Wednesday newspaper round-up: Poundland, Twitter, Saudi Arabia
Poundland is being forced to redesign its copycat Toblerone bar, but can sell half a million of the lookalike chocolate this Christmas after reaching a sweet deal with the Swiss original’s owners. In July, the budget chain was forced to delay the launch of its Twin Peaks bar, which has two points per segment, rather than the single peak of a Toblerone, after a legal warning from the brand’s owner, a Swiss division of US confectionery and snacks group Mondelēz. - Guardian
Twitter has announced the launch of an advertising “transparency center” with stricter rules for political ads in the wake of revelations that social media sites were used to spread Russian propaganda during the 2016 US presidential election. “In the coming weeks, we will launch an industry-leading transparency center that will offer everyone visibility into who is advertising on Twitter, details behind those ads, and tools to share your feedback with us,” said Twitter’s Bruce Falck in a blogpost. – Guardian
Tension between the Ministry of Defence, arms companies and the watchdog tasked with cracking down on profiteering in military contracts are damaging the Government’s ability to get value for money on defence deals. A new report by the National Audit Office says the Single Source Regulations Office – which is responsible for getting the best deal on sensitive or urgent defence contracts which are not put out to tender – has so far saved £313m on the £24bn of deals it has examined in its three-year life. – Telegraph
Three quarters of firms believe there will be no improvement to UK infrastructure during the current parliament, pointing to housing shortages as their biggest headache. In a YouGov survey, commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and infrastructure firm AECOM, just 20pc of businesses were satisfied with the current pace of infrastructure improvements. – Telegraph
Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans to build a $500 billion mega-city that will run on alternative energy and have its own laws. In a project that forms a key part of the kingdom’s plan to diversify its economy, the zone of Neom will cover 26,500 square kilometres of “totally untouched” land and will power itself with wind and solar energy. – The Times
The head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund said that the proposed $2 trillion flotation of Saudi Aramco was on target and that “nothing” could derail the process. Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, chief executive of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, said speculation that Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil business, was rethinking plans to float part of its company were “just not right”. – The Times