Thursday newspaper round-up: Debenhams, Woodford, housing market
There’s been a department store in the market town of Stockton-on-Tees for over a century. But the last one closed its doors for the final time on Wednesday when Debenhams pulled down the shutters. The store is one of 19 being closed across the country by the beleaguered chain this month, and it’s a big blow to Stockton, where New Look is also due to shut down on Saturday and many shoppers still mourn the loss of the Marks & Spencer in 2018. – Guardian
A British trader who was accused of contributing to a multibillion-dollar US stock market crash by playing the markets from his parents’ suburban London home should not serve any further prison time, a prosecutor has recommended. Navinder Singh Sarao was labelled the “Hound of Hounslow” after being arrested in 2015 for supposedly making $40m (£27m) from his alleged role in the so-called “flash crash” of 2010. – Guardian
The City watchdog first uncovered problems with fund supervisors seven years before they were blamed for failing to prevent the collapse of the Woodford Equity Income fund. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) twice wrote to the supervisors tasked with making fund managers follow the rules – known as authorised corporate directors – in 2012 and 2014, highlighting concerns with some of their work. – Telegraph
Britain must create a powerful new watchdog to protect internet users from online abuse, according to the boss of Sky, the pay-TV group. Jeremy Darroch said that ministers must act urgently to rein in the worst excesses of online platforms, whose powers have been left unchecked for the past two decades. Writing in The Times today, Mr Darroch says that the technology giants cannot be trusted to hold themselves to account. “The promise of self-regulation hasn’t worked,” Mr Darroch writes. – The Times
Estate agents are expecting to sell more homes and at higher prices after the decisive general election outcome. A monthly survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, undertaken in December, recorded a rise in reported home sales for the first time since May 2019. Respondents also said that they were expecting higher house prices in the near term across all parts of the UK. – The Times