Tuesday newspaper round-up: Retail sales, Tesco, Whitbread

UK retail sales continued to grow at the end of last year as Britons made a late dash for Christmas gifts and festive foods, according to industry figures that add to signs the economy ended 2016 on a strong note. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) pointed to challenges ahead from rising costs and political uncertainty but said its members went into the new year having enjoyed solid sales growth over the crucial Christmas period. - Guardian

More than 1,000 jobs could be at risk at Tesco after Britain’s biggest grocer said that it was planning to close two distribution centres “in order to run its business more simply”. It is ending its relationship with DHL and Wincanton logistics and plans to bring all its warehouse operations in-house, while simplifying management at its remaining 23 centres. - The Times

The owner of the Daily Mirror is in talks again with Richard Desmond, the publisher of the Express newspaper titles, about a possible deal between the two groups. Trinity Mirror is expected to make a stock exchange announcement today confirming that it is in early negotiations with Mr Desmond whose media empire also includes the Daily Star and OK! Magazine. - The Times

Three of the City’s leading figures will grilled today by MPs who accuse them of exaggerating the risks of Brexit to make it sound like a Hammer House of Horror script. Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC, Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, and Elizabeth Corley, chief executive of Allianz Global Investors, will face the Treasury select committee. - The Times

Restaurant giant Whitbread has “secretly” added pork to its lasagne in a cost-cutting move — and sold nearly 250,000 dishes to unaware diners. Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Whitbread Inn have been serving the meals for three months. - The Sun

HMRC has been forced to rethink a plan to move thousands of civil servants after a new report suggested it could cost the taxpayer £600m more than expected. Research by the National Audit Office suggests that HMRC has recognised that its plan to reduce the number of its offices and move to regional centres was “unrealistic”. - Telegraph

Volkswagen’s top executives told staff to cover up emissions cheating in the weeks before the scandal was exposed, the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed yesterday. The executives ordered the “continued concealment” of the existence of a device that was built into diesel cars to cheat emissions tests, in the knowledge that US regulators were unaware of its presence, the FBI said. - The Times

Tullow Oil had sold two-thirds of its stake in Uganda's first ever oil development to its partner, French major Total, for $900m. The giant project on the shores of Lake Albert, where Tullow first discovered oil in 2006, is estimated to contain 1.7bn barrels of oil and forecast to eventually produce 230,000 barrels per day (bpd). -Telegraph

Plans for a pioneering tidal power lagoon in Swansea Bay are expected to be supported by a government-commissioned report this week, potentially unlocking a multibillion-pound series of projects harnessing electricity from the rise and fall of the tide around the UK. - Guardian

General Motors has put itself on a collision course with Donald Trump by announcing that it will push ahead with plans to build some of its cars in Mexico. The announcement came as Fiat Chrysler and Daimler unveiled $1 billion-plus plans to upgrade their US plants and increase production in America. - The Times

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer will step down from the board of the internet giant on completion of the $4.8bn (£3.9bn) acquisition by US telecoms giant Verizon. Yahoo added that the remaining units of the business will operate as an investment company under the name Altaba. - Telegraph