The Times
U.K. industry ‘crippled’ by electricity costs twice as high as in Germany: British steelmakers and other big manufacturers are being forced to pay twice as much for their electricity as competitors in Germany, increasing the burden on the industry as it struggles to compete against overseas rivals.
Buyers form queue as viable parts of Caparo sold off: Administrators trying to save 1,700 jobs in Caparo Industries are understood to be confident of finding buyers for parts of the business.
Northumbrian Water workers claim pensions ‘theft’ by Chinese tycoon: Water supplies, sewerage treatment and emergency call-outs could be disrupted throughout the northeast in a dispute in which workers claim that one of China’s richest men is stealing their pension settlements.
Pressure mounts on Cameron to halt steel industry collapse: David Cameron will come under pressure to prevent further steel plant closures as MPs claim that taxpayers face clean-up costs of billions of pounds.
We won’t be quiet about EU benefits, say business Chiefs: Britain’s leading business group has defied government demands to downplay its campaign for the U.K. to remain in the European Union.
Sainsbury’s beats rivals with sales growth: Sainsbury’s has topped the sales rankings among the four big supermarkets by virtue of being the only one to record an increase in revenues in a three-month period. Reporting a 1.1% rise, Sainsbury’s beat Tesco, Asda and Morrisons in the 12 weeks to 11 October, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
Chinese investment in new nuclear power station confirmed: China is to take a one-third stake in Britain’s first new nuclear power station in a generation, with confirmation expected of a multibillion-pound investment in Hinkley Point C.
Funding Circle has globe in its sights after Zencap deal: The apparently unstoppable march of Britain’s peer-to-peer lenders has taken a step into Germany with the acquisition by Funding Circle of Zencap, a continental rival. Samir Desai, a co-Founder and the Chief executive of Funding Circle, said that the deal would lead to it becoming the “first truly global marketplace lending platform”.
Yahoo Boss searches Google for help as profits disappoint: Marissa Mayer, Chief executive of Yahoo, announced that she had turned to her old employer Google to help revive her company’s flagging fortunes. Posting disappointing quarterly earnings, she revealed an agreement with the search engine giant under which Google will pay Yahoo a slice of advertising revenue in return for sending traffic to its rival.
Crédit Agricole to settle over U.S. sanctions claims: Crédit Agricole, the French mutual bank, has agreed to pay $787 million to settle allegations that it violated U.S. sanctions against countries including Iran and Sudan.
Rise of peer-to-peer lending ‘could spur rate rise’: The rise of peer-to-peer lending will allow the Bank of England to raise interest rates earlier, according to a leading rate-setter.
Regulator guilty of bowing to banks over new rules, claim MPs: The financial regulator has been accused of caving in to the banks after it shocked the City by dropping a “guilty until proven innocent” rule to hold senior staff to account.
Convenience is headline as McColl’s cuts newsagents: McColl’s is to sell off 100 newsagents as it concentrates on the further expansion of its convenience stores estate.
Property prices soar in French ski resorts: Alpine boltholes in leading French ski resorts have soared in value this year, in contrast with comparable properties in Switzerland as a weaker Euro and restrictive Swiss laws send international buyers to France.
The Independent
TfL is going to build 10,000 homes in London to pay for transport in the capital: TfL thinks it can raise £3.4 billion in revenue by 2023 to reinvest in public transport.
Amazon is adding 100,000 jobs for the holiday season: Amazon has announced its plan to hire 25% more seasonal workers in order to meet the increase in customer demand during the holiday season.
Apple bans hundreds of App Store apps after they were found to be spying on users: Over 250 App Store apps that could look at what people were doing with their phones have been removed by Apple, after they were discovered to have been using software from an advertising company that secretly stole users’ personal information.
EU rulings on Fiat and Starbucks could lead to billions in back taxes: The coffee giant Starbucks and Italian carmaker Fiat are expected to feel the European Commission’s wrath this week over their sweetheart tax deals with Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The decisions are likely to be the first of a series by the commission, covering such companies as Apple and Amazon, who may find themselves paying billions in back taxes.
