The Times
Shares rise as Greece agrees austerity deal: Global equities rose after Greece agreed to implement draconian austerity measures in order to open talks on a new bailout worth as much as €86 billion.
Instagram shares its 14 million user moment: Instagram claims to have won 14 million active monthly users in Britain in the first time that it has published a figure for any country outside the United States. It is a figure likely to have both the internet’s social networks and its advertisers all-of-a-twitter.
Bankers challenge Chancellor to change his surcharge on profits: The new surcharge on banks’ profits will cut lending to small businesses by £10 billion and should be changed, the Bosses of Britain’s challenger banks have told the Chancellor.
Polish credit change removes lustre from sub-prime lender: Shares in one of eastern Europe’s biggest sub-prime lenders lost a quarter of their value after it warned that a change in Polish credit rules would mean that the charges it imposes on customers could be severely restricted.
Iran prepares to pour more oil into troubled waters: A fleet of tankers is poised to pour 40 million barrels of oil into an overflowing global market as talks over Iran’s nuclear programme and the end of sanctions edge to a conclusion.
Sainsbury’s wins shoot-out with Bristol Rovers in court: The Chairman of Bristol Rovers has accused J Sainsbury of delivering a “kick in the teeth” to the city after a High Court judge ruled that the supermarket chain had the right to withdraw from a deal to redevelop the football club’s stadium.
Demand for mortgages rises as rates keep falling: Demand for mortgages at banks and building societies has bounced back to its strongest level since the end of 2013.
The Independent
Libor trader Tom Hayes accused of ‘dishonest charade’ to avoid U.S. extradition: A former City trader deliberately lied about rigging Libor, a key international bank lending rate, during a police interview to ensure that he was charged in the U.K. and not the U.S., a court heard.
Genel Energy waits for Kurdistan cheque before continuing oil exploration: Genel Energy has called a halt to oil exploration work for the rest of the year while it awaits $400 million (£257 million) of payments due from the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Rival London airports Heathrow and Gatwick both report record Junes: Heathrow and Gatwick, the two airports in the South-east of England at loggerheads over expansion plans, have both experienced their busiest June ever.
Financial Times
U.K.’s new biomedical research centre teams up with industry: Scientists from the new Francis Crick Institute will join forces with GlaxoSmithKline in the hunt for new medicines, in the first big public-private partnership for the £700 million research centre being built at King’s Cross, London.
U.K. retailers struggle to adapt to fashion’s new order: Judging the season’s fashions at Marks and Spencer has become something of a national pastime in the U.K.
ECB emergency loans will keep stricken Greek banks afloat: Greece’s stricken banks are to be kept afloat for the rest of the summer with further European Central Bank emergency loans backed by €10 billion of guarantees from Eurozone governments, according to an EU blueprint for the country’s financial sector.
Buyout firms move deeper into U.K. public services: One of the surprises in last week’s Summer Budget was the tax increase on future investments by the U.K.’s private equity groups — a raid made possible by Britain’s status in recent years as a honeypot for buyouts.
Genel Energy co-Founder Tony Hayward open to sale: Tony Hayward, former Chief Executive of BP, is prepared to sell Genel Energy, the lossmaking Kurdistan oil producer he co-founded, should a buyer hunting “high-quality assets” make an approach at the right price.
Rakuten buys U.K. virtual fitting room start-up: A U.K. technology company that develops “virtual fitting rooms” for retailers’ websites is the latest target for Rakuten, the highly acquisitive Japanese internet group behind the Viber messaging service.
Nepal earthquake helicopters that were never used cost U.K. £3 million: David Cameron’s decision to send three Chinook helicopters to help in the Nepal earthquake relief effort ended up costing the taxpayer about £3 million, even though the aircraft were never used.
Gunvor sells stake in Baltic oil terminal to Russian businessman: Gunvor, one of the world’s largest commodity traders, has sold a majority stake in its once-prized Russian oil terminal on the coast of the Baltic Sea to a local industrialist.
Nyrstar appoints Bill Scotting as new Chief Executive: Nyrstar has ended a seven-month search for a Chief Executive, turning to a mining industry veteran to try to improve operations at one of the world’s largest zinc producers.
Comcast launches cheap web TV service: Comcast is launching a web television service aimed at younger internet-connected customers who are reluctant to pay for pricey cable packages.
Nielsen to take digital ad ratings service to seven new markets: Nielsen is extending its digital advertising ratings service to seven new markets in Asia and Latin America, in a move that could boost online ad spending and lay the groundwork for a system to measure media consumption across devices and platforms.
Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad takes €1 billion bet on Spain with retail stake: A Qatari investor has placed a €1 billion bet on Spain’s economic recovery, with a deal to acquire 10% of El Corte Inglés, the country’s biggest retailer and Owner of the eponymous chain of department stores.
