Monday newspaper round-up: UK defence, Made.com, Rolls-Royce
David Cameron will today pump an extra £12bn into strengthening Britain’s defences against Isis and Russia, but the bill will be met by spending cuts elsewhere with police, welfare and business grants in the line of fire. Mr Cameron will set out a five-year defence review with a focus on tackling Isis, including a 30% increase in the counter-terrorism budget, £2bn on special forces and a new emphasis on cyber defences. - Financial Times
A surge in finance and accounting jobs across the UK is leading a rise in job prospects in all professional industries, according to new figures. The data shows a 6pc rise in professional vacancies compared to a year ago, with both permanent and contract jobs on the increase. Finance and accounting openings rose 16pc on last year, while vacant engineering roles grew by a more modest 8pc, and jobs in media and marketing were up 2pc. – Telegraph
Upmarket furniture retailer Made.com has launched a new online mattress shop in a bid to shake up the £1bn UK bed market. The company has created a hi-tech mattress, dubbed “the One”, which aims to suit the majority of consumers, and goes on sale today [Monday]. “We’re always looking for ways to disrupt new categories,” Julien Callede,Made.com co-founder told the Daily Telegraph. “Mattresses are complicated to sell and we’ve been looking at how to address the market for a year.” – Telegraph
Rolls-Royce will fly into the City for the second time in a fortnight tomorrow to avert a crisis that has caused investors to lose confidence in the group and prompted an American activist to demand a say in how the company is run. The company, which makes engines for the Airbus A380 superjumbo and the Boeing Dreamliner, as well as for the Eurofighter Typhoon and Britain’s nuclear submarines, has issued five profit warnings in 20 months, prompting a £12 billion crash in the value of the company. –The Times
New director-general may waver over pay but Europe is still a sticking point. The new head of the CBI is seeking a truce with government by dropping claims that the £9 national living wage will cost jobs. – The Times
MPs are to look into the sale of £13bn of former Northern Rock mortgages to the US private equity group Cerberus Capital, to examine whether the deal was in the public interest. The Treasury select committee of MPs, led by Andrew Tyrie, has not decided whether to launch a formal inquiry but will take advice about the sale after hearing concerns. – Guardian
Small UK food suppliers and farmers are coming under increasing pressure from Britain’s supermarket price war, with their profit margins cut by more than a third while those at bigger competitors have widened, according to research. Commercial lawyers EMW said small suppliers with an annual turnover below £25m lacked the negotiating power of big rivals and as a result, their profit margins fell last year from 3.5% to 2.1%. By contrast, at the biggest food companies, whose turnover tops £1bn, margins increased from 5.2% to 5.4%last year. – Guardian