Financial Times
Xi Jinping given visa pledge as U.K. seeks to cash in on courtship: David Cameron will announce plans on Wednesday for cheap tourist visas aimed at Chinese visitors, as he attempts to turn three years of courtship of China into hard cash for the British economy
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d1c2a776-774e-11e5-933d-efcdc3c11c89.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Barclays joins list of banks seeking ringfencing waiver: The queue of banks planning to ask the U.K. regulator for a waiver on its “ringfencing” rules keeps growing. The latest is Barclays, which is in talks with the regulator about a transitional arrangement to make its ringfenced retail bank a wholly owned subsidiary of the rest of the group, rather than splitting them into standalone entities.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ce119f7a-775c-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
MPC member highlights increased role of alternative lenders: Non-bank sources of finance are likely to become increasingly important for both small and large businesses in the U.K., according to a senior policymaker at the Bank of England.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2b63a180-770f-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Lex:
Yum Brands: eastern promises: Is this the right time to list a business with 100 per cent exposure to the vagaries of the Chinese economy? Yum Brands may have been cornered into believing so. The U.S. fast-food titan, whose fortunes have long been tied to the world’s most populous country, succumbed to the inevitable on Tuesday when it announced that its KFC and Pizza Hut units in China would be spun off to shareholders. The gambit has been speculated upon for years. The irony is that China is an albatross, not an engine.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/de6b2d5e-7744-11e5-933d-efcdc3c11c89.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Al Noor: hospital hijack: Hospital patients are often asked to sign scary-looking consent forms just before surgery. Shareholders in Al Noor Hospitals, a £1.4 billion Middle Eastern healthcare group whose shares trade in London, will know the feeling. Having been asked to assent to a complex merger, holders should ask more questions before signing.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/53362eec-7734-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Swedbank: Nordic nuances: Nordic lenders, with their focus on returns over growth, are held up as models to which other banks should aspire. That does not mean they are perfect — rather that they get more things right, more of the time. What, then, does Swedbank’s 9 per cent third-quarter revenue decline and surprising 14 per cent profit drop mean for rivals SEB, Nordea and Handelsbanken, which report results on Wednesday?.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/f50eb0bc-772b-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Lombard:
A rough guide to the U.K. economy for visiting Chinese Presidents: Welcome to the U.K., President Xi. We are delighted that you have chosen to spend some time with us on our chilly north Atlantic islands, and we have arranged a varied political, cultural and economic programme.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3d82f010-7736-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Grabbing a coffee: If you tire of the endless cups of tea, you should make time to visit a branch of Costa Coffee. You will find several on every high street. Here is the consumer-driven economy in action and a pretty good example of it at that (albeit one that is probably not helpful for China’s tea exports).
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3d82f010-7736-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
Picking up the groceries: If the Windsors do not provide quite enough food, you may want to pop out for some groceries. Upmarket chain Waitrose is worth a visit — the nearest branch is on Victoria Street, not far from the coach station.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3d82f010-7736-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3p4gd2prQ
The Daily Telegraph
Fat cat bankers encouraged to slim down with fitness gadgets at Barclays: The giant bank has stuck a deal to offer its 140,000 employees discounts on the Fitbit tracker wristbands which monitor physical activity.
Sony to pay staff $8 million over ‘The Interview’ hack: Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached a settlement with current and former employees, agreeing to pay up to $8m to reimburse them for losses, preventative measures and legal fees related to the hack of its computers last year.
Virgin Media backs BT in row over Openreach: Virgin Media has warned regulators and the Government against splitting up its rival, BT, claiming it would deter investment in broadband improvements.
Ferrari valued at $10 billion after Italian car maker prices IPO at top of range: Ferrari has priced its initial public offering at the top of expectations, raising $893 million and valuing the Italian car maker at $10 billion. Ferrari pulled out all the stops to market itself to some of its cars’ owners as well as Wall Street, and also limited the offering to a 9.1% stake in the company.
Uber launches service for disabled passengers in London: Uber is launching its service for disabled passengers, uberASSIST, in London. The minicab-hailing app says more than 100 of its most experienced drivers have signed up to the scheme, which provides additional assistance to passengers with wheelchairs, walking frames and scooters, or blind users.
James Dyson accuses Bosch of cheating ‘like Volkswagen’: Sir James Dyson has claimed Bosch are the Volkswagen of the vacuum cleaner world as he launched legal action against his German engineering rival.
Starbucks to sell wine and beer as it launches store of the future: Starbucks is trying to win over customers by launching a new concept Star Reserve store in London where it will also serve alcohol and £6 cups of coffee.
Carney: regulation tweaks may be needed to preserve financial stability: The “tremendous wave” of regulation introduced in the wake of the financial crisis may have to be adjusted to ensure it doesn’t pose a risk to financial stability, according to the Governor of the Bank of England.
Greece to be handed bail-out cash as inspectors return: Creditors are to decide on releasing €2 billion in rescue funds as they assess government’s progress on implementing reforms.
