The Times
Oil town’s despair deepens as house prices go south: Once it was a boom town, but fortunes have turned in Aberdeen since the slump in oil prices and house prices have been dragged down with it.
U.S. investors sue BHP over mine safety: A group of investors in the United States has taken legal action against BHP Billiton, accusing it of lying about its commitment to safety at its mining projects before a dam collapse in rural Brazil that killed 19 people.
Halliburton cuts as oil slump continues: Falling crude prices hit the oil industry again as one of the world’s biggest oil services companies announced 5,000 jobs cuts.
Upmarket chickens more likely to have dangerous bacteria: Discount supermarket chains are less likely to sell contaminated chicken than some of their more upmarket rivals, according to a Food Standards Agency survey.
Derwent takes fresh, trendy look at Paddington: Move over, Shoreditch — Paddington could soon become the trendy new place in London, as one of the most successful property companies in Europe set its sights on the mostly forgotten west London borough.
Astra has high hopes for ‘orphan’: AstraZeneca claimed that its $4 billion acquisition of Acerta was vindicated by a key medicine winning the coveted “orphan” status that allows it greater freedom from competitors.
Consumers keep U.K.’s fragile recovery in play: Britain fell back on its well-worn economic crutch of strong household spending and robust services activity to keep the recovery going in the final three months of last year as manufacturing, exports and business investment all struggled.
The Independent
BT hangs on to Openreach but Ofcom says it must be opened up: BT won a decisive victory over those calling for its wholesale Openreach business to be spun off, as the industry regulator Ofcom said the telecoms giant could keep it in return for making it more accessible to rivals.
EU referendum: Philip Hammond warns of ‘chilling effect’ on economy if U.K. votes to leave: A yes vote in the EU referendum would lead to “very significant uncertainty” for years for U.K. businesses that could have a “chilling effect” on the economy, according to Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary.
Apple breaking into terrorist’s iPhone would mean creating ‘the software equivalent of cancer’, Tim Cook says: Tim Cook has said that the U.S. government is asking Apple to create “the software equivalent of cancer”.
Ofcom: U.K. can raise its game on mobile signals: Mobile phone coverage must improve and new obligations to provide better signals to rural areas could be included in future spectrum sales, according to the industry regulator.
Financial Times
Diageo pays $75 million to Vijay Mallya to step down from United Spirits: Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company, has agreed to pay $75 million to Vijay Mallya to step down as Chairman of United Spirits, the Indian drinks business he sold to Diageo in 2012.
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Merlin to be prosecuted over Alton Towers rollercoaster crash: Merlin Entertainments, the Owner of Alton Towers theme park, is to be prosecuted over a rollercoaster crash last summer that left five people seriously injured.
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U.K.-based insurer RSA raises targets as profits jump: Shares in U.K.-based insurer RSA jumped on Thursday as Chief Executive Stephen Hester pushed up his targets and highlighted the company’s progress on costs, disposals and the pension deficit.
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Playtech in ‘active discussions’ over further deals: Gambling software group Playtech said it was in “active discussions” over a number of possible acquisitions as it reported a 38% jump in annual revenue.
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High-tech electronic tagging plan for offenders collapses: Plans to replace G4S as the provider of new high-tech electronic tags for offenders have collapsed after the Ministry of Justice terminated a contract with the British company Steatite.
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Japan Post Bank faces negative rates hit: Japan Post Bank, the former state-owned financial group that collects the deposits of more than 100 million account holders, will be hit significantly harder than the rest of the banking sector by the country’s negative interest rate policy, say people familiar with the matter.
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Hugo Boss Chief resigns after second forecast cut: Hugo Boss Chief Executive Claus-Dietrich Lahrs resigned on Thursday after the company warned that falling Chinese spending would hit profits, in a sign of the difficulties facing high-end brands in one of their most lucrative markets.
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RELX move into risk helps deliver record revenues: RELX, the Anglo-Dutch group formerly known as Reed Elsevier, reported record revenues on Thursday thanks largely to strong demand for its tools that detect risks such as financial fraud.
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Mikhail Fridman pulls out of Brazil phone merger: Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has withdrawn his offer to help finance a merger between Brazilian telecoms companies Oi and Tim, throwing the industry’s long-awaited consolidation into doubt.
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Deutsche Telekom lifts dividend on back of U.S. growth: Deutsche Telekom raised its dividend by 10% as it announced adjusted earnings that were ahead of its original guidance for 2015, amid strong growth in customer numbers in the U.S.
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Lex:
Lloyds Bank: the drugs don’t work: The soft drug of choice for Lloyds — and other winners such as HSBC and Societe Generale — is higher dividends. If intended to induce euphoria among yield-starved shareholders, it has worked: Lloyds investors were so stoked by a threefold boost to the regular dividend, to £1.6 billion, that, on Thursday they sent the bank’s market value up almost £6 billion, or 13%, at one point.
