The Times
EDF ordered to switch off five reactors: The company building Britain’s first nuclear power station for 21 years has been ordered to shut down five more reactors in France for emergency tests.
Britain’s tax system is ‘too complex and stops growth’: The “punishingly complex” tax system is holding back private companies, according to the Institute of Directors and a group of entrepreneurs, investors and accountants.
French tourism suffers after terror attacks: Hotels, restaurants and retailers in Paris and the Riviera are facing a “disastrous” drop in income as a consequence of tourists staying away for fear of terrorism and ordinary crime, industry Bosses have warned.
Morgan Stanley jumps on banks’ profit bandwagon: Profits at Morgan Stanley rose by more than 50% in the third quarter, boosted by a near-doubling in revenues at its trading business.
Dennis fights to stay behind the wheel at McLaren: Ron Dennis is fighting to hold on to his job in charge of McLaren.
Sales revenue falls by third at estate agent: Property sales at Foxtons have fallen by more than a third in three months.
Saving euro clearing is ‘not priority’: Safeguarding the business of processing trillions of euro-denominated transactions through London is not a key part of the negotiations to leave the European Union, according to a Treasury minister.
May opposes higher tariffs against China steel dumping: Theresa May is opposing tougher European protection against Chinese steel imports, dashing hopes in Brussels of a shift in position.
New Barbies leave Mattel sitting pretty: Barbie was the star of the show for Mattel in the third quarter, with a 16% rise in worldwide sales.
The Independent
Cannabis drug developer GW Pharma cancels London stock market listing: A U.K. drug company specialising in cannabis-based medicines has ditched its stock market listing in London in favour of trading exclusively on New York’s Nasdaq, but claims it will keep its headquarters in Cambridge.
Jobs market holds up in August: The jobs market held up well in August and September, showing few adverse effects from the June Brexit referendum result.
Banks consider ‘moving London staff to Luxembourg to get access to EU’: The Head of financial development for Luxembourg said a string of overseas banks and fund managers had explored moving London staff to the tiny country since the Brexit vote.
China’s economy grows 6.7% but experts warn of ‘unsustainable’ bubble: China’s economic growth remained stable in the third quarter, all but ensuring the government’s full-year growth target is met and opening a window for policy makers to deliver on vows to rein in excessive credit and surging property prices.
Travis Perkins to close 30 branches and axe up to 600 jobs: Travis Perkins, Britain’s biggest builders’ merchant and the owner of the DIY chain Wickes, has announced plans to shut stores amid ‘uncertain trading’ in a move impacting up to 600 jobs across the group.
Financial Times
HSBC to wind down Monaco private bank: HSBC is transferring the bulk of its private banking business in Monaco to CFM Indosuez Wealth Management in a move that completes a significant restructuring of the bank’s scandal-plagued division.
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Hotel Chocolat tastes success in first year as listed company: Hotel Chocolat, the luxury chocolate retailer, posted a 91% rise in pre-tax profits on Wednesday, beating market expectations in its maiden annual results as a listed company.
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Exxon backs ‘serious action’ on climate change: ExxonMobil on Wednesday voiced its support for “serious action” to tackle climate change, including a tax on carbon emissions, days after the U.S. oil group launched a fightback against claims that it has misled investors about the risks of global warming.
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Exxon and Saudi Arabia at odds on oil market supply: The Head of the world’s biggest listed oil company and Opec’s most powerful member Saudi Arabia on Wednesday offered sharply differing views on the outlook for the oil market.
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BHP Billiton aims for 50% of workforce to be women by 2025: BHP Billiton has set a new goal for women to make up half of its workforce by 2025 in one of the most ambitious gender targets at a global company.
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Essar sale signals a push to deal with India banking problems: Essar Group’s $13 billion sale of oil and port assets also speaks to the country’s surging level of distressed corporate debt, which is weighing on India’s growth prospects despite such eye-catching efforts to address it.
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California prosecutors open new front in Wells Fargo scandal: State prosecutors in California are investigating Wells Fargo on allegations of criminal identity theft and false impersonation, opening up another front in the scandal over faked accounts at the bank.
