Monday newspaper round-up: Paradise papers, Glencore, bubble fears, living wage

The world’s biggest businesses, heads of state and global figures in politics, entertainment and sport who have sheltered their wealth in secretive tax havens are being revealed this week in a major new investigation into Britain’s offshore empires. The details come from a leak of 13.4m files that expose the global environments in which tax abuses can thrive – and the complex and seemingly artificial ways the wealthiest corporations can legally protect their wealth. - Guardian

Campaigners called for the Serious Fraud Office to investigate Glencore, one of the largest companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange, after leaked documents showed it secured the services of a controversial Israeli diamond trader to negotiate with an African government. The Swiss-based mining group, which operates two copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has a longstanding business partner in the shape of Dan Gertler, an Israeli tycoon and friend of President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo. - The Times

Soaring stock market valuations on both sides of the Atlantic are stoking fears of a looming correction as valuations hit levels not seen since the dotcom bubble and the eve of the Wall Street crash. Stocks are trading at levels only previously reached in the run-up to Black Tuesday and the tech collapse of 2000, fuelling concerns among economists that markets are destined for a devastating reversal that would throw world economic growth off track. - Telegraph

More than 150,000 workers will get an inflation-beating pay rise on Monday as the UK living wage, which is paid voluntarily by more than 3,600 employers, is increased against a backdrop of rising transport, food and housing costs. The pay rate will rise 3.6% to £8.75 per hour around the UK and 4.6% to £10.20 in London, giving a wages boost to workers at companies which have adopted the measure, including Google and IKEA. - Guardian

Two Russian state institutions with close ties to Vladimir Putin funded substantial investments in Twitter and Facebook through a business associate of Jared Kushner, leaked documents reveal. The investments were made through a Russian technology magnate, Yuri Milner, who also holds a stake in a company co-owned by Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser. - Guardian

One of Britain’s biggest rail franchises could be broken up by the Government in an attempt to make running strike-ravaged train networks more palatable to transport companies. The Department of Transport is considering splitting up the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise which includes the Southern network that has been the focus of industrial action by unions. - Telegraph

British companies expect a surge in dealmaking this year as executives defy Brexit uncertainty and look to cut costs. The accountancy giant EY found that 60 per cent of businesses expected to pursue mergers and acquisitions in the next 12 months. This is the highest level since 2009, up nine percentage points from April and ahead of the global figure of 56 per cent. - The Times

British exporters have been put on notice that they could lose billions of pounds worth of business after almost two-thirds of EU businesses who work with UK suppliers warned they expect to use more firms inside the single market after Brexit. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) said 63% of the EU companies surveyed last month said they planned to move some of their supply chain out of the UK as a result of the decision to leave the single market and customs union. - Guardian

Theresa May will promise business leaders a Brexit transition period with existing rules, when she and Jeremy Corbyn outline their competing visions on Monday of how they would minimise the economic uncertainty of leaving the EU. The prime minister and the Labour leader are due to address the CBI conference in London on Monday, with speeches focusing on Brexit and the wider economic picture. - Guardian

A huge surge in trade with the Channel Islands and offshore tax havens has prompted calls for the government to explain the source of the growth amid concerns that it is masking the importance of trade with the European Union. Data published by the Office for National Statistics last week showed that Guernsey, with a population of 63,000, was one of Britain’s largest international trading partners and the sixth-largest consumer of British services, putting it ahead of major economies including Italy, China and Japan. - The Times

Insurance laws will be overhauled to ensure all parties are covered in any accident involving autonomous vehicles, the government has said, in a move that paves the way for self-driving cars to be on UK roads by 2021. Questions over liability have been seen as a stumbling block in the development of autonomous vehicles. - Guardian

Housebuilders will show that they have continued to ride the wave of higher sales and selling prices in a series of trading updates over the next fortnight. Some City analysts are concerned, however, that share prices in the sector have become overvalued and could turn on negative news. - The Times

It may be the remnant of the old British Midland airline empire, but the future of BMI Regional, the flier of 50-seater jets around provincial airports, will no no longer be in Britain as it aims to connect the industrial cities of Europe. British Midland was the challenger brand in British aviation before the term was even coined. Under Michael Bishop, now Lord Glendonbrook, and backed by Lufthansa, the airline became a perennial thorn in the side of British Airways. - The Times

Plans for a blockbuster float of Saudi Arabia’s national oil explorer, Saudi Aramco, could be thrown into further doubt after one of the company’s board members was arrested as part of a corruption crackdown in the Gulf state. An anti-corruption committee was formed over the weekend and just hours later almost a dozen senior royals, four minsters and dozens of ex-ministers and top businessmen were arrested. - Telegraph

The Barclays-backed company on the verge of fracking in North Yorkshire has failed to file its accounts more than a month after the deadline, raising questions over its management. Third Energy is awaiting the final sign-off from the government before fracking a well that it has drilled near Kirby Misperton. - The Times