Apple Pay taps U.K. to shake up consumer spending: Apple Pay, the contactless payment service, is set to launch in the U.K. on Tuesday, opening up a potentially large market for the U.S. technology company and transforming the way consumers buy goods.
Cyber security start-up CrowdStrike raises $100 million: CrowdStrike, a California-based cyber security company, has raised $100 million in a round led by Google’s growth capital arm, as funding floods into start-ups trying to defend companies against attacks.
Foxconn to build up to 12 factories and employ 1 million in India: Taiwanese manufacturing group Foxconn is planning an aggressive expansion in India, building up to 12 new factories and employing as many as 1 million workers by 2020 as it battles rising wage costs and labour disputes in China.
Lex:
Greek banks: balancing act: No reality television show could match the harrowing lives of Greek banks as they have been battered by crisis. But they cannot hold on for much longer without help. Some will come in the form of a €25 billion recapitalisation, €10 billion of it immediate, if Athens pushes through economic reforms demanded by its creditors by Wednesday. Until now official action has been limited to liquidity, not solvency support. Sticking with the liability side of the balance sheet, the average Basel III common equity tier one ratio of banks such as Alpha Bank, Eurobank, Piraeus and National Bank of Greece at end-March was just below 11%. Fine for unstressed Greek banks maybe, but a big chunk of the capital is in deferred tax assets of doubtful value and the asset side of banks’ balance sheet can only be deteriorating. Never mind banks’ exposure to government debt, the worsening domestic slowdown will whack asset quality hard. Non-performing loans were about 40% of total lending in the first quarter and will have risen in the second. True, with bad loans already at €75 billion at end-March and coverage by provisions at about 60%, a €25 billion injection looks adequate. But it is too early to assess the damage done while banks have been closed. That task will fall to the ECB as bank supervisor in its stress test after the summer.
Jarden Corp: household name: Jarden is a consumer products amalgam founded by Martin Franklin (who is now also attacking the chemicals and food products industries). Jarden is best known for steadily acquiring unwanted parts of other conglomerates or snatching companies from private equity firms. On Monday it bought a plastic utensils business called Waddington Group from a private equity firm for $1.3 billion. The deal sent its shares up 5% (in the past five years they have risen 300%) While all conglomerates make fuzzy statements about cross-selling and exploiting distribution channels, Jarden has shown that this is not always just rhetoric. Organic growth has been a healthy 5% — ahead of U.S. output growth. This is impressive given the rather humdrum nature of its products. The company bought Yankee Candle for $1.75 billion in late 2013. It is on its way to doubling Yankee Candle’s revenue by creating new products to sell through Walmart and other retailers. Jarden’s growing cash flow has kept its leverage down (debt is four times earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation). And its strong share price has allowed it to use equity to help finance deals. Jarden shares trade at nearly 20 times earnings, neither expensive nor bargain-bin cheap. Normally, serial acquirers deserve a discount. Jarden merits better treatment.
Great Wall Motor: new energy needed: The A shares closed up 5% on the news. But Great Wall also has a Hong Kong listing; its H shares fell about 13%, leaving them almost 40% below the issue price. Hong Kong may be deemed a more rational market, based on greater institutional involvement (and less government intervention), but even the H-share drop seems mild. Trading in the shares was stopped on June 19, meaning Great Wall sat out a 10% drop in the H-share index. And there are other reasons — beyond the dilution — to be cautious. May sales were disappointingly soft; there was no rebound in June and pricing has suffered as international brands offer discounts. New investment is critical for Great Wall to find growth. It is backing the right product: China’s state council wants unit sales of new energy vehicles to grow nearly 70-fold to 5 million by 2020. Great Wall’s component investment implies 500,000 units by 2018. Rewards may be some time in coming. At least the shares are not egregiously overvalued; even the more racy A shares trade at 10 times 2016 earnings forecasts. The cheaper H shares closed at a mere 6 times. One company, two valuations.
Lombard:
Alent acquisition catalysed by demerger: Ademerger often presages the disappearance of one or both offshoots. The agreed £1.35 billion purchase of Alent, a speciality chemicals group cracked from the precursor that was industrial group Cookson, lends support to that theory. The takeover by Platform Speciality Products, a vehicle of prolific acquirer Martin Franklin, will expose Alent’s non-identical twin Vesuvius to renewed takeover speculation. Quiet activist Cevian has tendered its 22% of Alent for Platform shares. The offer values the equity and debt of Alent, whose products include fancy solder for mobile phone circuit boards, at 13.9 times trailing earnings, compared with a recent average of 10 times. The only investors who could legitimately be worried by the level of the bid would therefore be shareholders in U.S.-listed Platform. They can expect to hear talk of tax losses and synergies with other purchased companies. The paradox is that would-be consolidators such as Mr Davis and Mr Franklin could end up building new conglomerates through special purpose acquisition vehicles such as X2 and Platform. It is reasonable to ask whether these will create more value than the out-of-favour conglomerates from whose offshoots they may be partly composed.
