Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Tesco, Tesla, Unilever, North Korea, BAE Systems

Theresa May’s plans for a tough new immigration regime were given a boost yesterday after a key report called for an end to low-skilled migration from the EU after Brexit. A year-long independent report by the government’s advisers into the link between migration and the economy recommended a “global” system. This would make EU citizens subject to the same rules as immigrants from non-European countries after January 2021 and could mean that those who want to live in Britain for more than six months would need visas. - The Times

EU migrants pay more tax than the average British adult, leaving the UK’s public finances at risk and making post-Brexit tax hikes more likely, according to Oxford Economics. Migrants from the EU contribute £2,300 more on average per year to the public finances than a UK-born adult, the study, commissioned for the Government’s Migration Advisory Committee, has claimed. - Telegraph

Michel Barnier has rebuffed British calls for the European Union to soften its stance on the contested issue of the Irish border and said a “moment of truth” was fast approaching on a Brexit deal. May will appeal directly to EU leaders at a summit in Salzburg to soften their stance over UK access to the single market and customs union. She is expected to tell them on Wednesday night that Brussels needs to shift. - Guardian

Tesco unveils its discount chain Jack's today as the major supermarkets continue to lose market share to Lidl and Aldi. Britain's biggest supermarket will reveal its plans to take on the discounters with a cut price offer of its own as it battles to win customers. The name is a nod to Jack Cohen who founded Tesco in 1919. - Daily Mail

An estimated four million people have been charged almost half a billion pounds for mobile phones they already own, according to Citizens Advice. The charity said that EE, Three and Vodafone routinely continued to charge customers for handsets after they had paid them off in full. - The Times

Tesla shares have plunged sharply after the US government launched a criminal investigation into the company. The Department of Justice has launched a fraud probe after chief executive Elon Musk tweeted last month that he had "funding secured" for a buyout of the electric carmaker. It was unclear at the time if this was the case. - Telegraph

A series of websites, an app and a YouTube channel promoting Kinder chocolate and toys have been banned in the UK for aiming junk food advertising at children. The homepage of the Kindernauts website featured cartoons of a sun and rainbow, the promise of “fun activities” and prizes, a Kinder chocolate branded video showing children playing and a cartoon map leading to activities such as “becoming a bug detective” and “creating a butterfly feeder”. - Guardian

Bitcoin and other online currencies are traded in a ‘Wild West’ market and watchdogs must intervene to stop investors losing everything, MPs claim. The Treasury Select Committee argues those who dabble in cryptocurrency are at risk of gambling away their life savings. - Daily Mail

A fourth UK shareholder in Unilever has said that it will vote against the consumer group’s proposed move to relinquish its London headquarters. In a blow to Unilever and its boss Paul Polman, M&G Investments has come out against the plan to abandon the company’s 88-year Anglo-Dutch dual governance structure. - The Times

North Korea has agreed to permanently dismantle and shut-down its missile launch pads in Dongchang-ri in the presence of international inspectors and to move towards the decommissioning of its Yongbyon nuclear enrichment site. After two days of talks in Pyongyang over denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula, Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, and Kim Jong-un have pledged to hold more summits, with Kim promising to “visit Seoul in the near future”. - Telegraph

Labour would ban the use of credit cards to place bets, affecting billions of pounds of transactions a year, as part of a crackdown on the gambling industry designed to tackle an “epidemic” of addiction. Deputy leader Tom Watson will this week publish the conclusions of the party’s year-long review of gambling regulations, which were liberalised under Tony Blair’s government in 2007. - Guardian

BAE Systems has finalised a £5bn deal to sell 24 Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar. The order will help keep production lines open in Lancashire after thousands of the defence group’s jobs were axed last year. The deal also includes nine Hawk training aircraft as well as training for Qatar’s air force. - Daily Mail

Beijing will impose tariffs on American products worth $60 billion next week after President Trump ordered $200 billion of new tariffs on Chinese goods in an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies. China said that it had “no choice” but to retaliate immediately, disregarding Mr Trump’s threat of further import duties on virtually all its exports to the United States. - The Times

Dangerous flying debris and travel cancellations are expected as the first named storm of the season brings strong winds of up to 80mph to the UK and Ireland. Amber severe weather warnings for the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were issued ahead of Storm Ali's arrival in the early hours of Wednesday. - Telegraph

Ireland’s government has fully recovered more than €14bn (£12.4bn) in disputed taxes and interest from Apple, which it will hold in an escrow fund pending its appeal against a European Union tax ruling. The European commission ruled in August 2016 that Apple had received unfair tax incentives from the Irish government. Both Apple and Dublin are appealing against the original ruling, saying the iPhone maker’s tax treatment was in line with Irish and EU law. - Guardian