THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ BID BATTLE US cement maker Summit Materials has muscled in on Irish building materials firm CRH’s £2.7bn bid for Ash Grove Cement. The rival bid values the company at up to £2.9bn and could result in CRH’s offer being increased, Kansas-based Ash Grove announced yesterday.

■ SKY VOTE Asset manager Royal London will vote against James Murdoch’s re- election as chairman of Sky on Thursday, it confirmed yesterday. The group, which holds an 0.3pc stake in Sky worth about £44m, said Murdoch’s position was ‘ inappropriate’ because he is also chief executive of 21st Century Fox – which is trying to buy Sky.

■ COFFEE BOOST After securing a £2m investment from private equity group Jaguar Alternatives, Easy Coffee is ramping up its store expansion programme. The firm – part of Easy Group – will spend the funds on building its largest store to date in The Priory Shopping Centre in Dartford, Kent.

■ CASH BASHED Britain will be a cashless society by 2043, according to a survey from gambling firm Gala Casino. It contradicts the view of the Bank of England’s chief cashier Victoria Cleland, who earlier this week said: ‘Cash is not in decline’.

■ IRISH TIES The City of London’s Lord Mayor Andrew Parmley is visiting Dublin on Monday to boost ties with the Irish banking sector. He is due to meet several top politicians and businessmen in the nation, which trades £1bn a week with Britain.

■ FAST THREAT Ultra-fast traders and robots could have unpredictable effects that crash the markets, a Bank of England boss has warned. Markets director Chris Salmon said that the ‘flash crash’ in the pound a year ago, where sterling plunged almost 10pc against the dollar in seconds before rapidly recovering, showed the dangers of automated computer trading.

■ BROKEN TRUST The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has said the Old Lady may never regain shattered public trust due to the financial crisis.