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Airbnb faces fight for survival in New York City: Airbnb faces a fight for its life in the Big Apple as Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor, prepares to sign a bill that would in effect end the home-sharing company’s business in New York City.
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Tesla powers up plan for full self-driving cars: Tesla Motors said on Wednesday that it plans to make its cars capable of fully autonomous driving by the end of next year, setting an aggressive deadline that could put it ahead of other carmakers in the race to put robot cars on the road.
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Geely targets VW with Lynk launch in Europe: China’s Geely is launching a new mass-market car in Europe, becoming the country’s first carmaker to push into the region in its own right.
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LeEco’s U.S. ‘roadshow’ meets an unexpected hitch: LeEco, the Chinese tech group, announced its arrival in the U.S. at a splashy but haphazard event in San Francisco on Wednesday, unveiling a suite of connected TVs, smartphones and a new video streaming service, as well as concepts for a virtual reality headset and electric cars and bikes.
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Sulzberger son steps up at New York Times: The New York Times has appointed Arthur Gregg Sulzberger deputy publisher, putting the 36-year-old in line to succeed his father, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, as publisher and chairman of the newspaper.
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Latin America uplift boosts Carrefour: Shares in Carrefour climbed on Wednesday, as the world’s second-biggest retailer by revenue reported robust sales in Brazil and improvements in its core French market over the third quarter.
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Yahoo calls for greater transparency from intelligence services: Yahoo is demanding U.S. intelligence services reveal how they monitor online services, after a report said the internet company secretly scanned customer emails.
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Lex:
Eurotunnel: no light yet: Shares in Eurotunnel fell precipitously in the days after the U.K. voted to leave the EU. Ever since, the tunnel operator has protested that the integrated nature of cross-Channel trade means that traffic volumes will grow regardless.
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Carrefour: the real deal: The 2014 World Cup aside, Brazil has not proven a happy hunting ground for European interests recently. Carrefour is another exception. Its performance there has been consistent enough that a flotation of its Brazilian subsidiary has returned to the agenda.
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Travis Perkins: drilling down: The really determined can make a bull case for Travis Perkins, builders’ merchant and favourite hang-out for DIY-aficionados. Determination is needed, as both share price and fundamentals are bleak.
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Lombard:
Reckitt Benckiser: chiropodist heal thyself: Reckitt Benckiser sells a miniature electric sander for DIY foot care. It is a pity the device cannot fix the Achilles heel of the big consumer products group: a corporate culture that is out of step with the public mood. Aggressive multinationals are unfashionable. Reckitt thus faces challenges bigger than third-quarter sales modestly undershooting forecasts and shares falling 2.6 per cent.
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Apple grapple: Wednesday’s trading update revealed Laird struggling to join the dots and short on solutions. Profits before nasties for the year ending in 10 weeks would be at least a third less than forecast at £50m, it said. The market shot its cuffs and the shares halved.
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The Daily Telegraph
Big businesses warn U.K. will be the loser from government intervention on foreign takeovers: Top businesses have spoken out about the damage that a heavy-handed government clampdown on foreign takeovers is likely to inflict on the U.K.’s interests at home and overseas.
Housebuilder Barratt’s London Boss suspended after arrests linked to the awarding of contracts: A senior Executive at Barratt Developments has been suspended after being arrested on suspicion of bribery over possible misconduct in awarding contracts for new housing developments.
Google in talks with Disney, Fox and CBS to launch online TV channel: Google has signed a deal with CBS to provide channels for its planned online TV service, according to reports, and is in “advanced talks” with Disney and Fox to broadcast their shows too.
Handelsbanken shrugs off Brexit to post rising profits: Handelsbanken, the Swedish lender that is growing quickly in the U.K., has boosted profits, lending and deposits in Britain, shrugging off the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote.
Eurostar traffic falls 10% on terror fears but weak sterling boosts Channel Tunnel operator: Demand for train travel to the Continent has dropped this year as terror attacks in Brussels and Paris spooked holidaymakers, the latest figures from Eurotunnel suggest.
