Sunday newspaper round-up: Autumn Statement, Home Retail, Morrison

In his autumn statement this week, the Chancellor has four options, said the Sunday Telegraph, do nothing and eat into his projected surplus of £10bn in 2020, introduce the cuts to the welfare state more gradually, cut more from government budgets that are already braced for cuts, or raise taxes. One target could be pay-as-you-earn salary sacrifice arrangement, where workers give up part of their pay for non-cash benefits such as child-care vouchers or higher pension contributions, which costs the Exchequer £14bn in National Insurance contributions per year.

Osborne could also cut the top rate of stamp duty after a fall in tax revenues from the sale of upmarket homes. The Mail on Sunday claimed experts were predicting the controversial 12% top rate of stamp duty was another measure that was likely to be reduced.

Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, is being circled by potential private equity buyers after its recent profit warning sparked by Black Friday uncertainty. With the shares having halved in 2015, the Sunday Times reported that several retail industry figures have been asked to advise on £1bn bids for the group, including from US-based Apollo Global Management.

US hedge fund Third Point has set up a major short position on Morrisons, joining a group of funds betting against the supermarket’s shares. The $17.5bn fund, run by Daniel Loeb, has this week built a short position worth almost £20m, or more than 0.5% of Morrisons’ market cap, the Sunday Telegraph reported, as the grocer becomes one of the most shorted FTSE 100 stocks.

Morrisons chief executive will remain in line to pocket a multi-million pound bonus – even though the company is expecting sales to fall, the Mail on Sunday added. Under new objectives that major shareholders have been consulted about, David Potts and his fellow directors will not be expected to increase grocery sales over the next three years from the £13bn achieved in the year to February.

For the second time in three years Debenhams has demanded its suppliers provide extra discounts in the run-up to Christmas in return for earlier payment. In recent weeks, the Sunday Telegraph said, the department store chain asked for a reduction of 1-2% on bills in exchange for paying them 30 or 60 days earlier than their current terms, akin to the controversial “Santa tax” it imposed on suppliers in 2013.

Insurance giant Axa has begun to plan an exit from several of its British businesses, including its wealth management arm, offshore bond provider Axa Isle of Man and parts of its Sun Life insurance business. Bankers at Barclays and Fenchurch Advisory Partners have been brought in to advise on the sale of the units, the Sunday Times reported.

Deutsche Bank will make 1,000 job cuts in the City of London in the new year as directors look to slimline the investment bank, the Sunday Times said. The London cuts are part of an overhaul announced by new boss John Cryan last month, where 15,000 staff will be axed worldwide in the next two years.

Dermot Desmond, the Irish billionaire and owner of 2% of Ladbrokes, will lose out in his attempt to derail the £2bn merger between the UK bookmaker and its smaller rival Gala Coral. Desmond's open letter urging shareholders to block the deal is understood, said the Sunday Times, to have fallen on deaf ears ahead of Tuesday's vote.

Three North Sea oil producers are in danger due to the low price of oil. Two of these, explorer PA Resources and Toronto-listed Iona Energy are going bust and a third, Copenhagen-listed Atlantic Petroleum is looking for a cash-rich saviour, the Sunday Times reported.

Nisa Retail, the convenience store mutual, has asked members to approve measures to raise its defences against a predatory takeover deal. Members of the 2,500-shop chain, which last year made £1.6bn of sales, will vote on plans to increase in the shareholding threshold a predator would have to cross to gain control, as part of reforms being proposed by chairman Christopher Baker and former City minister Lord Myners, the Sunday Times said.

City of London stockbroker Cenkos Securities has suspended biotech analyst Navid Malik after accusations made by the anonymous team at UK-based research house, Phase Five Research. The Sunday Times reported that Malik had been suspended with pay while the allegations about his connections with former AIM company Northwest Biotherapeutics are investigated.