Thursday newspaper round-up: Liberty Steel, HSBC, NMC

(Sharecast News) - Liberty Steel has produced nothing at two of its key UK plants since July, in a sign of the deep financial difficulties for Britain's third-biggest steelmaker as it looks for rescue funding. The plants at Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Motherwell in Scotland have not produced any steel for about nine months because of a lack of funds to buy vital materials, with staff on furlough on 85% of their salaries for the duration, according to workers who spoke to the Guardian. - Guardian HSBC has told staff in its UK high street banks that it may cut their bonuses if they do not work in the office frequently enough. The bank told employees at its HSBC UK division, which includes its retail and domestic commercial banking businesses, that anyone who did not spend at least 60% of their time in the office could end up being paid less, according to a report by Bloomberg. - Guardian

The London stock market needs "major reforms" to compete on the world stage, a US private equity billionaire has said. Orlando Bravo, the managing partner of Thoma Bravo, said reforms were "long overdue" amid concerns British companies have struggled to attract the same stock market valuations as US rivals. - Telegraph

Ed Miliband's race to embrace net zero is fuelling an exodus of jobs to China, the heir to the JCB empire has warned. Jo Bamford, the owner of Wrightbus and son of JCB founder Lord Bamford, said the Energy Secretary's desire to decarbonise the grid was flawed because it is too reliant on importing green energy equipment from the Far East. Instead, he urged the Government to become a leader in hydrogen to safeguard jobs. - Telegraph

As the long-awaited £2 billion claim brought by NMC Health against EY began to be heard in His Majesty's High Court of Justice in London this week, the opening submissions have shone a light on the alleged links between the former FTSE 100 company and another royal court. After NMC, based in the United Arab Emirates, collapsed into administration five years ago in one of the biggest alleged fraud scandals to hit the London Stock Exchange, rumours have circulated that the private healthcare company was ultimately owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the UAE and the owner of Manchester City football club. - The Times