Hayward heads upward: The conditions in which explorer Genel operates are hardly perfect, though. It extracts the black stuff from oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan, whose autonomous administration has a fractious relationship with Baghdad. Both governments are fighting Isis insurgents. Neither has been paying Genel for exports. The Kurds alone owe the company $378 million, a debt they are more likely to clear having started to market oil independently. Genel wants to hang on to Mr Hayward, for whom the glamour of weekly trips to a conflict zone has palled. He has useful contacts in Erbil but has also been under pressure to give more attention to FTSE 100 commodities group Glencore. As the possessor of a standard London listing, Genel need only observe the broad spirit of the corporate governance code rather than the fine detail that applies to premium-listed groups. It has thus consulted shareholders on Mr Hayward’s promotion and will explain why it has not complied with the code in its annual report. As for Genel, it is a bag of gold trapped in a glass case no one has yet worked out how to open. Local oil sales cover a proportion of its costs and it has net cash of about $250 million. Revenues from exports remain an aspiration rather than a reality.
The Daily Telegraph
Supermarkets could increase prices to pay for living wage: The Government’s new national living wage is likely to result in higher prices for shoppers, Moody’s has warned.
Opec: oil demand on the up but U.S. output growth is slowing: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has signalled the oil market may be turning slowly back in its favour after it revised upwards its forecast for world oil demand once again, while predicting supply from the U.S. will grow at a slower pace.
Buy-to-let lenders face longer-term pain: Limits on tax relief for landlords could be a serious blow to specialist buy-to-let lenders, analysts at Barclays warned, as the changes in the emergency Budget undermine some investors’ income.
Heathrow signals possible resistence to some environmental measures: The Chief Executive of Heathrow has signalled the airport could resist a ban on night flights and a proposal for legislation barring a fourth runway.
Brazil names 30 bankers in forex probe: The Brazilian authorities have widened their investigation into alleged foreign exchange manipulation, naming 30 bankers as part of the probe.
Bargain Booze Owner Conviviality Retail reports profit boost on stronger wine sales: Bargain Booze Owner Conviviality Retail has reported a rise in pretax profits for the year to the end of April, following stronger wine sales.
Greek deal poisons Europe as backlash mounts against ‘neo-colonial servitude’: Greek premier Alexis Tsipras faced a furious backlash from own Syriza party on Monday night after yielding to draconian demands from Europe’s creditor powers, and agreeing to let foreign surpervisors to take control of his country.
Mark Carney to be grilled by MPs over how Greek crisis has hit U.K.: Bank of England governor Mark Carney is due to appear before MPs on Tuesday – a day after Greece reached a last-ditch bailout agreement with European creditors.
EU demands Britain joins Greek rescue fund: Britain will be liable for close to £1 billion of emergency loans to Greece, it can be revealed, after Jean-Claude Juncker tore up a “black and white” deal to protect U.K. taxpayers from Eurozone bailouts.
Tesco hits shoppers’ wallets by changing click and collect charges: Tesco has become the latest retailer to hit shoppers’ wallets by changing how much it charges online customers to pick up items in stores.
Greek entrepreneurs rush to leave troubled country for London: The number of Greek-born company Directors in the U.K. has surged by a quarter in the past year, as Greece’s financial woes force people to seek opportunities elsewhere.
China’s bid to create 1.4 billion tourists: China may now be the biggest source of outbound tourists in the world, but for Beijing, the more lucrative spending boom is coming from the visitors who stay at home.
Genel names Hayward Chairman in management shuffle: Kurdistan-focused oil explorer Genel Energy has reshuffled its management team appointing Murat Ozgul to replace Tony Hayward as Chief Executive.
The virtual fitness start-up with serious financial muscle: The creators of an online DIY fitness empire are on course to deliver £1 million of annual sales, just two years after starting up.
The Guardian
China accuses brokers of manipulating share prices during stock market crisis: Beijing has accused brokers of manipulating share prices during China’s recent stock market plunge and launched a crackdown against unlicensed companies that financed speculative trading.
Interest rates on personal loans fall to lowest levels on record: Interest rates on personal loans have dropped to the lowest levels on record in the latest evidence that the cost of borrowing is continuing to fall for consumers.
Clothing sales increase 1.8% with boost from summer weather: A burst of summer sunshine boosted clothing stores last month and helped retailers bounce back as like-for-like sales rose by 1.8%, according to new figures.
David Cameron to force companies to disclose gender pay gaps: Large companies will finally be forced to disclose whether they are paying men more than women from next year, David Cameron will say on Tuesday.
