Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit talks, Facebook, Metro Bank, Eon

Theresa May has taken back control of crucial negotiations with Brussels from her new Brexit secretary just hours after the government published its white paper on withdrawing from the European Union. The prime minister announced she would now lead the crunch talks with the EU while Dominic Raab, who was appointed two weeks ago, would be left in charge of domestic preparations, no-deal planning and legislation. – Guardian

Ministers should introduce new laws to force employers to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, MPs have said. Employees were being failed by the government, employers and regulators, with current laws insufficient to protect workers and often not available to them in practice anyway, according to a report from parliament’s women and equalities committee. It calls on the government to introduce a duty on employers supported by a statutory code of practice. - Guardian

Facebook has quietly set up a subsidiary in China, as it attempts once again to penetrate the country following its 2009 ban. A Facebook spokesman said the US tech giant was setting up an "innovation hub" in Zhejiang, eastern China, to allow it to "support Chinese developers, innovators and start ups". – Telegraph

Metro Bank has performed a U-turn by announcing it intends to raise around £300m in equity overnight, despite saying it wouldn't need to do this earlier in the year. The FTSE 250 challenger bank told investors after markets closed today that it was issuing 8.85 million of new shares representing around 10pc of the company's share capital. The lender has a market cap of close to £3bn. – Telegraph

Up to 12,000 roles in financial services could leave the UK after Brexit, according to one of the most detailed forecasts yet of the impact of leaving the European Union on the City. Between 3,500 and 12,000 jobs are likely to be lost when Britain formally leaves the EU in March, with more potentially following later depending on the nature of the Brexit deal, according to Catherine McGuinness, the City of London corporation’s policy chairwoman. – The Times

Eon is preparing to announce about 500 job losses as the energy company tries to cut its costs before the government imposes a price cap. The German-owned supplier, which employs 9,400 people in the UK, plans to inform staff of the redundancies next week, The Times has learnt. They are understood to be subject to final sign-off by Eon executives in the next few days and are being made in anticipation of a squeeze on prices and profits when the cap comes in later in the year. – The Times