Below are the key morning headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
- Bitcoin prices have tanked after Goldman Sachs reportedly pushed back plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk, wiping nearly $40bn off the value of digital currencies in just two days. However after the reports surfaced, Goldman's CFO said: "I think one of the wonderful things about us is that we get written about a lot. I never thought I would hear myself use this term but I really have to describe that news as Fake news."
- Banknote maker De La Rue (DLAR) , which lost the contract to create Britain’s post-Brexit blue passports this year, is still in the crosshairs of activist investor Crystal Amber. Shares in De La Rue climbed 4.5%, or 21.5p, to 494.5p amid rumours that Crystal Amber was upping its stake, as it continues to pressure the firm for change. Crystal Amber, headed by City veteran Richard Bernstein, is currently the third-largest shareholder in De La Rue. It has said it is prepared to increase its stake until it gets to the top spot.
- About 2,000 executives of companies that went on to fail are in line for compensation payments and bigger pensions worth in some cases hundreds of thousands of pounds after a landmark judgment on the UK pensions lifeboat. The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that the cap that restricts pension payments to members of schemes rescued by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to a maximum of £35,106 a year was unlawful.
- Energy companies breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as the industry watchdog finally ended the uncertainty over a long-awaited cap on rip-off gas and electricity tariffs. Shares in the two UK-listed members of the industry’s “Big Six”, Centrica (CNA) and SSE (SSE) , rallied after Ofgem revealed the cap would be set at £1,136 for a “typical” dual fuel customer paying by direct debit, marginally higher than some had expected.
- Melrose takes a hit as it begins GKN turnaround with sell-offs. The clear-out of GKN has begun after its hostile takeover by Melrose Industries (MRO) in the spring, which has created an £11 billion FTSE 100 international industrial powerhouse. In accordance with commitments made during its controversial bid Melrose is retaining and investing in GKN’s automotive and aerospace businesses.
- Yorkshire potash miner digs itself into a costly hole. Sirius Minerals (SXX) is excavating tonnes of earth every day from beneath the purple heather of the national park. It is aiming to tap a giant body of potash-based fertiliser located 1,500m below ground. Yesterday the project suffered a significant setback. In a warning that sent shares in Sirius Minerals tumbling by 16%, Sirius revealed that it would cost $4.2 billion to complete the project, $500 million more than it had previously budgeted. The update set online bulletin boards alight. Sirius has 20,000 small shareholders, of which about 5,000 are thought to be local residents.
- International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) – British Airways hacked as 380,000 sets of payment details stolen. British Airways has launched an “urgent” investigation and notified police after hundreds of thousands of customers’ personal and financial details were stolen. The airline said the hack continued for almost two weeks, between August 21 and September 5, with 380,000 payments compromised
- Bovis ‘back in game’ as it predicts record year. Bovis Homes Group (BVS) said it was confident that it would deliver a record set of profits this year as it tries to move on from a troubling period in which hundreds of customers complained of badly made homes and unfinished properties.
- Plus500 founders cash in £145m after selling shares for ‘personal reasons’. Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) founders have sold £145m worth of shares in the business weeks after warning that the trading platform’s record run was coming to an end. Five of the businessmen who set up the Israel-based firm a decade ago have decided to halve their stake in the company “in response to significant demand from a small number of institutional investors”.
- Genus feels chill of China’s swine fever. Genus (GNS) lost a fifth of its market value at one point yesterday as it warned that trade disputes between the United States and China and the spread of African swine fever could dent growth. Analysts downgraded their forecasts for the FTSE 250 company and investors turned bearish as Genus released its financial results for the 12 months to the end of June.
- Sales at Dixons Carphone (DC.) languishing despite surge in demand for flat-screen TVs during World Cup. The retailer, which issued a profit warning in May, said sales stagnated in the 13 weeks to July 28. Though Dixons Carphone experienced strong demand for televisions as England made it to the semi-finals, electrical sales still came in flat as it struggled to shift PCs and laptops.
