Friday newspaper round-up: Investment banks, Colman's, diesel cars
Investment banks earned a record of nearly $104bn (£76.7bn) in fees globally last year from work advising companies on more than $3.5tn worth of takeovers and mergers. Globally, banks billed their clients for $103.9bn worth of fees for their work, a 16% increase on 2016 and the highest yearly total since Thomson Reuters began collating data in 2000. – Guardian
The factory that has been making Colman’s Mustard in Norwich for nearly 160 years is to close, with the loss of local jobs. Parent company Unilever said the Carrow Works site, where Colman’s has been made since 1858, would shut by the end of 2019. Unilever is seeking to keep Colman’s historical links with Norwich by retaining production and packing of mustard powder, the mustard milling process and mint processing at a new site in the area, in partnership with local farmers. – Guardian
New cars sold in Britain last year were more harmful to the environment than those in 2016 because of the “demonisation” of diesel. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that average CO2 emissions from cars sold last year were higher than in 2016, reversing a near 20-year decline. The increase – to 121.04 grams of CO2 per kilometre from 120.1g/km – is being blamed by the trade group on the backlash against diesel vehicles, which pump out less CO2 than petrol vehicles. – Telegraph
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to dedicate the next year to fixing the social network, admitting that a barrage of scandals means it hast lost the faith of users and governments.In a New Year's message posted on Facebook, he said he would be dedicating 2018 to repairing the company's reputation following a year in which it has been attacked over fake news, Russian political meddling and allegations that social media can be detrimental to people's mental health. – Telegraph
The administrators of the collapsed recruitment agency that failed to pay the minimum wage to more than a thousand Sports Direct workers are pursuing debts owed by its directors. Qualitycourse, which traded as Transline Group, collapsed into administration in May and the main business was sold immediately to Russell Taylor Group leaving a rump in the hands of Deloitte, the administrators. In a report posted at Companies House last week Deloitte said that it would “continue to pursue the recovery of the directors and related company loan accounts”. – The Times
Households’ appetite for debt slowed sharply in November in a sign that consumers may be becoming cautious after a two-year credit binge and an increase in interest rates. Official figures from the Bank of England showed that unsecured consumer lending grew by 8.5 per cent in November on an annualised three-month basis, down from 9.3 per cent in the three months to October and the weakest since June 2015. For the 12 months to November the rate slowed to 9.1 per cent, the weakest on that measure since December 2015. – The Times