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.

- Blow for fraud office after miner wins privilege case. Court backs company’s refusal to hand over investigation documents. The decision has been hailed as a landmark ruling in favour of litigation privilege. This allows parties to investigate disputes or alleged wrongdoing without worrying that inquiries may be scrutinised by other parties. The Court of Appeal overturned a judgment that Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (Assd GBP Cash) (ENRA)  must hand over documents prepared by lawyers and forensic accountants as part of its inquiry into whistleblower claims.

- Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)  has risked another backlash by announcing a further 54 branch closures in England and Wales. The latest cull comes on top of 421 closures announced since December last year, taking the total since then to 475. It means the high street lender is axing nearly half its branch network in less than a year. Prior to the rapid rounds of deep cuts it had 1,003 branches.

- The pound has endured a rollercoaster day of trading on currency markets after Germany dashed earlier hopes of a Brexit breakthrough. The German government insisted that its position on Brexit remained unchanged after a report claimed that the UK and German governments had dropped key demands to ease the path to a deal.The pound has endured a rollercoaster day of trading on currency markets after Germany dashed earlier hopes of a Brexit breakthrough.The German government insisted that its position on Brexit remained unchanged after a report claimed that the UK and German governments had dropped key demands to ease the path to a deal.

- Everyman Media Group (EMAN)  will spread into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after expanding rapidly from its London origins. The upmarket chain, which offers sofas and armchairs to its audiences, has grown to 22 venues with 69 screens and has another 15 committed sites. It aims to reach a half-century over the next four years.

- The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments (BDEV),  insisted it still had plenty of room to grow as it unveiled record annual profits after selling more homes than in any year in the past decade. David Thomas, chief executive, denied the strong results, which followed record profits from Barratt rival Redrow yesterday, showed the market for new build homes was reaching its peak.

- William Hill (WMH)  is betting on a tie-up with a casino operator as it aims to cash in on the American sports betting gold rush. Shares in the bookmaker jumped by 12p, or 4.8%, to 260½p after it unveiled a partnership with Eldorado Resorts, a Nasdaq-listed gaming group, to operate both land-based and online sports betting across the United States

- A string of blockbuster gemstone discoveries has driven a surge in revenues and profits at London-listed miner Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) . The company has dug up 10 major diamonds in the first half of the year, all of them above 100 carats. Earlier this year it sold the 910-carat Lesotho Legend for $40m, and it has discovered two more since the end of the reporting period. 

- Almost two years after an initial approach was rebuffed, BHP Billiton (BLT)  has secured an interest in a promising copper project in Ecuador. The world’s largest listed mining company said that it had bought a $35 million stake in Solgold (SOLG),  which controls the Cascabel copper and gold project in the “highly prospective” country.

- Womenswear retailer Quiz (QUIZ)  has said the demise of House of Fraser will cost it £400,000. The company has 11 concessions in the chain’s stores and sells clothes on its website. It said House of Fraser’s collapse into administration and subsequent £90million takeover by Sports Direct International (SPD)  would leave it out of pocket.