Thursday newspaper round-up: Reassure, Iran, HSBC, Superdry, Vodafone, Heineken
Boris Johnson’s allies have warned Theresa May that she must not “tie the hands” of her successor by appointing a new ambassador to the United States as one of her final acts in Downing Street. Sir Kim Darroch resigned as Britain’s ambassador to Washington yesterday, saying that it was impossible for him to stay on after President Trump severed relations and described him as stupid, wacky and pompous. - The Times
Britain has failed to make meaningful progress towards a free trade deal with the United States amid “chronic” staffing shortages and communication breakdowns in Whitehall, according to a cache of documents seen by The Telegraph. Details of meetings spanning two years show how overstretched departments have been working “at cross purposes” as transatlantic talks have repeatedly stumbled over politically sensitive topics such as rules on health, farming and the finance industry. - Telegraph
The British economy pulled out of a one-month downturn to return to growth in May as carmakers resumed production in the wake of shutdowns for the original Brexit deadline. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said UK GDP rose by 0.3% from a month earlier, when stoppages at car plants resulted in negative growth of 0.4%. - Guardian
Living standards are more equal across British regions than at any point since 1979, a study says. Disposable income inequality between regions has halved since peaking in 1990, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank. In that year, incomes in the richest region, the South East of England, were £10,307. - Daily Mail
One of the biggest flotations planned in London so far this year was on the brink of being pulled yesterday as potential investors blanched at the price being asked. Advisers working on the initial public offering of Reassure, a £3bn zombie insurance funds business, were understood to be considering postponing or abandoning plans to float 26 per cent of the business, though no final decision had been made and a flurry of last-minute orders might still save it. - The Times
The Royal Navy has fended off the attempted seizure of a British oil tanker by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf, in an apparent tit-for-tat response to the arrest of one of Iran's own vessels. The British Heritage, owned by BP Shipping and registered to the Isle of Man, was crossing into the Strait of Hormuz area when it was approached by three Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats. - Telegraph
A consumer group is urging Britons not to buy potentially flammable plastic-backed fridges and freezers as stringent tests that effectively ban new ones from being manufactured come into force. Which? has campaigned for a change to the safety standard for the appliances since 2017 after its testing found the plastic backing can be extremely flammable and, in the event of a house fire, can accelerate the spread of flames. - Guardian
A leader of Hong Kong's democracy protests has slammed the HSBC bank for supporting China's communist regime. Joshua Wong, a 22-year-old activist who has twice been jailed for his work, spoke out after HSBC boss John Flint said the Chinese economic system 'gives Western liberal democracies pause for thought, because here is a deeply socialist system that's served its people really well'. He accused HSBC of failing to understand what is really going on in China – and urged it to apologise. - Daily Mail
A sales revival at Superdry will take at least two years, Julian Dunkerton admitted yesterday, after the company swung into the red in the first set of results since its co-founder’s dramatic return. Superdry unveiled an £85 million loss for the year to April 27, in stark contrast with last year’s profit of £65.3 million, after delaying the results by a week because it needed more time to calculate its complex property charges. - The Times
Vodafone boss Nick Read has taken a £1.2m pay cut in a concession to angry investors amid the first dividend cut in the company’s history and a deep slump in its stock market valuation. Mr Read and chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle “voluntarily requested” a 20pc reduction in their three-year share awards “to reflect the low valuation of the share price”, Vodafone said. - Telegraph
Heineken’s pub chain is to be investigated over claims it imposed unfair terms on publicans who tried to cut the “beer tie”, a centuries-old arrangement under which they must buy beer from the owner of their premises. The Pubs Code Adjudicator, which has been criticised for a supine attitude towards deep-pocketed pub companies, has launched its first investigation, examining the behaviour of the Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars. - Guardian
All payments to people who invested in car parking spaces run by three Park First firms and Help Me Park Gatwick have been frozen after the businesses collapsed. Many investors demanded their money back after regulators forced a shake-up in the Park First airport parking operation in 2017, while others opted to lease their parking spaces to the firms. Both groups of investors are now in the hands of administrators from Smith & Williamson, which will continue to run the car parks near Gatwick and Glasgow airports. - Daily Mail
Pharmaceutical companies are wasting billions of pounds developing needless drugs, according to research that found most new treatments did little more than existing alternatives. The study, published in the BMJ, looked at drugs introduced to the German market, where it is mandatory to investigate their efficacy. Of the 216 approved by regulators 58 per cent offered no improvement on those already available. - The Times
Pub group JD Wetherspoon continues to outperform its peers, despite a slowdown in sales growth in the last three months and a refusal to put up prices eating into margins. Like-for-like sales swelled by 6.9pc in the 10 weeks to July 7, better than recent performances by the likes of competitors Young’s and Greene King. However this was a slight slowdown on the previous quarter. - Telegraph
Britons will spend £2.7bn this summer on more than 50m summer outfits that will be worn only once, a poll reveals. By far the biggest extravagance is new clothing for holidays, where consumers splash out more than £700m on 11m items bought for the trip which will never be worn again, according to research carried out by Censuswide for the charity Barnardo’s. - Guardian
Police have arrested a 22-year-old man after he climbed over gates of Buckingham Palace at 2am this morning. In an alarming security breach for the palace, the man was able to scale the fence at the front of the building while the 93-year-old monarch slept in her residence. The individual was able to bang on the door before being apprehended by the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection Command four minutes later - causing chaos at the palace as it was not known if he was armed. - Daily Mail