Tuesday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Sports Direct, Saudi Arabia

5th Jan 2016 07:05

(ShareCast News) - HSBC will not face formal action from the City regulator following revelations that the Swiss arm of Britain's biggest bank helped clients to evade tax. HSBC was engulfed in scandal a year ago when leaked bank account details showed how the bank's Swiss unit helped wealthy customers to dodge taxes by concealing assets and handing out bundles of cash to avoid the authorities. - GuardianThe White House has unveiled plans to make it harder to buy firearms as President Barack Obama seeks to curb the "scourge" of gun violence in his last year in office. Fulfilling a pledge to bypass Congress, the White House on Monday evening announced measures to expand background checks on gun buyers and step up the enforcement of gun laws. - Financial TimesSports Direct has been forced on to the defensive after it was revealed that its founder's future son-in-law, a former nightclub promoter, could make millions for "creating value" in the retailer's property estate. The listed sportswear group had to issue a "clarifying statement" yesterday about the role of Michael Murray, the 26-year-old boyfriend of Anna Ashley, as it emerged that he has never held a formal property role and until recently promoted student events at the University of Reading. - The TimesThe head of Britain's largest mobile phone company EE will stand down after its £12.5 billion sale to BT has been completed after its new owner approved the appointment of a new chief executive. Olaf Swantee joined the company four and a half years ago after its two shareholders - Orange of France and Deutsche Telekom of Germany - grew frustrated with the rate of progress in integrating the two British networks Orange and T-Mobile under his predecessor Tom Alexander.- The TimesSaudi Arabia's drastic decision to behead the Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr marks a point of no return in the bitter Sunni-Shia conflict engulfing the region. It is a dangerous escalation in the Kingdom's struggle with Iran for regional hegemony. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has vowed swift and harsh revenge, promising to bring down the Saudi dynasty in short order to avenge this "medieval act of savagery". - TelegraphA 15-year trend of falling oil and gas production in North Sea has been reversed, according to the UK energy industry trade body. Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), which represents more than 500 companies working in the offshore industry, said output from the UK Continental Shelf in 2015 rose between 7pc and 8pc compared with the previous year. - Telegraph