Gender pay gap law could fail to resolve disparity: Britain’s new gender pay

gap legislation could fail to fully resolve discrepancies in pay between men and

women, one of the world’s largest Executive search companies has found.

Lloyds Chief’s face grilling over fraud: A new independent lawyer’s

investigation into the handling of the HBOS Reading fraud will go to the very

top of Lloyds Banking Group, examining the roles of the three successive

Chairmen Sir Victor Blank, Sir Win Bischoff and Lord Blackwell.

Erdogan’s former Deputy joins campaign against him: A former Deputy Prime

Minister under President Erdogan has joined activists striving to block his plans

to assume almost complete control of the country for years to come.

Co-op Bank bondholders braced for significant losses: All potential bidders for

the Co-operative Bank envisage the bondholders taking a haircut, the troubled

bank disclosed yesterday.

German buyers see Olympia as an ideal home for £296 million investment:

Olympia London looks set to fall into new hands after the company that owns

the venue of the Ideal Home Show and London Book Fair said it was in

advanced talks to sell it for a price thought to be close to £300 million.

Odey opts not to back his ‘winner’ quite so much: Crispin Odey, one of the

City’s best-known hedge fund tycoons, has cut his stake in Sports Direct

International to below 5%.

Italians chosen to do job on Channel subsea power cable: An Italian company

has been awarded the £300 million contract for a new 127-mile subsea power

link between Britain and France.

BA may ditch free meals on the long haul: British Airways could start charging

long-distance flyers for a menu drawn from the aisles of Mark & Spencer, Alex

Cruz, BA’s Boss, has revealed. The move will spark fresh claims that penny-

pinching is reducing BA to “a budget airline”.

Hong Kong tycoon eyes Chinatown bid: A Hong Kong billionaire has built a

stake of close to 20% in Shaftesbury, putting the property company that owns

Carnaby Street, Chinatown and swathes of Soho in central London on alert for

a takeover bid.

Twitter fights investor plan to turn it into co‑operative: Twitter has urged

investors to vote against a radical proposal to convert the ailing social media

giant into a co-operative.

Drone surveyor makes hay while the sun shines: A British drone company has

been backed by the government to become the world leader in detecting

faults in the growing global solar-farm industry.

Bale is role model for the laid back: A London company that sells “the most

advanced mattresses in the world” online has signed Gareth Bale to promote

its wares as it expands further into Europe, Asia and North America.

Current

Value (%)

Change* 1W% Change

FTSE 100 7,351.5 0.03%

DAX 30 12,208.4 -0.1%

CAC 40 5,108.6 -0.5%

DJIA** 20,656.1 -

S&P 500** 2,355.5 -

NASDAQ Comp.** 5,877.8 -

Nikkei 225 18,797.9 0.7%

Hang Seng 40 24,262.2 -0.02%

Shanghai Comp 3,269.4 -0.5%

Kospi 2,133.3 -0.9%

BSE Sensex 29,665.7 -0.1%

S&P/ASX 200 5,912.9 0.9%

Current Values as at 11:15 BST, *%Chg from Friday Close, **As on Friday Close

-0.04%

0.3%

-0.4%

2.0%

0.6%

-1.3%

-0.6%

-0.3%

-0.03%

0.2%

-0.7%

0.4%

Drax investors fired up over pay revolt: Drax Group, the owner of the UK’s biggest power station, is facing an investor revolt at its

annual meeting on Thursday over the grant to Will Gardiner, the finance Director, of new shares worth almost £1.4 million.

Travelodge is doing the business: Travelodge hailed a “milestone year” in the hotel chain’s development after revenues from

business customers for the first time surpassed leisure travel sales last year.

Guardian looks north as rates bill to rise 50% on London HQ: The Guardian’s decision to contemplate returning to its Manchester

roots coincides with a 50% rise in the business rates at its lavish London headquarters, The Times has learnt. The revaluation that

came into effect this month has resulted in a 73% increase in the value of the newspaper’s property assessment which is used to

calculate the new rates, experts say.

US accuses Google of underpaying female employees: The US Department of Labor accused Google of a “systemic” problem with

underpaying its female employees, in a court hearing in San Francisco on Friday.

