Sunday newspaper round-up: Pressure on sterling, steel suppliers and Sajid Javid

8th Nov 2015 15:41

(ShareCast News) - The pound could plunge against the dollar to levels last seen during the financial crisis due to the increased likelihood of a US interest rate rise. Ever more economists predict December will see the Federal Reserve lift interest rates for the first time in years, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut deposit rates next month and extend its bond-buying programme. The Sunday Times noted this was an "unprecedented" move for foreign-exchange markets as the Fed and the ECB have never changed rates in opposite directions in the same month since the euro was launched in 1999.Tata Steel has demanded its suppliers make an immediate 10% cut in prices, followed by a 30% reduction in the long term. In a letter to suppliers from the procurement director of Tata Long Products Europe, reported the Telegraph, the steel giant threatened to "fully consider other options" if suppliers are "unable to support us in our efforts".Chinese corporate interest in embattled steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters, a key supplier of parts for the Trident nuclear submarine programme, is an acute cause of concern in the corridors of Whitehall and the boardrooms of Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, the Sunday Times reported. Due to Forgemasters rare skills in forging cylinders for Rolls-Royce-built reactors and the difficulty of spinning off its nuclear division as the company works from a single site, new business secretary Sajid Javid could come under pressure to rethink his anti-government-intervention policy.The Confederation of British Industry is to tone down its anti-Brexit rhetoric, after many members attacked its pro-EU stance. Paul Drechsler, the new president of the CBI, will in a speech at the CBI's annual conference admit there is "no uniform view" on the EU referendum among the organisation's members or the wider business community, the Sunday Times reported.David Cameron will reveal this week that he would consider supporting the UK's exit from the European Union this week if his requests are not met. The prime minister is due to give a speech on Tuesday in which, according to various reports, he planning to say: "If we can't reach such an agreement, and if Britain's concerns were to be met with a deaf ear, which I do not believe will happen, then we will have to think again about whether this European Union is right for us."Sell, sell, sell, buyNational Grid is close to deciding whether to sell its £10bn gas distribution business and use the money to upgrade the electricity gird. Demand for infrastructure assets from foreign investors has soared and after selling off half the business 11 years ago, the FTSE 100 group is mulling a sale of the part or all of the other half, the Sunday Times said.As part of its mega merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev, SAB Miller will this week reveal the sale of its its 58% stake in American business Miller Coors to joint venture partner Molson Coors for more than $10bn (£6.6bn). Heineken was thought to be interested if Molson did not take up its option, the Sunday Times noted.Fellow drinks giant Diageo will this week reiterate its commitment to Guinness amid speculation that the company was looking to sell the 256-year-old stout brand. Boss Ivan Menezes will stress the importance of beer to Wall Street investors, the Sunday Times reported.Also mulling a sale is FTSE 250-listed Capital & Counties (Capco), which wants to sell its £300m Olympia exhibition centre in West London as it focuses on a huge residential development in nearby Earls Court. Capco has appointed agents to market the site and investment bankers from Rothschild to auction the property, the Sunday Times wrote, with the site likely to appeal to private equity firms.Henderson Group and Jupiter Fund Management are potential targets as US banking giant Wells Fargo looks to make an acquisition of a City of London asset manager, the Sunday Times reported. The UK fund management industry is seen by some investors as an attractive long-term bet due to recent pension reforms, while Wells large American market share in retail banking has forced CEO John Stumpf to look overseas to sake his thirst for growth.Treasury minister Lord Jim O'Neill's plans to raise a multibillion fund to tackle antibiotic resistance has met with interest from drug makers including GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Roche, which all could contribute to the fund, although negotiations are still at an early stage, the Sunday Times said. The fund is being set up to encourage ways of overcoming drug-resistant superbugs and will distribute up to $2bn (£1.3bn) over five years.Executives at Volkwagen are said to be concerned about making any trips to the US in case they have their passports confiscated. German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung cited sources at the car-maker as saying that one employee had their passport taken away during a visit to the US, where the company is being investigated for rigging emissions tests.