In the papers: Hershey, Lloyds Banking Group,Bank of England
(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) Proactive Investors, Fri
The Times
Merger deal to create a chocolate monster: Irene Rosenfeld, the sweet-toothed American Executive who gobbled up British chocolate maker Cadbury in 2010, is seeking to buy the U.S. confectioner Hershey.
EU centres ''won''t steal City business'': The leaders of two of Britain''s biggest banks mounted a defence of London as the pre-eminent international financial centre yesterday and said that other countries would struggle to compete.
Lloyds Chiefs buy 1 million shares: Executives and Directors of Lloyds Banking Group have bought more than a million shares in the taxpayer-backed lender this week after the stock lost more than a fifth of its value after the Brexit vote.
Return of inflation gives hope to Europe: The Eurozone has pulled out of deflation for the first time since January on the back of higher oil prices, providing some relief for the European Central Bank.
Telefonica puts O2 sale on hold after referendum: Telefonica has abandoned any prospect of a potential sale or flotation of the O2 U.K. network until market conditions settle down after the Brexit vote.
Bustling Gatwick puts case for new runway: Gatwick attempted to position itself as the safe bet for a new runway in the southeast yesterday as the airport reported record passenger numbers and a sharp increase in profits.
Stobart''s flight plan lifts shares: Shares in Stobart Group took off yesterday as it announced plans to double the dividend, treble the number of passengers at its Southend airport in two years and get a good price for its regional airline.
AA ditches Irish division to ease 2.8 billion debt burden: The AA is to put a dent in its debt mountain by selling its operations in Ireland to private equity for 156.6 million. The breakdown company said that it was selling the business to Carlyle Cardinal Ireland Fund and Carlyle Global Financial Services, subject to approval by Irish regulators.
AB InBev comes under EU scrutiny: European Union competition regulators are investigating whether Anheuser-Busch InBev is abusing its dominant position in Belgium by illegally seeking to block cheaper imports of its beers from neighbouring countries.
Fuel poverty affects 2.5 million households: Nearly 2.5 million households in England are living in fuel poverty, according to fresh figures.
Soft rock leaves mine owner with blues: The first new metals mine to open in Britain since the early 1970s has hit a snag the ore that it is processing is too sludgy for its crushers.
Chinese bet on sunnier times ahead: The impact of the weak pound on overseas holiday prices may have hurt the tour operators, but for one Chinese investor it has provided an opportunity to top up its Thomas Cook shareholding.
The Independent
Brexit: Bank of England Governor signals interest rate cut: The Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates over the summer to combat a post-Brexit vote slowdown, the Bank''s Governor, Mark Carney said today.
Barclays has no plans to move jobs out of U.K. because of Brexit, Jes Staley says: Jes Staley, the Chief Executive of Barclays, has said the bank has no plans to move people out of the U.K. because of Brexit.
Brexit could create an economic crisis, Barclays Chairman John McFarlane warns: A senior Barclays banker said we neither knew the direction nor the shape of what Brexit might look like. John McFarlane, the Chairman of Barclays, warned the U.K.''s decision to leave the EU could create an economic crisis as it is doubtful the country will secure its existing demands from Brussels.
HSBC to keep headquarters in London despite Brexit: HSBC has confirmed that it will keep its headquarters in London despite the shock decision for the U.K. to leave the EU.
The Daily Telegraph
Murdoch''s News U.K. tackles BBC with 220 million takeover of talkSport radio owner Wireless Group: Rupert Murdoch''s U.K. newspaper group has mounted a major challenge to BBC radio with a 220 million takeover of Wireless Group, the owner of the Premier League football broadcaster talkSport.
Google offices in Spain raided in tax investigation: Google''s Spanish offices in Madrid have been raided as part of an investigation into the internet giant''s tax payments. It is the latest blow for the company in Europe, coming just weeks after its Paris offices were raided in a separate case.
ECI snaps up stake in IT firm behind McLaren supercars: IT Lab, the technology support business behind McLaren sports cars, has sold a majority stake to mid-market private equity firm ECI, in a sign that Brexit has failed to slam the brakes on deal-making in the sector.
Hedge fund Elliott builds stake in British Empire Trust: Elliott, the U.S. hedge fund that agitated for reforms at Alliance Trust last year, has started to build a stake in British Empire Trust, a FTSE 250-listed investment group.
China''s JD.com says Brexit will be good for business: Chinese online retail giant JD.com has said that Britain leaving the European Union will boost trade with the country and exports.
