In the papers: EDF Paddy Power Betfair Apple

Date

5/8/2016 5:28:30 AM

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(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) Proactive Investors Thu

The Times
EDF Executive lobbied to halt 18 billion Hinkley Point: EDF's former finance Chief tried to persuade the French energy giant to postpone plans to build an 18 billion nuclear power station at Hinkley Point Somerset for at least three years he told French MPs.
RBS Executives face criticism over 'obscene' pay packets: Executives at Royal Bank of Scotland faced accusations of taking home 'obscene' pay packets and being 'glorified civil servants' at a stormy annual meeting.
X marks spot for Sportech in 97 million win over taxman: They thought it was all over. Seven years after launching a VAT claim over its Spot the Ball game Sportech came tantalisingly close to recouping 97 million from the taxman.
Greece stands firm against creditor calls for further cuts: Greece defied its creditors as it refused to agree to 3.6 billion in extra savings to meet an IMF order to set up a contingency scheme in the event that the cash-strapped country fails to meet its fiscal targets.
Paddy Power Betfair falls at Cheltenham: One of its lucky punters may have bagged 200000 from putting 100 on Leicester City to win the Premier League but it was the more obvious victories of Ireland's champion trainer Willie Mullins banging in the winners at the Cheltenham horse racing festival that has hurt the Paddy Power Betfair gambling empire.
Newbury Racecourse profits from jump in revenues: The sleeping giant of British horseracing Newbury is back in the saddle returning to profit and reporting that numbers attending its marquee day the Hennessy Gold Cup are at their highest levels since the mid-1990s.
Megadeal costs drink profits at AB InBev: AB InBev may be close to a 70 billion-plus takeover of its biggest rival but the cost of financing that deal took the fizz out of first-quarter trading.
Ineos surveys possible British fracking sites: Ineos is set to start a seismic survey of potential shale gas deposits as it fires the starting gun on a major British fracking drive.
21st Century Fox delivers heroic quarterly revenues: The box-office hit Deadpool about an invincible superhero helped 21st Century Fox to better than expected quarterly revenues overcoming adverse foreign currency movements.
Wood Group planning to cut up to 300 jobs: Wood Group is planning to cut up to 300 jobs from its onshore workforce in the U.K. as the decline in activity in the North Sea continues to bite.
The Independent
Asda confused customers with misleading promotion on Choco Squares cereal ASA finds: Asda confused customers with a misleading promotion on Choco Squares cereal according to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Apple loses fight over iPhone name in China letting company use it for handbags and phone cases: Apple has lost control of the iPhone trademark in China meaning that another company can continue selling phone cases with its handset's name on them.
WhatsApp block in Brazil lifted but Mark Zuckerberg urges citizens to protest against government: A block on WhatsApp in Brazil has been lifted but Mark Zuckerberg has urged citizens to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Barclays' first no deposit 100% mortgage since financial crisis 'will help people buy property they can't afford': Housing analysts have slammed a 100% mortgage launched by Barclays as 'crackers' saying the first mortgage since the crisis not to require a deposit will help people buy property they can't afford.
Tobacco companies lose EU court appeal over plain packaging rules: Tobacco firms have lost a legal challenge against EU rules that force them to put graphic images on cigarette packages warning people of the dangers of smoking.
The Daily Telegraph
BT prepares ultrafast broadband investment for two million homes to tackle Ofcom threat: BT is to unveil a multibillion-pound network upgrade programme including laying ultrafast fibre-optic broadband lines to around two million homes and businesses The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Trinity Mirror to close the New Day just 10 weeks after launching the paper: Trinity Mirror is pulling down the shutters on the New Day in an abrupt reversal just 10 weeks after launching the first new national paper in Britain for 30 years.
A Wonga credit card could be a reality sooner than you think: Wonga is considering branching out into credit cards as it seeks to move away from its payday lending roots.
Europe to abolish the 500 note over money laundering fears: The European Central Bank has said it will no longer produce 500 bank notes over fears that the bills are being used by criminals as a convenient way to launder money and even finance terrorism.
