Monday newspaper round-up: Glencore, ITV, AstraZeneca, American Apparel

Hong Kong listed shares in Glencore surged as much as 40.2 per cent to HK$15 in morning trading following a weekend report that the embattled commodities group was open to take over offers. The Swiss-based group has seen its shares whipsaw after analysts at Investec last Monday published a note suggesting the company’s equity could be wiped out if weak commodity prices persisted. Monday’s jump in Hong Kong follows a weekend report in The Telegraph that the company would listen to offers for a takeover of the entire company, albeit management do not think there are any buyers willing to pay a fair price given current market conditions. – Financial Times

George Osborne will put Andrew Adonis, the former Labour transport secretary, at the head of a significant overhaul of the way Britain delivers big infrastructure projects, from high-speed rail to nuclear power stations. In a raid behind enemy lines, the chancellor will name Lord Adonis on Monday as the first head of a non-political national infrastructure commission, an idea stolen from Labour’s election manifesto. – Financial Times

Knight Frank’s 65 equity partners will share a bonus pot of about £80 million this year after the property consultancy notched up a record set of results, despite signs of a slowdown at the top end of London’s housing market. Knight Frank announced a 19 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £162 million in the year to the end of March as it helped the ultra-rich to sell their homes and arranged some of the biggest commercial and residential investment deals worldwide. – The Times

It is not just fans of English rugby that are lamenting the national team’searly exit from the World Cup. Publicans, bosses at ITV and even stock market traders will be rueing England’s defeat at the hands of Australia on Saturday night, which sent the host nation crashing out of the tournament. ITV, which has the broadcasting rights to the 48 World Cup matches, will be among the highest profile casualties of England’s failure to make it to the knock-out stages, as advertisers cut the amount they are willing to spend on slots during games. – Telegraph

Lego was the highest new entrant on this year’s Best Global Brands report, the annual index from the Omnicom-owned agency Interbrand of the world’s most valuable brands. The Danish toymaker’s brand was valued at $5.36bn, placing its 82nd on the list, ahead of Chevrolet, FedEx, Heineken, Ralph Lauren and Kleenex, following the runaway success of The Lego Movie and strong licensing deals with Jurassic World, Star Wars and Frozen. The new entrants, which included Paypal, Mini, Moët & Chandon and Lenovo, knocked Pizza Hut, Nokia, Gap, Nintendo and Duracell off the list. – Telegraph

AstraZeneca, one of Britain’s largest businesses, is using a multimillion-pound tax avoidance scheme in the Netherlands, set up months after the UK relaxed its tax laws for multinationals in 2013. A Guardian investigation has found the pharmaceutical giant created the scheme using $2.7bn (£1.8bn) of internal group loans routed through its Dutch subsidiaries. – Guardian

The troubled teenage clothing retailer American Apparel has filed for bankruptcy protection and said it had reached a restructuring support agreement with 95% of its secured lenders. “This restructuring will enable American Apparel to become a stronger, more vibrant company,” chief executive Paula Schneider said in a statement early on Monday. - Guardian