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In the papers: Savills, Bank of England, Microsoft

Published: 03:46 08 Mar 2016 EST

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The Times
China hopes spark iron ore recovery: The price of iron ore recorded its biggest daily rise after a surge in optimism about the Chinese economy.
Struggling store chain seeks rent cuts in bid to save business: Beales has entered into a company voluntary arrangement in an attempt to cut rents and save the business.
Deloitte opens up to answer claims of closed shop: Accusations that the professional and financial services sectors are a closed shop for the privileged few have prompted Deloitte to hit back with figures that it says “show that everyone can thrive, develop and succeed in our firm”.
Petroceltic calls timeout for shares amid investor battle: Trading in Petroceltic shares was suspended after its biggest shareholder applied to appoint administrators.
Leading from the home front: Britain was hailed as the global leader in internet retailing after a month in which consumers stayed away from the high street, but did not stop shopping.
Brexit would not hit Scottish commercial property, says Savills: The head of Savills in Scotland believes that there is unlikely to be a “catastrophic” fall in activity in the commercial property market should Britain vote to leave the European Union.
Business demands funding to create eastern powerhouse: MPs will be urged to support a multibillion-pound investment to create a British silicon valley.
National insurance system ‘no longer fit for purpose’: The shift away from a world of regular work means that traditional national insurance contributions are “no longer fit for purpose”, the Office of Tax Simplification has warned.

The Independent
Small pubs are growing twice as fast as big pub chains, research shows: Smaller pubs, defined as companies with a turnover of under £25 million, saw their turnover jump by 29% from £980 million to £1.3 billion from 2010 to 2015.
EU referendum: Bank of England ready to pump billions into financial system to counter turmoil of Brexit: The Bank of England is on standby to pump billions of pounds into the financial system in case of market turmoil following a vote to leave the European Union in June.
Cyprus celebrates its early exit from EU bailout programme: Eurozone finance Ministers celebrated in Brussels as Cyprus exited its bailout programme – the fourth EU country to do so, while Greece’s creditors continued to stall over its latest rescue package.
Fastjet flies into storm with share price plunge: Shares in Fastjet crashed 36% after the low-cost airline that wants to be a pan-African carrier issued a profits warning following a prolonged downturn.
Norway takes money from its ‘rainy day fund’ for the first time as the low oil price hits home: Norway has taken money from its sovereign wealth fund for the first time since it was set up in 1996.

The Daily Telegraph
Scrap intercity rail franchises, says competition watchdog: The competition regulator has called for a radical overhaul of Britain’s railways that would see intercity franchises eventually scrapped in favour of a new system where a number of train companies offer rival services.
£10 million payday for Metro Bank cashiers as stock market float pays off: Up to 2,000 cashiers and other branch staff will share in stock options worth as much as £10 million when Metro Bank goes public this Wednesday.
Microsoft plans to close U.K. games studio Lionhead: Microsoft is planning to close the U.K. video games developer that helped establish its Xbox console as a major player in the gaming world, putting almost 100 jobs at risk.
Philips begins plans for €5 billion float of century-old lighting arm: Philips is pushing ahead with plans for a bumper stockmarket float of its 125-year old lighting arm, dealing a potential blow to U.K. industrial firm Melrose and its attempts to buy the historic company.
Hinkley Point reactors will go ahead, says EDF Chief: The £18 billion plan for EDF to build two new nuclear reactors in Britain has been backed by the French energy group’s Boss – a day after his finance Director quit because of concerns about the project.
Crispin Odey’s call on TalkTalk falls short as share price jumps: City heavyweight Crispin Odey is among a group of hedge fund giants that have recently lost out on bets against TalkTalk, having increased their “short” positions in the telecoms company shortly before shares rallied.

The Guardian
More than a third of 8.4 million BHS loan went to four Directors: More than a third of an £8.4 million loan taken out of BHS by its new Owners in March last year went to four Directors who were part of the consortium, handing them a multimillion-pound windfall just days after buying the struggling department store chain.
Bank pledge adds to fears that EU referendum will lead to market turmoil: The Bank of England has heightened fears that Britain’s referendum on EU membership will destabilise already fragile financial markets, pledging to provide extra funds to banks and building societies before and after the 23 June vote.
Brent crude hits $40 a barrel as iron ore prices soar by 19%: Brent Crude Oil has climbed back above $40 a barrel, as the recovery in commodity prices continued with iron ore posting a record rise of nearly 20%.
Employers ‘will cut overtime and weekend pay’ to meet living wage: Employers are preparing to cut overtime pay and reduce rates paid for weekend working to claw back the extra cost of the new “national living wage”, according to a report by the recruitment group Manpower.
Bank customers’ overdraft fees could be capped, say regulators: Regulators have warned banks they could cap charges they levy on customers who dip into an unauthorised overdraft.
Stagecoach loses court case over £11 million tax avoidance scheme: A complex tax avoidance scheme being used by transport group Stagecoach to wipe £11 million off its tax bill has been defeated in the tax courts.

