Friday newspaper round-up: Bunnings, Lloyds, Apple, Bitcoin investigation
The Australian hardware chain Bunnings has pulled the plug on its disastrous $1bn venture into Britain, drawing an ignominious close to one of the worst retail acquisitions ever seen. After burning through hundreds of millions of dollars trying to sell the all-conquering sandpaper-meets-sausage-sizzle formula to DIY-crazy Britons, Bunnings’ parent group, Wesfarmers, said on Friday that it was offloading the 200-plus chain of former Homebase stores for a reported £1 nominal fee. – Guardian
Lloyds Banking Group has suffered its first significant shareholder rebellion since fully exiting state ownership last year, after more than a fifth of investors refused to back its remuneration report. Almost 21% of Lloyds investors voted against the bank’s executive pay report for 2017, which was seen as a landmark year for the company after it ended almost a decade of taxpayer ownership. - Guardian
Apple has been awarded $539m (£400m) in damages from Samsung, in the latest round of a bitter patent battle that began seven years. The amount is almost half that which Silicon Valley smartphone giant Apple had been seeking from Samsung for its infringement of five patents with phones it sold back in 2010 and 2011, but significantly more than the $28m Samsung was arguing it should have to pay. – Telegraph
The Government has piled more pressure on Heathrow to keep a lid on its expansion costs after broadening powers which enable the aviation regulator to more closely scrutinise the airport’s plans. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would now be able to seek views on the expansion of Heathrow from a wider pool and would also be able to benchmark the price of the project against international comparisons. – Telegraph
Bitcoin traders in Britain are being investigated by American justice officials as part of an inquiry into criminal price manipulation in digital currency markets. The US Department of Justice is examining trading in Britain, America and other countries amid concern that individuals or groups are illegally moving digital currency prices to the detriment of other investors, sources said. – The Times
The value of Shop Direct’s bonds plunged yesterday after the debt market took a dim view of a £25 million “dividend payment” to the online retailer’s billionaire owners, the Barclay brothers. In events that one debt trader described as “a spectacle that ranged from inept to scandalous”, the retailer behind Very.co.uk and Littlewoods spooked the bond market after it could not properly explain why £25 million had been paid to a holding company controlled by Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay. – The Times