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Press Roundup: German Pilots Call 'Surprise' Ryanair Strike, Carney Continues As Governor Until 2020

08:04, 12th September 2018
Paul Kettle Kettle
Press Roundup
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Below are the key morning headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.


- The Treasury has confirmed that Mark Carney will remain governor of the Bank of England until the end of January 2020, extending his period in office by seven months.In a letter to the governor, Philip Hammond said the extension would “support a smooth exit of the UK from the European Union and an effective transition to the next governor”, drawing the curtain on a chaotic few weeks of guesswork and speculation.

Derriston Capital (DERR) FOLLOWSir Martin Sorrell has agreed to pay the legal bill if WPP (WPP) FOLLOW sues his new advertising venture over his contentious takeover of Media Monks two months ago. WPP has alleged that its former boss breached the terms of his contract after snatching the €300 million digital advertising agency from its hands two months ago. The acquisition marked the first deal for S4 Capital, Sir Martin’s new company

- Its mix of the latest sports fashion, growing online sales and attractive stores has helped JD Sports Fashion (JD.) FOLLOW to report another period of record trading, with interim pre-tax profit leaping by 19%. In a rare bright spot on the high street, the sportswear business said that it had generated a pre-tax profit of £121.9 million, up from £102.7 million, in the six months to August 4. This was on revenue up 35% to just over £1.8 billion.

- The chairman of Debenhams (DEB) FOLLOW, Sir Ian Cheshire, has hit back at reports that the retailer is on the brink of closing stores and drawing up emergency plans to rescue the business. Sir Ian said that the department store chain brought forward its trading statement to Monday because “we saw this sort of circus develop over the weekend”.

- The launch of a Tesco (TSCO) FOLLOW discount chain is set to be confirmed in Cambridgeshire next week as Britain’s biggest supermarket group battles the rapidly expanding Aldi and Lidl. The grocer plans to hold a media day next Wednesday in Chatteris, hosted by Dave Lewis, its chief executive. After months of speculation, it is widely expected that the former Unilever executive will be announcing the launch of a new discount brand to be called “Jack’s” in a nod to Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco.

- German pilots have upped the ante in their bitter dispute with Ryanair Holdings (RYA)FOLLOW calling a “surprise” strike and forcing 150 flights to be cancelled at short notice. Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) announced the industrial action on Monday, advising Ryanair pilots in Germany to walk out on Wednesday. Separately, German cabin crew union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft called for a walk-out on the same day to “exact pressure” on Ryanair. It says that 1,000 cabin crew members will strike.

- Sports Direct International (SPD) FOLLOW must hand over documents that it claimed were confidential to the accounting watchdog as part of an investigation into the retailer’s auditor, a High Court judge has ruled. The Financial Reporting Council accused Sports Direct, which is run by the billionaire Mike Ashley, of “obfuscation” and “obstruction” by refusing to give it documents to assist its investigation into the conduct of Grant Thornton, the accounting firm that audits the company’s accounts.

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