The Questor Column:
Sell Babcock as oil downturn worsen: Babcock International is showing too many warning signs for investors to buy into the engineering and support services group, according to broker Liberum. The FTSE 100-listed company largely relies on long-term contracts to refit and maintain Royal Navy ships and Army vehicles. However, it is the management’s judgment over when to book profits on these contracts that has given Liberum cause for concern. The defence work the company bids for requires security clearance, and Babcock has an excellent track record on delivering these services, retaining 90% of its customers. Babcock’s annual results showed pretax profits up 43% to £313.1 million on revenues 20% higher at £4 billion. The jump in profits was largely due to the purchase of Avincis, which runs Bond helicopters in the U.K., in a £1.6 billion deal. The helicopter business, now renamed Mission Critical Services (MCS), should be well supported by fire and rescue service deals in Europe. However, about a third of Avincis’s revenue comes from the oil and gas sector, and the slump in activity in the North Sea will have been painful. The support services unit is the fastest growing area, as the Government looks to cut costs and spending increases on U.K. nuclear projects. However, the Avincis deal increased risks to equity holders, as net debts rose to £1.33 billion at the end of March, against net assets of £2.2 billion. Babcock has proven to be a solid operator but the deal to buy helicopter firm Avincis last year will be under pressure from the falling oil price. Babcock at 971p +5p. Questor says “Sell”.
BHP Billiton better off together as dual-listing questioned: BHP Billiton’s 14-year listing on the London Stock Exchange is under threat, as financial issues weigh on the Anglo-Australian company. BHP’s dual listing in London and Australia is under renewed focus ahead of tomorrow’s shareholder annual meeting in the U.K. capital. The AGM comes as profits tumble and the company defends rising dividends. The dual listing was created through a marriage of equals when British-based Billiton merged with Australian group Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) in 2001. The deal brought BHP’s huge Australian coal, iron and copper assets together with Billiton’s aluminum, nickel and manganese mines. It also gave the company access to the deep pockets of mining investors in London to fund acquisitions. here are concerns Down Under that with markedly lower profits the company simply cannot afford its large dividends, and investors in London are being paid out of Australian pockets. This is because the iron ore and coal mines in Australia are the most profitable part of the group, and in order to fund dividends to London shareholders, reserves must be transferred from Australia to the U.K.. Australian investors will vote on this issue at their annual meeting in Perth on 19 November. While it is true that the more profitable mines in Australia are supporting the dividend payments, it is too simple to argue that the dual listing should now be unwound. What’s more, this stance is unlikely to garner serious support. The top two investors in BHP’s Australian-listed entity are U.S. groups BlackRock and Vanguard, which own more than 7% of the shares. None of the top international investors is opposing the transfer of reserves from Australia to the U.K.. BHP Billiton at £10.93 -3p. Questor says “Sell”.
Sell Tribal on profit warning: Shares in the student management company Tribal suffered their worst one-day drop on record, falling almost 40%, after the group warned that both revenue and profits would be short of expectations this year. The firm, which develops software systems to manage school and university students, said it had focused too much on large customers, who are now delaying their orders. As costs rise and revenues fail to materialise, Tribal does not have enough smaller deals to cushion the blow. The broker Cannacord Genuity reduced the full-year revenue forecast to £115 million, from £124 million, and slashed the adjusted pretax profit target to £6.5 million, from £16 million previously. Tribal’s shares, at 73.88p, are currently trading on 14 times the forecast adjusted 5.4p in earnings per share. Tribal’s net debts increased to £23 million at the end of June, from £12 million at the start of the year. Putting this in perspective, the debt levels are against shareholders ‘equity of £45.5 million. Tribal is also searching for a new Chief executive after Keith Evans, who held the role for five years, announced his departure in May. The shares hold few attractions for investors, as they trade on a high growth rating, while the underlying education market faces tough times from budgetary cuts. The uncertainty around such a large contract is a further concern. Tribal at 73.88p-48.62p. Questor says “Sell”.
The Guardian
British steel has been left weak by cheap Chinese competition: The latest grim chapter in the long, slow death of Britain’s steel industry may have been decided in India, but it was scripted in Beijing.
Barclays bid for investment bank to own retail arm could flout ringfencing rules: Barclays appears to be considering ways to defy the strict separation of its high street operations from its investment bank, in a move likely to inflame the debate over whether rules designed to prevent a second banking crisis are being watered down.
Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler’s tax avoidance deals to be ruled illegal: Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler are expected to be billed for tens of millions of Euros in additional taxes as the European commission prepares to rule that they had unlawful deals with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Uber pays £22,000 tax on £866,000 U.K. profit: Uber is the latest company to risk public anger after paying £22,134 in U.K. corporation tax last year despite making an £866,000 profit.
Waitrose Boss Mark Price quits to ‘head Channel 4’: The Boss of Waitrose has quit the John Lewis-owned supermarket chain and is said to be lined up as the next Chairman of Channel 4.
Daily Mail
Concerns over tarnished bank Bosses’ human rights meant they can’t be assumed ‘guilty until proven innocent’: Plans to assume tarnished bank Bosses are ‘guilty until proven innocent’ were ditched over fears they would play into the hands of human rights lawyers, top officials at the Bank of England told MPs.
South African unions move to block SABMiller – InBev beer merger over fears it will lead to job cuts: Powerful unions in South Africa have called on competition regulators to block the £68 billion takeover of Peroni maker SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Asos profits edge up as U.K. sales soar 27% and new Boss adapts to life at the helm: Profits at fashion group Asos have edged up after sales in the U.K. soared 27% in the year to August. The online retailer said profits rose 1% to £47.5 million from £46.9 million the previous year, after overall sales increased by 17% to £1.12 billion. Overseas sales were up 11 % and margins also increased.
Deutsche’s British Boss a hit with investors over plans to clear out old guard and split the investment bank in two: Deutsche Bank’s British Chief executive made a good impression on investors as they cheered his plans to clear out the old guard and split the investment bank in two. Yorkshireman John Cryan is desperately trying to boost profits and improve the reputation of Germany’s biggest lender following a string of scandals.
Weak growth could spark another global economic disaster, warns Bank of England hawk as he renews call for interest rate rise: The global economy could be hit by a fresh ‘disaster’ as weak growth around the world holds back the recovery in Britain, a senior Bank of England official has warned. Ian McCafferty, a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee that sets U.K. interest rates, said the global outlook has darkened since the summer amid a slowdown in China and turbulence on financial markets.
TSB eyes up some of ‘bad bank’ Northern Rock’s most toxic loans: TSB is hoping to buy some of Northern Rock’s most toxic loans which were swallowed up by the Government’s ‘bad bank’ during the financial crisis. The challenger bank – now owned by Spain’s Sabadell – is thought to be in discussions with a consortium of investors, led by Morgan Stanley, which has mounted a successful bid for the £12 billion ‘Granite’ portfolio
British Airways to replace IT workers with Indian recruits flown in on temporary visas: British Airways is set to replace IT workers in the U.K. with Indian recruits flown into the country on temporary visas.
Hotel giant InterContinental sees shares book gains after the Crowne Plaza owner posts strong growth in Europe: InterContinental Hotels Group was the top riser on the FTSE 100 leaderboard in morning trade after the Holiday Inn owner reported strong growth in its fiscal third quarter thanks to demand in Europe. The group – which also runs the glamorous Crowne Plaza and InterContinental hotels – posted a 4.8% increase in global revenue per available room, up from 4.4% growth in the second quarter.
Costa Coffee and Premier Inns owner sees 13.8% rise in profits as Boss Harrison prepares to leave: Whitbread has posted a 13.8% jump in half year profits as Boss Any Harrison prepares to leave the company he has controlled for five years. The Costa Coffee and Premier Inns Owner reported a pretax profit of £291.3 million for the first half of its financial year – up from £256 million this time in 2014 – while revenues rose 11% to £1.44 billion.
Daily Express
Energy giants refuse to make heating bills cheaper despite costs hitting FIVE year low: Households now turning on the heating will be stuck with overpriced energy bills as heartless providers refuse to pass on falling costs which have dropped as much as 40%. As the worst El Nino in history recorded brings warnings of the coldest winter in 50 years, the biggest energy giants are using a fall in wholesale costs to boost their bottom line, rather than bringing down prices for customers.
Chinese President meets Queen as anger over human rights and steel overshadows state visit: China’s President Xi Jinping was welcomed to Britain with a dazzling ceremony full of pomp, but the controversy surrounding his state trip has continued to escalate.
The Scottish Herald
Scottish bus builder in potential £2 billion alliance with Chinese company: Scottish bus builder Alexander Dennis will unveil a major alliance with a Chinese battery technology expert that could see the two companies manufacture up to £2 billion worth of vehicles.
Wood Group eyes growth in unconventional oil and gas markets: Wood Group has highlighted the appeal of unconventional oil and gas markets such as shale after winning more business in the USA.
