Friday newspaper round-up: Hinkley Point, energy bills, Deutsche Bank

Britain would be foolish to turn its back on the “golden era” of relations with China, Beijing’s official news agency has claimed, dismissing concerns over Chinese involvement in the Hinkley Point nuclear project as “China-phobia”. Since becoming Prime Minister last month Theresa May has stepped back from David Cameron and George Osborne’s energetic and controversial courtship of China, infuriating Beijing by postponing a final decision on the approval of the proposed £18bn ($23.5bn) nuclear power station. – The Guardian

Families who have remained loyal to their energy firm for 15 years have paid about £3,000 more on their bills than those who switch supplier, a study from Energy Helpline says. As many as one in ten households have been sitting on the expensive standard variable rate tariff of their energy firm for a decade, researchers found. – Daily Mail

A whistleblower who helped to expose false accounting at Deutsche Bank has turned down a multimillion-dollar award from the Securities and Exchange Commission in protest against the agency’s failure to punish executives at the bank. Eric Ben-Artzi, a former Deutsche risk officer, told the US financial regulator that he is declining his share of a $16.5 million (£1.25 million) payout, the third largest in the whistleblower programme’s history. – The Times

Sales at Asda slumped to a record low during the second quarter as fierce competition and sharp falls in food prices continued to wreak havoc in the British grocery sector. In a grim debut for Sean Clarke, Asda’s’ new chief executive, the Walmart-owned supermarket said that its like-for-likes sales had plunged by 7.5 per cent in the three months to the end of June. – The Times

The City of London has given up hope of universal access to the EU single market and is now seeking a bespoke deal for its different sectors to keep trading with Europe, with similar but stronger ties than Switzerland. Teams across the City and Whitehall have been working over the summer to draw up a plan for Britain’s EU exit. – Financial Times.

National Grid has slashed its forecasts for the number of big new power plants expected to be built in coming years, while admitting its estimates for the growth of solar farms and other small-scale generators were almost 50 times too low. Just four years ago the company expected up to 33 gigawatts (GW) of new power plant capacity to be connected to its high voltage electricity transmission networks in England and Wales by 2021. – The Telegraph