Retailers expected to raise prices or cut jobs to pay for minimum wage: Britain’s retailers are likely to increase prices or cut large numbers of jobs to pay for the rise in the minimum wage announced in the budget, according to Moody’s, the credit rating agency.
Daily Mail
Barclays could buy shell company to acquire banking licence as it attempts to find quickest way to meet new rules that force banks to be split in two: Barclays Bank could buy a shell company to acquire a banking licence as it attempts to find the quickest way to meet new rules that force banks to be split in two.
Middleby Corporation to ‘put up or shut up’ and make formal £100 million bid for Aga Rangemaster Group: Illinois-based Middleby Corporation has until at 5pm to ‘put up or shut up’ and make a formal £100 million bid for the Aga Rangemaster Group.
Wages in private sector rising at fastest pace for more than a decade in boost to living standards across Britain: Wages in the private sector are rising at the fastest pace for more than a decade in a boost to living standards across Britain, according to experts.
Euro tumbles against pound and dollar despite last-ditch deal to save Greece from bankruptcy and expulsion from single currency bloc: The euro tumbled against the pound and the dollar despite a last-ditch deal to save Greece from bankruptcy and expulsion from the single currency bloc.
Chemicals group Alent falls prey to U.S. predator – agreeing to be bought by rival Platform Speciality Products in deal valuing company at £1.4 billion: Chemicals group Alent has fallen prey to a U.S. predator, agreeing to be bought by rival Platform Speciality Products in a deal valuing the company at £1.4 billion.
Budget-slashing ‘Prince of Darkness’ Tim Parker to rule Post Office: A former lieutenant to London Mayor Boris Johnson with a reputation for cost-cutting has been named as Chairman of the Post Office.
Daily Express
Sports Direct ahead of the game: Sports Direct International is expected to show rivals a clean pair of heels when it posts strong full year results on Thursday.
Confident U.K. firms to enjoy a bumper year: Confidence across the U.K. private sector economy is at its highest level for a year, according to a report.
The Scottish Herald
Fewer insolvency warning signals in Scottish manufacturing in spite of oil sector woes: Fewer Scottish manufacturers are showing insolvency warning signs, suggesting the sector is in good shape to weather the troubles of the oil and gas industry and broader output challenges, research has revealed.
U.K. retail sales up as sunshine provides boost: U.K. retail sales have shown their strongest underlying year-on-year increase since January 2014 in the latest month.
Petrofac grabs £470 million Kuwaiti order: Petrofac, which employs 4,500 in Scotland, has won a contract for Kuwaiti Oil Company worth around $780 million (£470 million).
Edinburgh Gin sponsors summer in the city: Edinburgh Gin has been unveiled as the sponsor of this summer’s celebrations in St Andrew Square Garden.
RBS sells Aldgate Union block for £132 million: Royal Bank of Scotland has sold the freehold of its Aldgate Union office in London for £132 million.
Aggreko backs KPGM as new external auditor: Aggreko has signalled its intention to appoint KPMG as the group’s external auditor, writes Scott Wright.
Collagen Solutions sounds upbeat note for international growth: Collagen Solutions, the Glasgow-based developer of medical-use collagen products, has topped £1 million of revenue in its first full year and has limited its expected losses.
The Scotsman
Record inward investment despite referendum angst: The prospect of Scottish independence did nothing to scare off global firms from investing in the country, official figures have suggested.
Esh Border Construction to build up Scottish arm: Building firm Esh Border Construction has stressed that its Livingston base will be a “strategic linchpin” for Scottish growth after booking solid full year results.
Car dealer Eastern Holdings plans new showrooms: Eastern Holdings, Owner of one of Scotland’s biggest cluster of car dealerships, has its foot firmly on the gas with plans for two new showrooms on the outskirts of Edinburgh after booking a second year of record sales and profits.
Edinburgh Gin opens pop-up bar in capital: Edinburgh Gin has embarked on its biggest ever sponsorship deal, which will see the drinks firm launch a pop-up bar in the heart of the Scottish capital.
City A.M.
Legal & General exits Egypt in deal with Axa: U.K. insurance and investments group Legal & General (L&G) has exited its Egypt business, Commercial International Life Insurance (CIL), selling it to Axa in a deal worth 763 million Egyptian pounds (£62.9 million).
Nostrum enters race for Tethys: Shares in London-listed Tethys Petroleum soared by 24.19% to 9.62p after the group confirmed that Nostrum Oil & Gas had approached the board with an offer for its entire issued share capital.
Oil prices drop as nuclear deal with Iran looms: Oil prices were stuck below $60 and with an Iranian nuclear deal in the offing could fall further again in the near future.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem reappointed as Eurogroup head: Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been reappointed as the head of the Eurogroup for another 2.5 years.
