Monday newspaper round-up: Deliveroo, Norwegian Air, retailers
Global investors are braced for more turbulence in 2019 after the White House intensified its criticism of the US’s most senior central banker. Over the weekend, a flurry of reports claimed Donald Trump had discussed the possibility of firing the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell. Such an unprecedented move would trigger further instability in the markets, which have already had their worst year since the 2008 crisis. – Guardian
Deliveroo has offered to review individual cases after being criticised for sacking more than 100 drivers days before Christmas. The food delivery company terminated a raft of driver contracts last week over alleged fraud, where food orders were marked as complete but went undelivered. – Guardian
Hundreds of customers with smart meters will cook their Christmas Dinner without paying a penny for their power, after Octopus Energy said it would offer four free hours of energy. The challenger brand said it would enable the price pause by tweaking its so-called “time of use” tariff, which is available to people with smart energy meters. Octopus is making the festive gesture following fears that smart meters might cause bills to spike at times of high demand because of “surge pricing”. – Telegraph
Norwegian Air, Gatwick Airport’s third-largest airline, may have to go cap in hand to investors this Christmas as it spirals towards a new year cash crunch. Danske Bank analyst Martin Stenshall fears the carrier will breach banking covenants at the end of the year unless it finds fresh capital. A breach could see the airline “land in an evil spiral and the crisis will escalate”, he said. – Telegraph
Hedge funds are ready to capitalise on weak Christmas trading updates from the high street after taking large bets against retailers’ share prices. One in five of the top 50 most heavily shorted companies on the London stock exchange are retailers, according to regulatory filings, underlining the continued pressure on the sector. – The Times