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.
- Engineer Costain Group (COST) wins contract for roads of the future as it trials technology for self-driving cars. Costain is trialling technology that will see information about surrounding road conditions beamed directly into vehicles. The technology will at first be used to help drivers react faster to situations, but it is hoped it will eventually be used to help self-driving cars respond automatically to road conditions.
- House of Fraser’s flagship Oxford Street store saved from closure. The Oxford Street store was one of 31 stores set to close through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) before the retailer entered administration. Michael Murray, Sports Direct International (SPD) head of elevation, said: “We said we would keep as many stores open as possible, and in less than a week we have saved the biggest store. “Oxford Street was meant to close in January and now it’s safe which is great news for all parties.”
- Estate agency Countrywide (CWD) raises £140m from investors. About 72% of its open offer was placed and the rest is to go to existing shareholders
- Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) mega-merger gets thumbs up. Deal will provide financial muscle to take on rivals, says Sainsbury’s top investor. Martin Walker, UK equities fund manager at Invesco Perpetual, the third largest shareholder in Sainsbury, said that Mike Coupe, the boss of Sainsbury’s, was putting his job and reputation on the line for a merger that offered “huge” financial benefits
- BHP Billiton (BLT) uses record dividend to win over investors. The Anglo-Australian mining group, which has been battling against criticism led by Elliott, the activist investment group, said that shareholders remained nervous after its “ terrible investment” in the American shale oil industry, which had left it nearly $20 billion worse off.
- Wood Group (John) (WG.) on a roll as US shale oil fuels growth. A first-half loss was brushed aside by Wood Group yesterday as the engineering and oilfield services business pointed to improving market conditions, higher cost savings targets and a six-month performance that was better than expected.
- Persimmon (PSN) – whose boss was dubbed ‘Mr £131million’ over the potential size of his bonus – said it sold 4,000 homes to families using government-backed Help to Buy loans in the first half of this year. The figure represented about 60% of homes the company sold to private buyers, boosting its sales in the period to £1.8bn and profits to £516m.
