The Times
Fears over return to doorstep energy sales: Doorstep energy salesmen are approaching thousands of households every day as the industry revives the controversial practice that led to a mis-selling scandal seven years ago.
Briefing raises fresh questions over Hogg defence: Charlotte Hogg, the Bank of England Director forced to resign over a conduct breach last week, received briefings on confidential regulatory issues, calling into question her claim that having a brother at Barclays posed no conflict of interest.
Military train their sights on the City: Bankers will soon be able to switch their trading desks for military exercises without leaving London’s main financial district as the British Army sets up training units for reservists in Canary Wharf.
G20 set to review post-crisis regulation: Ministers from the world’s leading economies have agreed to review banking regulations in a move that could start to unpick reforms made since the financial crisis.
Miner attracted by growth in market for electric cars: Two British companies are expected to announce a project to research and develop components for electric cars to be made in the U.K. using neodymium, a rare earth.
Housing shortage continues to drive boom: Asking prices for homes in the East Midlands have topped £200,000 for the first time as Britain’s booming housing market showed no signs of slowing this month.
Sports channel ups sticks over prices: Marc Watson, now Executive Chairman of Eleven Sports, said that the cost of rights in the U.K. prevented new entrants. Since BT went into the market five years ago, the annual cost of live Premier League rights has gone up from £591 million to £1.71 billion.
Agent offers free bridging loan and it’s not pulling your chain: With Land Registry data showing housing transactions in London down by 38% annually, Nested says it hopes to bring an element of certainty back into buying and selling homes. It promises vendors it will sell their house within 90 days or provide them with an interest-free loan to buy their next property.
Factories see order books grow on the back of weak pound: The resilience of British industry after the Brexit vote has been underlined by a study revealing that the majority of small manufacturers grew orders over the final six months of last year.
Bovis urged to reconsider Redrow merger: One of Bovis Homes’ largest shareholders has urged the housebuilder to reopen merger talks with its rival Redrow.
The Independent
U.K. economy set for strong 2017 despite Brexit, top finance Chiefs say: The U.K. economy is set for a strong 2017 and could outperform other developed nations, despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit, according to Bosses at some of the world’s biggest finance firms.
Northern Ireland could see tax on tourism and flights slashed after Brexit: Tax on tourism and flights in Northern Ireland could be slashed once the U.K. leaves the EU, an influential committee of MPs said.
Banks join queue of advertisers ditching Google over extremist YouTube videos: Google is scrambling to respond to criticism after three of the U.K.’s biggest banks pulled their adverts from its platform after their campaigns appeared alongside extremist YouTube videos.
Financial Times
Rivals circle Wood and Amec assets: Rival oilfield service companies are circling Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler with the aim of picking up assets and contracts likely to be shed by the U.K. pair as a result of their £2.2 billion merger.
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Credit Suisse shuffles Asian markets management: Credit Suisse has shuffled the leadership of its Asian markets business amid concerns that the division is struggling with weak trading.
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Sovereign wealth funds move beyond trophy assets: Sovereign wealth funds are shifting away from luxury businesses, buying more hotels and increasing their allocations to private deals as they look to offset falling state revenue from lower oil prices, a report on their investment strategies has revealed.
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Auditors’ watchdog forced to investigate itself: The U.K. watchdog for auditors has been forced to launch a rare internal investigation after one of its members leaked a confidential judgment against PwC to the press, promoting it as “good copy”.
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Athene on the hunt for deals among hard-pressed European insurers: Athene is on the hunt for deals in Europe as the recently floated U.S. pensions provider looks to take advantage of the pressure on life insurance companies caused by ultra-low interest rates.
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Concern rises over StanLife-Aberdeen co-CEO structure: Standard Life’s move this month to acquire Scottish rival Aberdeen Asset Management raised eyebrows among shareholders, analysts and competitors.
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AstraZeneca diabetes drug cuts death rates in real world trial: AstraZeneca’s Farxiga diabetes drug sharply reduced the chance of both hospitalisation and death for sufferers from the type 2 variety of the disease in the world’s first global “real world” trial of this kind of medication.
