The Times
Migrant mayhem has cost us €29 million, Eurotunnel says: Eurotunnel is claiming more than €29 million in compensation from the French and British governments for disruption to its services caused last year by the migrant crisis.
Profits sink to £6.4 billion after Indian noodle scare hits Nestle’s pot: A food scare in India, currency volatility and the sale of part of its stake in L’Oréal hit full-year profits at Nestle.
Pimco says Brexit could be unpleasant divorce for U.K.: The world’s biggest fixed-income investor has put the chances of Britain leaving the European Union at 40% and warned that the country could face an “unpleasant divorce” if the process of separation is not handled well by the political authorities.
ECB ready for more QE and more cuts to interest rate: The European Central Bank’s governing council has opened the way to further measures to prop up the flagging economies of the single-currency bloc after warning that the slowdown in China posed a serious risk to the region.
You can forget the password, HSBC will know you by voice: HSBC is to become the first bank in the U.K. to scrap passwords for telephone banking customers, instead identifying them by their voice.
Trust offers nurses cash to opt out of pensions: A move by an NHS trust to offer nurses cash to opt out of pension rights has led to suggestions that it could set a dangerous precedent as employers grapple with auto-enrolment rules.
Shares fall as Walmart makes slow progress: Walmart reported yesterday that it was making inroads as it chases more urban and affluent customers and responds to demands to improve pay and conditions for its workers, but this was not enough to impress investors.
The Independent
Saudi Arabia says it ‘will not cut oil production’: The Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister has said the kingdom will not cut oil production, following talks in Doha earlier this week.
Plus500 is back in the game with new clients: Wildly swinging markets are helping spread betting firm Plus500 shrug off a ban on signing up new U.K. customers last year due to money-laundering fears, the company has said.
Europe’s most respected think tank has told George Osborne to lay off the cuts: One of the world’s leading economic organisations has warned governments to ease up on austerity that may be crippling global growth.
U.K. homes worth £1 million to ‘triple by 2030’: The number of U.K. homes worth at least £1 million is to triple by 2030, according to a report.
Financial Times
Tom King poised to quit Barclays investment bank: Barclays is expected to tell staff on Friday that Tom King will quit as head of its investment bank in two weeks, according to people familiar with the situation, adding to the impression of management turmoil at the British bank.
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Lancashire reveals a drop in full-year profits: Lancashire Holdings reported a drop in full-year profits as premium income fell a third, highlighting the challenges facing specialist insurers in the Lloyd’s of London market and elsewhere.
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Powa Technologies accounts show it had just $250,000 in bank: Powa Technologies, the U.K. mobile commerce company valued at $2.7 billion, had $250,000 available in its bank accounts at the start of February, while a unit of the group owed $16.4 million to creditors, according to Companies House.
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Darty boosted by Sunday trading in France: Greater flexibility to France’s Sunday trading laws helped electrical goods retailer Darty report strong end-of-year trading figures even as Paris was left shaken by the November 13 terrorist attacks.
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Anglo American aims for $1.3 billion bond buyback: Miner Anglo American is seeking to buy back up to $1.3 billion of its bonds from investors — about half of the short-term debt reduction target that it announced in its turnround plan this week.
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Fidelity operating profit falls on big recruitment drive: Fidelity Investments signalled that it planned to take on the rise of the robo-advisers, as a wave of spending on new customer service representatives and technology contributed to a 7% decline in operating profit last year.
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Citi Chief Corbat gets 27% pay rise to $16.5 million: Citigroup Chief Michael Corbat has become the latest Wall Street Executive to get a pay rise after the U.S. bank handed him a package worth as much as $16.5 million — 27% more than a year ago.
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Bayer poised to announce new Chief Executive: Bayer is moving closer to naming Werner Baumann as its next Chief Executive as the German life sciences group prepares for the departure of Marijn Dekkers.
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Vivendi’s Canal Plus in talks to share content with beIN Sports: Vivendi’s Canal Plus unit has entered into talks with Qatari-owned rival beIN Sports over an exclusive distribution agreement aimed at stemming heavy losses at the pay-television division.
