Tuesday newspaper round-up: Tesla, Monsanto, Vodafone, debt

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday asked a judge to hold Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, in contempt for violating last year’s settlementwith the federal agency. Shares of Tesla fell about 5% in extended trading. The regulator pointed to Musk’s 19 February tweet saying “Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019”, noting that Musk did not seek or receive pre-approval prior to publishing this tweet, which was inaccurate and disseminated to over 24 million people. – Guardian

Monsanto is facing its first federal trial over allegations that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, but a US judge has blocked attorneys from discussing the corporation’s alleged manipulation of science. In an extraordinary move in a packed San Francisco courtroom on Monday, US judge Vince Chhabria threatened to sanction and “shut down” a cancer patient’s attorney for violating his ban on talking about Monsanto’s influence on government regulators and cancer research. – Guardian

The Government is making plans to pay billions of euros to Brussels to settle large parts of the £39bn Brexit divorce bill even in the event of a ‘no deal’, the Telegraph can reveal. Ministers signed off the in-principle decision on Monday at a meeting of the Brexit ‘no deal’ preparedness cabinet committee, according to senior Whitehall sources. – Telegraph

Vodafone boss Nick Read has called on US spies to share any evidence they have about Huawei so Europe can take a common view about whether to use the Chinese group's technology. Read, who is chief executive of the world's second largest mobile operator, told reporters at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that cutting the number of major network suppliers to two from three would damage the industry. – Telegraph

Company directors could be disqualified for serious breaches of consumer laws and boards could be overhauled by the Competition and Markets Authority under far-reaching proposals to broaden its powers. Lord Tyrie, the regulator’s chairman, has outlined a plan to extend the watchdog’s reach and to make it more nimble. The move comes less than a year after he took over the CMA last June and after a request by Greg Clark, the business secretary, for reforms. – The Times

A global economic slowdown could trigger a $13 trillion corporate debt time bomb and plunge the world into a far deeper crisis, a leading global think tank has warned. Private companies have borrowed twice as much from the bond markets as they had before the 2008 financial crisis, leaving the world economy highly vulnerable, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said. – The Times