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TCI steps up campaign to block Zodiac takeover: One of Europe’s largest activist hedge funds has stepped up its campaign to block French engine maker Safran’s €8.5 billion takeover bid for rival Zodiac Aerospace, threatening to sue every Safran board member personally if shareholders’ interests are damaged.
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Alessandro Profumo replaces Mauro Moretti at Leonardo: Veteran banker Alessandro Profumo is set to become the next Chief Executive of state-controlled Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo in a “spoils system” shake-up of the top jobs at some of Italy’s largest companies.
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Call to tackle China’s soaring aluminium output: An international coalition of aluminium trade associations has called for a global forum to be created ahead of the G20 meeting in Hamburg this summer to tackle China’s soaring output.
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LafargeHolcim’s reputation at risk over alleged links with Isis: Business partner of Isis and financier of terrorism. It is not an accusation a leading European industrial group would welcome. But it is one that has been used to describe LafargeHolcim, the Swiss-listed cement company as it faces allegations of associating with terrorist groups in war-torn Syria.
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Vivendi Chief says Mediaset misled over deal: The Chief Executive of Vivendi has accused Italian group Mediaset of providing “misleading” information during negotiations over a tie-up last year, upping the stakes in the acrimonious stand-off between former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and French billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
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Lex:
Samsonite: travelling well: Samsonite suitcases are loved by business travellers. Owners of luggage made by the century-old company know well the trouble of distinguishing between identical cases wending their way around the carousel. A more justifiable appeal lies in the free repairs granted under warranty. An expensive habit for the company — wheels, handles and zips all break — but one that must be maintained if the brand is to keep its appeal.
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The Daily Telegraph
OPEC and Russia risk a lost decade as shale revolution spreads: The U.S. shale industry has become a hydra-headed monster. Before OPEC and Russia have contained one threat, fresh dangers keeps popping up in new and expanding zones.
Revolt brews over Bosses’ bonuses at housebuilder: The housebuilder Crest Nicholson is facing an embarrassing investor backlash over generous share awards for its top Executives as the Government weighs radical reforms to rein in excessive pay.
Water utilities poised for contract awards totalling billions: Billions of pounds’ worth of water contracts will be awarded to utilities in the coming weeks ahead of the opening of the business supply market.
CMA launches crackdown on cartels as illegal activity rises: A major crackdown on cartels in being launched by competition authorities after a rise in illegal business practices such as price fixing.
British biotech Pulmocide raises £24 million in bid to find treatment for deadly lung diseases: A small British biotech run by a group of former GlaxoSmithKline scientists has raised $30 million (£24.2 million) to continue developing two treatments for deadly viral and fungal lung infections.
Largest ever Travelodge site forms part of next wave of expansion: Travelodge’s largest ever hotel will form part of its next wave of expansion in yet another sign the low-cost player is putting its high-profile restructuring behind it.
Stock market boom helps keep economy growing: Surging share prices are making households wealthier, boosting confidence and offsetting some of the squeeze from rising inflation and sluggish wage growth.
The Guardian
Google braces for questions as more big-name firms pull adverts: Google Executives are bracing for a two-pronged inquisition from the advertising industry and the government over the company’s plans to stop ads being placed next to extremist material.
British firms warned over new wave of pay revolts at AGMs: Britain’s biggest companies have been warned they face a wave of revolts in the forthcoming annual meeting season and risk a government clampdown on excessive remuneration unless they show restraint over Executive pay.
U.K. Mail driver who was unable to work after car accident charged £800: Delivery company U.K. Mail has been accused of “ripping off” workers and using “inhuman” practices after it charged a courier nearly £800 when he was unable to work as a result of a car accident while on duty.
Unilever bids to heal shareholder rift amid ‘garage sale’ warnings: Unilever is drawing up plans to heal a rift among shareholders triggered by its rejection of a $143 billion (£115 billion) bid from Kraft Heinz, amid a warning that Britain could become home to “a garage sale” unless there is protection for domestic companies from foreign takeovers.