The Questor Column:
Park cash in this Aim-listed storage firm to protect it from inheritance tax: And while Aim has something of a reputation as the Wild West of the stock market, its members include some well-established businesses that pay reliable dividends. One example is Lok’nStore Group, which offers “self-storage” to individuals and businesses that don’t have enough space for all their possessions. One fund manager who has a large holding in Lok’nStore is Mark Slater, the son of the late Jim Slater, the financier and former Telegraph share tipper. Mr Slater pointed out that the use of self-storage was routine in America and said he expected the same to happen here in time. Questor pays special attention to fund managers who have “skin in the game” and Mr Slater certainly qualifies, with a £4.5 million holding in the Slater Income Fund. Questor says “Hold”.
The Guardian
Philip Hammond attempts to ease concerns over hard Brexit: Philip Hammond has sought to allay fears that the economy will be sacrificed in Brexit negotiations, with support for foreign high-skilled workers, the expectation of a favourable deal for the City and a staunch defence of the Bank of England’s independence.
Saudi Arabia raises $17.5 billion from bonds to repair damage to public finances: Saudi Arabia has raised $17.5 billion (£14 billion) from its first foray into the global bond markets as it seeks to repair the damage to its public finances caused by the collapse in the oil price since 2014.
Bank of England rebuts May and Hague’s attacks on quantitative easing: The Bank of England has hit back at attacks by Theresa May and Lord William Hague on its money creation programme by pointing to the beneficial impact on the economy of the quantitative easing (QE) announced in its emergency post-Brexit stimulus.
TV advertising market set for worst year since 2009 amid Brexit fears: Broadcasters are facing the prospect of the worst year for TV advertising since the recession of 2009, as uncertainty over the likelihood of a hard Brexit has seen jittery companies strip more than £400 million from marketing budgets.
Daily Mail
Technology firm Laird loses almost half of its value after becoming latest victim of global slowdown in smartphone sales: Technology firm Laird lost almost half of its value when it became the latest victim of the global slowdown in smartphone sales.
Demand for black clothes in Thailand to mourn death of country’s King causes rush in Tesco’s South Asian outlets: Demand for black clothes in Thailand to mourn the death of the country’s King has caused a rush in Tesco’s South Asian outlets.
Country-wide boycott of Reckitt Benckiser products in South Korea leads chemicals firm to post weakest sales growth in five years: A country-wide boycott of Reckitt Benckiser products in South Korea led the chemicals firm to post its weakest sales growth in five years.
Drivers will be able to buy a car simply by signing up for smartphone when Volvo’s Chinese owners launch new vehicle: Drivers will be able to buy a car as simply as signing up for a smartphone when a new vehicle is launched by the Chinese owners of Volvo.
Restaurant king Sir Terence Conran fights off allegations that he deprived former business partner of £3 million payday: Restaurant king Sir Terence Conran has fought off allegations that he deprived a former business partner of a £3 million payday.
Daily Express
European Commission could reject Italy’s budget plans in shock and unprecedented move: Italy’s spending plans for next year may be slapped down in an extraordinary and extreme move by the European Commission (EC).
Are you getting a refund? 750,000 mortgage customers set for compensation: Thousands of home owners could be in line for hundreds of pounds in compensation after lenders wrongly hiked mortgage bills. More than 750,000 people have had arrears lumped in with their monthly mortgage payments, found the industry watchdog.
Government axes plans for pensioners to sell retirement income: Pensioners hoping to sell poor-value retirement income next year have been left disappointed after the Government scrapped its plans for a secondary annuity market.
City beasts lose rag with Government over Brexit ineptitude: Top bankers and key City figures have accused the Government’s Brexit officials of ignoring Britain’s crucial financial sector amid preparations to leave the European Union (EU).
Britain’s employment rate at record high following Brexit vote: Britain’s employment rate remains at a record high, as the number of people in work increased in the weeks following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union (EU), official data revealed.
