Wednesday newspaper round-up: Markets warning, UK defence review, Brexit, Apple

Stock markets are failing to price risks correctly, leading bankers and investors have warned. “Equity markets are at an all-time high. Volatility at an all-time low. That is not a sustainable position,” Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays, said at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. - The Times

Gavin Williamson has been given another five months to make the case for increased military funding and avoid sweeping cuts, after Downing Street announced a new defence review. The Ministry of Defence will now take control of the new review, in a move likely to be seen as a victory after lobbying by the Defence Secretary. - Telegraph

A ban on using credit cards for online gambling and a mandatory levy on gambling firms to fund addiction treatment are among last-minute recommendations submitted as part of a government review of gambling regulation. As a consultation by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) drew to a close, ministers faced calls to introduce concrete measures to tackle the “hidden addiction” suffered by the UK’s estimated 430,000 problem gamblers. - Guardian

France is to offer language lessons to London-based bankers and their families in its latest ploy to lure business from the UK capital to Paris after Brexit. Paris will beef up bilingual schools for children of “impatriates” when they arrive as well as opening a special English-speaking hotline to help them navigate the confusing French education system. - Telegraph

Apple shipped fewer iPhone X handsets than expected last year, according to estimates, adding to speculation that the company could phase out the smartphone model before the end of the year. Apple sent out 29 million iPhone Xs in the final quarter of 2017, below investors’ expectations of 30 million to 35 million, according to figures published by Canalys, a market research provider. - The Times

Silicon Valley billionaire Marc Benioff has compared the current crisis of trust facing the tech giants to the financial crisis of a decade ago, urging regulators to wake up to the threat from Google, Facebook, and the other dominant firms. The outspoken entrepreneur accused some of the industry's most influential bosses of "abdicating responsibility" and being ignorant to how powerful and sophisticated they had become. Regulators now had "have no choice" but to intervene, he said. - Telegraph

Theresa May is creating a new national security unit to counter "fake news" and disinformation spread by Russia and other foreign powers, Downing Street has announced. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the new national security communications unit would build on existing capabilities and would be tasked with "combating disinformation by state actors and others". - Telegraph

Donald Trump’s decision to impose a tariff on imported solar panels will cost the US solar industry about 23,000 jobs this year and risks slowing the growth of clean energy that would help address climate change, renewable energy advocates warned. Trump has imposed a 30% tariff on foreign-made solar cells and modules, with the White House expressing alarm at a huge rise in imported components “spurred on by artificially low-priced solar cells and modules from China”. - Guardian

Eleven countries that have been trying to forge an Asia-Pacific trading alliance finally agreed a revised deal yesterday, despite President Trump pulling out of talks. The Trans-Pacific Partnership brings together Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam are also involved in the agreement, which is expected to be given final approval in March at a ceremony in Chile. - The Times

New York City on Tuesday sued the makers of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Percocet and fentanyl that have played a central role in the opioid crisis killing tens of thousands across the nation. The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, and his wife Chirlane McCray, who leads the city’s efforts on mental health and drug addiction, announced a $500m lawsuit “to hold manufacturers and distributors to account”, filed in New York state supreme court. - Guardian

The independent accountant chosen by Barclays to rule on its controversial ringfencing plan and the effect on 200,000 pension fund members previously had been in charge of the team advising the disgraced businessman Dominic Chappell on buying BHS for £1. Mark Byers, head of restructuring at Grant Thornton, was criticised by MPs over the BHS debacle, which left former staff of the department stores group facing threats to their pensions until Sir Philip Green, the former owner, was pressured into making amends. - The Times

Taxpayer-owned RBS is ditching the London headquarters from which disgraced former boss Fred Goodwin ran his bloated banking empire prior to the financial crisis. The building in the City at 280 Bishopsgate will be vacated over the next two years and then sold off - and many employees will move a just a few doors down to 250 Bishopsgate. - Telegraph

Boris Johnson is not the only one with ambitions for a bold new bridge. Yesterday the Democratic Unionist Party called for a link over the Irish Sea joining Scotland and Northern Ireland. Leading figures in the party, which has a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservatives, revived calls for a 25-mile bridge or tunnel between Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway and Larne in Co Antrim. - The Times