Wednesday newspaper round-up: Self-checkout, Indivior, Amanda Staveley

Cross-Channel ferry operators will be required to pay their crew at least £9.95 an hour after France implemented a new minimum wage law aimed at preventing the exploitation of seafarers. The move comes two years after P&O Ferries caused outrage on both sides of the Channel by sacking almost 800 workers and replacing them with low-cost crew. – Guardian

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has suggested a general election could be held in October. Speaking in the House of Lords, Hunt said the Treasury would need time to push through a review of Whitehall budgets before next spring, making an October date the last time when an election would be possible. “This particular spending review has to be completed before next April, when the next financial year starts. And if the general election is in October, that will mean it’s very, very tight,” he said. – Guardian

On the shop floor of supermarkets there is one shoplifting tactic which has become so commonplace, staff have given it its own name. The “banana trick” consists of putting an item through a self-checkout as a cheap fruit or vegetable product and walking out with a much more expensive item. “Best life hack ever,” one TikTok user claims in a viral video, joking that they managed to get a TV and Playstation through a self-service checkout by logging them as grapes or bananas. – Telegraph

A top-ten shareholder in Indivior — and one of the City’s biggest institutional investors — is unlikely to oppose the drug company’s plans to move its primary listing to the United States. Indivior, which specialises in treatments for substance abuse disorders and serious mental illnesses, said last month that it is to consult shareholders about making the switch from the London Stock Exchange to Nasdaq. – The Times

Amanda Staveley, the co-owner of Newcastle United football club, has claimed she was threatened with violence by a shipping tycoon she believes has “illegal” links to Iran. Staveley, 50, appeared at court on Tuesday in an attempt to throw out a bankruptcy claim bought by Victor Restis, who says he is owed £37 million. She appeared to become emotional when the judge was told Restis took advantage of her Huntington’s disease, an inherited brain disorder, which affected her judgment in her dealings with him. – The Times