Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Lloyds, BT, Scottish Power
The UK will be unable to have frictionless, tariff-free trade under World Trade Organization rules for up to seven years in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to two leading European Union law specialists. The ensuing chaos could double food prices and plunge Britain into a recession that could last up to 30 years, claim the lawyers who acted for Gina Miller in the historic case that forced the government to seek parliament’s approval to leave the EU. - Guardian
A senior minister has praised the “extremely valuable” work of Conservative MPs demanding radical changes to the Irish backstop in the clearest indication yet that they had the tacit support of Downing Street. Tory Brexiteers are coalescing around an amendment to Theresa May’s Brexit motion tomorrow that vows to back the prime minister’s deal with the EU on condition that the insurance plan to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is replaced by “alternative arrangements”. - The Times
Credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned that failure to strike a Brexit deal with the EU would undermine investor confidence in the institutions of government. Britain has traditionally been seen as a safe, stable location for investment, but analysts claim a no-deal scenario would put this reputation for competence in danger. - Telegraph
Ireland has launched a last-minute effort to warn Theresa May off any attempt to unravel the backstop, two days before a crucial Commons debate that may decide the next move for the UK’s rudderless Brexit policy. Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister and deputy prime minister, insisted the backstop – the mechanism to ensure there will be no hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland if Britain and the EU fail to strike a free trade deal – was “part of a balanced package that isn’t going to change”. - Guardian
Britain’s biggest lender is to offer 100% mortgages to first-time buyers in a return to lending last seen before the financial crash – but only if the buyer has family that can stand behind the loan. Under the new Lloyds Bank “Lend A Hand” deal, a first-time buyer will be able to borrow up to £500,000 for a new home, without putting down a penny of deposit. - Guardian
Political turmoil is causing unease among British households and forcing shoppers to think twice about spending big, amid the Government’s failure to secure a Brexit deal. Spending crept up slowly before Christmas as families took a cautious approach, according to Deloitte’s quarterly consumer tracker. - Telegraph
Former BP boss Lord John Browne and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman are poised to kick-start a £23bn float of a new energy giant that will go toe-to-toe with some of the world’s top oil explorers. A merger of the oil and gas business of their holding company LetterOne with that of German industrial powerhouse BASF is in the final stages, paving the way for the enlarged operation to immediately begin preparations for a blockbuster stock market listing. - Telegraph
BP could save “several hundreds of millions” of pounds a year by using artificial intelligence to make oil drilling more efficient, a senior executive says. The energy company is using big data to identify and develop new fields, as well as squeezing more from existing resources. - The Times
Marks & Spencer has held talks with Ocado about a food delivery deal that could improve its online service. It is understood that the talks, which took place in recent weeks, involved senior figures from both companies and would have been about a potential partnership arrangement that would have given M&S access to Ocado’s delivery centres and vans and lorries. - The Times
Scottish Power is lining up against foreign infrastructure investment funds in the race to buy a £2bn electricity network operator. The utility firm will join the early stages of an auction for Electricity North West (ENW), one of Britain’s nine regional power network companies, which was put up for sale by JP Morgan, the US bank, last year. - Telegraph
Openreach has unveiled plans to hire 3,000 apprentice engineers in the next 12 months to hit its multi-million fibre broadband target, as pressure mounts to deliver high speed internet across the UK. BT's broadband infrastructure unit said it was extending its recruitment drive to meet its pledge to provide full fibre broadband to three million homes and businesses by the end of 2020. - Telegraph
Austerity cuts have fallen hardest on deprived communities in the north of England, which are enduring the highest poverty rates and weakest economies, according to a study. The Centre for Cities thinktank study shows that the poorest areas have borne the brunt of council spending cuts. - Guardian
The banking industry will come together with leading business groups to issue emergency Brexit advice to small and medium-sized companies amid concerns that few business owners are prepared for a disruptive “no deal” exit from the European Union. Business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce and the CBI, as well as trade groups and accountancy bodies, met UK Finance, the banking industry trade body, this month to discuss the intervention. - The Times
Unions have demanded meetings with Tesco over reports that the supermarket plans to cut thousands of jobs. Tesco may cut as many as 15,000 jobs and close some of its meat, fish and deli counters in a new drive to bring down costs. - The Times
Government spending with Amazon’s cloud computing business is almost 90 times what it was four years ago. Whitehall spent £589,000 with Amazon Web Services in 2015, rising to almost £51 million last year. - The Times
The Financial Conduct Authority passed allegations from a “whistleblower” to the subjects of their complaint, an internal inquiry revealed. An investigation into alleged failings surrounding the incident by a senior adviser to Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the City regulator, was itself found to have substandard governance, according to internal FCA documents. - The Times
The influence of “big food” must be curbed around the world if obesity, malnutrition and climate change are to be effectively tackled, according to a report. Overconsumption of junk food and not having enough to eat are two sides of the malnutrition coin, said a commission of experts brought together by the Lancet medical journal. A third major global problem is interlinked – climate change that is worsened by food production, waste and transportation. - Guardian
The US has lifted sanctions on Oleg Deripaska’s energy and aluminium companies after the Russian oligarch agreed to give up control of the groups. The decision late yesterday is likely to have a significant effect on the aluminium market today as it removes some uncertainty over Rusal, the world’s second biggest producer of the metal. - The Times
Dyson, the technology group relocating its headquarters from Britain to Singapore, has received £67 million in tax breaks over the past two years. Recent publicly available accounts for Weybourne Group, the UK-based company behind the Dyson empire, show it received a £43 million benefit from UK government investment incentives in 2017, more than the £37 million overseas government benefit, which helped to cut its £131 million UK corporation tax bill to £106 million. - The Times
The NHS could save £319m over the next 21 years if cycling in major UK cities becomes as popular as in London, according to a report by an environmental charity. About 34,000 incidences of type 2 diabetes, stroke, breast cancer and depression would be prevented in seven key cities between 2017 and 2040, if cycling increased at the same rate as in London since the millennium, according to analysis from Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity. - Guardian