Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, dairy prices, Trump, Russia, Tesla, Rolls-Royce

Theresa May threatened Conservative rebels with a general election this summer if they defeated her plans on customs after Brexit. Tory whips issued the warning to Remain-backing MPs, led by the former ministers Stephen Hammond and Nicky Morgan, minutes before a crucial vote last night that would have kept Britain inside a customs union. - The Times

The European Union's financial system will come off worse in a no-deal Brexit, Mark Carney told MPs, as another chaotic day in Parliament threatened to tip Britain closer to a scenario he said would also have “big economic consequences” at home. - Telegraph

Everyday dairy products such as butter, yoghurt and cheese could become luxury items in Britain after Brexit, with price rises being caused by the slightest delay in the journey from farm to table, a report by the London School of Economics has found. - Guardian

Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess died after spraying perfume laced with the nerve agent onto both her wrists, her boyfriend, who was also exposed to the deadly substance, has revealed. Charlie Rowley, who is in a critical but stable condition in hospital, made the admission to his brother during an emotional phone conversation yesterday evening. - Daily Mail

President Trump lurched into damage control mode last night, insisting that he had “full faith” in his intelligence agencies and conceding that Russia had tried to influence the 2016 election. He also vowed to defend US democracy from future attacks but insisted that his election victory owed nothing to the Kremlin. - The Times

Scotland's shops have enjoyed their largest sales hike for more than four years thanks to the heatwave and a "bumper summer" of sport, according to figures published on Wednesday. Analysis published by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG found total sales between May 27 and June 30 increased by 2.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. - Telegraph

Tesla investors have demanded an apology from CEO Elon Musk after he who rescued children in Thailand. Musk’s posts on Twitter sparked backlash from shareholders and Silicon Valley analysts, who called his behavior immature and an impediment to the car company’s success. - Guardian

Motorists face severe congestion on some routes this weekend as the summer getaway begins on ‘frantic Friday’, a motoring firm has warned. More than nine million people are expected to take to the roads on leisure trips between Friday and Sunday as school holidays begin in England and Wales, the RAC said. - Daily Mail

Changes in the accounting treatment of student loans could cost the chancellor his £15bn Brexit war chest and leave his fiscal rules in tatters. The Office for National Statistics and the European statistical authorities are reviewing the way that the government accounts for the student loan book, which is on track to hit £20 billion by 2023, amid concerns that the present convention is a “fiscal illusion” that is creating “perverse incentives”. - The Times

Goldman Sachs has confirmed that its president David Solomon will take over from its long-standing chief executive Lloyd Blankfein in October. The Wall Street banking giant announced the appointments alongside its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. - Telegraph

The rate of pay growth for British workers has fallen to the lowest level in six months, despite record numbers of people in work across the country, official figures show. Heaping pressure on the Bank of England to delay raising interest rates from as early as August, the latest snapshot for the British labour market showed the lowest level of unemployment since the mid-1970s was yet to help workers demand higher rates of pay. - Guardian

The number of amateur landlords buying new properties continues to tumble as recent tax changes bite. According to figures from trade body UK Finance, there were 5,500 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in May, some 9.8 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier. - Daily Mail

Rolls-Royce could begin stockpiling key parts within months as Britain’s largest aircraft engine maker braces for a disorderly Brexit. The company is preparing to take “costly” and “inconvenient” steps to shore up inventories of components by the end of the year, having grown frustrated with the pace of the negotiations with Brussels. - The Times

Premier Foods boss Gavin Darby failed to act on investment bank advice to sell the company’s Bachelors brand, it has emerged. The chief executive rejected the recommendation from the soup maker’s long-standing broker Credit Suisse, sparking a dispute with shareholders that has led to a bid to oust him tomorrow at its annual general meeting. - Telegraph

Netflix’s surprise failure to hit its subscriber targets stripped $30bn (£23bn) from its stock market value as investors and analysts expressed fears that the stellar global growth of the streaming service may have peaked. On Monday night, the company reported it had in both the US and, most crucially, in the international markets it is now relying on for the vast majority of future growth. - Guardian

The US dollar is overvalued against most of the world's currencies, including the pound and euro, according to the latest Big Mac index from The Economist. As global trade tensions escalate, the long-running light-hearted index based on the popular McDonald's burger shows the dollar is 30 percent overvalued against the pound and 16 per cent against the euro. - Daily Mail