Wednesday newspaper round-up: Cash machines, UK houses, construction sector
The UK’s cash machine network has been asked by the head of the Treasury select committee to clarify how many of the country’s 55,000 free-to-use ATMs will close as a result of proposed changes to the way the system operates. The industry lobby group, the ATM Industry Association, has warned the changes put forward by the Link network could lead to parts of the UK becoming ‘ATM deserts’ with at least 10,000 free-to-use cash machines at risk. – Guardian
The total value of all the houses in the UK has passed the £6tn mark for the first time, according to research by Halifax which also highlights the vast concentration of property wealth in London and the south-east. The value of homes in London is now more than all the houses in Scotland, Wales and the north of England combined. The research also reveals how property values in the south have escalated since the financial crash of 2007-08, despite incomes remaining relatively flat. – Guardian
A lack of “vision” from the Government about future combat aircraft in the UK contributed to BAE Systems' decision to axe hundreds of British jobs, MPs have been told. The FTSE 100 defence company announced almost 2,000 redundancies last month, with the bulk of them in its aircraft division. – Telegraph
The construction sector has come together to warn the Government of the danger to the industry if there is a "cliff edge" for vital EU workers created by Brexit, as it targets building 300,000 homes a year. Official statistics suggest that 12.6pc of construction workers across the UK are foreign-born, of which 5.7pc are from EU-accession countries, such as Romania. That proportion rises to around 50pc in London and the South East. – Telegraph
The grocery sector was facing a grim start to the Christmas trading season last night after a food and tobacco wholesaler with annual sales of more than £4 billion collapsed into administration with the loss of about 2,500 jobs. Palmer & Harvey, which has been in existence for 92 years and is a key supplier to retailers such as Tesco, called in administrators from PWC after the collapse of talks over a rescue takeover by Carlyle Group, the American private equity firm. – The Times
The governor of the Bank of England has waded into the boardroom row at the London Stock Exchange by signalling that Xavier Rolet, its chief executive, should go quietly. Mark Carney said that Mr Rolet had “made an extraordinary contribution as head of the LSE over the last nine years”, but he added: “I can’t envision a circumstance where the CEO stays on beyond the agreed period.” – The Times