor known for backing Hugo Boss and Saga, has recorded its sixth consecutive year of growth despite suffering another shareholder rebellion and choppy markets.

The Guardian

Major U.K. banks sign charter pledging to tackle gender gap: Several major U.K. banks including HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group along with the Lloyd’s of London insurance market have signed up to a new voluntary charter aimed at getting more women into senior roles in the finance industry.

Fifth of women harassed at work over pregnancy or flexible hours, report finds: Three-quarters of pregnant women and new mothers experience discrimination at work and one in nine lose their job as a result, government-commissioned research has found.

Liberty House tycoon vows to revive British steel industry: The metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has vowed to take on the “herculean task” of reviving British steel, as his Liberty House firm closes in on a deal to save two Scottish steel mills.

Talks to save Scottish steel mills happening at ‘breakneck speed’: Steelmakers and the Scottish government are rushing to strike a deal to save two Lanarkshire steel mills, amid last-minute negotiations on environmental costs and European Union rules on state aid.

Daily Mail

Day of destiny for BHS: Landlords for struggling retailers stores set to give in to rent plan: The fate of BHS will be decided as landlords for its stores are set to give in to a restructuring plan which will see its rental bill dramatically reduced.

Staff morale sinks at the Financial Conduct Authority after failed probe into banking culture and sacking of CEO Martin Wheatley: Staff morale at the City watchdog has slumped after it was criticised for rolling over in the face of opposition from major banks.

Fears U.K. economy is stumbling along the bottom as inflation remains at 0.3%: The rate of inflation in the U.K. remained at the low level of 0.3% in February, official figures showed.

Daily Express

BT hits back in fibre optic row: BT has accused regulators of presiding over a “cherry pickers’ charter” after being ordered to give rivals access to its optical fibre network.

EU in financial chaos: European markets plunge amid Belgian terror attacks: Stock markets across the globe fell after the terror attacks on Brussels which killed at least 32 people.

The Scottish Herald

International activity leads oil and gas supply chain to record sales despite price collapse: The oil and gas supply chain sector reached record sales of £22.9 billion during 2014. This comes despite the severe impact of the Q4 collapse in the price of oil.

Sir Tom Hunter sitting on £75 million commercial property gain: SIR Tom Hunter is sitting on a £75 million gain on his investment in a commercial property venture after selling a raft of shares.

Wolseley warns on jobs: Plumb Center firm Wolseley warned over more job cuts despite posting a substantial rise in half-year profits – at £367 million in the six months to 31 January, up from £103 million a year earlier.

Taqa U.K. signs up Asset Guardian Solutions: A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has awarded a contract to Livingston-based Asset Guardian Solutions (AGSL).

Heineken employees to engage with community projects: Beer firm Heineken has joined forces with community project platform Neighbourly.com to gives its employees the chance to engage with community projects close to its headquarters, in Edinburgh and Livingston.

Investor confidence plunges to record low: Investor confidence in the prospects for markets has plunged to a record low amid a prolonged period of volatility, research has found.

Thomas Cook says bookings lower on uncertain environment: Terror threats in destinations like Turkey have contributed to slower summer bookings for holiday group Thomas Group, while demand has grown for Spain and long-haul destinations like Cuba.

Scotland rules hydro sector: The U.K.’s hydro industry is now 100% Scottish, with new research showing all projects with planning permission are north of the border.

The Scotsman

Church launches ethical finance joint venture: The Church of Scotland and Islamic Finance Council U.K. (IFC) have joined forces to develop ethical financial services in a partnership aiming to tackle inequality and poverty.

Johnston Press hails ‘exciting’ i deal as profits jump: Media group Johnston Press said its £24 million purchase of the i newspaper had been approved by investors as it posted a rise in annual profits.

Rural payments IT firm seeks to start ‘new era’: A company involved in the controversial £178 million IT system at the centre of a storm over delayed payments to farmers has set out plans to create more than 300 jobs in Scotland.

Bid to boost Scotland’s aerospace and defence sectors: Industry leaders across Scotland’s aerospace, defence, marine and security (ADMS) sectors are to work together in an effort to grow sales by £500 million a year.

City A.M.

Strength of Premier League brand drives shirt sponsorship revenue across Europe: The value of Premier League clubs’ shirt sponsorships has risen by nearly £70 million this season, more than any other league in Europe.

Royal Bank of Scotland pays dividend access scheme fee to the government, clearing the way for payments to ordinary shareholders: Royal Bank of Scotland has paid £1.2 billion to the government, clearing the way for dividend payments to ordinary shareholders and abolishing its so-called dividend access share arrangement.

EasyJet Owner Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannu threatens Fastjet with legal action over licence breaches: Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannu, Owner of the Easy group of brands – which includes Easyjet, has contacted the board of African budget airline Fastjet over a number of licence breaches. EasyGroup is the brand Owner and licensor of Fastjet.

Citigroup in lengthy legal dispute with German tax authorities on allegations linked to dividend stripping: Banking giant Citigroup has confirmed that it is tied up in a lengthy legal dispute with the German tax authorities regarding accusations linked with dividend stripping.

Young’s share price jumps as Chief Executive Stephen Goodyear announces he will step down after 13 years: Stephen Goodyear, the Chief Executive of U.K. brewer and pubs company Young’s, will step down after 13 years this summer, the company announced.

Shore Capital share price rises despite scrapping its dividend as Chief Executive warns the outlook for markets may not improve: Shore Capital’s share price has risen in trading, despite the company axing its dividend and warning challenging markets could continue.

Law firm Ashurst launches Ashurst Advance to boost its research and development and innovation: Law firm Ashurst has launched Ashurst Advance, a new team which will be focused on developing legal services innovations for clients.

888 Holdings’ 2015 operational profits halve due to levies but operational successes boost share price: The share price of online betting and gaming provider 888 Holdings rose as its announced its full-year financial results for 2015, emphasising operational successes despite a halving of its operational profit.

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