Heathrow dealt huge blow as Government delays airport expansion decision: The Government has come under fierce attack from leading business figures after it delayed a decision on airport expansion amid the Brexit turmoil, dealing a blow to Heathrow''s chances of building its long sought-after 17.6 billion third runway.
Samuel Adams brewer plots ''Brexit'' cider: David Cameron could soon be drowning his sorrows in his local over a ''Brexit'' cider, after the American brewer behind Samuel Adams submitted a trademark application for the word.
Cadbury descendant launches chocolate gift delivery brand Love Cocoa: A descendant of the founder of Cadbury has launched a confectionery company that will deliver chocolate bars through the recipient''s letterbox in a bid to spread the on-demand economy to sweet-toothed gift givers.
U.K.''s ''second deficit'' threatens household living standards after Brexit: U.K. living standards are at risk of a ''sudden stop'' squeeze, economists have warned, as official figures revealed that the current account gap stands at ''unacceptably'' high levels.
Waitrose profits slide on higher pension costs: Waitrose has reported a 17% slide in pretax profits after rising pension costs within the John Lewis Partnership.
The Questor Column:
Hammerson is strong enough to weather Brexit storm: While analysts have largely talked about threats to the London office market and the residential sector in the week since the result of the European Union referendum, the whole property sector was dealt a brutal blow in the early hours of Friday morning. One of the biggest players is Hammerson, which has a market cap of 4.2 billion. Hammerson''s shares dropped by 32.2% when the markets opened on Friday, although bounced back in the early part of this week and are now about 9% lower than their closing price on Thursday night pre-result. According to a survey by YouGov and the Centre for Economic and Business Research, people''s economic sentiment fell from 111.9 to 104.3 in the week after the referendum. However, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis the figure slumped to 67.4, showing things have been much worse. Hammerson''s exposure to the U.K. equates to around 55% of its portfolio, while France (20%) and Ireland (8%) are its second and third largest markets. While its focus is on covered shopping centres, it also operates retail parks in the U.K. and has invested in outlet villages across Europe. It is currently developing shopping centres in Brent Cross and Croydon, the latter with retail giant Westfield, which will add two major new schemes to its portfolio. It also made a punchy move into the Irish retail sector this year by buying Project Jewel, a 910 million portfolio which includes assets in Dublin, allowing Hammerson into the city for the first time. We''ve also taken a look at the value of the company''s assets per share a better indicator of growth than profits or turnover as sales can jump up and down from year to year, and that is also forecast to increase between now and 2018. Confidence is unlikely to improve while the U.K.''s economic position is so unclear. Questor does not own a crystal ball, and in such turbulent times, anything could happen. Hold.
The Guardian
Goldman Sachs banker handed out iPods to win Libyan deal, court hears: A former Goldman Sachs banker gave iPods to members of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) as well as paying for prostitutes, and was one of the Wall Street firm''s top global salesmen in 2008 as a result of its business with the investment fund, the high court in London has heard.
Standard & Poor''s cuts EU credit rating after British vote to leave: The European Union has suffered a downgrade of its long-term credit rating following the U.K.''s Brexit vote last week.
Daily Mail
Trader Jerome Kerviel, who almost sank Societe Generale, to see his fight for justice hit the big screen: He has spent three years protesting that he was not to blame for the 4 billion trading loss that almost sank Societe Generale, and now Jerome Kerviel''s fight for justice is to hit the big screen. A film about the trader, who shocked the world when his staggeringly disastrous deals were revealed, has just been released in his native France.
Fall in value of pound gives surprise boost to some of Britain''s biggest fine wine exporters: A fall in the value of the pound has given a surprise boost to some of Britain''s biggest fine wine exporters. Asian investors leapt on the 10% drop in sterling following Brexit to snap up some of the most sought-after wines of recent years.
Daily Express
Hollande plotting to swoop on City of London but traders say they want to stay in U.K.: France is planning to swoop on businesses in the wake of Britain''s Brexit vote in a bid to take over as the new EU financial capital.
Italy on the edge: Italian banks face further losses as investor fears grow over debt: confidence in Italy''s banks and the wider economy is falling apart, as investors continue to digest Britain''s vote to leave the European Union (EU).
Consumer credit at strongest pace since 2005, says Bank of England: Consumer credit continued to grow last month at the strongest pace since 2005, Bank of England figures show.