Daily Mail
Commodities stages a rally as oil rises above $40 and iron ore sees the biggest gains on record: Commodities staged a rally as oil rose above $40-a-barrel and iron ore saw the biggest gains on record.
U.K. mobile firms in talks with EU watchdogs over the proposed £10.3 billion merger of Three and O2: Britain’s biggest mobile firms held private talks with European competition watchdogs over the potential £10.3billion merger of Three and O2.
Shares in BlackRock gold fund available again after stampede of nervous investors for the precious metal forced suspension: Investors were able to resume buying shares in a gold fund run by BlackRock after they had been suspended on Friday due to overwhelming demand.
Troubled outsourcing firm Watchstone - formerly known as Quindell - sells loss-making software business Quintica: Troubled outsourcing firm Watchstone – formerly known as Quindell – has sold a business linked to its ousted Founder.
Old Mutual set to update market on Friday about its future amid reports that the insurance giant is set to split: Old Mutual said it will update the market this Friday about its future after reports over the weekend revealed the FTSE 100 financial services giant is planning a multi-billion pound break-up.
Metro Bank shares climb on stock market debut as challenger bank raises £400 million from institutional investors: Shares in Metro Bank rose sharply on the first day of conditional trading on the London market after institutional investors snapped up stock in the High Street lender.
Daily Express
Shoppers stopped splashing the cash in February as U.K. retail sales stalled to cast further: After a strong January boosted by bargain-hunting, like-for-like sales edged up by just 0.1% last month compared with the previous year.
Final nail in the coffin: Greece faces financial meltdown again amid threat of end of Euro: Greece is heading towards another financial meltdown in a repeat of last summer’s fiasco that could see them crash out of the euro.
Moonpig’s Mother’s Day disaster: Customers reveal ripped flowers and smashed vases: Online card firm Moonpig has been bombarded with customer complaints after botching deliveries of Mother’s Day gifts and cards.
Fears of financial apocalypse amid warning over ‘gathering storm’ in global markets: Market calm has given way to all-out turmoil since the start of the year amid a long brewing financial storm, the Bank for International Settlements has warned (BIS).

The Scottish Herald
Frontier’s protein protege doubles its value: Nandi Proteins, the Edinburgh-based company pioneering development of healthier processed foods, has doubled its value in the past 15 months.
Scottish leisure group set to expand philanthropic restaurant venture: Scottish bar and restaurant group Speratus is mulling the sale of six outlets including Edinburgh’s Golf Tavern and Aberdeen’s Illicit Still to focus on its Boozy Cow burger concept, which donates all profits to registered charities.
Jann Brown takes on senior boardroom role at Wood Group: Jann Brown, one of Scotland’s leading chartered accountants, will become senior independent Director of Wood Group in May.
Nevis Capital recruits investment specialist as it closes in on deals: Nevis Capital has recruited an additional investment specialist as the private equity firm founded by the Pirrie brothers looks to complete more deals.
Surrey firm completes purchase of First Oil Expro North Sea assets: Surrey-based Zennor Petroleum has said it has completed the purchase of stakes in five North Sea oil and gas fields from the administrators of the First Oil Expro business developed by tycoon Ian Suttie.

The Scotsman
Cala eyes record profits amid call for more family homes: Upmarket housebuilder Cala called on the U.K. government to help deliver more family homes as it predicted another year of record profits.
Smart meters firm SMS secures £150 million credit line: SMS, the Glasgow-based smart energy meter supplier, has agreed a new £150 million revolving credit facility.

City A.M.
U.K. house prices: The number of tenants in serious rent arrears improves in final quarter of 2015: The number of tenants falling seriously behind on rent fell in the final quarter of 2015 after worsening in the previous three months, according to figures released this morning.
Fast-food company Shake Shack reports revenue and profit growth in fourth quarter: Shake Shack reported total revenue of $51.1 million (£35.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2015, up 46.8% year on year.
Urban Outfitters share price rockets as clothing company reports $1 billion in sales in fourth quarter: Urban Outfitters shares have jumped by almost six% in after-hours trading, after the retail group announced fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations.
Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fischer says an increase in inflation is stirring: Inflation in the U.S. could be about to begin rising back up to its two% target, the vice chair of the Federal Reserve said.
TV producer ITN sets out 2020 vision, with plans to increase revenue by 50% and grow U.S. presence five-fold: Television producer ITN has set out plans to boost its revenue by 50% in the coming years. The company, which creates content for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, is aiming for a turnover of more than £180 million by the end of 2020.
Apple will have to pay millions over ebook price-fixing after Supreme Court declines to hear case: Apple will have to pay out $450 million in a settlement over ebook price-fixing after losing a battle in the U.S. courts.
Chemist chain Day Lewis Group secures £160 million M&A funding and targets 150 pharmacy acquisitions: Chemist chain Day Lewis Group has secured £160 million of investment from banking partners as it targets the acquisition of 150 pharmacies.
Canadian pension fund CPPIB joins forces with Hermes on £1 billion Birmingham Paradise city centre redevelopment: The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of the country’s largest pension funds, has made its second major foray in Birmingham this year after buying a stake in the vast £1 billion Paradise regeneration scheme in the city centre.

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