Daily Mail
Clothing giant Next poised to report fall in full-year profits for first time since 2009: Next is poised to report a fall in full-year profits for the first time since 2009. It is expected to post a 4% slump in profit on Thursday to £792 million in the year to January 31, down from £821.3 million last year.
Embattled Barclays Executives facing criminal charges over fundraising deal make last-ditch plea for leniency: Embattled Barclays Executives facing criminal charges over a fundraising deal have made a last-ditch plea for leniency.
Unilever drawing up plans to offload Flora and Stork spreads business to fend off another takeover approach: Unilever is drawing up plans to offload its Flora and Stork spreads business to fend off another takeover approach. It is understood the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant behind brands such as Marmite, Dove and Colman’s mustard, is considering a £6 billion sale of the underperforming division.
Sports Direct increases stake in Debenhams for second time in a week, taking it to 13%: Sports Direct has upped its stake in Debenhams for the second time in a week, taking it to 13.
Daily Express
Property prices in the U.K. on track to hit all-time high: The price of property coming to market is close to hitting a new all-time high, a website has reported.
Big Six energy companies face price caps after free market fails Brits: Britain’s Big Six energy companies face the prospect of price caps being imposed on them and it is fair to say that this is a situation that they have brought on themselves.
Youngsters put off jobs: Youngsters are being put off applying for jobs because of impenetrable business jargon such as “fulfilment service” and “SLAs”, a study has found.
Sainsbury’s could see Argos gamble pay off: The U.K.’s second biggest supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, released a trading statement covering the nine weeks to March 11, last Thursday.
The Scottish Herald
Private investors eyeing city deals: The commercial property market in Scotland is set to become more reliant on overseas investment in 2017, as new money floods the country from ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Crime-fighting software firm eyes Canada: Altia-ABM, which develops software for use in the fight against crime, is targeting a major expansion of its Canadian operations by opening a Toronto office and creating a dedicated business development team.
Veitchi to focus on health of staff as it hits 100: Clydeside construction-industry sub-contractor the Veitchi Group is launching a year-long series of events aimed at fostering employee engagement as it marks its first century in business.
Joy for the JR Group with strong orders for new arm: Paisley-based JR Group has secured £35 million of orders for its new construction division within its first year of trading.
Innovation centre backs four oil projects: The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC), an organisation that matches companies with research and development capabilities in Scotland’s university community, has invested £230,000 in four projects in the oil and gas industry.
The Scotsman
Thousands of Scots scientists back global science campaign: Thousands of scientists, academics and others across Scotland are backing a global campaign to celebrate, promote and defend science.
Promising outlook for fuel price cuts says AA: Drivers face a brighter outlook for fuel prices which are at their lowest for two months, the AA said.
Drinks manufacturer considers leaving U.K. due to Brexit: Fentimans, the British soft drinks brand, is considering launching a manufacturing operation in Europe if trade tariffs rise after Brexit.
City A.M.
Consumer spending growth heading for four-year low as wages stagnate: Real earnings growth is forecast to be up just 0.1% in 2017, slowing sharply from 1.8% in 2016.
Businesses risk being thrown into legal chaos post-Brexit if deal doesn’t ascertain how cross-border disputes will be settled, House of Lords warns: Businesses risk legal headaches if the government does not consider how cross-border disputes will work post-Brexit, a report warns.
Melrose Executives set to reap the rewards of increasing shareholder value: The top brass at engineering turnaround specialist Melrose Industries are in line for one of largest paydays of any FTSE 100 company, according to reports.
Taxman levies inheritance tax on £5.8 billion of shares: Half of all inherited shares were subject to inheritance tax (IHT) according the latest figures, prompting calls for people to manage their personal finances more efficiently.
Uber President Jeff Jones quits after six months in role: Uber President Jeff Jones has quit his role after little more than six months in the job, the car hailing giant has confirmed.
