Thursday newspaper round-up: Housing, Porsche, Bank of England, oil

Rogue landlords should have their properties confiscated by local councils, according to a cross-party report from MPs into Britain’s private rented sector. Current financial penalties are “meaningless” in deterring the worst, criminal offenders among landlords, according to the housing, communities and local government committee. - Guardian

A Labour government would rip up the government’s definition of affordable housing and instead bring in a measure linked to people’s incomes, Jeremy Corbyn will say on Thursday. A report, Housing for the Many, accuses ministers of stretching the term affordable to breaking point to include homes let at up to 80% of market rents – more than £1,500 a month in some areas – and homes for sale up to £450,000. - Guardian

Amazon revealed it has exceeded 100 million paid Prime subscribers, the first time the internet giant has provided a figure for users of the service. Chief executive Jeff Bezos, in his annual shareholder letter, said Amazon shipped more than five billion items with Prime worldwide last year and said more people were signing up for its paid-for service than ever before. - Telegraph

German police carried out raids at Porsche on Wednesday as investigations into the “dieselgate” emissions rigging scandal widened to include senior figures at the performance car maker. Three suspects targeted in the raids have not been named but prosecutors said that they included a Porsche board member, a senior manager and an ex-employee. German press this evening said that the car maker’s R&D chief, Mich­ael Steiner, was the executive being investigated. - Telegraph

The Bank of England was “three months late” in cracking down on consumer credit, one of its most senior policymakers said yesterday. Martin Taylor, who is on the Bank’s financial policy committee and is a former chief executive of Barclays, revealed to MPs how he had been more hawkish than his colleagues over the rapid rise in credit card debt, car loans and personal loans in 2016. - The Times

Cotton buds, plastic drinking straws and other single-use plastics could be banned from sale in England next year in the next phase of the campaign to try to halt the pollution of the world’s rivers and oceans. Theresa May hopes to use the announcement to encourage the Commonwealth heads of government to join the fight as the meeting opens formally on Thursday. - Guardian

The price of oil hit its highest level in three and a half years yesterday, after American figures showed that the market had tightened more than expected and Saudi Arabia signalled that it wished to see prices rise to $80 or $100 per barrel. The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark contract, rose by 2 per cent to $73.12, up more than $1.54, after figures from the US Energy Information Administration showed an unexpectedly big fall in American stockpiles of oil. - The Times

Small businesses providing childcare may need the government’s help to stay afloat. Providers are suffering a financial shortfall from a government scheme that provides 30 hours of free care for eligible three and four-year- olds, a report by the Federation of Small Businesses concluded. - The Times

Creditors of Ariadne Capital, the investment business founded by Julie Meyer, have been asked if they would be willing to fund a possible legal action to challenge allegedly suspicious transactions involving the business. Administrators of the investment firm, which collapsed in December, are seeking legal advice to explore “potential claims” concerning the sale of Ariadne Capital assets to a related party in 2016 and possible discrepancies in the company’s finances. - The Times

A financial technology company backed by billionaire Sir Richard Branson has become the first non-bank to gain access to a crucial part of the UK's payments infrastructure as it battles to compete with big banks. Money transfer start-up TransferWise, which is also backed by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin and has protested against the "wrongness" of hidden bank fees in the past, was granted access to the Bank of England's real-time payment systems on Wednesday. - Telegraph

Metro Bank is facing a growing shareholder rebellion over payments made by the lender to an architecture firm run by its chairman’s wife. Investment adviser Glass Lewis has joined asset manager Royal London in setting out their opposition to the re-election of the bank’s chairman Vernon Hill at next week’s annual general meeting. - Telegraph

Hammerson and Intu are both facing bills of upwards of £10m after a deal to combine the two companies in a £3.4bn tie-up collapsed on Wednesday. The two companies are understood to have spent a substantial amount on fees for advisors, lawyers and bankers, although the true cost of the deal is only likely to be known in the coming months. - Telegraph