Today’s Newspapers: The Times, Independent, FT, Telegraph, Guardian, Mail, Express, Herald 290316

The Times

North Sea gas pipeline faces threat of closure: ConocoPhillips is drawing up plans to shut down one of the North Sea’s biggest gas pipeline systems in a move that threatens to knock out 10% of the U.K.’s gas capacity and a string of active fields.

German Sekt eyes €500 million takeover of top Spanish sparkler: Freixenet, one of the world leaders in cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, is facing a €500 million takeover bid from its German rivals Henkell & Co.

HMRC’s £6 million campaign used agency linked to tax haven: A multimillion-pound Revenue & Customs publicity campaign to stamp out tax evasion and avoidance used an advertising agency ultimately controlled in an offshore haven.

Rough seas endanger jobs in ageing gasfields: Industry is being forced to cut and cut again in face of a glut of cheap foreign supplies in the last of our series focusing on the North Sea

Frugal shoppers put brake on U.S. interest rates: Lower than expected spending by American consumers in February has dampened expectations of a swifter pace of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve.

Craft ale pioneer seeks to expand on ‘ballistic’ sales: The entrepreneur who pioneered the craft ale movement in the 1980s has launched a £1.5 million fundraising campaign to expand the West Berkshire Brewery with an eye on flotation.

Osborne dropped business rate tax relief in last-minute budget change: George Osborne pulled plans to give Britain’s struggling factories tax relief on business rates from the budget at the last minute as he aimed for a £10 billion surplus in the final year of parliament.

IPOs down on 2015 as Brexit fear takes hold: Big flotations in London are being put on hold because of fears over Brexit as City confidence falls at its fastest rate in five years.

Scots Skype rival trebles staff to take on the world: A small Scottish technology company intends to more than treble staff as it seeks to take on the likes of Skype and Cisco with its video conferencing software.

Accor checks itself into sharing economy: AccorHotels, one of the world’s largest hotel operators, has taken a 30% stake in Oasis Collection, an online platform for private rental accommodation, in the latest sign of interest from the traditional hospitality industry in the sharing economy.

Pension shortfalls double in ten years: Shortfalls in private sector defined benefit pension schemes have doubled since 2006, according to JLT Employee Benefits.

The Independent

U.K. employees work longer hours with no gain in productivity, study finds: U.K. employees are spending longer at work for little or no gain in productivity. That’s the findings of a study by U.K. think tank the Smith Institute, which found that two-thirds of employees say they are working longer than two years ago, but only 10% believe they are more productive.

Winchester tops list of 10 U.K. cities with the highest house price growth: Winchester has had the highest house price growth of any U.K. city in the last 10 years.

Chinese industry returns to profit as stimulus plan delivers: Industrial firms in the world’s second-largest economy returned to profit in the first two months of the year, lending some support to the idea that China’s stimulus measures are helping to stabilise its troubled manufacturing sector.

Financial Times

U.S. companies warn tax avoidance crackdown will hit earnings: A global crackdown on tax avoidance has forced a surge of warnings by multinational companies that higher payments are set to hit their earnings.

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Foreigners at the helm of one in five U.K. tech groups: The number of foreign entrepreneurs founding or leading technology businesses in the U.K. has reached its highest level since the start of the decade, highlighting how international talent is helping to develop the British tech sector.

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Abengoa restructuring plan receives boost from creditors: Abengoa has won approval from 75% of creditors it needs to push through a restructuring plan that it hopes will help it avoid the biggest corporate bankruptcy in Spanish history.

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Miners buy back own bonds to soothe debt fears: Global miners have bought back billions of dollars of their debt in a display of financial strength designed to address investor concerns over their leverage as they try to deal with the after-effects of the commodities slump.

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Daniel Loeb presses Japan’s Seven & i on succession plans: Daniel Loeb, the U.S. activist investor, has urged the board of Seven & i Holdings to select its new Chief Executive based on competency rather than nepotism, amid rumours that the incumbent is looking to name his son as eventual successor.

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U.S. drops Apple case after cracking iPhone: The FBI has abandoned its attempt to force Apple to help it break into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, after it found another way to access the device’s contents without the company’s help.

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Lex:

Dell/EMC: track changes: Owning a piece of paper tied to that battered equity which trades at a real, but unclear, discount. In October, technology heavyweight EMC Corp announced it was to be acquired by another titan, privately-held Dell, at an overall value of $67 billion. EMC’s crown jewel asset was thought to be its 81% stake in software high-flyer, VMware.

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Drug royalty deals: back to school: Earlier this month, the University of California at Los Angeles — represented by the frat boys of Goldman Sachs — announced it would sell its portion of the royalties from a cancer treatment, Xtandi, to the investment group Royalty Pharma, which paid $1.1 billion for the Xtandi royalties due to UCLA and researchers. For that, it gets a percentage of Xtandi’s sales until its patent expires in 2027.

