Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, no confidence, Budget changes, HSBC, Sky

A “disorderly Brexit” is now seen as almost inevitable by the world’s biggest banks — ranking on a par with a global cyber-attack as a threat to the international financial system, the City of London Corporation has warned. In a letter to the chancellor sent, Catherine McGuinness, chairwoman of the policy and resources committee at the City’s ruling body, offers her “detailed observations on institutional concerns” following three days of meetings with Wall Street bosses and policymakers in New York and Washington DC. - Sunday Times

Forty MPs — eight short of the numbers required to force a leadership challenge — have agreed to sign a letter of no confidence in Theresa May as European Union negotiators threaten to block trade talks until March unless Britain agrees to settle the Brexit divorce bill. The embattled prime minister is facing a fight on three fronts following another week of Tory turmoil in which Priti Patel become the second cabinet minister to resign and two other cabinet ministers — Damian Green and Boris Johnson — faced pressure to quit, with the EU withdrawal bill returning to the Commons on Tuesday as Labour expect to join Tory rebels and inflict a series of damaging defeats on the government. - Sunday Times

Theresa May faces a devastating Commons defeat over Brexit within weeks if she continues to deny parliament a meaningful vote on the final deal with the EU, Tory and Labour MPs have warned. With the withdrawal bill returning to the Commons on Tuesday, a cross-party group who oppose a hard Brexit and are co-operating on tactics say they believe they have the numbers to defeat the government if they are denied such a vote. - Observer

Theresa May is effectively being held to ransom over Brexit by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, a bombshell leaked letter reveals. The Cabinet heavyweights made a series of veiled threats in a secret missive to the Prime Minister – which contained blunt instructions on how she should deliver the ‘hard Brexit’ they demand, as well as containing the sinister-sounding instruction that Mrs May should make rebel Cabinet Ministers toe their line by ‘clarifying their minds’. - Mail on Sunday

The government is confident that it can resolve the question of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic with a “combination of flexibility and high-tech customs management”, according to cabinet sources. The disclosure comes days after the EU put forward a plan that would in effect split Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK after Brexit. - Sunday Times

Britain will not be allowed to dictate the future of the Irish border post-Brexit, Ireland’s foreign minister has warned in a hardening of rhetoric over the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Simon Coveney told his party’s biannual conference on Saturday that Ireland would remain a steadfast opponent to any proposal that would create a hard border with the republic. - Observer

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said the bloc is drawing up contingency plans for the possible collapse of Britain’s departure talks. Barnier, who last week gave the UK a two-week deadline to provide greater clarity on the financial settlement it was prepared to offer as part of the divorce deal, told France’s Journal du Dimanche newspaper the failure of the talks was not his preferred option. - Observer

Developers and home owners would be allowed to extend the height of properties without planning permission, under plans being considered for the budget by the Chancellor. Philip Hammond is weighing up proposals to relax planning laws to enable houses and blocks of flats to be raised to the height of the tallest building or tree in the same area without the cost or delay of seeking council approval. - Sunday Telegraph

Ministers are poised to unveil their strategy for Britain’s industrial renaissance — but will simplify the plan by toppling several key pillars. The business secretary Greg Clark is expected to unveil the government’s industrial strategy next week, just days before the budget. - Sunday Times

The great British buy-to-let dream is under severe threat, a report has claimed, with a forecast that landlord purchases will dive 27 per cent by 2022. Estate agent Savills believes the number of mortgaged buy-to-let property purchases will fall from 75,000 this year to just 55,000 in five years' time, as small investors are squeezed out by tougher regulations and a tax grab. - Mail on Sunday

Tax hikes could hit diesel drivers while a cut in fuel duty may be granted to those who favour petrol. Chancellor Philip Hammond is said to be considering the measures while Cabinet colleagues pressure him to cut dangerous emissions in his budget later this month. - Mail on Sunday

HSBC’s new chairman Mark Tucker has told investors that he is on the prowl for acquisitions, with American credit card businesses among his targets. Tucker, 59, who took the reins last month, has revealed his plans for expansion in meetings with shareholders. - Sunday Times

Unilever’s Dutch Works Council is threatening to call for strike action across the consumer goods giant’s global factories if potential buyers of its margarine business don’t agree to protect jobs and pension guarantees. The Anglo-Dutch company shortlisted four private equity bidders earlier this month in the £6.5bn auction for its spreads unit which includes Flora, Stork and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter: CVC Capital Partners, KKR, Apollo and Platinum Equity, according to reports. - Sunday Telegraph

Andrew Neil, the founding chairman of Sky, has urged the Government to block the takeover of the pay-TV giant by 21st Century Fox in order to preserve it as one of the “crown jewels” of British broadcasting. At the investigation of the deal by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Mr Neil dismissed fears the Murdoch family will influence Sky News if Fox gains control, but warned foreign ownership of Sky would “not be good news for British broadcasting”. - Sunday Telegraph

