Below are the key headlines from today’s updated papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Brexit bedlam for UK cuts chances of rate hikes next year, says City. Political chaos over Prime Minister Theresa May’s dying Brexit deal could leave interest rates on hold throughout the entirety of next year, experts claimed on Friday. The tremors from Westminster have prompted financial markets to pare back their expectations of further action on interest rates from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Just 48 hours ago sterling futures markets were signalling at least one rate hike fully priced-in by the end of 2019 with a 20% probability of a second MPC move next year. Nomura’s chief economist George Buckley said there was an 80% chance of just one rate rise next year, as the UK flirts with a potentially disastrous no-deal scenario.
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) chief executive Warren East has called for politicians on all sides of the Brexit debate to thrash out a deal for the good of UK business. “The time since the referendum seems to have gone remarkably quickly and we’re essentially [still] having a discussion we could have had the morning after the referendum,” said the boss of one of the country’s most iconic companies, speaking on BBC radio. “We are slightly running out of time and I would, as a business leader, like to see politicians on both sides of the fence get on and negotiate a practical deal that works for business.”
US regulators have contacted Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and JP Morgan about transactions they handled for Danske Bank’s Estonia branch following Europe’s biggest ever dirty money scandal. Sources told Bloomberg on Friday that the banking giants have been asked to disclose information about their dealings with Danske Bank, which used them to convert foreign cash into US dollars. The questions revolve around whether the three banks gave “appropriate scrutiny” to the deals they conducted with Danske, the people said. The banks are not subject to an investigation.
Final results from a clinical trial of one of AstraZeneca (AZN) most important oncology drugs has confirmed that it is no better at improving survival rates in patients with late-stage lung cancer than chemotherapy. Imfinzi is one of AstraZeneca’s newest immuno-oncology medications and has been hailed as a potential blockbuster drug, which is defined as one generating annual sales of more than $1bn. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant had hoped that Imfinzi would one day replace chemotherapy as the first treatment of choice for patients with a certain type of lung cancer.
Construction company Kier Group (KIE) has sold its Australian road maintenance business KHSA for £24m in a bid to reduce its rising debt and concentrate on its core markets. KHSA, which was a subsidiary of Mouchel before Kier acquired it in 2015, has been bought by infrastructure specialist Downer Group. The sale is part of Kier’s Future Proofing Kier (FPK) programme, which launched in July and aims to streamline the business and generate more cash. In a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting today, the FTSE 250 firm said it anticipated net debt of around £390m for the first six months of its next financial year, compared with £410m for the second half of this year.
