Friday newspaper round-up: Obama, Estate agents, Saga

Barack Obama will appeal to voters today to ensure that Britain continues its “outsize influence” by remaining inside a European Union that “enhances its global leadership”. The US president flew to the UK last night to make what David Cameron hopes will be one of the referendum campaign’s most powerful interventions. President Obama answers critics with the “silent testament” of US war dead whose sacrifice for Europe’s freedom, he says, had forged the special relationship and intertwined the countries’ security and prosperity. - The Times

The competition watchdog has warned estate agents that they risk breaking the law by colluding over decisions to list on the property portal OnTheMarket and remove their business from the market leaders Rightmove and Zoopla. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which threatened them with potential fines and even jail sentences, said that it was aware that rival estate agents may be making joint decisions on where they list properties. Several estate agents have been contacted directly by the CMA although none has yet been fined. - The Times

The over-50s group Saga is preparing for life after private equity ownership after Acromas sold off the remainder of its shares. Saga initially struggled on the stock market following its debut in May 2014, but the price has stabilised in recent months and was boosted by a dividend increase alongside encouraging annual results this week. Acromas placed the last of its 31.5% stake with institutional investors in a sale on Thursday night. - The Daily Telegraph

Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has seen his personal fortune plummet by £200m, turning him from billionaire to multimillionaire. Odey suffered a sharp decline in wealth to £900m after profits tumbled at his hedge fund, Odey Asset Management, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. His salary was also slashed from £31.8m to £16m as profits plunged to £84.1m last year, down from £174.2m the year before. Odey made headlines early in 2015 predicting a global downturn so severe it would be “remembered in 100 years”. - The Guardian

Investors will have the chance to own part of one of London’s most iconic buildings as Morgan Stanley is set to sell its stake in the Walkie Talkie skyscraper. The 11.7% stake could be worth as much as £150m, which would value the building at £1.3bn, making it one of the most expensive towers in the capital, Estates Gazette has reported. - The Daily Telegraph

Anglo American became the latest company to fall foul of disgruntled investors as the so-called Shareholder Spring against governance at the top of some of Britain’s biggest companies intensified. The FTSE 100 miner saw 42pc of those who shareholders who voted at its annual general meeting (AGM) in London on Thursday did so against the company’s remuneration report. The 'no’ vote - centred on chief executive Mark Cutifani’s £3.4m pay packet - is the second largest to date in the current AGM season, behind only BP, where 59pc of shareholders voted against Bob Dudley’s £14m compensation. - The Daily Telegraph