Wednesday newspaper round-up: Zoom, fraudulent loans, Starling Bank

Households in Britain will suffer a hit to their finances of up to £4,000 this year, according to a report warning that the economy could avoid recession but that, for millions, it will not feel like it has. Adding to pressure on Rishi Sunak as the government prepares to scale back its support for energy bills this spring, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said low and middle-income households were facing the biggest financial hit from the cost of living crisis. – Guardian

Zoom is to make 1,300 layoffs, letting go of around 15pc of its workforce as the Covid-19 pandemic’s work-from-home culture comes to a crashing halt. Eric Yuan, the chief executive, said: “We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15% and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues.” – Telegraph

Lidl and Tesco are facing off in a High Court battle over a yellow circle logo. The two supermarkets are at loggerheads over claims by Lidl that Tesco infringed its copyright by using a yellow circle to promote its clubcard prices. Tesco has filed a counterclaim against Lidl in the dispute which started in April last year. – Telegraph

Loans that were potentially fraudulent accounted for close to £1 in every £6 paid by taxpayers to cover losses on a key pandemic finance scheme. New official figures show that of the £4.1 billion the government has paid to lenders for defaulted credit under the bounce back loan scheme, £640 million worth of facilities were marked as “suspected fraud”. – The Times

Funds managed by Jupiter Asset Management have sold their stakes in privately owned Starling Bank and sworn off buying any unlisted shares in future. Jupiter said its open-ended funds would make no further investments in unlisted shares. – The Times