Monday newspaper round-up: House sales, dividends, Mifid II, National Grid

British house hunters have launched a surprise August buying spree before the scheduled Brexit date, with new data showing sales reached their highest point since 2015 during the usually sleepy summer period. The number of agreed sales rose by 6.1% year on year in the month to 10 August, according to property website Rightmove, which claims to track nine in 10 UK house purchases. – Guardian

Shareholders in companies listed on the world’s stock markets pocketed more than half a trillion dollars in dividends during the second quarter of the year, a record for investors’ payouts. But despite dividends hitting an all-time quarterly high of $513.8bn (£423bn), the pace of year-on-year growth slowed to just 1.1%, compared with 14% this time last year. – Guardian

The Chinese auto giant BYD is exploring a rescue of the troubled “Boris bus” maker Wrightbus, as the Government comes under pressure from the DUP to save jobs in Northern Ireland. Around 1,400 roles are on the line as the 73-year-old company races to secure either a new owner or fresh funding. – Telegraph

When Mifid II was rolled out in the aftermath of the financial crisis, transparency sat at the heart of Europe’s biggest market reform in over a decade. Nearly two years on, however, flaws within the sprawling set of financial rules are becoming ever more apparent. With costly research operations being slashed, the phrase “content is king” has never rung more hollow. City insiders claim the depletion of analyst coverage – sparked by Mifid’s call for more transparent fees – has given rise to price wars, disastrous deals and an exodus of star analysts. - Telegraph

National Grid is routinely restricting the use of its own power cables from the Continent because of the risk of blackouts if they failed. Britain’s electricity system is sufficiently fragile at certain times of day that if one of the subsea “interconnectors” tripped while importing at full capacity, it could trigger power cuts like those of August 9. – The Times

A company selling minibonds to raise money to fund property developments has insisted that its finances are robust after some of its investors suffered delays receiving their interest payments. Blackmore Bond has come under scrutiny because of its link to the scandal-hit London Capital & Finance, a minibond issuer that collapsed in January owing more than £237 million to about 11,600 savers. – The Times