Monday newspaper round-up: UK economy, Sports Direct, Tullow Oil

21st Dec 2009 06:35

Workers face further job cuts and wage freezes next year, the UK's biggest employers' organisation has warned, saying that the economy will not return to pre-recession growth levels for at least two years. The CBI said that although the recession had ended in the final three months of 2009, growth would be anaemic in the first three months of next year as consumers batten down the hatches, the Times reports. It said that GDP would rise only 0.1% between January and March, echoing a recent forecast by the EEF, the manufacturing body, which expects the economy to stagnate in the first quarter of next year, the Times reports.Predictions for Britain's economic recovery may be muted, but the country's shoppers are out in force this Christmas. John Lewis has seen an unprecedented pre-Christmas boom, with department store sales topping £100m for a record three consecutive weeks. The chain logged £112m in sales last week alone, up 15.5 per cent on 2008 and up 11.4 per cent on 2007. Sales of hats and scarves rocketed as freezing conditions spread, and both luxury foodstuffs and games have also broken records, the Independent reports.Sports Direct, the retailer controlled by Mike Ashley, has been reported to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for allegedly breaking City rules in its attempt to buy a smaller rival, The Times has learnt. The complaint by Blacks Leisure exposes Mr Ashley to yet more regulatory scrutiny. He already faces separate investigations by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).Spyker, the Netherlands sportscar maker, has renewed its offer for Saab, giving the Swedish carmaker the prospect of an 11th-hour reprieve. General Motors announced on Friday that it would close Saab for good, consigning the 60-year-old brand to automotive history, after talks to sell to Spyker collapsed. However, in a spectacular act of brinkmanship, Victor Muller, Spyker's chief executive, issued a new offer on Sunday, giving GM until 5pm today to accept, the Times reports.Global energy businesses are disappointed and confused by the climate deal agreed in Copenhagen, saying it does not provide enough certainty to justify the huge investments needed to cut carbon emissions. The deal - agreed by major economies including the US and China on Friday evening but not formally adopted by the United Nations - makes a commitment to limit the rise in global temperatures but does not specify caps on emissions to achieve that objective, the FT reports.Tullow Oil is likely to scupper Heritage Oil's proposed $1.5bn (£930m) sale of its Ugandan assets to Eni, the Italian energy group, by exercising a right to pre-empt the deal, a senior Tullow executive has said. Tullow has until January 17 to decide how to respond, but Brian Glover, head of its Uganda operations, said: "All things being equal, it's highly likely we would pre-empt," reports the FT.The BBC has been given the go-ahead for the controversial venture to bring internet services to the television set, a decision that could make the public service broadcaster a leading player in a new TV technology. The venture - known as Project Canvas - which is designed to strengthen free-to-air broadcasters in the internet age, has been fiercely criticised by British Sky Broadcasting, the pay-TV operator, the FT reports.Britain is at risk of a mass sell-off of distressed properties that would send values into a double dip and impair the lending ability of banks. The dire warning is contained in the Bank of England's latest Financial Stability Report, which was published last week. In the report, the Bank revealed its concerns about potential writedowns on £200bn of loans made to commercial property by major UK banks. It warned of an increasing number of loan defaults given the 44pc fall in the value of shops, offices and warehouses since 2007, the Telegraph reports.Oil prices will remain trapped in the $70-$80 a barrel range in the first half of 2010 as demand recovers more slowly than expected, according to the world's top oil trading houses.The view of traders such as Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura, Gunvor and Mercuria will be scrutinised by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel, which meets on Tuesday in Luanda, Angola, to discuss its production policy during the northern hemisphere's winter, the FT reports.BAA will discover today whether it will be forced into a firesale of Stansted and one of its Scottish airports. The Competition Appeal Tribunal will rule whether the Competition Commission was right to demand that BAA's monopoly control of airports in London and Scotland be broken up. The commission ruled in March that BAA's ownership of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in London had resulted in poor service for passengers and airlines, the Times reports.City Index, the spread betting firm controlled by Conservative Party treasurer Michael Spencer, is to step up its expansion plans - despite losing more than £90m in the credit crunch. Martin Belsham, the chief executive brought in by Mr Spencer to turn the troubled business around last year, insisted that the time was right to expand the group's fast-growing Asian business and develop the group's technology, the Telegraph reports.