Tuesday newspaper round-up: Oil, Vauxhall, Efta, Sky, ITV
A global glut of oil could turn into a shortage within three years unless billions of dollars worth of new investments are made in the industry, the International Energy Agency said yesterday. In its latest five-year oil market forecast, the agency said that supplies of oil until 2020 appeared comfortable but after that it predicted a rapid fall in new supply growth, the consequence of a sharp drop in investment since crude prices plunged in 2014. - The Times
The North Sea oil industry is in dire need of fresh capital investment to drive activity in the embattled basin beyond 2020. The stark warning emerged from an annual industry-wide report from trade group Oil and Gas UK which found that the green shoots which have emerged in the last year mask a deeper problem for the oil basin which is suffering from record lows for new capital investment. - Telegraph
Vauxhall workers are likely to take a significant cut to their pensions before any decision about the long-term future of their jobs after the sale of the UK-based automotive group to PSA Peugeot Citroen. The French carmaker yesterday signed a deal with Vauxhall’s US parent General Motors to take control of its European operations — Vauxhall and its larger German sister company Opel. - The Times
The culture secretary yesterday gave the clearest indication yet that she would take account of failures of corporate governance at News Corporation during the phone hacking scandal when considering the £11.7 billion bid by 21st Century Fox to take full control of Sky. On Monday she told the House of Commons: “I am concerned about the nature of a number of breaches of broadcasting standards by 21st Century Fox as well as the behaviour and corporate governance failures at News Corporation in the past.” - The Times
Rupert Murdoch’s attempted takeover of Sky must be thoroughly investigated by Ofcom in light of corporate governance failures surrounding the phone-hacking scandal, Tom Watson, the shadow culture secretary, has said. During a debate in the House of Commons on Monday, Watson pressed the culture secretary, Karen Bradley, to refer the deal to the regulator on grounds that allow it to properly examine the corporate governance record at Murdoch’s media empire. - Guardian
The Government has incurred the wrath of the so-called “winners” of the business rates revaluation as their new bills reveal they are being denied reductions to compensate companies elsewhere in the country. Last month David Gauke, chief secretary to the Treasury, attempted to defend the burdensome business rates system by arguing that three quarters of UK companies will see a fall in rates. - Telegraph
A cross-party committee of MPs has urged the government to consider rejoining the European Free Trade Association to smooth the exit from the European Union. The international trade committee of MPs said that rejoining Efta, which Britain left to join the European Union in 1973, would “clearly be to Britain’s advantage” and urged the government to publish a white paper on membership before the summer. - The Times
ITV won its legal battle yesterday to ensure that its channels cannot be transmitted online or on cable without the broadcaster’s authorisation. The decision, which initially sent its share price soaring, should allow ITV to pursue its campaign to charge Virgin Media tens of millions of pounds for rebroadcasting ITV1, its main channel. - The Times
British customers of Talktalk, the telecoms giant, have been targeted by an industrial-scale scamming operation based in India, whistleblowers have claimed. Professional fraudsters have been running call centres in two Indian cities where hundreds of workers are paid to dupe UK victims into installing a computer virus, according to three sources. - The Times
Europe’s largest financial groups face a big increase in the cost of running and regulating their investment banking businesses from London post-Brexit. Some of the City’s biggest institutions, including Deutsche Bank, have begun negotiations with the Bank of England about their status when they lose their privileged access to London. - The Times
Apple could be forced to pay millions of pounds in extra taxes in the UK after losing a legal battle over whether its smartwatch straps are an accessory that should be taxed individually or part of the device. Ending a months-long legal battle, a tax tribunal in London has ruled that the straps are "pieces of plastic" and an "accessory", not part of the technology. - Telegraph
The head of the company behind Comparethemarket has said he is no rush to float as the firm celebrated a record start to its year. Matthew Donaldson, chief executive of BGL Group, said the Peterborough-based price comparison and insurance distribution specialist is in the “unusual and luxurious” position of not having to rush ahead with a float, but that he plans to be ready for a listing by the second half of this year. - Telegrpah
The boss of Smith & Nephew (S&N) has had his pay slashed by more than a third and the artificial hip maker has overhauled its remuneration policy following a backlash from shareholders last year. The total pay package for chief executive Olivier Bohuon dropped by 38pc to $3.32m (£2.7m) in 2016 after he fell short of his performance targets and the FTSE 100 company’s remuneration committee cut his cash bonus by 10pc because the business did not hit its financial objectives. - Telegraph
The former JP Morgan Chase trader who became known as the “London Whale” may face legal action by US authorities, dragging the saga of the bank’s multibillion-dollar losses back into the spotlight. In January lawyers for Bruno Iksil were told by the US Federal Reserve that it was considering an enforcement action against him. - The Times
British Land is to give equal benefits to its staff who have children, under changes to its parental leave conditions that will increase pay for the weeks after a baby is born. The company will provide parents with equal benefits in terms of pay following the birth or adoption of a child, on top of the existing statutory shared parental leave terms required by law. - Telegraph
The head of the organisation that represents adult care providers in England has accused the government of abdicating responsibility for social care and claimed that ageism is affecting treatment of the elderly. Speaking to the Guardian, Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, warned the care home sector is at a tipping point and accused the government of lacking leadership on the issue. - Guardian
Junk food should be sold in plain packaging to help to stop people overeating, one of Britain’s foremost brain researchers has argued. Ministers are facing calls to test the idea after Wolfram Schultz, a Cambridge University neuroscientist, said that the way fatty and sugary food was marketed triggered brain signals that some obese people could not resist. - The Times