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India telecoms: calling party: Billionaires throw good parties. In late December, India’s Mukesh Ambani held a particularly lavish affair to launch his mobile telecom network Reliance Jio. About time. With more than 75,000 base stations and (theoretically) enough radio spectrum to offer 4G coverage throughout India, Jio has for some time been all dressed up with nowhere to go.

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The Daily Telegraph

A ‘perfect storm’ is brewing over the most important part of the U.K. economy: A “perfect storm” of fears over the state of the world economy, Britain’s place in the EU, and market volatility is gathering over Britain’s dominant financial services sector, according to a new survey.

Barclays warns of a “rush for the exits” on commodities: Analysts at Barclays have warned of a “rush for the exits” as investors back away from commodities, resulting in price levels for oil and copper dropping as much as 25%.

Old Mutual Wealth ‘could be FTSE 100 firm’: Old Mutual Wealth could end up as a FTSE 100 company in its own right once it is carved out of Old Mutual, according to its Chief Executive.

Hedge fund giant’s winning bet against William Hill: It is not just the punters that flocked to the Cheltenham Festival that have profited at William Hill’s expense. One of the City’s biggest hedge funds is also in line for windfall thanks to the beleaguered bookmaker, after making a canny bet against the gambling company’s shares.

Tata jobs in Port Talbot on the brink as talks start: More than 9,000 jobs in Port Talbot hang in the balance as crunch talks begin at Tata Steel in India over the Welsh site’s future.

Testing underway for U.K. proton beam cancer treatment: Aim-listed Advanced Oncotherapy has begun testing its groundbreaking Light machine for the U.K.’s first proton beam therapy centre, in what is expected to be a cancer treatment milestone when it opens by the end of next year.

VC funding to digital marketplace companies to break $1 billion barrier: Venture capital funding to British start-ups that create online marketplaces by connecting buyers with a variety of third-party sellers is set to break through $1 billion (£706 million) for this first time this year as companies such as Deliveroo, Secret Escapes and Transferwise lap up investors’ attention.

The Guardian

Savers withdraw £6 billion from retirement funds after pension reforms: Savers have withdrawn almost £6 billion from their retirement funds after the introduction of pension reforms last year.

Financial sector confidence about U.K. economy drops sharply: Fears over the U.K.’s faltering economic outlook have been underlined by a survey showing a sharp drop in confidence among financial services firms, against the backdrop of the Chinese slowdown and the EU referendum.

Netflix’s breaking good: from DVD mail-order firm to U.K.’s top streaming service: Ten years ago, when Netflix was just a DVD mail-order business based in California, co-Founder Reed Hastings vowed to build the “leading company” in the then-emerging online consumer entertainment business.

Most U.K. manufacturers are struggling to recruit skilled workers – report: Britain’s manufacturers are struggling to recruit skilled workers and keep pace with global technology, according to an industry report that criticises the government for lack of support.

China sees industrial profits grow at start of 2016: China’s industrial profits returned to growth in the first two months of 2016, partly due to a recovery in the property market despite an otherwise struggling economy.

Royal Mail raises first class stamp price to 64p: The cost of a first class stamp will rise to 64p this week, taking the price increase to 100% over the past decade.

Weak U.S. consumer spending expected to delay interest rate rise: Fresh evidence of subdued consumer spending and soft inflation in the U.S. has bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold back from raising interest rates over the coming months.

Athens close to deal over lease of former international airport: Greece is aiming to conclude a deal to lease a prime seaside property at the site of the former Athens International airport, as the country pushes on with state sell-offs as part of its bailout programme.

Volkswagen recalls e-Golfs sold in U.S. since 2014: Volkswagen is recalling nearly 5,600 electric e-Golf cars in the United States to address a battery problem that can cause stalling.

Daily Mail

MoD awards Rolls-Royce, BAE and Babcock contracts worth £372 million to maintain Hawk training aircraft: Britain’s biggest engineering firms have been awarded contracts worth £372 million by the Ministry of Defence for maintaining its fleet of Hawk aircraft.

Founders of Fever-Tree Drinks cash in on company’s sparkling success by selling £17.7 million of shares: The two Founders of Fever-Tree Drinks have cashed in on the company’s success by selling millions of pounds worth of shares.

Chemicals giant Ineos heading home to U.K. in tax U-turn after falling out with Gordon Brown six years ago: Ineos is to move its international headquarters back to the U.K. six years after the chemicals giant fell out with the then prime Minister Gordon Brown and relocated to Switzerland.

Chinese increase offer to £10.5 billion as they battle with Marriott for Sheraton Hotels: The bidding war for the Owner of Sheraton and W Hotels intensified after the Chinese came back with a higher offer.

