(Sharecast News) - Paramount Global's share price soared on Thursday following a report that Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management had made a $26bn offer for the troubled media giant. According to the Wall Street Journal, the offer was made on Wednesday by Sony's chief executive, Tony Vinciquerra, and Aaron Sobel, a partner at Apollo. Paramount's shares rose 12% on the news. - Guardian

Fossil fuel companies will be allowed to explore for oil and gas under offshore wind-power sites for the first time, the government will announce on Friday, in a move that campaigners said is further proof that ministers are abandoning the climate agenda. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which regulates North Sea oil and gas production, will confirm that it is granting licences to about 30 companies to look for hydrocarbons on sites earmarked for future offshore windfarms. - Guardian

Apple has suffered its biggest drop in iPhone sales for more than three years as Chinese shoppers turn away from the company and embrace domestic rivals such as Huawei. The Californian tech giant said on Thursday night that revenues from the iPhone fell by 10.5pc in the first three months of the year. Total sales fell by 4pc to $90.8bn (£72.4bn), while profits were down 2pc to $23.6bn. Shares rose in after-hours trading however, with the sales decline not as severe as feared. Sales from China fell by 8pc. - Telegraph

The King's bank is pulling nearly £2bn out of the London stock market in the latest hammer blow to the beleaguered exchange. Coutts, which banks the Royal family and operates an ATM in Buckingham Palace, has announced plans to move away from UK stocks and instead invest its money abroad. The changes will see the amount it invests in UK equities drop from 33pc of assets to just 2pc, meaning Coutts will sell £1.96bn of British stocks and plough the money into other regions. - Telegraph

Hong Kong's financial regulator has launched criminal proceedings against Simon Sadler, the owner of Blackpool Football Club, and the hedge fund he founded, Segantii Capital Management, over allegations of insider trading. The Securities and Futures Commission also said it had started proceedings against former Segantii trader Daniel LaRocca. Sadler and LaRocca were both released on a cash bail of HK$1 million (£102,000) and HK$500,000 respectively. Segantii pledged to "defend itself vigorously" against the charges. - The Times