The Times
‘Flash crash’ trader loses fight against extradition: The trader accused of rigging Wall Street shares from a bedroom in his parents’ house in London was told by a judge that he will be extradited to the United States, where he faces trial and a potential jail term of up to 380 years.
Brussels and Brexit push sterling to six-year low: Markets turned against the pound as the Brussels attacks reignited fears surrounding a British exit from the European Union, driving the cost of protection against a currency collapse to its highest level in six years.
Barclays faces legal challenge over Saïd switch: Wafic Saïd has launched a lawsuit against Barclays for ditching him as a client after 40 years with no explanation.
Sports Direct adjusts goalposts once again: Having spread uncertainty in the stock market over the state of its trading earlier in the week, Sports Direct cut its profit forecast.
Nut and bolts start to come together at Kingfisher: Pretax profit has slumped at Kingfisher but the Owner of B&Q and Screwfix said that its restructuring plan remained on track as it seeks to become Britain’s leading “home improvement retailer”.
Winkworth pays dividend but profits fall: Winkworth is to pay a special dividend despite the 181 year old estate agency reporting weaker profit.
Times papers build on digital progress to deliver profit: The Times and The Sunday Times have boosted profits on the back of lower printing costs, growing subscription revenues and cost-cutting.
The Independent
William Hill: Betting firm complains ‘panic button’ allowing gamblers to take break is hurting profits: A “panic button” making it easier for problem gamblers to take a break from online betting by locking their accounts has damaged the profits of William Hill, the firm has announced.
Saudi Arabia to freeze oil output without Iran, Opec delegate reveals: Saudi Arabia has said it will freeze oil output next month regardless of whether or not it can reach an agreement with Iran.
Android Pay release date: Google will let U.K. users pay with their phones ‘in the next few months’: Google is about to launch its Android Pay system in the U.K., it has said.
David Cameron says Britain’s alcohol business is at risk in the EU referendum: U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that Britain’s booze trade would face potential job losses if the country votes to leave the European Union.
Flybe sells tickets for ‘rescue flights’ from Cardiff to London while the Severn Tunnel is closed: Flyby has said it is planning daily flights from Cardiff to London City Airports during the six week closure of the Severn Tunnel in September and October.
Financial Times
Dyson sucks up government funding for electric car: Dyson is developing a new product to add to its signature vacuum cleaners and high-tech hand dryers — an electric car.
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EDF Chief Executive predicts green light for Hinkley Point: The Chief Executive of EDF Energy has predicted that Hinkley Point will shortly get the go-ahead, even as he admitted that the new nuclear power station would be as expensive as burning oil at $230 a barrel.
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Contest for top PRA post enters final straight: The new head of the U.K.’s banking and insurance supervisor is expected to be named this week, ending a game of musical chairs between top U.K. officials.
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Liberty House to buy Scottish Tata steel mills: Commodities trader Liberty House was on Wednesday poised to buy Scotland’s last two big steelworks from Tata Steel, a move that would keep the factories open in a rare glimmer of hope for the ailing industry.
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StanChart tightens lending terms to diamond sector: Standard Chartered’s push to bring some sparkle back to its performance has led the emerging markets bank to tighten its terms for lending to the diamond sector.
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Mitsui warns of first loss since 1947: Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co has warned it will make its first annual loss since being established in its current form in 1947, after big bets on metals and energy were hit by the global commodities rout.
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Hermes resists global pressures to edge ahead of forecasts: Hermes has revealed a 19% rise in operating profit last year in full-year figures, helping the luxury group to narrowly beat analysts’ forecasts.
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Pearson withholds bonuses for senior management after poor year: Pearson did not pay bonuses to its senior management following a “below-threshold performance” by the world’s largest education company last year.
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Lex:
Auto parts: blowing a gasket: Over the past decade the best growth story in U.S. retail — outside of the internet — is not do-it-yourself, luxury or fast casual dining. It is auto parts. The total market capitalisation of the four biggest public parts groups (AutoZone, O’Reilly, Advance and Genuine Parts) grew by over $50 billion in that time.
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Sibanye Gold: rand-y: South African miners have not had much love from punters in recent years. Cost-cutting and asset sales did not work. Sibanye Gold, the South Africa-listed precious metals miner, decided it would try a different tack: growth through acquisitions, with the added allure of rising dividends.