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BrewDog plans funding round for U.S. push: Scottish craft brewer BrewDog plans to tap the U.S. for cash as it readies for expansion into America.
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Lex:
Linn Energy: tired refrain: A share price target of zero is an unpleasant omen for shareholders. Analysts at Citigroup earlier this week said they believed that the common equity at U.S. oil and gas explorer Linn Energy was worthless.
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Centrica: muzak to his ears: There has been too much rock and roll at Centrica’s Windsor headquarters in recent years. Previous Chief Executive Sam Laidlaw bought up natural gas and oil assets hoping to anticipate an upswing in energy prices. He got that bit right: tariffs subsequently soared, causing headaches for all utilities.
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Accor: managing, so far: If shareholders did likewise, what would they say about Accor, the French hotel group? If the share price is a guide, the overall message is: could do better. Since a new Manager was appointed in August 2013, they are up around 25% — little different to European rivals.
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Lombard:
Conn can: Centrica, which reported a stonking pretax £884 million loss on Thursday, hopes investors will see its business in the same pragmatic light.
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Seats of power: Morrisons is spending £30 million on removing “dated furniture” and on other initiatives to raise staff morale. You can see where the beleaguered supermarket chain is coming from.
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The Daily Telegraph
Bank of England deputy says 2019 rate hike expectations not justified: Market expectations that U.K. interest rates will remain on hold until 2019 are not justified, according to the deputy Governor of the Bank of England.
Mobile giant Three to block online advertising: Three is poised to become the first major European mobile operator to block online advertising on its network, signalling a clash with digital publishers and advertising companies.
Centrica urges policy overhaul as it warns of ‘looming gap’ in U.K. energy supplies: Britain faces a “looming gap” in its energy supplies because of a series of failures in the Government’s scheme to keep the lights on, British Gas Owner Centrica has warned.
Lloyds’ private equity arm backs £175 million delivery firm CitySprint: Lloyds Banking Group’s private equity arm has bought a significant minority stake in CitySprint, in a deal that values Britain’s biggest same-day parcel delivery company at £175 million.
Financial Times to return to City of London home: Staff at the Financial Times newspaper are set to return to their original home in the City of London following the sale of the business to Japanese Group Nikkei last year.
Ofwat slams water firms for failing vulnerable customers: The industry regulator has warned water suppliers that they are failing vulnerable customers by offering ‘one-size fits all’ support that leaves many to suffer in silence.
The Questor Column:
Sell Indivior after a wild first year on the stock market: Indivior, the pharmaceutical company that was spun out of parent group Reckitt Benckiser at the end of 2014, has endured a wild first year to listed life and Questor still thinks the shares are looking risky. The company is based around the lucrative heroin addiction medication Suboxone, which has come under increasing pressure from cheap copycat versions as its patent protection ended. Sales were down 9% to $1 billion during the 12 months to the end of December, but that was only half the story. The company is having to slash prices to defend market share, so pretax profits halved to $285 million from $561 million a year earlier. The company expects profits to fall again in the year ahead, with net income targets of between $155 million and $180 million. But it could still get worse, as the company did not include the impact of competitors cutting prices further, or copying its film version of the drug (taking the Suboxone through an edible film) in those forecasts. A court ruling due within the next four months could clear the way for competitors to enter the film market. The shares may look incredibly cheap for a pharmaceutical company on just 10 times forecast earnings. But sales and profits are falling fast, and there is a very uncertain future for that major product, Suboxone. We remain negative. Sell. Indivior at 171p +23.3p. Questor says “Sell”.
