Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Strong signals that a slowdown in global manufacturing intensified in September sent stock markets tumbling on Wednesday, as leading indices in Europe and the US retreated. In London the FTSE 100 rolled back all the gains made since mid-August as it dropped 237 points to 7,122, falling 3.2% in its biggest one-day fall since 2016. Extending the losses overnight on Asian markets, shares on continental European markets also experienced losses with the Paris CAC falling 3.1% to 5,422. The Dow Jones index in New York compounded its decline on Tuesday by falling close to 500 points on Wednesday, or 1.86%. The trigger for the declines came from the latest batch of surveys to show manufacturers responding to a sharp fall in orders by cutting back production and jobs.
The US is set to impose $7.5bn (£6.1bn) of tariffs on exports from the EU including scotch whisky, French wine and cheese and aircraft in retaliation for subsidies given to the aerospace group Airbus after a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling.. The tariffs announced on Wednesday could come into effect as early as 18 October and represent a significant widening of the Trump administration’s trade dispute with the EU, adding to growing tensions in the world economy. The US trade representative’s office (USTRO) released a list of hundreds of European sagricultural products that will be subject to a 25% tariff, including British woollen jumpers and pullovers. Cookies, salami, butter and yogurt from some countries will be affected, along with olives from France, Germany and Spain, EU-produced pork sausage and other pork products other than ham, and German coffee.
ASOS (ASC) has appointed a slew of heavy-hitting directors to revive its fortunes. Four new non-executive directors, with experience at companies from Ocado to Burberry, will ‘reflect Asos’s increased size and scale’. They replace Hilary Riva and Rita Clifton, to leave the board when their six-year tenures expire in April. Karen Geary, a non-executive director at National Express and formerly chief human resources officer at software firm Micro Focus, joined yesterday. Luke Jensen, the boss of Ocado’s technology division, will take his place on Asos’s board at the beginning of November.
Tesco (TSCO) has stunned analysts by hiring a relatively unknown businessman to replace Dave Lewis after his shock resignation as chief executive. The grocer named Ken Murphy, a former senior executive at pharmaceuticals behemoth Walgreens Boots Alliance, as its new boss – and is paying him more than veteran leader Mr Lewis, who is widely credited with saving Tesco from collapse. Experts were stunned by the decision, which will leave one of the country’s most famous names in the hands of a chief executive who has never been in charge of a company before.
Metro Bank (MTRO) has finally managed to shore up its balance sheet as chairman Vernon Hill agreed to leave by the end of the year. Metro, forced to pull a £200million bond issuance last week after failing to garner enough interest from investors, launched a new £350million bond yesterday. The bank promised investors a yield of 9.5%, even higher than the 7.5% it was advertising on its last failed fundraising. The bond launch came as Hill, Metro’s founder, said he would step down as chairman of the lender by the end of the year even if a replacement has not been found. And he will leave the board altogether. This summer, the US businessman said he would retire as chairman but only once a replacement was found. He also planned to remain as a non-executive director.
Martin Gilbert is standing down from the board of Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) as he waits for approval to join Revolut as its chairman. The City heavyweight, who ran Aberdeen Asset Management for more than three decades prior to its £11bn merger with Standard Life in 2017. The company said today Mr Gilbert – who was the longest-serving boss of a FTSE 100 business, and the second-oldest at 64 – will not seek re-election at its Annual General Meeting in May 2020.
The owner of Paddy Power and Betfair faces a backlash from watchdogs after unveiling a £10bn merger with Sky Bet owner Stars Group. Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) proposal, which shocked investors on Wednesday morning, would create the world’s biggest online betting group. But it is likely to face fierce scrutiny from competition regulators, not least in Britain where the merger would hand the firm a 40% share of the gambling market. The Competition and Markets Authority typically opens an investigation into a merger if combined UK turnover exceeds £70m or a combination is created with a market share of 25% or more
Jaywing (JWNG) rose as Lord Ashcroft threw more of his weight behind the digital marketing minnow. The billionaire is Jaywing’s biggest shareholder, with a 25.6% stake in the business. Along with another big investor — Lombard Odier, the Geneva-based asset manager — Lord Ashcroft, 73, has acquired a £5.3 million loan that Jaywing had with Barclays and they have pumped in an extra £3 million to help to clear its overdraft and bolster the balance sheet. The company said yesterday that the intervention of its two biggest backers had put it in a “much stronger financial position”.
Twelve years after entering the then booming car market in China, Inchcape (INCH) , said yesterday that it was shifting into reverse and leaving the country. The British-based global car retailer said that it was pulling out of its last three dealerships for Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus because it had been unable to expand. China has become a tough market for companies trying to sell upmarket cars. Slow economic growth excaerbated by a trade war with the United States, new vehicle emissions rules, the end of subsidies for foreign-built models and a knockback against conspicuous consumption have affected sales.