Food sales remain weak in Scotland: The value of Scottish retail sales in September was down by 1.3% on the same month of last year, the latest industry figures reveal. The statistics, published by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) show that food sales north of the Border remained weak last month.
Stagecoach repays £400 million bond issue: Stagecoach will take a £23 million hit from repaying a bond issue which was due to expire next year, after its recent successful raising of cheaper finance.
Epic notches up a busy first 12 months: Ediston Property Investment Company (Epic), which floated a year ago at 100p, has reported a 1.83% rise in asset value for its final quarter to 106.5p. The shares were steady at 109.6p, reflecting a successful first year in which the trust raised £36 million in new equity and £40 million in debt from Aviva, adding to the £95 million raised at launch.
Lloyds shareholders resume claim for £6 billion of HBOS losses: Former Lloyds TSB shareholders will claim in court that HBOS was “grossly over-valued” in the shotgun marriage with Lloyds in 2009.
The Scotsman
Retail sector enjoys best sales in over a year: Scottish retailers have enjoyed their best month of sales in more than a year but the trading environment remains “challenging”,
Wetherspoon boss raps Jamie Oliver over fizzy tax: Tim Martin, Founder Chairman of pubs giant JD Wetherspoon, hit out at television celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s campaign for higher taxes on soft drinks.
Enegi Oil Boss Alan Minty hands over to new CEO: Oil and gas firm Enegi appointed former investment banker Nigel Burton as Chief executive.
City A.M.
City Hall Tories want control of stamp duty: Conservatives in City Hall want Whitehall to hand control over stamp duty to local authorities – and are bolstering their case by claiming devolution could lead to more than 40,000 new homes in London each year.
Londoners face further rental rate increases: There is no slowing down for rental rates in the capital, with the average cost per month for a one-bed flat coming in at over £1,000 in three quarters of boroughs. Only nine London boroughs have average rents for one-bed flats below £1,000 per month now, according to the monthly Landbay Rental Index.
Businesses run from British homes undertake £32 billion of global trade: Post Office International Payments (POIP) estimates that £32 billion of goods have been traded with overseas buyers and sellers from so-called spare room traders, who will utilise websites such as eBay. Approximately 70% of all new businesses start off at home while almost one in five people in the U.K. have sold items profitably to foreign buyers online, POIP said.
German-style training could boost U.K. GDP: If the U.K. could bring down the number of young people not in work or education to German levels, the economy would be boosted by around £55 billion, according to PwC’s Young Workers Index. The index measures the labour market impact of workers aged between 20 and 24 across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Osborne faces more tax credit pressure: Pressure is building on Chancellor George Osborne to reconsider his plans to slash tax credits, with Labour and Conservative MPs alike attacking the proposals ahead of an expected “fatal motion” in the House of Lords.
Telecoms customer complaints have risen 35% since 2012: It Might not come as a surprise, but there are plenty of unhappy telecoms customers – 15,542 of them have complained over the past nine months, a 35% increase over the past three years. The Ombudsman Services will release figures showing that there has been a five per cent increase from this time last year in the number of complaints.
Mark Carney plays down potential controversy of Bank’s Brexit report: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has played down the Bank’s analysis of a U.K. exit from the EU, telling an influential group of MPs it is “a bit of a yawner”. The Bank is due to publish its findings after investigating the potential impact a U.K. exit from the EU would have on its ability to steer the economy.
Education tech group launches in London to promote sector growth: A new body aimed at promoting the education technology sector, Edtech U.K., launches in London.
City executives including Trinity Mirror’s Sly Bailey plan exchange for real estate: A team of high-profile City executives is preparing to launch the world’s first exchange to trade shares in companies that own single commercial property assets, opening up commercial property investment opportunities to a wider range of investors.
CBI Director-general: benefits of EU membership outweigh the disadvantages: In a new report published, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), set out its case for the U.K. remaining in a “reformed” EU.
Digital firms in Tech City U.K.’s Future Fifty raise £470 million as international expansion increases: Companies in the Future Fifty programme have raised £470 million in funding during the first nine months of 2015, up 63% on the total raised throughout the whole of 2014.
IBM’s share price is getting walloped: IBM shares have plummeted to a five-year low after the company released disappointing results. The shares fell 5.35% to $141.26 after markets reopened. IBM’s results showed that its up and coming cloud computing business was not yet making up the ground lost by its more traditional areas as it posted a 14th consecutive quarter of falling sales.
