Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Facebook, Sir Martin Sorrell, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Donald Trump

Theresa May is to start culling Tory manifesto commitments after her cabinet decided yesterday to accelerate planning for a no-deal Brexit. David Lidington, who is in effect the prime minister’s deputy, will start in “short order” to identify policies to be shelved to free resources for the no-deal, a senior figure said. - The Times

Britain’s 'big five' business bodies have united to call on politicians to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union without a trade deal next spring. They say UK business is “watching in horror” as political factions fight each other rather than work out what practical steps can be taken to limit the chaos they fear a disorderly exit from the trading bloc would cause. - Telegraph

Sajid Javid is expected to publish a long-delayed white paper on Britain’s tough new immigration regime on Wednesday, as the prime minister seeks to build the case for her Brexit deal by pledging to “take back control of our borders”. - Guardian

Facebook gave 150 companies access to hundreds of millions of users' data without their knowledge or consent. Records obtained by the New York Times reveal that the amount of data Cambridge Analytica received from a Facebook app paled in comparison to the access that was granted to the social media giant's biggest partners, including Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix. - Daily Mail

Sir Martin Sorrell has been dragged into the fallout from the Grenfell Tower disaster through a lawsuit against Arconic, manufacturer of the cladding panels blamed for the rapid spread of the fire. The former chief executive of WPP, the advertising giant, was a director of Arconic. He and other individuals connected to the $10 billion engineering company are being sued in the US over allegations that they failed to disclose that the panels were unsafe. - The Times

Drugs giants GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have agreed to merge their consumer healthcare divisions to create a business with combined sales of £9.8bn. British company Glaxo will own 68pc of the joint venture, while US firm Pfizer will own the remaining 32pc stake. - Telegraph

Donald Trump has stepped up his pressure on America’s central bank to shelve plans for an expected increase in interest rates to prevent the bleakest December for Wall Street since the US was in the throes of the Great Depression. - Guardian

Desperate stores are praying for a last-minute sales rush to save their Christmas - slashing prices in a bid to lure thrifty shoppers. Britons are expected to spend almost £3bn - both on the High Street and using online firms - on their final Christmas purchases during ‘Frenzied Friday’ and ‘Super Saturday’. - Daily Mail

President Trump dissolved his personal charitable foundation yesterday after prosecutors said that it was mired in a “shocking pattern of illegality” that had been referred to the US tax authorities for further investigation. Despite the shutdown the Donald J Trump Foundation and its directors - Mr Trump and his three eldest children: Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump - continue to be investigated by New York prosecutors over the “wilful self-dealing” of its funds for the presidential campaign and other personal purposes. - The Times

Charles Michel, the Belgian prime minister, resigned on Tuesday night after his government collapsed in the face of virulent opposition to his signing of a UN migration pact from his erstwhile coalition partners. Mr Michel lost the support of the Flemish nationalist N-VA, the largest party in his coalition, over the non-binding UN agreement, which opponents had claimed would open the door to greater migration. - Telegraph

Barclays has been slapped with a $15m (£12m) fine by a New York regulator over attempts by chief executive Jes Staley and senior management to unmask a whistleblower. The New York state department of financial services said its investigation found “shortcomings in governance, controls and corporate culture relating to Barclays’ whistleblowing function”. - Guardian

Investors are more pessimistic about the world economy than they have been at any point since the 2008 financial crisis, a survey of leading money managers found yesterday. Concerns about a slowdown, compounded by fears of an escalation of the US-China trade war, have prompted them to move into defensive assets and dump shares, a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said. - The Times

Lewis Hamilton, the Five-time Formula 1 champion, said he "chose the wrong words" when he referred to his hometown of Stevenage as "the slums" during Sunday's BBC Sports Personality of the Year show. The 33-year-old finished second in the public vote behind Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and during a pre-vote interview he spoke about his background growing up in the Hertfordshire town. - Telegraph

Google has been forced to explain to the New Zealand government why it breached the country’s strict suppression laws by naming the man charged with murdering British backpacker Grace Millane. The company said it had occurred by mistake, but stopped short of apologising for the blunder. Senior policy manager Ross Young told media Google had acted when it had been made aware of the court order, four days after it was issued. - Guardian