To Read More Click Here

Investor advisory group calls for clear out of Wells Fargo board: Wells Fargo shareholders should vote to oust almost the entire

board of directors, including the Chairman Stephen Sanger, the influential advisory group ISS has ruled, citing a “sustained

breakdown of risk oversight” at the bank.

To Read More Click Here

FCA fines former spread betters for market abuse: The UK’s financial watchdog on Friday issued fines worth nearly £117,000 to two

top officials from collapsed spread betting company Worldspreads, for “serious market abuse”.

To Read More Click Here

Hornby shares rocket as first stage of turnround builds up steam: Shares in struggling model maker Hornby jumped 10% on Friday

after it announced it had completed the first stage of the turnround plan it began last June.

To Read More Click Here

Billy Walters found guilty in $40 million insider-trading case: William “Billy” Walters lost the biggest gamble of his life on Friday

when a New York jury found the gambler and businessman guilty of engaging in a $40 million insider-trading scheme with the

former Chairman of Dean Foods.

To Read More Click Here

Uber denies using sensor technology in Waymo case: Uber has been forced to admit that it is lagging behind Waymo in deploying

its self-driving car technology, as part of its legal defence against the Alphabet-owned company’s allegations of intellectual property

theft.

To Read More Click Here

Brewdog raises £100 million from American private equity firm: Brewdog, the independent Scottish brewery, has raised £100 million

from TSG Consumer Partners, the American private equity firm.

To Read More Click Here

EU considering excluding UK from trade talks before Brexit: Brussels is eyeing the exclusion of Britain from updates on EU trade talks

amid concerns that the UK could take advantage of sensitive information in its own post-Brexit trade negotiations.

To Read More Click Here

Samsung heads for best profits in three years on surging chip sales: Samsung Electronics projected its best quarterly operating profit

in more than three years thanks to solid component sales, shrugging off turmoil at home where the conglomerate’s de facto Leader

Lee Jae-yong has been caught up in a sweeping corruption scandal.

To Read More Click Here

UK watchdog restarts probe into HBOS fraud case: The UK financial watchdog has reignited its probe into what HBOS knew about a

£245 million fraud at its Reading branch, even as Lloyds Banking Group, which now owns the unit, set aside £100 million to

compensate the scheme’s victims.

To Read More Click Here

Valentino expands online footprint with YNAP tie-up: Valentino and online luxury group Yoox Net-a-Porter have struck a deal to

significantly expand the reach of the Italian fashion house’s ecommerce business, the latest sign of how the internet is disrupting the

luxury industry.

To Read More Click Here

Galenica Santé raises SFr1.9 billion in Europe’s biggest IPO this year: Shares in Galenica Santé, the largest operator of pharmacies in

Switzerland, closed up more than 10% on their first day of trading in Europe’s largest initial public offering of the year so far.

To Read More Click Here

The Body Shop attracts interest from private equity bidders: A handful of private equity groups are on Friday set to submit initial bids

for The Body Shop, the struggling British skincare retailer, which has been marked for disposal by French cosmetics group L’Oréal.

To Read More Click Here

Elvis music publisher put up for sale: Carlin Music, the publishing company built up by Elvis Presley’s record picker, has been put up

for sale with a $250 million price tag.

To Read More Click Here

Samsung: exploding the myth: Talk about bouncing back. Samsung Electronics has announced first quarter operating profits of $8.7

billion. This is the highest level in three and a half years, and the company’s second highest quarterly figure on record.

To Read More Click Here

Huishan Dairy dream sours for China tycoon Yang Kai: After the listing of Huishan Dairy in Hong Kong propelled its Chairman Yang

Kai to become the wealthiest man in his home province of Liaoning, he described his business as a “dream factory”.

To Read More Click Here

HNA’s buying spree surpasses $40 billion with CWT deal: China’s HNA Group, the small domestic airline operator turned ultra-

acquisitive conglomerate, has now struck more than $40 billion of deals in little more than two years after announcing plans to buy

Singapore logistics provider CWT.

To Read More Click Here

Fink urges privatisation of critical US infrastructure: The US should embark on a sweeping privatisation of critical infrastructure, such

as its airports, in order to harness private capital for a major building effort, says the head of the world’s largest asset manager.

To Read More Click Here

Activists clash over direction for NRG Energy: Two competing models of shareholder activism are clashing over the future of NRG

Energy, the second-largest US electricity producer.

