Monday newspaper round-up: Amazon, Saudi Aramco, Victoria

(Sharecast News) - Amazon could be off the hook for tax in the UK for at least two more years after benefiting from reliefs brought in by Rishi Sunak during the pandemic, a report suggests. The research from the Fair Tax Foundation indicates that the US tech company claimed more than £800m in capital allowances - business expenses that can be offset against profits - in 2021, £500m more than in 2020. - Guardian Saudi Arabia's largely state-owned energy firm has highlighted the colossal profits made by gas and oil-rich nations during the energy crisis by revealing profits in the three months to the end of June up 90% to $48bn (£40bn). Saudi Aramco recorded what is believed to be one of the largest quarterly profits in history to easily beat the near $26bn it made a year earlier. - Guardian

Pub, restaurant and hotel chiefs have warned the industry could face mass closure this winter without "urgent" support from the Government. In a joint letter to Boris Johnson, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, seen by The Telegraph, the UK's leading hospitality groups said the situation was "no less of a threat" than the drought hitting Britain. - Telegraph

Nine in 10 employees at the Bank of England were handed bonuses last year even as inflation soared beyond its 2pc target. A total of 4,263 workers, accounting for about 90pc of its workforce, received a bonus last year, disclosures show. The highest payouts were between £15,000 and £20,000, with 34 members of staff getting rewards in this range. - Telegraph

Short-sellers have ramped up bets against Victoria, a carpetmaker with a royal warrant, after a critical report from an activist investor. The proportion of Victoria shares on loan, a proxy measure of the scale of short -selling, has risen from less than 1 per cent at the start of the year to 12 per cent last week, according to figures from S&P Global. The average is 0.18 per cent. - The Times