The Scottish Herald
Law and finance firms face big risk of collapse: Nearly one-third of professional services firms in Scotland are still considered to be at a heightened risk of insolvency, underlining fears expressed ahead of the EU referendum in June that a Brexit vote would have a damaging effect on the sector.
Algy Cluff hails exciting North Sea prospects: North Sea-focused Cluff Natural Resources has hailed a big increase in estimates of the size of the possible resource base on its licences which it said underlined the potential to make big finds in the area.
Aberdeen LatAm IT in return to growth: Sterling’s weakness, a mild recovery in commodity prices and the growing strength of Latin American markets helped the Aberdeen Latin American Income fund make a positive return in the last financial year.
Online peer-to-peer platform LendingCrowd offers joining bonus to attract new investors: Peer-to-peer platform LendingCrowd is offering new investors a 2.5% joining bonus as it seeks to increase the pot of cash it has available to lend to small and medium sized enterprises.
Property developer pledges to create 2,000 Scottish jobs over 10 sites: London & Scottish Developments has pledged to deliver an estimated 2,000 new jobs across ten retail sites it acquired from Tesco last year, by leasing space to the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Home Bargains and Marks & Spencer.
Clark upbeat after landing £25 million of new contract wins: Paisley-based Clark Contracts has reported contract wins worth £25 million in the last six months.
Rearo seals £1-million-bathroom deal: Rearo, a Glasgow-based manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen surfaces, has secured a £1 million distribution deal with Meyer Timber for its bathroom wall panel product, Selkie. The range will be distributed from Meyer Timber’s depots in a deal that Norrie McLeod from Rearo, said was an excellent opportunity to increase Selkie’s exposure across the U.K.
McGill’s lifts profits in tough year: Greenock’s McGill’s Buses defied tough trading conditions to hike profits by 12.5% to £3.6 million last year.
The Scotsman
North Sea industry seeks to tap into ‘small pools’: The regulator for the North Sea industry has highlighted the “very significant” potential of more than three billion barrels of oil waiting to be tapped in U.K. waters.
Travel booking tech firm checks in with £5.3 million funding: An East Kilbride-based provider of booking systems for the travel sector is looking to ramp up its overseas presence after securing a £5.3 million investment.
Food allergy app sees appetite for growth in Scotland: An app focused on food allergies is to officially launch in Scotland next year, amid an expected strong appetite for the service.
East Lothian energy supplier gearing up for launch: An East Lothian energy supplier that is promising to share three-quarters of its profits with customers is preparing to launch next year after beating its fundraising target.
Crisps maker Mackie’s grows exports with Russia deal: Mackie’s at Taypack, the Perthshire crisps maker, has landed a deal to supply Russian supermarket chain AzbU.K.a Vkusa.
Property group seals seven-figure deal for Dundee halls: Dundee property and investment firm Carling Property Group has acquired Alloway Halls in the city from Abertay University in a seven-figure deal.
City A.M.
Chemical Industries Association urges tariff-free Single Market access to keep investment rolling in as part of Brexit manifesto: The U.K.’s chemical industry has urged the government to negotiate tariff-free access to the Single Market in a Brexit manifesto published.
London construction slowing after the Brexit vote: Construction in London is undergoing a slowdown following the Brexit vote, according to chartered surveyors.
Private equity firms backed to capitalise on Brexit opportunities: Private equity houses have been backed to capitalise on uncertainty over the U.K.’s Brexit vote with new investments.
BT comes under pressure from digital minister: The minister for digital policy has said the government is committed to improving competition in the U.K. broadband market as watchdog Ofcom weighs the case for breaking up BT.
Twitter fires its new head of VR… in the same week it hired him: Twitter is ploughing on into the world of virtual reality, though it faced a small setback after announcing it had fired its new head of VR (roughly 48 hours after he started his new job).
West Texas Intermediate crude price highest level in more than a year on U.S. stockpile data: Prices of the black stuff rose more than 2% after a surprise fall in U.S. crude inventories.