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IBM: recutting the pie: There are just growing businesses trapped inside shrinking ones. In 2015, IBM’s sales fell 1%, sustaining a limp pattern of some years’ standing. But sales from “strategic imperative” units grew 26%, to a third of the total.
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Serco: escaping the past: If you want a business that does just one thing well, be wary of U.K. outsourcer Serco. Its purview covers train carriages and tugboats, prisoners and driving instructors. All these have in common is managing people (120,000 worldwide) and keeping the government happy. Serco has struggled at both.
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Lombard:
Floreat Stephanus: A green shoot has appeared on the withered shrub that is RSA Insurance. Financial frosts could yet nip it off. But Chief Executive and amateur botanist Stephen Hester has reason to feel pleased with his husbandry. Operating profits rose 43% to £523 million in 2015, despite higher flood claims.
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Not all doomed: GSK announced promising trial results for HIV drug cabotegravir this week. But its diversified strategy, which encompasses pharmaceuticals, vaccines and healthcare, is out of fashion. Some investors have been agitating for Sir Andrew to move on.
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The Daily Telegraph
Energy price war spreads to gas as U.S. shale storms global market, stalks Russia: The U.S. has exported its first shipment of natural gas in a historic move that shifts the balance of power in the global energy market and kicks off a struggle with Russia for market share.
Lending down as Yorkshire Building Society feels the heat from banks: Mortgage lending slowed at Britain’s second largest mutual last year as the Yorkshire Building Society faced much stiffer competition from U.K. banks, which are finally pulling themselves together after the financial crisis.
Merlin eyes Big Bus Tours takeover following £24.6 million stake deal: Theme parks giant Merlin Entertainments is eyeing a potential takeover of Big Bus Tours after buying a 15% stake in the hop-on, hop-off sightseeing business for £24.6 million.
Business Owners warn of ‘information deficit’ ahead of EU referendum: More than half of small business Owners feel they have not been given enough guidance about the implications of leaving or staying in the EU, according to a survey of 4,000 company Directors.
Shares in Capita plunge to two-year low as pipeline value falls: Shares in outsourcing company Capita fell to a two-year low after the company announced a drop in its pipeline of work.
Countrywide estate agents suffering from lack of home sales: Countrywide, Britain’s largest estate agency, has been slammed by a huge slump in the number of people buying and selling houses as well as increasing competition from online agents, resulting in profits falling 40% last year.
Banks ordered to sell payments firm VocaLink: Britain’s biggest banks have been ordered to sell VocaLink, the company they own jointly and which runs much of the country’s payments infrastructure, in deal which could be worth £400 million.
The Guardian
Britain heading for power cuts next winter, say 60 local authorities: A group representing 60 local authorities has warned that recent closures of large power stations have left Britain heading for power cuts next winter, despite assurances to the contrary from the government.
Bank of England Chief accuses G20 of failing to reform to boost growth: Bank of England Boss Mark Carney has accused the G20 of failing to adopt measures to boost global growth as he defended central banks and their power to play a role in stimulating economic growth following attacks from critics who say they have run out of ammunition.
David Cameron warns Brexit could cost jobs and force up prices: David Cameron has led a concerted government effort to ramp up warnings about the cost of leaving the EU, telling workers their jobs could be at risk and the prices of holidays and basic goods could rise.
Brexit vote would affect U.K.’s top credit score, says Standard & Poor’s: The U.K. would lose its top credit score if the public voted to leave the EU in the 23 June referendum, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said in a fresh warning on Thursday.
EU referendum jitters could hinder U.K. housing market, says Hometrack: Uncertainty over the outcome of the EU referendum is likely to slow Britain’s housing market in the coming months, according to property firm Hometrack.
Canadian consortium buys London City airport for £2 billion: London City Airport has been sold to a Canadian consortium for around £2 billion.
Volkswagen pressed to fix dirty diesel cars in emissions cheat scandal: A federal judge on Thursday pressed Volkswagen to find a way to fix its dirty diesel cars that are still on the roadways.
Cash-strapped hospitals ask for £1.5 billion tax rebate: Cash-strapped hospitals are trying to avoid paying taxes and win a £1.5 billion rebate in a move that could have a major impact on the finances of local authorities.
Daily Mail
Zoopla sets new record with 58 million homebuyers visiting the online estate agent last month: Online estate agent Zoopla attracted a record 58 million visits by homebuyers to its website last month.
Shamed Serco shares soar but Bosses ask for more time to recover following prisoner tagging scandal: Serco’s shares soared 15% after it reined in its losses following the prisoner tagging scandal where it overcharged taxpayers.
National Express profits surge as transport firm successfully makes inroads into Germany and Bahrain: National Express has posted a surge in profits and outperformed its rivals after the transport firm successfully managed to drum up new business in the Middle East and Europe.