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Sterling options: the boat has sailed: On Wednesday, sterling three-month volatility spiked from 11 to 14.5%. Once more, this time in English: on March 23, the number that traders plug in to their models to price options expiring in three months’ time rose nearly a third. Options are a bet on future volatility.
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Lombard:
Sports Direct should go private if it cannot tolerate discipline: Maverick Bosses are guests on the stock market. Guests, like fish, always stink after a while. The point is illustrated by Mike Ashley, Founder and majority shareholder in Sports Direct.
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Credit due: Perhaps the little-known businessmen who took over BHS are not lightweights after all. Creditors have backed their survival plan for the troubled retailer. It is questionable whether the chain will ever make it back into the black. But this is a step in the right direction.
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The Daily Telegraph
No risk of Brexit ‘economic shock’, says Boris Johnson: Boris Johnson has said that leaving the EU would result in “no economic shock” at all to the U.K., despite the claims of economists including the Bank of England’s own Governor to the contrary.
Murdoch’s tabloids report £253 million loss: The publisher of The Sun has reported a £253 million loss after slashing the intangible value of its newspapers by more than a third amid declining print sales and continuing fallout from the phone hacking scandal.
Channel 4 attacks ‘Two Weddings and Half a Funeral’ part-privatisation: Channel 4 has insisted it is financially sustainable in public hands, citing research it commissioned from the accountants EY that said privatisation offered only “inherently uncertain” benefits.
Ex-Standard Life Chief David Nish joins HSBC’s board: Standard Life’s former Chief Executive David Nish is to join HSBC’s board at the start of May.
Bank of England: Don’t wipe out international banking: Excessive red tape risks trashing international banking and impeding trade, harming the real economy for little gain, a top regulator at the Bank of England has warned.
Blow for AstraZeneca as Brilinta drug fails to beat aspirin in stroke trial: AstraZeneca’s key heart drug, Brilinta, has failed to help stroke patients in a big clinical trial that compared the treatment to taking aspirin.
Sofa giant DFS reports profit surge after springing into Spain’s expat community: Profits at furniture retailer DFS jumped in the first half of the year, buoyed by new stores in Spain and Holland and a strong housing market in the U.K., which fuelled demand for home furnishings.
Oil price rout pushes North Sea explorer Ithaca to another loss: The plunging price of oil has pushed North Sea-based producer Ithaca Energy to another year of losses.
The Guardian
Energy secretary warns of £500 million ‘electric shock’ after Brexit: Energy bills would soar by £500 million a year if the U.K. left the EU, Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, will claim on Thursday.
Longannet power station closes ending coal power use in Scotland: Scotland will on Thursday witness an end to the coal age which fired its industrial revolution with the closure of Longannet power station.
Barclay brothers set to sell a stake in Shop Direct: The billionaire Barclay twins are considering selling a stake in their retail business Shop Direct.
Virgin America shares soar on reports that airline is seeking buyers: Virgin America shares soared on Wall Street on Wednesday following reports that the airline founded by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson is considering selling itself to a third party.
Daily Mail
Odeon feels the Force as profits rise an impressive 84% on the back of hits like Star Wars: Blockbuster movies gave Odeon a bumper year as profits rose 84%.
U.S. fracking revolution hits U.K. as first tanker loaded with American shale gas arrives in Europe: The first tanker loaded with U.S. shale gas has arrived in Europe, in a move predicted to transform British manufacturing.
Trump is greater risk to the economy than Brexit, warns top fund Manager Richard Woolnough: One of Britain’s most successful fund Managers has warned that Donald Trump poses a greater risk to savings and investments than Brexit.
Credit Suisse announces 2,000 job cuts after bankers hid risky trades from new Boss: The Chief Executive of Credit Suisse has been forced to announce another 2,000 job cuts after discovering his own staff were concealing risky trades.
Daily Express
BHS Boss Darren Topp vows to bounce back: BHS Boss Darren Topp pledged to lead a “revitalised” department store group back into profit after creditors backed a rescue plan involving big cuts to its rent bill.
Brussels attacks estimated to cost its economy €4 billion: The damage to the economy in Brussels following the attacks has been estimated to cost €4 billion.
