Thursday newspaper round-up: Höfner, Sotheby's, Christie's

18th Dec 2025 07:20

(Sharecast News) - Ministers and senior MPs have warned that the UK's agreements with Donald Trump are "built on sand" after the Guardian established that the deal to avoid drug tariffs has no underlying text beyond limited headline terms. The "milestone" US-UK deal announced this month on pharmaceuticals, which will mean the NHS pays more for medicines in exchange for a promise of zero tariffs on the industry, still lacks a legal footing beyond top lines contained in two government press releases. - Guardian

Sir Paul McCartney's favourite bass guitar maker has fallen into bankruptcy as manufacturers struggle with rising costs. German company Höfner has filed for bankruptcy protection in Bavaria, according to court records. The company is best known for making the violin-shaped bass guitar that became Sir Paul's signature instrument. - Telegraph

Rob Gardner is an unlikely figure to save our seas and to sort out Britain's rivers. The City veteran cut his teeth at investment banks and still spends much of his time in the Square Mile, rather than out on the estuaries. But Gardner, the chief executive and co-founder of Rebalance Earth, has founded a company built around investing in nature. - Telegraph

Two of the world's largest auction houses are anticipating rising sales this year in early signs of a recovery after a multi-year downturn in the global art market. Sotheby's, which has its headquarters in New York, projected a 17 per cent increase in sales to $7 billion for 2025, with auction sales increasing by more than a quarter year-on-year to $5.7 billion and its best ever year for luxury sales. - The Times