Tuesday newspaper round-up: Shire, Toyota, yuan, CMC Markets

Shire’s $32bn takeover of Baxalta caps the company’s transformation from a specialist in pills for teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder into a leading producer of treatments for rare diseases. Flemming Ornskov, Shire’s ambitious Danish chief executive, has made a series of acquisitions to support this overhaul since taking charge in 2013 — but none as big as the one agreed on Monday. – Financial Times

Toyota will keep making cars at its plant in the English Midlands even if the UK votes to leave the European Union, chief executive Akio Toyoda said in a boost for campaigners wanting a Brexit. The comments by Mr Toyoda, the great-grandson of Toyota’s founder, will offer reassurance to the thousands of staff at its assembly plant in Burnaston near Derby and its engine plant at Deeside in North Wales. – Financial Times

The Chinese authorities have resorted to “nuclear strength” weapons to deter an attack on the yuan by short sellers and convince sceptical investors that they are in control of the country’s spluttering financial system. China’s central bank fixed the currency firmer again on Tuesday but traders were not persuaded and the currency slipped in early trade despite what dealers called aggressive intervention to support the currency. – Guardian

Peter Cruddas, the former Conservative party treasurer who is donating to the campaign to leave the EU, is set to make hundreds of millions of pounds by floating the online trading firm he founded. CMC Markets, which is likely to be valued at more than £1bn, is to announce as early as this week that it will float on the stock market. If it goes ahead, it will be the first major flotation in London in 2016. Sources said CMC was expecting to raise around £250m from the initial public offering (IPO) by selling shares. – Guardian

The number of first-time housebuyers in Britain has fallen over the past year, despite government-backed attempts to try to get more young people on to the housing ladder. Halifax estimates that 310,000 people became first-time buyers last year, down 0.5pc from 311,700 in 2014. – Telegraph

RBS has advised clients to brace for a “cataclysmic year” and a global deflationary crisis, warning that major stock markets could fall by a fifth and oil may plummet to $16 a barrel. The bank’s credit team said markets are flashing stress alerts akin to the turbulent months before the Lehman crisis in 2008. “Sell everything except high quality bonds. This is about return of capital, not return on capital. In a crowded hall, exit doors are small,” it said in a client note. - Telegraph

The nuclear safety regulator is facing a leadership crisis and is ill-equipped to deal with a mounting workload linked to China’s plans to invest £8 billion in the British industry, experts have warned. The Office for Nuclear Regulation is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of 15 nuclear reactors, hazardous sites such as Sellafield and the transport and disposal of high-level nuclear waste. – The Times