Oil services firm Petrofac is readying its defence against the looming threat of an opportunistic takeover as its ­battle against corruption allegations drags on. City sources told The Sunday Telegraph that a refreshed squad of advisers will be undertaking a forensic study of the firm’s true value as a pre-emptive strike against a hostile takeover following a sharp slump in its share price. - Sunday Telegraph

Platinum miner Lonmin – the rump of the vast conglomerate once described as ‘the unacceptable face of capitalism’ – may need to make a cash call on its shareholders to avoid a funding crunch. City experts said the loss-making firm remains ‘precarious’ since it warned late last month that it would delay its financial accounts, which were due to be released tomorrow. - Mail on Sunday

London buses could be used to transport Amazon parcels, under a radical plan to boost revenues in the face of falling passenger numbers. The transport giant Go-Ahead is in talks with logistics companies about converting some of its bus depots into parcel delivery hubs. It could even use empty buses to shuttle goods around the capital. - Sunday Times

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has said elections in Catalonia will help the region recover from “the havoc of separatism”, during his first visit to Barcelona since Madrid imposed direct rule. Rajoy visited the Catalan capital to show support for his party’s campaign ahead of regional elections next month, and was given a rapturous reception by more than a thousand party members waving Spanish and Catalan flags. - Observer

The EU is preparing to fine Google over its multi-billion dollar advertising empire as a high-profile investigation into its Android operating system is pushed back to next year. Europe’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is gearing up to hit the web giant with an antitrust penalty over AdSense, its powerful advertising network, with a decision expected in the next few weeks. - Sunday Telegraph

Apple’s claim that an overhaul of its corporate structure did not reduce its tax bill has been called into question by an analysis of its latest accounts. The iPhone maker handed almost $1.7bn (£1.3bn) to tax collectors outside America in the 12 months to the end of September — equivalent to 3.7% of its $44.7bn foreign earnings, down from $2.1bn in overseas corporation tax on a $41.1bn haul — a 5.2% rate. The $480m drop in tax paid appears to contradict assurances from the company that it gained no benefit from a change in its tax structure in 2015. - Sunday Times

A British subsidiary of Cadbury’s American owner paid no tax last year, despite making a £2.1bn profit. The accounts for Vantas International, ultimately owned by the Toblerone-to-Ritz maker Mondelez, show that £442m of income — about what it would have paid in corporation tax — was not subject to tax. - Sunday Times

A new era of banking will be ushered in from January next year – and security experts say it could put people at greater risk of scams and identity theft. Under new ‘open banking’ rules, Britain’s biggest banks and credit card providers will be forced to share customer data with companies that demand it. - Mail on Sunday

The Co-op’s £143m takeover of convenience chain Nisa is to go to the wire after a series of stormy shareholder meetings before a vote on Monday. Nisa said the feedback from recent shareholder meetings suggested growing support for the Co-op offer but other people familiar with the process expressed concern that it would not secure the 75% share of votes required to succeed. - Observer

Airbus’s troubled A380 airliner will be thrown a lifeline when Gulf carrier Emirates places a multi-billion dollar order for the “superjumbo” jets. The deal will help keep production of the double-decker aircraft running for several years and assist in maintaining supply chains. - Sunday Telegraph

Shoppers have spent more than $25bn (168.2bn yuan) during China’s annual Singles Day, smashing previous records for the world’s largest retail event. Single’s Day, promoted annually by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and held on 11 November, was supposedly started by bachelor university students in the 1990s who bought themselves presents as a kind of anti-Valentine’s day. - Observer

Housing associations and councils across the country are rushing to ­improve the fire safety of their social housing blocks by outsourcing more than £300m of work through the two biggest contract awards in eight years. Landlords have faced increasing pressure to install extra measures to prevent and fight fires in high-rise blocks after the Grenfell Tower disaster in June, in which an estimated 80 people lost their lives after a fire ripped through the flats in west London. - Sunday Telegraph

An independent watchdog to “give the environment a voice” and “hold the powerful to account” will form the cornerstone of a “green Brexit”, the Environment Secretary pledged. Michael Gove reveals plans to set up a “world-leading” statutory body to maintain environmental standards, together with a national policy statement that will permanently “embed” protections for land, water, air and wildlife into policy-making as Britain leaves the European Union. - Sunday Telegraph

A Morrison's in West Yorkshire is planning to destress its customers by becoming the first in Britain to have an in-store bar. The supermarket in Guiseley has opened up a bar called Barista, which will allow its shoppers to sip on a cold one while getting their shopping done. - Mail on Sunday