To Read More Click Here

Concord Resources eyes listing to fund ambitious growth plans: Concord Resources, a fast-growing metals trader launched during

the worst commodity downturn in a generation, is considering a stock market listing in London to help fund ambitious growth

plans.

To Read More Click Here

Singapore’s DBS to boost private banking in London: Singapore’s DBS, south-east Asia’s biggest bank by assets, will use a new UK

licence to quadruple the size of its hitherto tiny London wealth management operation, in a post-Brexit endorsement of the UK as a

destination for rich Asian investors.

To Read More Click Here

Chinese box office takings set to fall in 2017: A 7% drop in China’s first-quarter film revenues presages a likely annual fall this year

in the country’s box office — the first such decline since the late 1990s.

To Read More Click Here

India dessert makers in frosty legal dispute: The origins of the dispute date to 2012, when Amul complained that HUL was

marketing Kwality Walls as ice cream although it is made with vegetable fat rather than dairy fat. India’s advertising regulator

upheld that complaint, ruling that Kwality Walls and other similar products should be sold as “frozen desserts” rather than ice

cream.

To Read More Click Here

SoftBank pushes for merger of India’s Snapdeal and Flipkart: Japan’s SoftBank is attempting to engineer a merger of Snapdeal and

Flipkart, India’s two biggest homegrown ecommerce groups, in an attempt to take on Amazon, which has pledged to spend $5

billion to become the country’s dominant internet retailer.

To Read More Click Here

Tech IPO supply falls short of renewed market demand: Wall Street has discovered a new enthusiasm for tech IPOs, to judge by the

third strong reception for a software company in less than a month. But few tech companies are waiting in the wings to take

advantage of the most receptive IPO market for some time, say investors and other observers.

To Read More Click Here

Report claims march of robots will cost millions of men their jobs - but women likely to get off more lightly: The march of robots will

cost millions of men their jobs – but women are likely to get off more lightly, a report claims. Traditionally male-dominated roles of

lorry driver, builder, factory worker and even City trader could disappear in coming years, suggest a study by BCA Research.

Double downgrade wipes £85 million off Ocado's shares as number of new customers choosing to shop for food online continues

to slow: Ocado saw £85 million wiped off its value as the number of customers choosing to do their weekly food shop online

continued to slow.

Tesco's Booker fiasco with Chairman and Chief Executive reportedly at odds over takeover: A Chairman and Chief Executive are

expected to be on the same page when a company launches a £3.7 billion bid.

Tesco likely to reveal big profit climb in next week's annual results but Booker takeover doubts linger: Tesco is likely to report a

significant increase in full year profits next week according to analysts, but the supermarket faces growing shareholder scrutiny of its

intended £3.7 billion takeover of wholesaler Booker.

Troubled Hornby getting back on track after completing first stage of turnaround plan: Kent-based model train maker, Troubled

Hornby is showing early signs of recovery after completing the first stage of its turnaround plan.

Watchdog Boss ‘must quit over fraud probe’: Fury at FCA Chief’s role as it investigates HBOS scandal: John Griffith-Jones, 62,

Chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority, has been accused of a conflict of interest as his investigators probe a possible cover-

up at failed bank HBOS.

Surging demand for British-made luxury items helps furniture firm founded by Queen’s nephew post record sales: David Linley’s

high-end interiors business saw sales almost double from £6.9 million to £13.5 million in the year to June 30, and it swung to a

£337,000 profit from a £1.9 million loss.

Boss of troubled railway service Southern pockets almost £500,000 while presiding over year dominated by strikes and commuter

misery: Charles Horton’s payday bonanza came despite a £15.3 million loss for the network’s parent company, Govia Thameslink

Railway.

Hong Kong billionaire Samuel Tak Lee spends £500 million on shares in London landlord Shaftesbury ahead of possible takeover bid:

The tycoon now owns 20% of the business, which is the landlord for Carnaby Street, Chinatown and much of Soho.

US job creation tumbles in March despite Donald Trump's promises to boost employment: Donald Trump’s promise to be a major

creator of new jobs is facing fresh pressure as figures showed the economy added just 98,000 positions last month, a sharp tumble

following two strong months in January and February.

