World Test Championship set to be shelved due to lukewarm interest

• TV and sponsors turn backs on Test cricket tournament
• Champions Trophy may be revived instead

Alastair Cook's England dropped to fourth in the Test ranking table and would have been in danger of missing out on the World Test Championship that they were due to host in 2017. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

The World Test Championship, which was to be held in England in the summer of 2017, is expected to be laid quietly to rest by the end of the month.

It will be the second – and probably last – time that the idea of a play-off between the top teams in the International Cricket Council's world Test rankings has been shelved, because sponsors and broadcasters remain lukewarm, at best, about the uncertainty which inevitably surrounds the format.

That could mean another reprieve for the ICC Champions Trophy, the one-day tournament that has been staged seven times since 1998, and again appeared far too short, sharp and attractive to consign to the scrapheap when India beat England in what was due to be the last final at Edgbaston in June 2013.

Officials from the ICC and national governing bodies such as the England and Wales Cricket Board remain keen to enhance the standing and significance of Test cricket via the rankings, and are likely to do so by increasing financial incentives. They were increased this time last year so that South Africa received $450,000 (£275,000) for topping the rankings in April 2013, and are already guaranteed to receive a similar sum for consolidating that position over the next 12-month period, whatever happens in their home series against Australia.

The World Test Championship, which was originally due to be held in the summer of 2013 only to be deferred because Indian broadcasters much preferred to retain the Champions Trophy, was launched by the ICC in Abu Dhabi in October – when Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, referred grandly to the "epic nature" of "a journey that all the Test playing nations will embark upon over the next four years".

It was to be contested by the top four teams in the rankings as of December 2016, giving a little extra edge to England's recent slump as a result of their Ashes drubbing. They are now fourth in the table and would therefore be in danger of missing out on the competition that they were due to host.

The confirmation of its demise – and what will come in its place – is expected after an ICC meeting later this month. The delegates also seem certain to discuss the uncertainty over the World Twenty20 which starts in Bangladesh in little more than two months.

An ECB official confirmed on Monday that they would be represented at a security meeting in Bangladesh arranged by the ICC for next week, in response to concerns about political violence in the country. Reg Dickason, England's long-serving security adviser, will also provide an independent threat assessment to the Federation of International Cricketers Associations.

The first stage of the tournament, which does not involve England or the other seven leading nations, is due to begin with Bangladesh facing Afghanistan in Mirpur, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, on 16 March, with Ireland playing three games in Sylhet during that qualification stage before England open their campaign against New Zealand in Chittagong six days later.

Kolkata and Ranchi in north-east India have already been mooted as alternative venues should the ICC decide that Bangladesh is no longer a suitable venue

US bank results set to reignite controversy over City bonuses

An analyst works on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs in London. In a week that US banks release their results, City staff will also be told of bonuses. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Controversy over City pay is likely to be reignited this week when the major US banks – including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs – release their results for 2013.

The publication of the profitability of banks will clear the way for their staff to be told the size of their annual bonuses and signal a round of job moves around the financial sector as well as a wave of outcry about the payouts for thousands of staff in London.

JP Morgan, which has been hit by fines of almost $30bn in the last three years, kicks off the reporting season on Tuesday along with Wells Fargo & Co and is followed by Bank of America, which bought Merrill Lynchduring the 2008 financial crisis, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on Thursday, and Goldman's arch rival Morgan Stanley on Friday.

So far the big banks have amassed $63bn (£39bn) to pay their staff and their full salary and bonus bills will be finalised this week. Goldman is reportedly going to set aside the same amount for bonuses in 2013 as it did in 2012 – just over £7bn. The high-profile firm revealed at the end of the year that in 2012 its senior staff had received an average pay deal of £2.7m – up 50% on the year before.

The US banks will need to decide how to restructure the pay of their high-flyers next year following the imposition of the cap on bonuses by Brussels. Banks will be limited to paying bonuses worth one banker's salary or double in some cases.

The UK-based banks, which report their results next month, are all expected to ask their shareholders to sanction payouts twice the value of salaries as well as hand key employees additional payments to side-step the new rules.

US bank results set to reignite controversy over City bonuses

An analyst works on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs in London. In a week that US banks release their results, City staff will also be told of bonuses. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Controversy over City pay is likely to be reignited this week when the major US banks – including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs – release their results for 2013.