Wealth Manager St James’s Place woos 54,000 new customers after pulling in nearly £6billion of savers’ money last year: Wealth Manager St James’s Place has rewarded shareholders with a 20% hike in its dividend after pulling in nearly £6billion of savers’ money last year.
Daily Express
Lloyds’ shares soar as investors handed £2 billion payout: Shares in Lloyds Banking Group soared by 13% as a “robust” financial performance enabled it to hand investors a £2billion payout despite a rising bill for payment protection insurance claims.
Interest-only ‘prisoners’ growing as borrowers refused new mortgages: The interest-only mortgage time bomb is ticking more urgently, as growing numbers of borrowers are being refused new home loans as a result of tougher lending rules, according to experts.
Growing danger of worldwide recession, says top bank as IMF also sounds alarm: The world is looking more likely to fall into a recession said a top investment bank, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned more needs to be done to prevent another global financial crisis.
The Scottish Herald
Premier Oil writes $1 billion off U.K. assets amid problems off Shetland: Premier Oil has written another $1billion (£715 million) off the value of its North Sea assets as problems with a giant field off Shetland compound the challenges posed by the tumbling oil price.
Central Belt deal activity ‘buoyant’ says dealmaker: Johnston Carmichael has said the mergers and acquisitions market remains buoyant in Scotland in spite of the oil price plunge and the sluggish pace of the economic recovery, with activity focused on the Central Belt.
Record half year profits for Morrison Construction’s parent group: Scottish construction business Morrison Construction said it had signed another £130 million worth of contracts in the education sector as its parent company Galliford Try announced record half-year profits of £52.9 million, up 24% on 2015.
Two Scottish Government wins for law firm Anderson Strathearn: Scottish law firm Anderson Strathern has announced two public sector client wins in a Scottish Government competitive tender for legal services.
Thistle invests £250,000 in pub disability upgrades: Seven pubs across Scotland are to benefit from £250,000 of accessibility improvements for disabled people.
CBI Boss welcomes fiscal framework deal between Scottish and U.K. governments: The new Director General of the Confederation of British Industry has said she hopes the funding deal agreed by the U.K. and Scottish governments settles the constitutional question in Scotland leaving Ministers free to concentrate on boosting growth.
Pillow pioneers aim for the stars: The Glasgow company behind the Trtl Pillow has forecast that sales will increase fivefold this year.
The Scotsman
Dundee to gain first brewery in 50 years: The craft beer bandwagon is rolling into Dundee after the go-ahead was given for the city’s first brewery in nearly 50 years.
Internet retailers help drive Macfarlane profits higher: Packaging group Macfarlane has delivered a 21% surge in annual profits, helped by strong demand from customers in the online retail sector.
RSA hit with £76 million bill from winter storms damage: More Than Owner RSA Insurance said the damage caused by a series of storms that raged across the U.K. in December has cost it £76 million.
City A.M.
Dozens of U.K. KPMG partners face the chop in overhaul led by Chairman Simon Collins: A top level restructure at one of the Big Four accountancy firms will see close to 50 partners shown the door.
Gap’s share price falls after reporting downbeat full-year earnings outlook: After announcing a fairly downbeat full-year earnings outlook, retailer Gap’s share price slid over four% in after-hours trading.
So-called Chinese Google Baidu sees share price rocket as profit jumps 663% and revenue climbs in fourth quarter: Shares in Chinese internet giant Baidu have rocketed by 13.13% in after-hours trading, after the company reported 663% growth in profit in the final quarter of 2015, up to 24.7 billion yuan (£2.7 billion) from 3.2 billion yuan in the same period of 2014.
String of suitors eye up Baltic Exchange including the Singapore Exchange, CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Platts: The Baltic Exchange, a financial maritime hub located in the heart of the City of London, could be sold to one of a string of foreign buyers.
Oprah Winfrey partnership could be an expensive choice for Weight Watchers as shares plunge on massive loss and missed earnings forecasts: Weight Watchers stock has plummeted by over 27% in after-hours trading after the worldwide dieting organisation reported a loss of $11.3 million (£8.1 million) for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with profit of $4.4 million in the same period in 2014 – a 359% drop in income.
Kraft Heinz’s share price rises after it reports net sales of $7.12 billion in fourth quarter results as it says integration is on track: Kraft Heinz reported fourth quarter net sales having increased due to the merger of Kraft and Heinz, pushing its share price up more than three% in after-hours trading.
Domino’s Pizza’s share price jumps after tasty fourth quarter results: Domino’s Pizza’s share price surged after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results, including double-digit same-store sales growth.
Eurozone money supply and lending pick up in January: Lending and money supply growth in the Eurozone picked up in January, according to figures published by the European Central Bank.