The Scottish Herald
Scottish law firms enjoy surge in fee income and profits, predict further mergers: Scottish law firms are enjoying surges in fee income and profits but nearly seven in ten believe there are too many players in the sector, with further mergers predicted and more failures viewed as a possibility.
Million pound investment sees House of Adidas open in Greaves: Family-owned sports retailer Greaves has opened Scotland’s first House of Adidas. The £1 million development at the firm’s flagship Gordon Street store in Glasgow extends the store to almost 13,000 sq ft.
First Hull train operation wins extension: First Hull Trains, part of Scottish bus and train business FirstGroup, said it was cementing its reputation as the U.K.’s top-rated train service as it won a ten-year extension to continue running its service until December 2029.
Glasgow software company ThinkAnalytics enjoys record growth: A Scottish software company that works with some of the world’s biggest television groups has announced record growth as demand for TV search services soars.
Local firm wins major EDF ER contract: EDF Energy Renewables has signed a five year deal with Wind Towers Scotland for the Argyll based company to supply turbine towers for all its onshore wind farm projects in the U.K.
IndigoVision Chief’s remuneration up slightly: Marcus Kneen, the Chief Executive of Edinburgh-based video security specialist IndigoVision, saw his total remuneration increase 2% to $387,000 (£274,437) in 2015 compared to an equivalent 12 month period the year before, the company’s annual report indicates.
Le Roux ups stake in Scotgold: Scotgold Resources has issued 73.9 million fully-paid shares to its Chairman Nat Le Roux.
Kwik Fit expands into Italy: Kwik Fit, the U.K.’s biggest auto repairer and tyre retailer, has agreed a partnership which will see the brand expand into Italy.
The Scotsman
RBS pumps £45 million into Borders wind farm project: An Irish renewables firm has secured a £44.9 million debt facility with Royal Bank of Scotland to build a wind farm in the Borders.
Scots cashmere makers targeted by Chinese firm: Cashmere makers in Scotland are being invited to pitch for business with a Chinese trading company.
Wood Group extends deal with Shell’s Scots gas sites: Oil and gas services giant Wood Group has secured a new three-year contract covering three Shell sites north of the Border.
Family run Edinburgh beer-makers toast success with Paolozzi: Breaking into Scotland’s craft beer market is no mean feat but one family run brewer is enjoying intial success with its pop-art inspired lager.
City A.M.
U.K. car manufacturing climbs 13% in February as domestic sales accelerate – SMMT: February was another month of growth for U.K. car makers as they continued to buck the trend in the rest of the manufacturing sector.
Libor scandal: Judge orders former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes to pay over £878,806: Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes was ordered to pay just shy of £900,000 by a court, or face yet more time in jail.
Oil baron Algy Cluff snaps up three North Sea oil licenses for £1 each: Oil baron Algy Cluff has taken stakes in three North Sea oil projects for just £1 each.
Phoenix Group Holdings share price up as insurance company reveals cash generation largely in-line with targets for year ended December 2015: Share price in Phoenix Group Holdings rose after the company announced that its cash generation had met its targets, although profits slumped slightly for the year ended December 2015.
Moody’s downgrade for Sysco after U.S. company’s acquisition of London-based food supplier Brakes: Moody’s has downgraded Sysco, citing the U.S. company’s acquisition of London-based food supplier Brakes for $3.1 billion (£2.2 billion).
Sky’s got a new U.K. Chief Executive: Stephen van Rooyen named Chief of U.K. and Ireland under Europe Boss Jeremy Darroch: Sky has re-jigged its management in the U.K., promoting digital and marketing Chief Stephen van Rooyen to Chief Executive of the U.K. and Ireland.
Another round for Meantime Brewing Company as it appoints new general Manager: Meantime Brewing Company, one of the U.K.’s largest modern craft brewers, has appointed Laura Edwards new general Manager from 31 March.
Bingo! Gaming Realms makes play to launch online bingo game into New Jersey gambling market: Online gambling game creator Gaming Realms will move its bingo games into the U.S. market through an agreement with Pala Interactive in New Jersey.
Burford Capital share price closes up after financial services company reveals revenues over $100 million for the first time in its history: Share price in Burford Capital closed up after the financial services company reveals a boost to both its profits and revenues for the year ended December 2015.
