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.
Sky News Arabia, a joint venture between Sky (SKY) and the royal family of Abu Dhabi, has been drawn into the propaganda battle in the Middle East over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi government operatives. The rolling news channel, which carries Sky News branding to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa, has closely followed the shifting line from Riyadh since Mr Khashoggi disappeared on a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Pressure on Patisserie Valerie over inquiry into ‘fraud’. Investors demand independent firm takes over. Leading investors in Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) want Luke Johnson, chairman of the troubled café chain, to give up control of an internal investigation into a £40 million hole in its accounts over concerns that the review is not sufficiently independent. Invesco, a top ten shareholder in the Aim-listed company, has told Mr Johnson and the board of Patisserie Holdings, the parent company, to hand over the investigation to a law firm or an independent investigation firm during talks last week, according to people familiar with the matter. Invesco has also approached the Investor Forum, an influential group that brokers meetings between large shareholders and company executives, about its worries and could explore legal action to force the board to cede control of the investigation.
Buckle up for a “grim” winter, 
chief executive Michael O’Leary warned on Monday morning. His remarks came as the low-cost airline posted a 7% fall in half-year profits – an announcement that had the hallmarks of a classic corporate “kitchen-sinking”. Staff and maintenance costs in the six months to September spiked by around a third; fuel costs were 21% higher. Fares were on average 3% lower, and the airline warned a further 2pc reduction over the winter is on the cards. The Government’s handling of Brexit, which some continue to argue will ground flights in March if an agreement cannot be struck, was blasted as a “shambles” by O’Leary.
Morrisons could face “vast” compensation bill after court upholds data leak ruling. Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) could be forced to hand out “vast” sums of compensation to thousands of its staff affected by a data breach after losing a key court ruling today. The “Big Four” supermarket had appealed against an earlier decision that it was responsible for a leak of more than 100,000 employees’ personal information, including national insurance numbers, bank details and telephone numbers by a member of staff. But the Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling, which was meted out in December last year. It denied Morrisons an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court but the retailer now intends to pursue one independently.
Second co-founder pours scorn on Superdry strategy. The row at Superdry (SDRY) has deepened after a second co-founder of the retail group weighed in to publicly criticise its strategy. James Holder, who holds a 10 per cent stake in the chain, said yesterday that Superdry needed to act quickly to “restore the share price to its previous level as quickly as possible”. Mr Holder, who led the company’s product innovation division before resigning in 2016, said Superdry needed an “urgent sea change in strategy” if it was to become a dominant online brand, capable of challenging Asos. His remarks come after his fellow co-founder Julian Dunkerton said that Superdry was on a “completely wrong path”. Mr Dunkerton criticised the company’s performance at the weekend, saying it needed to expand, not reduce, its ranges. He resigned from the board in March to concentrate on his other family business and charitable interests.
Glencore chief Ivan Glasenberg looks to future away from mining giant. Glencore (GLEN) chief executive Ivan Glasenberg is planning to quit the mining company within three to five years, according to reports. Mr Glasenberg is said to have talked with investors about leaving the FTSE 100 resources and commodity business, having begun grooming three or four potential successors. The South African, who has had a 30-year career at Glencore and held the top job since 2002, is seen as synonymous with the company’s identity and is its driving force. However, an investigation into Glencore by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) into bribery and corruption allegations has raised questions about whether the billionaire should continue to head the company.
BP given green light for Alligin field in North Sea. BP (BP.) has been granted regulatory approval for the £230 million development of a new oilfield in the North Sea. The Oil and Gas Authority gave the green light for the Alligin field, 140km west of Shetland, which is expected to start up in 2020 and produce 12,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak. The field, which is half-owned by BP and half by Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) , is expected to tap reserves of 20 million barrels by connecting to the production facilities for the much larger Schiehallion field nearby. The watchdog also yesterday gave approval for a second new North Sea project: the Finlaggan gas condensate field in the Central North Sea, which is being developed by Zennor Petroleum, a small private equity-backed firm.
Safestyle sees future more clearly after court deal with rival. A longstanding dispute between rival window and door makers has been settled by a non-compete agreement. Shares in Safestyle UK (SFE) , one of the country’s largest window and door manufacturers, jumped by more than a third yesterday after it reached a five-year settlement with its co-founder who established an aggressive rival last year. Mitu Misra, who co-founded Safestyle in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1992 but left the business after its float in 2013, established a company that traded as Safeglaze UK. The competitor quickly stole market share from Safestyle, with both trading double glazing in the north of England. However, after a legal settlement last month with Safeglaze, the trading name of Niamac Developments, Safestyle has agreed a five-year non-compete agreement with Mr Misra, in which the co-founder and former sales chief will provide services to support the recovery of Safestyle.
Prosecutors are seeking fresh fraud charges against Barclays (BARC) over a controversial fundraising in Qatar. The lender has been accused of breaking the law over a £2.3 billion rescue by the Qataris in 2008, which allowed it to avoid a Government bailout during the financial crisis. Barclays was previously due to go on trial in January, but the charges were dismissed by the High Court.
New funding for a liver cancer diagnostics business has given a boost to NetScientific (NSCI) , a specialist investment firm. Netscientific ploughs money into small healthcare companies, helping them turn ideas into commercially viable businesses. Glycotest, one of its firms which is developing better ways to diagnose liver cancer, raised £7.7 million in a funding round led by Chinese giant Fosun Pharma. The vote of confidence in Netscientific helped lift shares 2.1p, to 29p.