BAE Systems remains a defensive income favourite: BAE Systems shares moved 2% higher yesterday after a solid set of annual results were given a lift from delivering Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. But the world’s second-largest defence company will have to fight hard to make sure it isn’t outflanked on the modern battlefield. It is really against this backdrop that the latest set of results from the FTSE 100 group must be viewed. Three quarters of the revenue and profits come from the platforms and services divisions. These divisions design and build equipment such as the Typhoon jet, Hawk training jet, F-35 Lightning II, Astute-class submarines, Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers. The two biggest customers remain the U.K. and U.S., and many of the projects are exclusive to those two customers, due to security reasons. In the U.K. as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review at the end of last year, continued investment in BAE’s Typhoon fighter jets was secured and the aircraft’s service life was extended until at least 2040. The driving force of sales is the Middle East with increased aircraft deliveries to Saudi Arabia helping revenue rise 7.6% to £17.9 billion. BAE is also adapting to cyber warfare, and the cyber and intelligence division enjoyed sales growth of 3%. The U.K. Applied Intelligence business enjoyed sales growth of 31%, but investment in new technology meant underlying profits slid 5% lower. BAE has a challenge on its hands to rebuild the order-book, which declined by £3.7 billion to £36.8 billion last year. The new Chief operating officer Charles Woodburn, who is apparently being groomed to replace current Chief Executive Ian King, will have to deliver on this front. The company remains a defensive favourite. Hold. BAE Systems at 505p +5.7p. Questor says “Hold”.
The Guardian
Facebook and Twitter back Apple in phone encryption battle with FBI: Facebook and Twitter stepped into the battle with the FBI, with both companies pledging that they “stand with Apple” and will “aggressively fight” attempts to weaken encryption.
Tesco bows to demand and will soon only sell straight croissants: Tesco will only sell straight croissants from Friday, despite the breakfast pastry’s French name meaning “crescent”.
OECD calls for less austerity and more public investment: The OECD has called for its rich-country members to ease up on austerity and collectively agree to spend more on infrastructure projects to boost flagging growth.
U.K. productivity gap widens to worst level since records began: Britain’s poor productivity record has been highlighted by government figures showing the biggest gap with other leading western economies since modern records began in the early 1990s.
ECB expected to take further action to boost Eurozone economy: The European Central Bank is expected to take further action to stimulate the Eurozone economy at its next meeting in March.
VimpelCom pays $835 million to U.S. and Dutch over Uzbekistan telecoms bribes: VimpelCom, the Amsterdam-based telecoms company, has agreed to pay $835 million to settle U.S. and Dutch charges that it paid massive bribes to enter the Uzbekistan telecommunications market, the U.S. justice department has said.
Uber CEO says company is losing $1 billion a year as it tries to compete in China: Uber is burning through more than a billion dollars a year in China as it wages a fierce price-war against local rival Didi Kuaidi, its Chief Executive said.
Daily Mail
Cut taxes and ease burden on oil producers to support industry in the North Sea, says Centrica: British Gas Owner Centrica yesterday became the latest firm to cut its dividend after being hammered by the dramatic slump in oil prices.
Hotelier AccorHotels reports sharp decline in sales in the wake of the Paris terror attacks last year: Europe’s largest hotel group AccorHotels suffered a sudden fall in sales in the wake of the Paris terror attacks last year.
Europe officials express concern regarding unstable financial markets and bleak forecast for China: European Central Bank officials have expressed concern about turbulent financial markets and the increasingly grim outlook for China and other emerging economies.
Boss of worst-performing train company hits back at critics, saying that poor service was not his fault: The transport Boss who runs three of the most hated railway lines in Britain has hit back at critics after posting a 16.6% jump in half-year profits.
Fizzy drink can maker Rexam sees sales go flat as pretax profits fall by 27% to £250 million following rival takeover: Fizzy drink can maker Rexam saw its profits flattened by the costs of its sale to U.S. rival Ball.
Daily Express
Asda hopes price cuts will solve sales slump: Asda Boss Andy Clarke insisted its financial muscle would enable it to win back shoppers despite a steep fall in sales over the last three months of 2015.
Pro-EU campaigners are bogus – Britain’s economy would not be hit by Brexit, report finds: Claims Britain’s economy would be damaged by leaving the European Union are completely “bogus”, according to one of the city’s top investors.
‘Slap in the face’ Fury as British Gas profits surge to £574 million: Energy giant British Gas has sparked fresh anger over prices after revealing profits in its residential arm jumped by a 31% last year.
