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.
- Sterling has its worst run since crash. The pound has endured its longest losing streak against the dollar since the financial crisis a decade ago because of mounting fears that the United Kingdom will crash out of the European Union in March and amid signs that the economy is struggling to gather momentum.
- House prices in London fell 0.7pc in the 12 months to June - the largest annual fall in the city’s house prices since September 2009. Three of London’s central boroughs had double-digit drops in prices as the reversal in the capital's fortunes continued. The City of London fell 23.8pc, Kensington and Chelsea dropped 13.9pc and the City of Westminster slid 12.1pc, according to data from the Office for National Statistics and the Land Registry.
- Construction company Balfour Beatty (BBY) has quadrupled its pre-tax profits as chief executive Leo Quinn’s strategy of being more picky over contracts appears to be paying off. The country’s biggest contractor recorded total pre-tax profit of £50m for the six months to June, well up on the same time last year when it made £12m.
- Rail fares will rise by 3.2pc as of January, based on the latest measure of price growth released by the Office for National Statistics. The controversial inflation yardstick, the Retail Price Index, as measured in July, is used to set the maximum rail fare increase rail companies can impose in January each year.
- Hochschild (HOC) has increased its estimate of gold and silver resources at its principal mine in Peru by almost 50% after fresh drilling. The miner disclosed the new estimate as it reported a surge in profits for the first half of the year, aided by lower-than-expected costs and higher production. However, it said this was likely to be offset by higher costs and lower output in the second half and left its full-year guidance unchanged.
- PwC should have raised the alarm over BHS’s ability to keep trading before the stricken retailer was sold to a serial bankrupt for £1, according to the accountancy watchdog. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said an audit of BHS’s 2014 accounts before it was sold by Sir Philip Green had failed to collect evidence pointing to why it should be considered a going concern.
- Philip Day is in talks with landlords to take over several House of Fraser stores in a move that could infuriate the chain’s new owner, Sports Direct (SPD). The retail billionaire, who was a losing bidder in the battle for control of the department stores group, is talking to between 10 and 15 landlords about leasing the stores and running them under his Days fascia.
- The Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) has begun courting potential bidders for its $6bn (£4.7bn) Canadian iron-ore operations as it seeks to take advantage of a rebound in the commodity's value. Sky News has learnt that Rio Tinto has hired Credit Suisse, the investment bank, to conduct an auction of its majority stake in Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).
- Gaming problems at Tencent, the Chinese internet giant that reported a rare drop in profit yesterday, sent shares lower in Frontier Developments (FDEV) , the UK-listed games company in which Tencent holds an 8.7 per cent stake. Tencent said that it had been hit by bureaucratic reforms that have effectively frozen the licensing of new games since March. Frontier Developments, which has launched its third game based on the Jurassic Park films, closed down 67p at 958p.
- Nanoco (NANO) the Cheshire-based developer of quantum dot technology that is used in televisions, smartphones and tablets, fell by 11.5 per cent after its year-end trading update indicated its full-year figures would miss expectations because of delays to short-terms orders. Net revenue for 2018 is now expected to be £3.3 million, down from £7.5 million. Patient investors are holding out from the growth potential arising from the company’s supply agreements with a large, undisclosed US listed corporation. Peel Hunt re-iterated its “buy” rating and 67p target price but reduced its forecasts. Its shares closed down 5½p at 41½p.
