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Sunday newspaper round-up: GKN, Melrose, Carillion, Caffe Nero, Capita
Melrose will raise its £7.3bn offer for GKN this week in an effort to clinch the hostile takeover of the FTSE 100 engineer. The buyout firm is expected to offer GKN investors a bigger slice of the enlarged company rather than increasing the cash payout. Melrose has until Thursday to beef up its offer, under the terms of the Takeover Code. - The Sunday Times
MPs have hit out at the board of collapsed outsourcer Carillion after it was revealed that the company paid more than £6m to City advisers just one day before asking the Government for a £10m taxpayer-backed loan. Philip Green, Carillion's chairman, wrote to the Cabinet Office on Jan 13 warning the company would fall into a "very disorderly and value destructive" insolvency that would harm its workers, customers and suppliers if it could not secure a bail-out. - Sunday Telegraph
Any trade war with the United States will only bring disaster to the world economy, the Chinese commerce minister Zhong Shan has said, as Beijing stepped up its criticism of metals tariffs introduced by the White House. After pressure from allies, the US has opened the way for more exemptions from tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium that President Donald Trump set last week. - Observer
Caffè Nero has not paid a penny in UK corporation tax for a decade despite selling around £2bn of lattes and flat whites. The company that controls the chain's 637 shops in the UK and Ireland, Italian Coffee Holdings, has just reported sales of £288m for the 12 months to May 31, 2017 - but paid zero corporation tax for the year. - Mail on Sunday
The embattled outsourcing giant Capita is plotting a £700m fire sale of assets alongside a heavily discounted rights issue intended to raise a similar sum. The new chief executive of the former FTSE 100 favourite is understood to be working on a more aggressive than expected review that could lead to the sale of six or seven businesses. - The Sunday Times
Water suppliers face a fresh wave of scrutiny from the industry regulator after thousands of homes were left without water in the wake of sub-zero temperatures across the UK. Ofwat will launch an investigation into how water companies responded to the "Beast from the East" storm system after they were fiercely criticised for failing to safeguard the network against the freeze. - Sunday Telegraph
An advertising campaign from the Normandy government urging British businesses to flee across the Channel to escape Brexit has been banned by Transport for London because it may cause "public controversy or sensitivity". The adverts urging entrepreneurs worried about the UK's departure from the EU to "vote with their feet" will run in national newspapers, including the Guardian, this week. - Observer
The boss of Which? has launched a stark warning that a catalogue of consumer rights Britons take for granted could be under threat from Brexit. Peter Vicary-Smith accused MPs of neglecting consumers in the Brexit negotiations and urged them to 'act now' to avoid a 'disaster for the everyday British consumer'. - Mail on Sunday
AJ Bell, one of the UK's largest investment platforms, has appointed advisers to pursue a listing on the London Stock Exchange that is expected to value the company at upwards of £500m. The firm's 172,000 customers are to be offered the chance to buy shares at the time of float - possibly on better terms than institutional investors. The float is likely to be launched later this year. - The Sunday Times
Embattled platinum miner Lonmin faces a fresh wave of protests ahead of its 109th and final AGM in London next week. Relatives of mine workers killed in the Marikana massacre of 2012 will picket the meeting to demand the company pay compensation and improve workers' accommodation. - Sunday Telegraph
A Polish law banning almost all trade on Sundays has taken effect, with large supermarkets and most other retailers closed for the first time since liberal shopping laws were introduced in the 1990s after the collapse of communism. The change is stirring up a range of emotions in a country where some feel workers are exploited but many others see consumer freedom as one of the most tangible benefits of the free market era. - Observer
Employees at Harrods fear their pay could be cut under plans to overhaul sales commissions. Managers have been holding meetings with staff. A source at the luxury store said commissions are to be cut by 25 per cent from May, and workers stand to lose out on thousands of pounds a year. - Mail on Sunday
KPMG pays its white staff and equity partners 34% more on average than colleagues from ethnic minorities, the accountancy giant has revealed. In a voluntary disclosure designed to improve transparency on pay gaps, the firm - which has more than 15,000 staff in the UK - also admitted that white partners were paid 9% more on average than peers from a minority background. - The Sunday Times
The AA has become the second-most shorted stock in London after its car-crash strategy revamp convinced hedge funds to up their bets against the troubled roadside rescue firm. The company's shares plunged to a new all-time low following last month's update, but short-sellers are betting on its valuation sinking lower. - Sunday Telegraph
There are almost four times more men than women in Britain's highest-paid posts, according to "scandalous" figures that show the extent of the glass ceiling blocking women from top jobs. Government data reveals the huge disparity in the number of men and women with a six-figure income, fuelling concerns over the gender pay gap in the City and other professions. - Observer
Drinks supplier Conviviality has been accused of calling time on its customers well before last week's profit warning. The closures began last summer, raising speculation that Conviviality has been struggling to meet targets for some time. Thursday's shock profit warning wiped nearly two thirds off the firm's share price. - Mail on Sunday