Friday newspaper round-up: Coal, Walt Disney, auditors

Almost 200 homes in London have been sold for £10m in the past year as the super-rich’s pandemic-inspired desire for a place in the country wanes compared to their wish for swish bolt-holes in the capital. A total of 175 homes were sold for £10m-plus in the 12 months to November 2023, the highest number for eight-years, according to research by the estate agent Knight Frank. – Guardian

New direct high-speed train routes from London to Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva and Zurich could be up and running within five years, according to the Eurotunnel owner, Getlink, after work to double the capacity of UK rail links to Europe. While the Channel tunnel, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in May 2024, has struggled to extend its passenger offerings beyond Eurostar’s original London to Paris and Brussels services, Getlink said new entrants and destinations could now arrive swiftly. – Guardian

Global demand for coal will hit a record high of 8.5bn tonnes in 2023 despite the worldwide push for net zero, the International Energy Agency has warned. Rising usage of coal in China and India has driven an increase in demand, which comes just days after the Cop28 climate summit agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels to help hit net zero targets by 2050. – Telegraph

Walt Disney is bracing itself for a bitter proxy battle as the activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking two seats on its board, pressing ahead with his second such challenge this year. His firm, Trian Fund Management, which owns roughly $3 billion worth of Disney shares, abandoned an earlier bid for one board seat in February. Yesterday it nominated Peltz and James Rasulo, former Disney chief financial officer. – The Times

The accounting watchdog has pledged to address the lack of competition in the industry next year amid concerns that the four largest audit firms continue to dominate the market. The Financial Reporting Council warned that the audit market “remains highly concentrated” as the so-called Big Four firms — KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC — still earn the lion’s share of fees from large listed companies. – The Times