Cadbury owner Mondelez warns UK consumers they could see more shrinkflation and price rises: Britain’s exit from the European

Union has already left a bitter taste in the mouths of chocolate lovers. A fall in the value of the pound since the UK voted to leave

the EU in June, coupled with the rising prices of some commodities, has been blamed for the reduction in pack sizes, known as

shrinkflation, where prices remain the same as portion sizes get smaller.

Uber rival Lyft steps up competition by getting $500 million in new funding: The smaller ride-hailing company has secured up to

$500 million (£402 million) in a new round of funding that values Lyft at $6.9 billion before the addition of new capital, according

to two people briefed on the discussions who asked to remain anonymous because the details were confidential.

Brexit: UK high street fails to grow for fourth month amid inflation jitters: The UK’s high street has failed to grow for the fourth

month in a row as good weather and robust Mother’s Day spending failed to offset inflation jitter, general economic uncertainty

and tough competition from those selling online.

UK spending growth slips to slowest rate since 2013 in first quarter of year, Visa says: The first three months of 2017 marked the

slowest quarter for spending growth in the UK since 2013, as consumers started to feel the pinch of inflation and fretted against a

backdrop of general economic uncertainty.

Coca-Cola produces over 100 billion plastic bottles that can’t be recycled, Greenpeace says: Coca-Cola is failing to combat the

environmental damage caused by it producing over 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles each year, a new analysis by Greenpeace

has revealed.

Pret and Paul offer discount to customers who bring their own coffee cup: French bakery group Paul and sandwich chain Pret a

Manger will begin offering discounts to customers bringing in their own reusable cups, yielding to pressure from environmental

groups concerned about the mountains of cardboard waste generated in the UK each year.

UK high street expecting more shoppers over Easter but spending will stay muted, reveals study: Shoppers might have tightened

their purse strings in recent months, but they still seem to have a healthy appetite for hitting the high street and hunting for a

bargain.

Jaeger going out of fashion puts 700 jobs at risk: The struggling fashion brand Jaeger could call in the administrators as early as next

week, putting 700 high street jobs at risk.

Greek gloom as economy stalls amid latest bout of EU wrangling: Eight years into Greece’s ordeal to escape bankruptcy, thousands

of Communist party sympathisers packed into Syntagma Square in Athens on Friday to protest at the latest concessions made by

Alexis Tsipras’s leftist government to keep the country afloat.

Small towns seethe at bank closures, but others are plotting a new future: Lloyds reveals plans to shut 100 banks, it is also trialling a

new micro version. Meanwhile others are either championing the branch idea, or plotting its death

Body Shop divorce from L'Oréal looms closer: The Body Shop could be one step closer to separating from L’Oréal this week as

bidders for the ethical beauty chain put forward their initial offers.

Co-op Boss shrugs off £130 million loss to focus on group's 'stellar progress': The Co-operative Group’s Chairman, Allan Leighton,

has insisted the business was making “stellar progress” despite slumping more than £130 million into the red.

Post-Brexit-vote surge for UK economy comes to an end: Worries that the UK economy is losing steam have been strengthened by

news of a housing market slowdown, a drop in industrial output and the weakest performance for a year by the construction

industry.

Wonga data breach could affect nearly 250,000 UK customers: More than a quarter of a million customers of payday loan firm

Wonga are being warned that their personal data may have been stolen in a data breach at the firm.

Diesel cars can improve air quality, claims motor industry group: Car manufacturers have hit back at the recent spate of negative

comments about diesel vehicles, saying that the latest incarnations are “the cleanest in history” and “light years away from their

older counterparts”.

Inflation and wage figures to underline Brexit strain on Britons: Fresh details on price rises and wage growth this week are expected

to underline the rising pressures on UK household budgets as the pound’s sharp fall since the Brexit vote continues to stoke

inflation.

‘See you in court’: activists ready for Trump to relax smog and drilling rules: Environmental campaigners promised on Saturday to

wage fierce and protracted legal battles against “outrageous and wrong-headed” Trump administration moves to open Atlantic and

Arctic waters for drilling and loosen smog limits.

