Friday newspaper round-up: Juncker, Morrisons, Saga

6th Jun 2014 07:31

The frontrunner to head the European Commission has lashed out at Britain in a sign of sharply increasing tensions between Downing Street and Brussels over the race for the top job. Jean-Claude Juncker, the arch-federalist whose election would horrify David Cameron, told a private meeting of European leaders at the G7 summit yesterday that he expected to become the victim of a smear campaign but would "not be forced to get on my knees before the British". He added: "It is wrong if we give in to the British here." - The Times Sir Ken Morrison has publicly lambasted the management team at Morrisons, the supermarket chain he built, referring to their strategy as "bulls**t". In an extraordinary intervention at the company's annual meeting, Sir Ken said the performance of Morrisons was "disastrous" and the pricing of key products, such as Jersey potatoes, was "ridiculous". - The Daily TelegraphInvestors who applied for shares in Saga but did not receive the allocation they requested in the over-50s firm's stock market debut last month are still awaiting a refund. When savers were told how many shares they had been allocated on May 23rd, many were left disappointed. Saga decided to prioritise its employees and customers, with other private investors given just £740 worth of shares, even if they had applied for as much as £10,000. - The Daily TelegraphThe founder of AO World has defended the online appliance retailer's flotation as the shares languished below their offer price. Reporting his first set of results since February's initial public offering (IPO) John Roberts said institutional shareholders, including Aviva and hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, were happy with their investments. "They are not trying to make a flip with us in eight weeks. These are high quality investors. These are not thick people," he said. "People who speculate in short-term returns on a pop at our IPO I can't get too concerned about. They don't give a shit about me so I don't give a shit about them." - The GuardianSome very nosey buyers have been switching on to Centrica in recent days amid growing speculation that a cash-rich international buyer is looking to buy a sizeable stake, prior to launching a full-scale cash bid. It would certainly be a good time to pounce on the owner of British Gas as it appears to be in total disarray, with top management running for the exit in recent weeks. The shares retrieved an early fall to finish 0.8p better at 330.5p on gossip that the Qataris have approached Centrica's shareholders with an offer to buy big lines of stock at up to £4-plus a share. - The Daily MailEmployers are finding it difficult to attract world-class talent because of the high cost of renting and buying homes in London, industry chiefs say. With house prices up by more than 17% in the past year and rents still soaring in the capital, some companies are looking at schemes to reduce the costs for their recruits. The Francis Crick Institute, a medical research centre due to open in London next year, is planning to arrange affordable homes for up to 1,000 staff in several London boroughs. - The Times AB