The publication of the profitability of banks will clear the way for their staff to be told the size of their annual bonuses and signal a round of job moves around the financial sector as well as a wave of outcry about the payouts for thousands of staff in London.

JP Morgan, which has been hit by fines of almost $30bn in the last three years, kicks off the reporting season on Tuesday along with Wells Fargo & Co and is followed by Bank of America, which bought Merrill Lynchduring the 2008 financial crisis, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on Thursday, and Goldman's arch rival Morgan Stanley on Friday.

So far the big banks have amassed $63bn (£39bn) to pay their staff and their full salary and bonus bills will be finalised this week. Goldman is reportedly going to set aside the same amount for bonuses in 2013 as it did in 2012 – just over £7bn. The high-profile firm revealed at the end of the year that in 2012 its senior staff had received an average pay deal of £2.7m – up 50% on the year before.

The US banks will need to decide how to restructure the pay of their high-flyers next year following the imposition of the cap on bonuses by Brussels. Banks will be limited to paying bonuses worth one banker's salary or double in some cases.

The UK-based banks, which report their results next month, are all expected to ask their shareholders to sanction payouts twice the value of salaries as well as hand key employees additional payments to side-step the new rules.

Greene King enjoys record sales over Christmas period

Pub and brewer group's Christmas Day sales jumped more than 12% to £3.1m, serving up 62,000 meals

Greene King's record sales over the Christmas period were boosted by 62,000 meals served up on Christmas Day. Photograph: Peter Huggins/Alamy

Record sales of Christmas meals helped the pub and brewer groupGreene King increase sales over its busiest trading period.

Sales at Greene King's retail business jumped more than 12% to £3.1m on Christmas Day as staff served up 62,000 meals – more than ever before. Trading on New Year's Eve was also strong with retail sales up 10% to £4.5m.

In a trading update, the Suffolk-based brewer said sales at retail outlets open a year or more rose 5% in the last six weeks. Food increased as a share of sales at its Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Eating Inn and Loch Fyne Seafood & Grill brands.

The chief executive, Rooney Anand, said: "Trading over the important Christmas and new year period has been very strong with all of our businesses performing well, driven by the strength of our seasonal offers and our continued focus on delivering industry-leading value, service and quality to our customers."

Greene King's beers, which include Abbot and Old Speckled Hen, sold well with growth of almost 20% in the past six weeks

European bank shares rise after regulators agree strengthening steps

Barclays was up nearly 3%, one of several banks whose shares rose after the announcement by a gathering of central banks in Basel, Switzerland. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Shares in European banks rose on Monday – edging towards three year highs – after international banking regulators reached agreement on new steps to bolster the industry's financial strength.

Barclays was up nearly 3%, and bailed out banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group up 3% and 1% respectively after the announcement by a gathering of central banks in Basel, Switzerland. Deutsche Bank was up more than 4% and UBS, the Swiss bank, gained 3.2%.

The key announcement in the complex agreement was about the leverage ratio – which attempts to restrict the amount of borrowing by banks – and which has become a new focus since the 2008 banking crisis. As expected the ratio was set at 3% – which allows banks to lend 33 times the amount of their capital – but some changes were made to the way the banks can calculate their assets.

Complying with this rule was one of the reasons Barclays was forced to raise £6bn of new capital last year. Ian Gordon, banks analyst at Investec, said: "The devil is in the detail, but in particular it offers potential relief around counterparty netting and off-balance sheet items. While positive for certain European banks, the benefit for UK banks is less clear given UK 'super-equivalents' (stricter interpretation of the rules)."

The agreement clears the way for the Bank of England to consider the terms of a review of the leverage ratio demanded by Chancellor George Osborne last year

Sports Direct buys 4.63% stake in Debenhams

Sports retailer owned by Mike Ashley states 56.8m shares purchased with aim for firms to co-operate and 'create value'

Sports Direct informed the City it had bought 56.8m Debenhams shares without the knowledge of the department store group’s board. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

Sports Direct has said it has bought almost 5% of Debenhams and that it wants to work with the company "to create value".

The sports retailer, founded by the Newcastle United FC owner, Mike Ashley, informed the City it had bought 56.8m Debenhams shares without the knowledge of the department store group's board.

Sports Direct bought the shares in the last week and told Debenhams on Friday. It said it had told Debenhams it wanted the companies to co-operate and that it intended to be a "supportive shareholder".

In a statement to the stock exchange, Sports Direct said: "Sports Direct wishes to explore options at an operational level to work together with Debenhams to create value in the interests of both Sports Direct's and Debenhams' shareholders."

