Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit chaos, Nigeria oil, house prices, ITV-ETO

Militants whose attacks on oil rigs and pipelines in the Niger Delta helped to force up oil prices this year announced a conditional ceasefire yesterday. The Niger Delta Avengers, and other groups have disrupted production in Africa’s biggest oil exporter in the past six months, reducing Nigeria’s output by about 700,000 barrels a day, or one third. While other groups in the oil-rich south are unlikely to adhere to the truce, any pause in the attacks could exert downward pressure on the oil price. - The Times

House prices are expected to fall across the UK next year as years of robust growth end and uncertainty over Brexit saps demand for property. Countrywide, the estate agent, said that it expects a slowdown in the economy next year because the shadow of Brexit will hinder trade and economic growth. This will affect house prices and transaction levels as people worry about job security and their household income. - The Times

Britain's pensions lifeboat has tightened up the rules on who bears the cost of restructuring ailing companies and their retirement commitments, putting the burden squarely on those who benefit from the rescue and laying the groundwork for a deal for Tata Steel’s £15bn pension. The Pension Protection Fund, which normally waits until a company has collapsed before taking on its pension liabilities, said in guidance published last week that it would only support a restructuring plan if the company or investors seeking a deal agree to foot the bill for legal, financial and redundancy costs. - Telegraph

Spending on infrastructure has nosedived since the country voted to leave the EU in June. According to figures from the first full month after Brexit, the value of construction contracts for July dropped by 20% to £1.5bn. The consultancy group that supplies figures to the Office for National Statistics, Barbour ABI, revealed that new construction orders were down to £5.8bn in July. - Guardian

Embattled British shareholders have faced a dividend squeeze as firms struggled to maintain their profits, a study shows. In the UK, one-off special dividends masked a shortfall in regular payments, according to the report by asset manager Henderson Global Investors. - Mail

One of the most prominent figures in the City has taken the unprecedented step of permanently abolishing all staff bonuses at his firm. Neil Woodford, the star stock-picker and founder of Woodford Investment Management, has rejected the conventional wisdom that bonuses are essential to motivate and retain staff and has put everyone on a flat salary. - The Times

ITV must offer more for Entertainment One if it wants to mount a serious takeover bid, a leading shareholder has said.
After the media distribution giant behind Peppa Pig having rejected a 236p per share bid for, one of the company’s ten biggest shareholders has now said the minimum likely to be accepted is 284p per share, which would value the company at £1.2bn. - Mail

Two FTSE 250 groups that make specialty chemicals used in products ranging from latex gloves to anti-ageing creams are on the lookout for acquisitions, at a time when megamergers are gripping the upper end of the industry. The chief executives of Croda and Synthomer said they were in the market for bolt-on deals as well as bigger transactions that could transform their respective companies. - Financial Times

National Grid will reveal the winning bids this week for one of the world’s biggest battery storage projects, providing back-up power to keep Britain’s lights on. Thirty-seven companies have submitted bids for the scheme to supply 200 megawatts (MW) of power, mainly using utility-scale battery arrays. The winners will be announced on Friday. - The Times

Tata’s giant Port Talbot steel plant has clawed itself back into profit as staff strain to boost efficiency despite having no idea whether their jobs are safe. Sources familiar with finances at the sprawling operation in South Wales revealed it made a £5m profit in June, reversing the £1m a day loss it was making six months ago. - Telegraph

Sports Direct is paying some of its takings from website customers outside the UK to a little-known delivery broker owned by the older brother of its founder Mike Ashley, adding to the list of transactions with personal connections to the billionaire. The FTSE 250-listed retailer, which is Britain’s biggest sportswear chain and operates local-language websites serving 33 other countries, has not disclosed the arrangement in its published accounts. - Financial Times

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers are a third more likely than white workers to be underemployed with fewer hours of employment than they would like, according to the Trades Union Congress. The TUC warns in a report today that the higher underemployment rate for BAME workers is a waste of talent and is calling on employers and ministers to tackle discrimination in the workplace. - Guardian

India’s new bank governor is seen as a hawkish, continuity candidate to follow Raghuram Rajan, who unexpectedly announced he was quitting in June. The government on Saturday named Urjit Patel as the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India. As deputy governor, Mr Patel earned a reputation for taking a tough stance on inflation despite political pressure for the central bank to be more expansionary. - The Times

One of the world’s biggest law firms has predicted that London will remain a global legal centre even after the UK withdraws from the EU. Eduardo Leite, global chairman of Baker & McKenzie, said he was “not that pessimistic” about Brexit and believed that London would continue to be a significant legal centre even on a five- to 10-year view because of the quality of its legal expertise. - Financial Times

National Grid’s drive for hospitals to help keep the UK's lights on by using their back-up diesel generators is "highly questionable" because it will cause air pollution right in the vicinity of patients, a think-tank has warned. The energy utility is encouraging NHS sites to sign up for schemes where they will be paid to use their back-up generators for electricity routinely, not just in the event of an emergency power cut. - Telegraph

Engineering group GKN is hoping to leverage its recent acquisition of Fokker to build a foothold in China’s burgeoning aerospace sector. The country is forecast to be the fastest growing aviation market in the world over the next 20 years, and China’s nascent aerospace industry could become a strong player in the field. - Telegraph

An Aim-listed diamond explorer is planning a “transformation deal” that will create Sierra Leone's second-biggest diamond mine from two “high-grade” deposits. Stellar Diamonds will acquire the Tonguma project from Octea Mining and combine it with its own neighbouring Tongo deposit to build a mine with a resource of five million carats underground. - Telegraph

Elegant Hotels, the AIM-listed Barbados group, will launch its latest luxury hotel and spa this week. The group, which floated in London last year, said that the 70-room Waves Hotel in Barbados, acquired for $18 million, had been “extensively redesigned and refurbished”. - The Times

A $100 million remake of the 1959 Charlton Heston film classic Ben-Hur was an epic failure at the US box office on its opening weekend. It brought in only $11.35 million, according to figures released yesterday. The film, starring Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell, was marketed heavily at Christian audiences, with special screenings for religious leaders. - The Times