Amazon prepares to deliver fresh food across U.K.: Amazon is reported to be launching its fresh food delivery service across the U.K. within the month as the online retail giant continues to challenge 'the big four' of supermarkets.
Electra boosts portfolio by 300 million as it attempts to quell Bramson feud: Bosses at Electra have hailed bumper returns at the private equity firm as 'excellent progress' for its growth strategy despite agreeing to a landmark shift to appease a rebel investor.
U.K. nuclear parts made at French plant in fakery probe: Parts of the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk were made at a French plant being investigated over possible fake manufacturing records EDF Energy has confirmed.
The Questor Column:
Virgin Money has been unfairly punished by markets: A stranger to markets taking a glance at Virgin Money's share price so far this year might draw the conclusion that the challenger bank is out of favour with investors. Several factors have contributed to the wider fall in banking stocks and not all of them apply to Virgin Money. One crucial factor is the turmoil in financial markets which has trashed investment banks' profits as demand for trading services and advice on big deals has dried up. Another is the impact of regulatory changes weighing down investment banks and chopping up the universal banks again something which does not affect the smaller simpler Virgin. The most crucial of the factors hitting the whole sector and which could hobble Virgin is the relatively modest slowdown in the U.K. economy. A new stamp duty charge in April saw landlords scramble to buy property in March which will result in a sharp fall in buy-to-let lending in April and suppressed demand going forward. That can be combined with extra taxes on landlords and the threat of loan restraints being imposed by the Bank of England in the coming years. However this is a much bigger factor for the specialist challenger banks than it is for Virgin its residential lending grew at twice the pace of its buy-to-let business. Virgin's net interest margin is being squeezed and is expected to fall to 160 basis points for the year as a whole down from the 170bps expected earlier in the year. Lending on the plastic increased 59% on the year to leave the bank with 1.8 billion of loans outstanding. It wants to raise that to 3 billion by the end of next year. The company also plans to enter the small business market again boosting its sources of income. The stock feels mistreated this week Questor sees potential in this sturdy challenger and recommends investors buy the share. Virgin Money at 343p -11.4p. Questor says 'Buy'.
The Guardian
Oil giants should ditch high-cost projects thinktank says: Shell BP and five other top oil companies could raise their collective stock market value by up to $140 billion (97 billion) if they set new strategies based on ensuring global warming is held to a 2C (4F) rise above pre-industrial levels a new report claims on Thursday.
European Commission likely to block sale of O2 to Three Owner over competition grounds: The European Commission is likely to block Telefonica's sale of the British telecom business O2 to Hutchison group in Hong Kong due to fears it would inflict higher prices on British consumers a source told AFP on Wednesday.
Man jailed over Libor seeks 'miscarriage of justice' review: Tom Hayes serving 11 years for rigging Libor rates has hired a high-profile lawyer to take his appeal to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which investigates suspected miscarriages of justice.
Scottish economy grows far more slowly than U.K. as a whole: The Scottish economy is growing at a far slower rate than the U.K. as a whole with the North Sea oil slump leading to a fall in GDP last year the latest data shows.
Daily Mail
U.K. tobacco giant Imperial to make cigars in Cuba again as communist island- state opens for business: FTSE 100 tobacco giant Imperial Brands is eyeing up a return to Cuba to make high-end cigars now that the communist island- state has been opened for business once more.
Barclays to sell part of its African business in move that could raise more than 600 million: Barclays has announced plans to sell part of its shareholding in its African business in a move that could raise up to 700 million.
Virgin Money cashing in on U.K. housing market with mortgage lending up 30% on last year: Mortgage lending has surged at Virgin Money as the challenger bank seeks to cash in on Britain's red-hot housing market.
Daily Express
Price war rules for Sainsbury's as they cut prices even more: Sainsbury's expects to cut more prices and sees no end to the supermarket price war as the cost of competing sent annual profits 14% lower.
Turkey engulfed by bad loans and bankruptcies: Economic fears as it tries to join Eurozone: Turkey's slowing economy threatens to spark instability in the country that could become the newest member of the Eurozone.
