Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit leak, RBS, Royal Mail, Woodford
No 10 has been asking major UK companies to sign a letter supporting its Brexit strategy, despite concerns in the corporate world about how immigration and trade will be affected. The letter, first seen by Sky News, was circulated to some FTSE 100 chiefs and others leaders but it was soon leaked by a company furious that Downing Street wanted it to support a plan that would be damaging to the interests of businesses. - Guardian
The Financial Conduct Authority is facing pressure from the Treasury select committee of MPs to publish the report in to Royal Bank of Scotland’s troubled business restructuring unit. Nicky Morgan, the Conservative MP who chairs the powerful committee, has called on the FCA to publish the report, which was completed last year, after it was leaked to the BBC last week. – Guardian
Royal Mail is to face potential strike action over planned changes to its pension scheme, after its largest union formally served notice of its plans to ballot its members. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) today confirmed plans to call a ballot for industrial action over a number of changes to working conditions, including pensions, a shorter working week, and pay. – Telegraph
British food and drink manufacturers are more confident about exporting ahead of Brexit and plan to create almost 100,000 jobs in five years, according to a new survey. Almost seven out of ten (69pc) producers surveyed by Lloyds Bank said they were targeting new international customers, up from 55pc last year. Meanwhile more than a quarter (28pc) of food and drink firms said they were planning on exporting for the first time within five years. – Telegraph
An unusual £1.5 million cash bonus for the chief executive of Aveva for clinching the merger this week with Schneider Electric has raised eyebrows with the Cambridge company’s biggest shareholder. The prospectus from Aveva, a FTSE 250 industrial software developer, issued yesterday, reveals that James Kidd is to be awarded the cash on top of his normal bonuses as “a one-off performance and retention award”. – The Times
Neil Woodford has blamed credit growth in China as the main reason behind the recent poor performance of his most high-profile fund, which celebrated its third anniversary in June. In an interview for his website, the renowned money manager said of his CF Woodford Equity Income fund: “It’s tempting to think the underperformance is a product of company-specific problems. But for me it is a product much more of the rather odd characteristics of this bull run in the stock market. – The Times