The Scottish Herald
Hotelier Costley dismayed over EU Leave vote: Bill Costley, the hotelier behind Ayrshire venues Loch Green, Brig o'' Doon and Highgrove House, has lamented the result of the EU referendum, saying he does not see the logic in the Leave vote.
Shell wants Scotland to remain in U.K. despite Brexit uncertainty: Royal Dutch Shell has highlighted uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote but said it wants Scotland to remain part of the U.K.
Renowned Edinburgh bar reopens as social enterprise: Harry''s, the Edinburgh bar that has been a fixture of the city''s scene since the 1980s, reopens tonight after a six-figure investment, forming what is claimed to be the capital''s first social enterprise pub chain.
Independent firms up plans for Shetland oil well: North Sea-focused Independent Oil & Gas has said it expects to start appraisal drilling on the Skipper find off Shetland to start in the second half of this month.
Aberdeen business hub relaunched after 7m million investment: The H1 building in Aberdeen has been relaunched as a key business hub called Hill of Rubislaw following a 7 million redevelopment by European property company, Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate.
Cleaning firm aims to double turnover: Barrhead-based Complete Cleaning has said it will double its revenues to 10 million by 2020 after revealing plans for a complete restructure.
Highland architects to double revenue after historic acquisition: Inverness-based HRI Architects has pledged to double revenue in the next five years after acquiring Thomas Munro & Co to create one of the largest architecture practices in the Highlands.
Aberdein Considine opens new Glasgow office: Aberdein Considine officially opened its new office on Glasgow''s Waterloo Street last night.
Minoan awaits Greek court decision: Glasgow-based Minoan Group has reported another delay in its multi-year project to develop its major site in Crete.
Lisa will not distract pension savers: The Lifetime Isa will not lure young workers away from auto-enrolled pensions, Standard Life has said.
The Scotsman
Builders'' confidence crumbles following EU vote: Confidence among Scottish builders has tumbled to a three-year low in the wake of the Brexit vote amid concerns that some investment decisions could now hit the wall.
Management buyout at Edinburgh brand agency Tayburn: Tayburn, the Edinburgh-based brand and digital agency, today announced a management buyout and the retirement of longstanding Finance Director Bill Davidson.
Comms agency Beattie eyes Canada move after Brexit: Public relations and communications group Beattie today said it wants to ''control its own destiny'' in the wake of the EU referendum by expanding into Canada.
Wood Group sticks to forecast for 20% profit slide: Energy services giant Wood Group today said it was sticking to its guidance for a 20% drop in annual profits as it battles ''very challenging'' conditions in the North Sea.
Dungavel wind farm changes hands for 38.2 million: Infrastructure investor John Laing has sold a wind farm in South Lanarkshire to a renewable energy fund it launched two years ago.
Dean Jenkins to quit as Weir Chief Operating Officer: Weir Group Chief Operating Officer Dean Jenkins is leaving the engineer to move back to Australia.
City A.M.
Studio Lionsgate shoots for the Starz with $4.4 billion deal: Movie studio Lionsgate, the home of smash hits The Hunger Games and Twilight franchises, has agreed to a deal for U.S. premium cable channel Starz for $4.4 billion (3.3 billion).
Brexit and Donald Trump expected to hit already falling M & A activity levels: Deal values fell significantly in the U.K. and, to a lesser extent, globally in the first half of 2016. And mergers and acquisitions (M & A) activity is expected to fall further in the next six months, with Brexit and the prospect of Donald Trump causing uncertainty.
Qataris take on large chunk of BHS'' property portfolio and its website: The administrators selling off parts of the BHS empire have landed a deal for a large number of the embattled brand''s clothing stores and its website. Qatari group Al Mana, which already runs some of BHS'' shops abroad, will take on 70 of the company''s overseas stores.
South African competition watchdog waves through AB InBev-SABMiller Megabrew deal: The South African antitrust authority has approved Anheuser-Busch InBev''s proposed takeover of British drinks giant SABMiller.
Union Unite seeks job security assurance as Carlsberg dismantles secondary logistics arm and outsources 900 jobs: The trade union Unite has said it is "dismayed" at brewer Carlsberg''s proposals to outsource 900 jobs at its beer distribution arm.
London tech heavyweights call for European talent to remain in the capital following Brexit vote: The London tech community has called for non-U.K. Europeans working in the sector to stay following the country''s vote to quit the European Union.
AmazonFresh opens up to new London postcodes: U.S. online retailer Amazon has expanded its recently launched fresh food delivery service, Amazon Fresh, across London.
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