Sunday newspaper round-up: Currys, Barclays, Homebuilders
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Monday 19 Feb 2024
(Sharecast News) - China's JD.com has been looking at a possible acquisition offer for Currys. Just the day before the electricals retailer had rebuffed an approach by private equity. Exploratory talks between Currys and JD had been held over the preceding weeks. Additional bidders may appear. It was understood that Currys had been contacted by multiple private equity firms on an informal basis over recent months after it was forced to cut its dividend payout. It was but the latest example of a British business being taken out and for some showed that British businesses were being chronically undervalued. - Sunday Telegraph
Barclays will hand out as much as £9bn to shareholders over the coming three years as a part of its turnaround plan to be announced on Tuesday. That figure is also what J.P.Morgan analysts believe that Barclays can afford. The lender's boss, C S Venkatakrishnan, is also expected to lift Barclays's target for its return on tangible equity from 10% to roughly 11%. - Sunday Times
Three of the country's largest homebuilders have called on the Chancellor to cut stamp duty in the Spring Budget in order to unlock housing supply and help the economy. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Taylor Wimpey boss Jennie Daly argued that a reduction in the tax was justified for lower-priced properties, as well as for sellers over the age of 60 looking to downsize. The heads of Barratt Developments and The Berkeley Group backed her up. - The Financial Mail on Sunday
The scar from the disruptions to education as a result of lockdown will last many generations, according to a World Bank official. Norbert Schady, chief economist for human development, made the case that on average young children didn't learn anything during the lockdown. Indeed, many were not able to read basic sentences of solve simple equations. - The Sunday Telegraph
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