Tuesday newspaper round-up: Bomb attack, Merkel on euro, energy lobbying

At least 22 people have been killed and 59 injured in what is being investigated as a suspected suicide bombing of a crowded pop concert in Manchester, the most deadly attack in Britain in a decade. - Guardian

The euro reached a six-month high yesterday after Angela Merkel said that the “too weak” currency was behind her country’s massive trade surplus. The German chancellor was speaking at a secondary school in Berlin when she claimed that huge export earnings were being propelled by the euro’s exchange rate and the oil price. - The Times

Eurozone finance ministers failed to agree on a deal which would have released vital rescue funds for Athens on Monday night, after Greece's creditors rejected calls for an upfront commitment to reduce the country's debt burden. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who leads the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said the ministers had held an "in-depth discussion" on debt sustainability and said they were "very close" to an agreement. - Telegraph

Energy companies are lobbying the Conservative party to water down its policy of a price cap on bills, with proposals that would protect millions fewer UK households from tariff rises. Theresa May has promised to cap electricity and gas costs for 17 million families on default energy deals, called standard variable tariffs, after five of the big six suppliers increased prices. But under a compromise that has been put to the government, only 6m households would have their energy bills capped. - Guardian

The competition watchdog has said it will investigate the £11 billion merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, which is set to create one of the world’s largest listed fund management companies. The Competition and Markets Authority said yesterday that it had begun an early stage investigation of the deal to assess whether the combination of the two fund management groups would have an impact on lessening industry competition. - The Times

The boss of Deutsche Börse is looking to cut a deal with prosecutors over allegations of insider trading related to the failed merger with the London Stock Exchange. Lawyers for Carsten Kengeter, the chief executive, are said to be in negotiations with the authorities in Frankfurt over the claims, according to Handelsblatt, and a deal could be several weeks away. - The Times

Amazon is to add more than 40 TV channels to its UK streaming service, including ITV and live sport for the first time, upping the stakes against rival Netflix and pay-TV operators such as Sky. Amazon will offer the channels at an extra cost to Amazon Prime members, who pay £79 a year or £7.99 a month for on-demand video including exclusive shows such as American Gods, The Grand Tour and Man in the High Castle. - Guardian

The fraud squad has opened an investigation after more than 1,000 investors lost millions in an alleged pension fraud. Police officers and civil servants are among the inexperienced investors who allegedly piled more than £120m into so-called storage pod schemes. - Mail

Oil executives whose industry is promised further government support if the Conservatives are returned to power have given more than £390,000 to the party since Theresa May became prime minister. They include Ian Taylor, the chief executive of Vitol, whose firm was fined for making payments to an Iraqi state-owned firm, and Ayman Asfari, the chief executive of Petrofac, who was recently interviewed by the Serious Fraud Office over suspected corruption. - Guardian

Apple and Samsung are fast losing share in the smartphone market to a group of Chinese upstart rivals that now account for nearly a quarter of all global sales. New figures from Gartner, the research group, suggest that to maintain growth Apple and Samsung are having to rely increasingly on replacement sales to existing customers in mature markets as new users in emerging markets turn to cheaper Chinese rivals. - The Times

The cost of olive oil in supermarkets is set to soar in the coming months as droughts in the Mediterranean take their toll. The price of olive oil has risen 15pc in the last year to $4,434.15 (£3,410.36) per tonne, and is up 63pc over the last five years. - Telegraph

The billionaire Reuben brothers are going to the dogs. Arena Racing Company, their racecourse operation, announced yesterday that it had agreed a deal to acquire Newcastle and Sunderland greyhound stadiums from William Hill. The acquisition, for an estimated sum of more than £10 million, follows the collapse at the eleventh hour of a sale to Sports Information Services, a specialist broadcaster that supplies live racing pictures and data to betting shops. - The Times

Just under a third of shareholders rejected Johnston Press' pay policy at its annual general meeting on Monday, a week after the troubled newspaper owner took steps to calm investor anger by scrapping planned increases to its directors' pay. Around 32pc of the publisher's shareholders rejected the revised remuneration policy, though it was still passed by 68pc of shareholders. - Telegraph