The Scottish Herald
Ogilvie poised for more acquisitions after strong growth: Ogilvie Group, the Stirling-based construction business that has diversified into sectors including vehicle leasing and IT, said it was well placed for growth as it reported an ‘excellent’ 21% increase in pretax profits to £4.9 million on turnover up 6% to £209 million.
Scotland sees increase in high growth firms: The number of high growth firms in Scotland has increased by more than a third since the recession, according to new research.
BrewDog says turnover up more than 50%: BrewDog, the Aberdeen-based craft brewery, has reported a 52% increase in turnover to £45 million, based on draft accounts for 2015.
Scottish tech body calls for focus on growth: Scotland’s tech sector could create an extra 70,000 jobs over the next five years if government and industry worked together to foster its growth, according to digital technologies trade body ScotlandIS.
Scotch vital to U.K. trade balance: Scotch Whisky is the biggest net contributor to U.K. trade in goods, cutting £3.8 billion from the trade deficit, the industry has said ahead of next month’s Budget.
Arrayjet lands Philip Morris lab deal: Arrayjet, the Scottish-based instrumentation company, has won a £150,000 contract with Philip Morris International.
Clyde shipyards help BAE profits steam ahead: A busy year for BAE Systems’ naval ships division on the Clyde contributed to the defence giant’s operating profits rising 7.6% to £1.5 billion in 2015 while sales rose £1.3 billion to £17.9 billion.
Aberdeen hotel sector suffers another plunge in revenues: The Aberdeen hotel sector has endured a year-on-year drop in revenues of more than 40% for a second consecutive month, an industry survey has shown.
The Scotsman
Malmaison rolls out £5 million makeover of Scottish venues: The Owner of Edinburgh’s Malmaison has completed the majority of a £1.2 million refurbishment of the premium hotel, as part of a £5 million upgrade of the group’s Scottish portfolio.
Wave and tidal power ‘could make U.K. an energy leader’: Plans to double government spending on energy innovation to £500 million could help the U.K. become a world-leader if the funds are targeted in the right areas, according to a new report.
Comms agency Beattie to boost workforce by 30%: Beattie, the public relations and communications group, has outlined plans to create 30 jobs by the end of this year.
FreeAgent eyes possible float after key partner deal: The Chief Executive of FreeAgent has said the online accounting software company is considering flotation as it looks to finance further growth.
Jarvie ploughs £1 million into new Aberdeen depot: Plant hire specialist Jarvie Plant Group has bucked the downturn in Aberdeen’s economy by making a substantial investment in a new depot.
City A.M.
High house prices and strong rent growth lift landlord returns: Landlords’ annual returns have reached their highest for over a year, according to figures released this morning.
Applied Materials share price jumps up in after-hours trading despite smartphone component supplier revealing fall in sales and income for first-quarter results: Shares in Applied Materials rose in after-hours trading, despite the electronics company revealing a fall in net sales and net income for its first quarter of 2016.
Nordstrom share price plummets in after-hours trading as retailer reports drop in profits in fourth-quarter results: Shares in Nordstrom fell in after-hours trading as the company revealed a rise in revenue but a fall in profits for its fourth-quarter results.
Twitter Chairman Omid Kordestani just bought $2 million worth of shares increasing his stake by 30% and with finance Chief Anthony Noto is first Twitter exec to buy this year: Twitter has received a much needed vote of confidence from its Chairman Omid Kordestani who yesterday picked up almost $2 million worth of shares increasing his stake by 30%, it’s been revealed.
SodaStream International share price fizzes up as profit rises for fourth quarter but revenue falls, thanks to unfavourable foreign exchange movements: Share price in SodaStream International rose after the company revealed a fall in revenue but a rise in profits for its fourth-quarter results.
Lancashire Holdings share price drops as company reveals a fall in profits and Chairman of nine years Martin Thomas announces departure: Share price in Lancashire Holdings dropped as the Chairman announced his departure and the company revealed a fall in profits.
