Thursday newspaper round-up: BHP Billiton, Northern Trust, Royal Mail, Ofwat
Executives inside Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump’s personal bankers, are expecting that the bank will soon be receiving subpoenas or other requests for information from Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is investigating possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. A person close to the matter who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity said that Mueller’s team and the bank have already established informal contact in connection to the federal investigation. – Guardian
Demand among wealthy art lovers for high-value lots, including work by Constantin Brancusi and Max Beckmann, and record spending from Asian buyers boosted Christie’s auction house in the first half of the year. The number of artworks sold for more than £10m rose to 38 in the first six months of 2017, from 14 in the same period last year. – Guardian
Activist investor Elliott has slammed BHP Billiton’s plans to develop a giant potash mine in Canada, warning it could be as “disastrous” as its foray into US shale. Elliott Advisors, which has been campaigning for an overhaul to BHP’s strategy and board, attacked recent comments by the miner that it would seek to build its Jansen project in Saskatchewan province. BHP has set aside $3.8bn (£2.9bn) to develop the mine, though the total cost has been put as high as $14bn. – Telegraph
Northern Trust has followed in the footsteps of a number of its rivals by picking Luxembourg as its new EU home in response to Brexit. Financial institutions are responding to fears over a hard Brexit by opening up hubs within the EU, with Luxembourg emerging as a popular option among insurers, asset managers and private equity firms. – Telegraph
Postal workers have reacted angrily to the news that the £1.8 million-a-year chief executive of Royal Mail is to take a part-time job as a non-executive director of Easyjet. Moya Greene has taken up the post at the short-haul airline with immediate effect and will start earning an annual £60,000 for only nine days a year set aside for board meetings. Her £6,666-a-day pay is the equivalent of about three times the annual wage of a Royal Mail delivery worker. – The Times
The water industry has been plunged into uncertainty after the head of Ofwat announced that she is leaving the regulator to join BT. In an announcement that shocked an industry that is just starting its next cycle of negotiations on water charges, Cathryn Ross said that she would depart at the end of the year. Her exit comes after the recent opening of competition to non-household customers. The newly liberalised market has got off to a slow start, with some blaming Ofwat for not properly promoting it. – The Times