Sunday newspaper round-up: TalkTalk, Carney, BoE

TalkTalk customers have had their bank accounts emptied after a huge cyberattack on the telecoms company, it was revealed last night. Senior staff ignored a warning more than a year ago that online security was lacking. - The Times

TalkTalk customers targeted by cyber-criminals reacted with fury last night after being told they will be fined hundreds of pounds for cancelling their accounts. One customer concerned about security was warned she would have to pay a £247 penalty to be released from her contract. ‘It is appalling,’ said Dawn Palmer, 50, an educational manager from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, who has received 50 calls from impostors claiming to be from TalkTalk over the past six months. - Mail on Sunday

Feeling nervous? Well the Governor doesn’t want you to panic. Rate rises will be ‘steady’, ‘modest’, ‘gentle’. They may not come at all, but Carney is clear rate rises are what the MPC expects, and he wants people to be ready. ‘There’s no certainty that they will happen, but it is a better position to be in if households expect what we think is likely to happen, and to some extent are prepared for it.’ - Mail on Sunday

Royal Bank of Scotland looks set to plunge into the red after booking hefty charges for its role in recent scandals. The taxpayer-owned bank is expected to report a loss of £84m for the third quarter when it publishes results this week. Last year it made a £1.3bn profit in the same period. RBS will have to set aside nearly £500m more for mis-selling insurance products, as well as other conduct and litigation issues. - Sunday Times

The owner of Formula One racing has made a £1bn approach for a large stake in roadside services company RAC. The buyout firm CVC has opened talks with Carlyle, one of RAC’s owners, about buying its stake, senior City sources said this weekend. The discussions were described as “very early stage” and may not lead to a formal offer. It is understood that investment bankers have not yet been appointed to work on the deal. - Sunday Times

The increase in stamp duty on more expensive homes has led to a sharp drop in sales of properties for at least £1m, two reports confirmed. The UK total fell by 11% in the first half of 2015 compared with the same time last year, says Lloyds Bank. LonRes research for the Financial Times found the number of London homes sold for between £1m and £2m fell 22.5 per cent from July to September, against the same time in 2014. - Sunday Telegraph

American corporate raider Ed Bramson has fired a fresh broadside at City buyout fund Electra, calling for an overhaul of its governance and questioning the relationship it has with its dealmakers. Bramson, who runs New York-based Sherborne Investors, is mounting an activist campaign against FTSE 250 listed Electra, which owns the TGI Fridays restaurants and Park Resorts holiday parks. He claims Electra is not doing enough to hold to account Electra Partners, the offshoot that manages its companies. - Sunday Telegraph

UK-listed companies have experienced the biggest quarterly rise in profit warnings since the height of the credit crisis almost four years ago after volatility returned to global markets with a vengeance in the third quarter. According to a study by Ernst & Young, 79 firms posted a profits warning in the third quarter — 40% more than in the previous period. The jump coincided with bouts of market instability as China’s economy stumbled. Disruptive forces also continued to reshape markets, EY said, as many companies struggled to adapt to the “new” digital economy. - Sunday Telegraph