The Scottish Herald
More North Sea job cuts on the cards at Shell: Royal Dutch Shell's finance Chief Simon Henry has said there could be more job losses in its North Sea business amid the crude price plunge but the company has no plans to move activity from the Glasgow shared service centre where 450 people work.
Scotland could be serious global player in fast-growth 'fintech' sector says new industry group: A new industry group designed to help Scotland capitalise on the rapid growth of 'fintech' financial technology is to be launched in Edinburgh this week.
Job cuts at Castle Precision as overseas competition hits profits: Engineering firm Castle Precision has seen its profitability hit by competition from overseas leading the family-owned business to make ten% of its workforce redundant.
Arrival of brands such as Primark at Edinburgh shopping centre boosts demand for staff: Recruitment specialists expect to help retail and leisure firms fill 1000 job vacancies at the expanding Fort Kinnaird shopping centre in eastern Edinburgh in the current year.
Aprirose spends 13.5 million on two Scottish properties: Property investor Aprirose has increased its Scottish holdings with the acquisition of a Morrisons supermarket in Lanark and Helix House a 90000 sq ft office building in Aberdeen.
Ferguson Transport gets new Highlands logistic hub with BSW site deal: Ferguson Transport has acquired the K1 BSW Sawmill Site has been purchased by Ferguson Transport (Spean Bridge) for an undisclosed sum.
Profits fall at Scottish Building Society after investment in members: Scottish Building Society the world's oldest building society saw profits fall 41% to 1.3 million last year as it invested in benefits for its members.
The Scotsman
Standard Life acquires Axa's Elevate adviser platform: Pensions giant Standard Life is expanding its adviser platform business with the acquisition of Elevate from rival insurer Axa.
Co-op offloads Scots stores to focus on convenience: Retail group Co-operative is selling a portfolio of former Somerfield properties including ten in Scotland as it seeks to focus its efforts on the convenience market.
Next warns on earnings as cold weather dents sales: Retailer Next has warned that full-year profits could take a hit after sales for the first quarter fell 0.9%.
Ex-Clydesdale Boss David Thorburn joins EY council: David Thorburn the former Chief Executive of Clydesdale Bank was named as a global independent non-Executive Director at EY.
City A.M.
Rising residential rents ease fears of a slowdown after buy-to-let buying frenzy: Rental prices rose in all but one region of the U.K. over three months to April new figures show despite concerns about the impact of higher stamp duty charges.
Tesla Executives Greg Reichow and Josh Ensign announce their departure ahead of Model 3 launch: Electric car giant Tesla has announced two of its top motor Executives will leave the company ahead of its widely-anticipated mass-market Model 3 car.
Tripadvisor shares tank after it misses expectations: Travel website TripAdvisor's revenue has decreased to $352 million a drop of $11 million or three% during the first quarter of 2016.
Kraft Heinz sales jumped 165% in the first quarter - due to the merger: Kraft Heinz has revealed a massive jump in sales during the three months to 3 April driving the group's share price up by over five% in after-hours trading.
Charter Court Financial Services auction sunk by Brexit fears: The auction of Charter Court Financial Services has collapsed due to concerns over the impact of a Brexit on the U.K. housing market.
Weight Watchers share price rises by 12.57% as it surpasses expectations in the first quarter: Weight Watchers shares have soared by over 14% in after-hours trading after the company's results for the first quarter came in ahead of expectations.
London fashion retailer Farfetch raises over 75 million in funding round: Online fashion retailer Farfetch has raised $110 million (75.6 million) in its latest funding round to augment expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific region.
Shopping centre giant Intu on track to post rise in full-year rents as shoppers keep tills ringing: Intu the shopping centre giant said it is on track to post a jump in rental income this year as consumers continued to flock through its doors.
Food travel giant SSP gobbles up 280 million Abu Dhabi airport contract: Travel caterer SSP has a 280 million contract to run three outlets inside a food court at Abu Dhabi International airport paving the way for further expansion in the Middle East.