Irn-Bru and Tizer-maker AG Barr demands urgent meeting with the Treasury over sugar tax: The soft drinks group behind Irn-Bru and Tizer is seeking an urgent meeting with the Treasury in response to the surprise sugar tax unveiled in the Budget.

Three promises to get mobile coverage to rural areas with no reception if £10.5 billion O2 merger gets the go-ahead: Three has promised to get mobile coverage into rural areas with no reception and reach 99% of customers if its £10.5billion merger with O2 gets the thumbs-up.

Germans claim LSE ‘merger of equals’ is ‘lopsided’ and basing group in London would undermine Frankfurt: German politicians and businessmen are trying to wrestle more concessions from the ‘merger of equals’ between the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Borse.

Daily Express

Skilled workers shortage hampers manufacturing growth: Manufacturing firms struggling to recruit skilled workers are threatening to “derail” productivity gains, a new report has warned.

Pet insurers paid out £657 million in claims last year: Pet insurers paid out a record £657 million in claims in 2015 – or £1.8 million every day – according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The Scottish Herald

East Kilbride-based Burn Stewart pleased with pay back on investment in growing sales of Scotch: East Kilbride-based Burn Stewart Distillers has achieved better than expected profits as moves to take its whisky portfolio upmarket paid off.

Scottish law firm announces two mergers and increase in profits per equity partner: Anderson Strathern said it was on course to becoming one of Scotland’s top three law firms as it announced two acquisitions and an 8.2% increase in profit per partner to £174,000 for each of its 53 equity Owners.

Scottish investment writing firm expands into U.S.A: Copylab, the Scottish registered investment writing business, has established a U.S. operation in Boston as it looks to capitalise on opportunities to win more business from asset management firms around the world.

Scott-Moncrieff aims to continue expansion through merger with Edinburgh-based Ogilvie & Company: Chartered accountancy firms Scott-Moncrieff and Ogilvie & Company have announced plans to merge. Scott Moncrieff said the merger with its smaller rival will expand the firm’s tax advice and trust management operations.

New Isa threatens to pull rug from SME pensions: Pensions auto-enrolment is in danger of being undermined by the Chancellor’s latest upheaval to the savings landscape, some industry experts are warning.

The Scotsman

Pension crisis looming as U.K. firms face £800 billion black hole: Companies are facing an £800 billion pensions black hole which has almost doubled in size in the past decade, a report has warned.

Premier Foods pressed to open its books: Premier Foods will come under pressure this week from institutional shareholders to allow its U.S. suitor to do due diligence on its books to pave the way for a possible higher takeover offer proposal.

Scots trio MJ Boyd Consulting make it in New York: A boutique Manhattan-based financial compliance recruitment agency run by three Scottish expatriates has landed a coveted spot in the prestigious Inc.5000 list of America’s fastest-growing young companies.

Shell sounds out banks and buyers on North Sea assets: Oil giant Shell is paving the way for the sale of a slice of its North Sea business as part of the $30 billion (£21 billion) asset disposal programme it pledged after its recent £35 billion takeover of rival BG.

City A.M.

Financial services lead strong growth in professional sector pay: The average salary in the professional sector – which includes lawyers, doctors, accountants and generally any role requiring a degree – was 5.1% higher in February than the same month last year.

Head of Credit Suisse asset management Bob Jain to move to Millennium Management later this year: The global head of Credit Suisse Asset Management, will leave the Swiss bank to become co-Chief investment officer at Millennium Management.

Uber Boss Travis Kalanick says IPO is not on the near-term agenda: Uber’s Chief Executive Travis Kalanick has stated there are no plans to float the company on the stock market in the near future.

Premaitha Health’s IONA prenatal test offered at tenth laboratory: AIM-listed molecular diagnostics company Premaitha Health has announced its tenth laboratory customer signed up to offer its non-invasive prenatal IONA test.

General Motors given the go-ahead to acquire driverless car startup Cruise Automation: The Federal Trade Commission has green-lighted General Motors’ purchase of Cruise Automation, a Silicon Valley startup that makes the technology behind self-driving cars.

Revlon’s share price plunges as the make-up brand announces Colgate veteran as new Chief Executive: Beauty products group Revlon is getting a makeover after announcing it has hired former Colgate-Palmolive Executive Fabian T. Garcia as its new President and Chief Executive.

Storm Katie keeps shoppers away from U.K. high street as footfall drops over Easter bank holiday: Retail footfall across U.K. high streets, retail parks and shopping centres has dropped by as much as 10.5% as Storm Katie battered the U.K. and put people off venturing outside.

Cosmetics group Avon Products calls a truce with activist investor Barington Capital: Avon Products, the door-to-door cosmetics giant, said it has reached a peace deal with Barington Capital, allowing the activist shareholder to appoint an independent director to the board.

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