Thursday newspaper round-up: House of Fraser, US Fed, Bank of England, Iresa Energy, Tesla, Allen & Overy
House of Fraser is teetering on the brink of collapse after a Chinese investor pulled out of a deal to buy a stake in the ailing department store and inject £70m of funding. In a fresh setback to the chain, which has been fighting for survival since last year, C Banner, the owner of Hamleys toy shop, issued a profit warning and abandoned its plan to invest in House of Fraser yesterday. - The Times
The US central bank has kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, remaining on course to deliver a hike in September, in a sign it won't bow to pressure from President Donald Trump. The Federal Reserve held the range of its Federal Funds Rate at 1.75pc to 2pc, given the "realised and expected labour market conditions and inflation". - Telegraph
The Bank of England is poised to raise interest rates above the level set since the aftermath of the financial crisis for the first time, despite a weakening outlook for the British economy and growing risks from Brexit. Economists widely expect the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to lift the cost of borrowing above 0.5% on Thursday to reach 0.75%. - Guardian
Customers of the failed energy supplier Iresa Energy will be switched over to another small supplier, Octopus Energy, later this month, the regulator has revealed. Octopus Energy was chosen by Ofgem to take on the customers after Iresa Energy ceased trading last week. - Daily Mail
Tesla said it expects to increase Model 3 production to 6,000 per week this month, buoying expectations that the electric vehicle maker will meet its goal of profitability and positive cashflow in the next two quarters. Elon Musk, 47, the billionaire technology entrepreneur who founded Tesla, believes the Model 3 will spark an electric car revolution. However, he has a history of setting ambitious production targets for Tesla that are often missed, sometimes by a wide margin. - The Times
The magic circle law firm Allen & Overy (A&O) has been sharply criticised by MPs for making “a nonsense” of gender pay gap reporting by failing to include the effect of £1.5m payouts to senior partners. A&O refused to meet the demand from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee to re-calculate its gender gap including the remuneration of its 441 full partners at the top of the company hierarchy. - Telegraph
The German energy company E.ON is to cut around 500 jobs across the UK, as it blames for the need to reduce costs. The firm, which employs 9,400 people, said the UK energy market continued to change at an unprecedented rate and was an increasingly competitive environment. - Guardian
Theresa May has ordered the introduction of dedicated border control lanes for British passport holders, it emerged yesterday. The Prime Minister has asked the Home Office to investigate bringing in fast-track lanes for Britons after the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020. - Daily Mail
Jeremy Corbyn compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany at Stalingrad and Leningrad, it can be revealed. His speech in 2010 took place six months after he hosted an event on Holocaust Memorial Day at the House of Commons that likened Israeli government policy to that of the Nazis. - The Times
Sharia Law has been recognised by a British court for first time after a Judge made a landmark divorce ruling which could change the way Islamic marriage and divorce works in the UK. The High Court ruled that an estranged couple's Islamic faith marriage, conducted in a ceremony called a nikah, does fall under British matrimonial law despite it not being legally recognised as such. - Telegraph
Some parts of England will be hit with a second heatwave this weekend, with temperatures predicted to hit 31C in London and the south-east as sunshine returns to most of the country. The north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to have temperatures in the mid-20s with scatterings of rain. - Guardian
Shoppers will be asked for a special code when they use a debit or credit card to buy online under a major shake-up to be brought in next year to protect against fraudsters. The extra level of security means you'll be asked by your bank to verify your identity before you can complete a purchase. - Daily Mail
British teenagers are being forced to marry abroad and are raped and impregnated while the Home Office “turns a blind eye” by handing visas to their husbands, The Times reported. Officials received dozens of reports last year that women wanted to block visas for men they had been made to marry in countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates. In almost half of their cases the visas were approved, records show. - The Times
A huge 8ft lump of polystyrene found floating off the Cornish coast has been described as the "biggest piece of litter" ever recovered from water around Britain's shores. Charity Surfers Against Sewage said they had never come across such a large piece of waste, as it highlighted the scourge of plastic washing up on Britain's beaches. - Telegraph
Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, returned to work on Thursday, six weeks after giving birth to her first child. Ardern became only the second leader of a country to have a baby while in office when she gave birth to her daughter Neve on 21 June. - Guardian
A nursery school has had its Ofsted rating downgraded after staff were accuse dof failing to monitor which of their four-year-old pupils could be radicalised by ISIS. One parent said the ruling was 'ludicrous' today but the nursery, in Hangleton Community Centre, near Brighton in East Sussex, fears it can't be overturned. - Daily Mail