London will no longer be the first stop for European governments selling bonds, as the bulk of business on a key platform switches to Milan ahead of the deadline for the UK’s departure from the EU next year, the Financial Times reported. From the start of March only the UK government and UK-based banks will use a London-based arm of MTS Cash, a venue owned by the London Stock Exchange Group. It plays a key role in linking sovereign borrowers with the investment banks that help price the bonds and sell them to asset managers.

England’s higher education regulator has admitted it provided a “short-term liquidity loan” to a university in the summer to keep it operating, despite a promise that it would never bail out an institution, the Financial Times reported. The Office for Students, which was formed only this year, did not name the institution or confirm reports on the BBC that the loan was worth £1m. However, the regulator insisted that the university had not been at risk of bankruptcy.

A company set up by lenders to Johnston Press has acquired the publisher, saying debt cancellation and a cash injection would allow titles including The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and The i to continue operations as normal, the Financial Times reported. The “pre-pack administration” deal was completed following the court appointment of administrators to Johnston Press, the newly founded owner JPIMedia said in a statement. The acquisition was denounced by activist Christen Ager-Hanssen, CEO of Custos Group, Johnston Press’s largest shareholder.

Those lending to high-risk property borrowers on peer-to-peer sites could be caught out by lower house prices and higher interest rates, amid warnings that the growing sector’s low default rate is due in large part to benign financial conditions, the Financial Times reported. Property peer-to-peer finance allows lenders seeking investment returns to make loans to borrowers aiming to buy or develop properties. The sector has come under the spotlight in recent weeks following legal issues at property peer-to-peer lender Lendy.

Financially struggling British newspaper group Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post, has been bought by its bondholders after filing for bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. “The transaction provides the group with a substantially de-levered balance sheet, new capital and a strong platform for its staff, operations and publications,” JPIMedia, a company formed by the bondholders, said on Saturday.

The cost of insuring exposure to Britain’s sovereign debt rose to its highest level in almost two years on Thursday as political turmoil in the country over its exit from the European Union ripped through UK currency, bond and equity markets, Reuters reported. Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) jumped 3 basis points (bps) from Wednesday’s close to 34 bps - the highest level since December 2016, data from IHS Markit showed. Read more

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc’s bond risk quadrupled this year as the automaker plays catch-up on electric vehicles and is hit by weakened demand in China. Moody’s Investors Service is warning of more tough days ahead, Bloomberg News reported. Moody’s on Nov. 13 cut its rating on Jaguar, owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd., to Ba3, three levels below investment grade. Jaguar’s weak operating performance “will likely continue over at least the next 12-18 months” and it will weigh on the parent’s performance too, it said.

U.K. markets were thrown into turmoil after Prime Minister Theresa May faced the biggest challenge to her leadership since she took office, Bloomberg News reported. Sterling slid the most in more than 17 months after ministers including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey quit May’s top team, while Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg called for a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister. Investors priced out the prospect of a rate increase by the Bank of England next year on concern that any revolt against May could ultimately imperil the chances of the U.K.

European Union states are still divided over an overhaul of rules for the supervision of banks against money laundering, two EU sources said on Wednesday. EU confidential documents show countries had agreed a preliminary common stance on the reform proposed by the European Commission in September which would give more powers to the European Banking Authority (EBA) to counter financial crime, Reuters reported. But one EU source said states were still divided on this issue and it was unclear whether they could reach a deal by the next meeting of EU finance ministers scheduled on Dec. 4.

Field is seeking to obtain, in private, "further details" of the Insolvency Service's investigation around the 2016 collapse of BHS, including learning more about a pre-sale audit of the high street giant, Professional Pensions reported. It comes after details emerged in June of a £6.5 million fine levied by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) against auditor PwC for its 2014 audit of Green's Taveta Group accounts.