(ShareCast News) - Traders are betting that the US Federal Reserve will stand pat on interest rates this week, despite warnings that rising inflationary pressures could persuade the US central bank to hike. The Sunday Times reported that investors were assuming the flurry of weaker-than-expected economic data in recent weeks will be used by the Fed's rate setting committee as an excuse to delay a rate rise once again.China has failed to curb excesses in its credit system and faces mounting risks of a full-blown banking crisis, according to early warning indicators released by the international watchdog, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). A key gauge of credit vulnerability is now three times over the danger threshold and has continued to deteriorate, despite pledges by Chinese premier Li Keqiang to wean the economy off debt-driven growth before it is too late, the Sunday Telegraph noted.Berkeley Group has warned that cutting off the supply of EU workers to Britain's building sites as part of Brexit plans could halve the number of homes being built, the Mail on Sunday said. Rob Perrins, chief executive of the housebuilder, said: 'Half the workers who build Britain's homes are European nationals. So if we get migration wrong, costs will go up and we'll probably deliver half as many homes."Toxic fumes from one of FTSE 100 commodities giant Glencore's Zambia copper plants was ruled to have caused the death of a politician, potentially triggering fresh claims against the company, the Observer said. The mining and commodities trader was ordered by the country's high court to pay 400,000 Zambian kwacha (£30,000) in damages over th death of Beatrice Mithi after inhaling sulphur dioxide released by Glencore subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines, which has long been assailed by complaints of health problems from nearby residents.The UK government has commissioned a secret report on how to pay for a string of new nuclear power plants that is understood to suggest taxpayers could take direct stakes, the Sunday Times reported. Whitehall hired US investment bank Evercore to devise a fresh blueprint for funding the fleet of reactors, in an admission that the model used to bankroll Hinkley Point C in Somerset will not be repeated.Bank bosses are to meet Brexit Secretary David Davis to demand special measures to ensure they get access to European markets when Britain leaves the EU, the Mail on Sunday said. Industry chiefs including Barclays chairman John McFarlane want to speak to Davis before the Tory party conference to call for 'transitional measures' to smooth the process.Canada is setting up an export agency office in the UK in an attempt to boost trade links with one of its biggest trading partners after the EU referendum, the Sunday Telegraph reported. In the latest indication of the desire of non-EU countries to do more business with the UK, Export Development Canada (EDC) will open a London site this week.Drinks giant Diageo has frozen hiring and is preparing to axe hundreds of staff at its London head office in an attempt to boost profits. As part of a three-year drive to cut costs by £200m, the Guinness and Smirnoff owner has begun a review of staffing at its headquarters, with the Sunday Times hearing of as many as 400 job cuts, although other sources said the number would be much lower.A Chinese consortium has gatecrashed the auction of National Grid's gas pipelines, the Sunday Times reported, posing the first big test of Theresa May's clampdown on foreign ownership of key national infrastructure. The group is understood to include Fosun and China Gas, with Goldman Sachs believed to be providing advice.Top law firms, insurers and asset managers in the City have appointed property agents to quietly seek new offices in Dublin after the EU referendum, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Agents working in the Irish capital have reported a jump in inquiries since the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23, as firms consider moves to establish a greater presence in countries that remain inside the bloc.Royal Bank Of Scotland and Blackstone, the American private equity firm, have clinched the £500m sale of 88 NCP car parks to a US hedge fund. The deal, brokered by the agency CBRE, includes profitable car parks at Heathrow and Birmingham airports, and numerous other sites that could be converted into homes or offices, the Sunday Times said.FTSE 100 private equity group 3i Group plans to return a large slug of cash to investors as it prepares to sell off its ESG environmental and food testing business for £100m. The FTSE 100 private equity firm has hired DC Advisory to find potential buyers for what was Burton-upon-Trent Ispicio when it was bought out, the Sunday Times reported.Lloyds Banking's Scottish Widows and Legal & General's Investment Management, two of the country's largest investors announced over the weekend they will splashing out £12bn on infrastructure projects. Lloyds unveiled a £5bn war chest it will plough into roads, rail, housing and hospitals, while LGIM has earmarked £7bn to back similar projects, which the Sunday Times said was a boon for the government as it stands poised to spend billions on a range of large infrastructure projects.B&Q owner Kingfisher poised to say this week that chief executive Véronique Laury's turnaround plan is bearing fruit. The FTSE 100 group is expected to post interim profits 3% higher at £399m, having dropped by more than a fifth last year, the Mail on Sunday said.Doughnut retailer Krispy Kreme is cooking up plans to join the flurry of float activity in the comung week with a £200m initial public offer. The Sunday Telegraph said it understood that Alcuin Capital, the private equity firm that controls Krispy Kreme's UK arm, has already appointed Investec and is due to send out marketing material to fund managers this week.Fund management group Premier Asset Management plans to list in London nearly a decade after it was taken private, the Sunday Times reported. Premier has begun an investor roadshow and has hired stockbrokers Numis and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to work on a £200m listing by the end of the year, City sources said.BT Group and Virgin Media have set aside their rivalry in a joint advertising campaign that defend Britain's record on internet infrastructure investment in the face of attacks from Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone. The Sunday Telegraph said the pair have a shared interest in ensuring that Openreach remains under the BT umbrella as for BT, the unit is a cash cow that all rivals except Virgin Media must rely on, while the returns on Virgin's investment in its own cables could be threatened if Openreach is separated. The Serious Fraud Office is considering launching an investigation into the collapse of oil company Afren, which was advised for three years by the Tory MP and former YouGov boss Nadhim Zahawi. One-time investor favourite Afren went bust in July last year after a combination of a secret bonus pot and the slump in oil prices sent the company crashes and burn with debts of around £1.3bn.Britain's biggest freight port has been accused of profiteering from the recent multi-billion pound collapse of shipping giant Hanjin, the Mail on Sunday reported. The Port of Felixstowe has raised the price of handling the Korean group's containers in a move that could add to importers' bills - costs that may be passed on to shoppers.Investors in a scheme to lengthen one of Heathrow's runways have offered to slash the cost by £2bn to £7.5bn in a last-ditch effort to win the government's sign-off, the Sunday Times said. Heathrow Hub has proposed stretching the northern runway to 6.8km (4.2 miles) and splitting it in two so that planes can take off and land simultaneouslyThe BBC is poised to hand over production of some of its biggest programmes to commercial producers in the latest challenge to its dominance of the television industry, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Stalwarts of its schedule such as Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing are in line be put out to tender under plans to increase efficiency and sharpen the BBC's own commercial operations.
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