Thursday newspaper round-up: Scottish independence, Saudi oil, Sports Direct...

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has slashed its production of crude in an apparent attempt to prevent the price falling further below $100 per barrel. The kingdom, which has the capacity to pump 12.5m barrels per day (bpd) of crude at full choke, trimmed 400,000 bpd from its output last month as prices began to weaken, according to a monthly market report issued by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). That is equal to about half the UK’s total oil output at present levels. - The Telegraph

Sports Direct, the retailer founded by billionaire Mike Ashley, is facing legal action from 250 workers excluded from a multimillion-pound bonus scheme because they were on zero-hours contracts. Lawyers acting for the part-time staff, who worked at the high street chain between April 2008 and August last year, are preparing to file multiple claims for breach of contract at the high court. - The Guardian

Alibaba is understood to have enough orders for shares in its public offering in New York to cover the entire deal within days of launching its investor roadshow, setting the Chinese e-commerce company on course to raise up to $21.1 billion in potentially the world’s biggest technology-related float. Although there is no indication yet if investor interest is at the high or low end of the $60 to $66 share price range, analysts have noted that the company set the price at a low or reasonable level to ensure a good start when trading opens next week. - The Times

Twitter has raised $1.3bn from the debt markets, less than a year after its flotation, raising speculation that the San Francisco technology company is amassing a war chest for acquisitions. - The Telegraph

The death of Emilio Botin has prompted a major reshuffle at the top of Spanish banking giant Santander and its UK arm. Emilio’s daughter and boss of Santander UK, Ana Botin, was confirmed as chairman of Banco Santander following a unanimous vote at an emergency board meeting yesterday afternoon. - The Daily Mail

On the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, US President Barack Obama has set out his administration’s strategy for military action against the Islamic State (Isis) in a televised address to the American public. Vowing to target Isis militants “wherever they exist,” he said: “Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, [Isis] through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.” - The Independent