Monday,

10 April 2017

EU: Sentix Investor Confidence Final Results: Highland Gold Mining Ltd., Safestay,

Thalassa Holdings Ltd. (DI)

Interim Results: Empiric Student Property

Trading Announcements: Centamin, Grafenia

Tuesday,

11 April 2017

UK: BRC Sales Like-For-Like (YoY), House Price

Index (YoY), Retail Price Index, Consumer Price

Index (MoM), Consumer Price Index (YoY),

Consumer Price Index Core (YoY), PPI Core

Output n.s.a. (MoM), PPI Core Output n.s.a.

(YoY), Producer Price Index - Input n.s.a. (MoM),

Producer Price Index - Input n.s.a. (YoY),

Producer Price Index - Output n.s.a. (MoM),

Producer Price Index - Output n.s.a. (YoY), Retail

Price Index (MoM), Retail Price Index (YoY), Retail

Price Index Ex Mort Int.Payments (YoY)

US: NFIB Small Business Optimism, Redbook

Index (YoY), Redbook Index s.a. (MoM), JOLTs

Job Openings

EU: ZEW Survey - Economic Sentiment, Industrial

Production s.a. (MoM), Industrial Production

w.d.a. (YoY).

Final Results: JD Sports Fashion

Interim Results: APC Technology Group, Applied

Graphene Materials, Egdon Resources

Trading Announcements: City of London Investment

Group, Global Graphics, Ramsdens Holdings,

Vedanta Resources, XP Power Ltd. (DI)

Wednesday,

12 April 2017

UK: Unemployment Level, Average Weekly

Earnings, Private, Average Weekly Earnings,

Public, Average Weekly Earnings, Total, Claimant

Count Change, Claimant Count Rate s.a.,

Claimant Count s.a., Employment Change

(3M/3M), Average Earnings Excluding Bonus

(3Mo/Yr), Average Earnings Including Bonus

(3Mo/Yr), ILO Unemployment Rate (3M)

US: Consumer Price Index (MoM), Consumer

Price Index (YoY), Harmonised Index of

Consumer Prices (MoM), Harmonised Index of

Consumer Prices (YoY), MBA Purchase Index s.a.,

MBA Mortgage Applications, MBA Purchase

Index s.a. (Current Change), MBA Refinance

Index (Current Change), MBA Market Index,

MBA Refinance Index, Export Price Index (MoM),

Export Price Index (YoY), Export Price Index,

Import Price Index, Import Price Index (Ex

Petroleum), Import Price Index (Petroleum),

Import Price Index (MoM), Import Price Index

(YoY), DOE Cushing OK Crude Inventory

(Barrels), DOE Distillate Inventory, DOE Gasoline

Inventories, EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change

(Barrels), Monthly Budget Statement

EU: ECB Balance sheet

Final Results: Tesco

Interim Results: Carr's Group, WH Smith

Trading Announcements: Atkins (WS), Countryside

Properties, Dunelm, Pagegroup, Telford Homes

Thursday,

13 April 2017

UK: RICS Housing Price Balance, Bank of England

Credit Conditions & Bank Liabilities Surveys

US: Continuing Jobless Claims, Initial Jobless

Claims, Producer Price Index (MoM), Producer

Price Index (YoY), Producer Price Index ex Food &

Energy (MoM), Producer Price Index ex Food &

Energy (YoY), Univ. of Michigan Current

Economic Conditions, Univ. of Michigan Index of

Consumer Expectations, Univ. of Michigan 12-

Month Inflation Forecast, Univ. of Michigan 5-

Year Inflation Forecast, Reuters/Michigan

Consumer Sentiment Index, Producer Price Index

Core (Final Demand), Producer Price Index Core

(Intermediate Goods), Producer Price Index, EIA

Natural Gas Storage Change, EIA Natural Gas

Storage, Baker Hughes US Rig Count

Final Results: Avocet Mining

Trading Announcements: Hays, PZ Cussons

Friday,

14 April 2017

US: Consumer Price Index Core s.a., Consumer

Price Index n.s.a. (MoM), Real Average Weekly

Earnings (YoY), Consumer Price Index (MoM),

Consumer Price Index Ex Food & Energy (MoM),

Advance Retail Sales (MoM), Retail Sales Ex Auto

& Gas, Retail Sales ex Autos (MoM), Retail Sales

"Control Group" (MoM), Consumer Price Index

(YoY), Consumer Price Index Ex Food & Energy

(YoY), Consumer Price Index n.s.a.,

Manufacturing New Orders, Retail Sales ex

Autos, Business Inventories

-