Sports Direct revealed the 4.63% stake under a requirement to declare an interest of more than 3% in the shares of another listed company. Debenhams shares jumped 7% on Friday.

Debenhams shares tumbled after the company published a profit warning on 31 December and its finance director quit two days later. It said sales had been hit by aggressive discounting in the runup to Christmas, though other retailers blamed Debenhams for starting the price war.

The department store group's shares had risen 5.6% to 86p by 9am on Monday while Sports Direct shares were little changed at 756p.

Sports Direct is best known for its chain of discount stores selling trainers and other sports and leisure wear. But it also owns the fashion chains USC and Republic, high-end clothing outfitters Cruise and Flannels and non-sports brands such as Firetrap. Ashley has considered buying House of Fraser, another department store chain, in the past.

Ashley has a record of buying stakes in other companies and putting pressure on the management, including his former rival JJB Sports and Black Leisure. Late last year he threatened to buy 5% of Adidas after the sporting goods company refused to let Sports Direct stock Chelsea FC kits.

Sports Direct declined to say how the companies could work together, leaving industry analysts to speculate about its plans.

The veteran retail analyst Nick Bubb said the news cleared up why Debenhams shares had soared 7% on Friday, adding: "No doubt Mike Ashley has some ideas on how to trade from Debenhams' surplus store space and he has some experience of making big-space retailing work. Dragging Debenhams downmarket and turning it into even more of a discount store may not appeal to retail purists."

The Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Freddie George said the stake in Debenhams was a distraction for Sports Direct and that Ashley's interest did not yet mean Debenhams was "in play" as a takeover target.

"This would imply to us that the company [Sports Direct] is potentially considering splitting the fashion assortment from the sports ranges in its stores over the medium term."

Debenhams said: "Debenhams is open-minded with regard to exploring operational opportunities to improve its performance, alongside its own existing and planned initiatives, in order to create value for all Debenhams shareholders."

Shop Direct and Jaeger post online sales boost over Christmas

Jaeger and Shop Direct both got a boost from online shopping over Christmas. Photograph: Brian Jackson / Alamy/Alamy

The Barclay brothers' Shop Direct and fashion brand Jaeger have both reported big increases in online and mobile sales over Christmas.

Shop Direct, which Daily Telegraph owners Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay own via their offshore family trust, reported record Christmas sales with online accounting for 84% of sales in the six weeks to 27 December. Overall sales were up 5% as growth of newer websites Very.co.uk and isme.com offset falling sales from the traditional Littlewoods business.

Alex Baldock, chief executive, said mobile sales had "just exploded" and purchases via a smartphone or tablet now accounted for 43% of online sales.

He said consumers were becoming much happier shopping on their phones and tablets despite having to make do with smaller screens than on desktops or laptops. "People look at it on the way to work, and continue on the bus," he said. "People quite often buy on the bus, buy in the queue at McDonalds. People are even prepared to buy furniture through their mobile."

Baldock said the company, which returned to profit last year for the first time in a decade, was "ahead of sales and profit targets". The company is involved in a long-running dispute over a decades-long £1bn VAT and interest claim.

He described the company's "bullseye customer" as a "25-year-old plus female, aspiring and striving".

Colin Henry, chief executive of Jaeger, described his customers as an "affluent demographic" of mostly older women, but has also been struck by their desire to shop online and on mobile.

Online sales in the 13 weeks to 28 December were up 57%, and 30% of that was from mobiles. He said he expected all transactions to include a mobile device at some point in the browsing and sales process by next year.

Like-for-like sales were up 23% compared with the same period last year and Henry said the business, which lost £13.1m last year and £35m the year before, is "going to lose much, much less money" this year.

Private equity tycoon Jon Moulton's Better Capital bought Jaeger, which dates back to 1884, from fashion entrepreneur Sir Harold Tillman in April 2012.

Henry said Moulton was "very inspirational with very clear objectives" and was often on the phone asking questions and offering advice.

He said they would look at the option of expanding the brand to new stores and countries when they have stabilised the company and returned it to profit.

Best sellers in the run up to Christmas were coats, knitwear and cashmere. Womenswear accounts for 70% of sales.

The company has brought in former Daks and Oscar de la Renta designer Sheila McKain-Waid as womenswear creative director, and Jsen Wintle, who previously ran his own popular Wintle label, to reinvent its menswear.