LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Rolls-Royce, Britain's leading manufacturing multinational, hired a network of agents to help it land lucrative contracts in at least 12 different countries around the world, sometimes allegedly using bribes. An investigation by the Guardian and the BBC has uncovered leaked documents and testimony from insiders that suggest that Rolls-Royce may have benefited from the use of illicit payments to boost profits for years.
Investors reacted positively to news that Mark Carney will stay on as Governor of the Bank of England for an extra one year until mid-2019, despite questions remaining as to why he will not stay for an extra three year term as expected. Sterling popped to an intra-day high against the dollar of $1.2240 shortly after the announcement was made at 6pm, and up 0.2pc against the euro at €1.114. - Telegraph

Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC have been linked with an investigation in the United States into alleged impropriety in the market for trading interest rate swaps. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the watchdog for the US derivatives market, is investigating several banks that are named in a court case filed in America this year, sources said. - The Times

The Bank of Japan says it will not reach 2 per cent inflation before the end of Haruhiko Kuroda's term as governor in a stark illustration of its struggle to escape the country's entrenched deflation. Releasing its new economic forecasts, the BoJ said it now expected to hit its inflation target "around fiscal 2018", the year starting from April 2018. Mr Kuroda's five year term ends that month. - Financial Times

Major energy suppliers have scrapped controversial tariffs that denied their existing customers their cheapest prices, amid speculation over a political crackdown on the sector. Four of the "Big Six" suppliers - E.ON, SSE, EDF and Npower - and the leading independent supplier, First Utility, all offered their best tariffs exclusively to new customers at certain points during the last month. - Telegraph

Small manufacturers are increasingly hopeful about the prospects for exporting internationally, although the fall in sterling has increased their costs while making their products cheaper, according to a new poll. According to the CBI's survey, a net 4pc of small firms are optimistic about their business situation, bouncing back strongly from immediately after the EU referendum, when a net 44pc were pessimistic. - Telegraph

British members of the umbrella regulator of Europe's financial system have a potential "conflict of interest" because of their wish to preserve the primacy of the City of London after Brexit, according to one of the body's most senior board members. Gérard Rameix, who sits on the board of the European Securities and Markets Authority, which brings together regulatory chiefs from across the EU, said its British representatives had a different set of priorities since the UK voted to leave the EU. - Financial Times

The assets of the world's largest 500 fund managers have fallen for the first time in five years as investment houses continue to grapple with outflows from some of their biggest clients. Total assets fell by $1.4tn to $76.7tn - the first decline in funds under management since 2011, with European investment houses experiencing the biggest falls. - Financial Times

Britain will "strike back" against cyberattacks by foreign governments and criminal hackers, the chancellor is to pledge today. The country must take an aggressive approach to protect the economy, infrastructure and individuals' privacy from hostile forces, Philip Hammond will say. The risk of hackers targeting air traffic control and power grid networks is one of the biggest concerns. - The Times

The construction industry was hit by its second scandal in as many weeks last night when a building services company revealed that an employee allegedly had taken almost £3 million. TClarke, which has worked on the Shard, the O2 Arena and the Olympic Stadium in London for the 2012 Games, said after the close of trading on the London Stock Exchange that it had uncovered financial irregularities in a mechanical services subsidiary. - The Times

Japanese companies based in Britain have already started to receive offers from other European countries and could postpone investment decisions if Theresa May's government fails to negotiate a close economic relationship with the EU. That was the stark warning from Haruki Hayashi, president of the Japanese chambers of commerce in Britain and the European CEO of Mitsubishi, who said businesses needed more than "general reassurances" if his country's investment presence in Britain was to be maintained. - Guardian

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