Feb 18 - The following are the top stories on the business
pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
- Nearly 1,400 UK engineering jobs are to go after
Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO announced it was cutting its global
workforce by 10 percent. The Canadian group is to shed 1,080
jobs from its Belfast aircraft plant and three other locations
over the next two years, representing more than a fifth of its
workforce.
- Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc RR.L has entered into talks
with an American activist investor seeking a seat on the
struggling engineer's board. The group said it had not yet
decided whether to give ValueAct, a San Francisco hedge fund, a
place on its board.
The Guardian
- British workers' rights to paid holiday, maternity leave
and fair treatment at work would be at risk if the UK voted to
leave the European Union, the head of the Trades Union Congress
has warned. Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the body
representing British trade unions, said the EU debate had been
too dominated by business interests, with not enough focus on
the potential costs for ordinary workers.
The number of properties in Britain worth 1 million pounds
($1.43 million) or more is set to more than triple by 2030,
widening the gap between the housing haves and have-nots,
according to a report. Less than half a million homes in the UK
are currently valued at over 1 million pounds, but a study by
high street lender Santander (MC:SAN) claims this number will rise to
more than 1.6 million in the next 15 years.
The Telegraph
- Britain's job rich recovery pushed employment to a record
high at the end of 2015, though a "marked" decline in wage
growth since last summer suggests the Bank of England remains a
long way from raising interest rates. The number of people in
work rose by 205,000 to 31.42 million in the final quarter of
last year, according to the Office for National Statistics
(ONS).
BT Group Plc BT.L is facing fresh calls to split with
Openreach, its broadband infrastructure division, ahead of a
landmark review into the telecoms industry. Ofcom is set to
unveil next week a widely anticipated set of proposals for the
next decade of the telecoms sector, including BT's arm's length
control of Openreach, after almost a year of fierce debate in
the industry.
- Trinity Mirror Plc TNI.L , publisher of the Daily Mirror,
will unveil a weekday newspaper called New Day. New Day is
expected to launch on 29 February, according to people close to
the plans, and will initially be priced at 25p - compared to the
40p cover price of the I newspaper, with which it is expected to
compete. Independent
- UK households have kicked fears of an interest rate rise
this year into the long grass, despite official figures showing
unemployment at its lowest for a decade. The number of
households expecting the Bank of England to raise its record-low
interest rates over the next 12 months has fallen to its lowest
in more than two years amid near-zero inflation and growth
fears, according to Markit, the financial data firm.
($1 = 0.7000 pounds)