Monday newspaper round-up: May, Hammond, Trump all upbeat on Brexit
Ministers are prepared to start a tax and trade war with Europe to ensure Britain’s economic prosperity, the chancellor said yesterday. Philip Hammond said that if the EU cut off the UK’s preferential access to the single market or tried to impose tariffs and trade restrictions, a “wounded” Britain would not lie down and accept the economic damage. - The Times
Donald Trump has pledged that America and Britain will agree a post-Brexit trade deal “very quickly” and said Brexit was a "great thing" for the UK. In an interview with Michael Gove for The Times, the US president-elect praised Britain for voting to leave the European Union, said Theresa May would visit him "right after" he is sworn in, and predicted that other countries would follow Britain’s lead in leaving the bloc. - The Times
The pound fell against the dollar, dropping below $1.20 for the first time since October’s flash crash, after reports said that Prime Minister Theresa May will signal plans to quit the European Union’s single market to regain control of Britain’s borders and laws. Sterling declined against all of its major peers after it was reported that May will prepare to withdraw from tariff-free trade with the region in return for the ability to curb immigration and strike commercial deals with other countries. - Telegraph
Theresa May will aim to strike a defiant tone in her upcoming Brexit speech on the risks to the rest of the EU of giving Britain a raw deal, echoing the combative approach taken by the chancellor. In a speech by the prime minister on Tuesday that will be watched closely in EU capitals, Downing Street is keen to impress that there are potentially lucrative economic opportunities elsewhere, weeks before the UK is expected to trigger article 50. - Guardian
Business activity across England and Wales hit an 18-month high at the end of last year in a further sign that the economy has so far shrugged off the effect of the Brexit vote. Lloyds Bank’s regional purchasing managers’ index for December showed “strong and accelerated growth”, the lender said, led by the east of England, the southwest and the west Midlands. - The Times
The danger of Britain’s steel industry plunging back into crisis has eased with the government agreeing further subsidies that reduce the sector’s cripplingly high energy bills. A deadline to win European approval to grant British steelmakers to state aid that would bring their energy bills closer to those faced by their continental rivals was missed because of Brussels red tape. Telegraph
Deutsche Börse’s €25 billion merger with the London Stock Exchange will trigger a huge grab of business by Frankfurt from the City, a study claims. Research, which was commissioned by the German exchange, says that the merger will give Deutsche Börse the opportunity to relocate billions of pounds of derivatives trading from the UK to Germany. - The Times
O2 and Vodafone are renegotiating their billion-pound deal to share mobile masts in a bid to speed up the rollout of the networks and keep pace with BT’s coverage expansion plans. The two operators share infrastructure via a joint venture known as Cornerstone under which O2 is responsible for maintaining and building new masts in the East of the country and Vodafone in the West. - Telegraph
Gambling firms that fail to tackle problem gambling and money laundering face heftier fines and a higher risk of losing their operating licence under a tougher regime to be unveiled by the industry’s regulator. The Gambling Commission will lay out its new enforcement strategy this month, detailing how bookmakers, casinos and online gaming companies who are deemed to have breached regulations will be punished. The new stance follows a year in which several major bookmakers reached voluntary settlements for failing to prevent money laundering or problem gambling. - Guardian
Troubled outsourcer Mitie’s new chief executive is poised to launch a review of the company’s accounts that will cut its revenues and profits further after two profit warnings last year. Phil Bentley, who took over the FTSE 250 business in December after stints heading Cable & Wireless Communications and British Gas, is expected to appoint an external auditor to lead the review in the next few weeks. - Telegraph
The world’s largest asset manager is threatening to unleash a fresh wave of shareholder rebellions in the UK unless Britain’s largest companies rein in excessive boardroom pay. BlackRock is demanding cuts to director pension entitlements and an end to huge pay rises as UK companies prepare to put their latest pay deals to shareholders. - Guardian
China went on a €35 billion shopping spree for European companies last year with a focus on technology and manufacturing. This 77 per cent increase on 2015 concentrated on Germany where €11 billion was spent buying or taking a share in more than 40 companies, with €7.8 billion going to Britain. - The Times
The health secretary Jeremy Hunt is in line for a windfall of almost £17 million from the sale of an education business he helped set up before becoming an MP. Talks are said to be at an advanced stage between Hotcourses, a listings service that provides information about educational training courses, and an unnamed buyer. - The Times
The number of people in Britain taking out private medical insurance has risen significantly for the first time since 2008, amid fears about the ongoing crisis gripping the NHS. After falling steeply between 2008 and 2011 and then staying flat, demand for private medical insurance cover in Britain rose by 2.1% in 2015 with just over 4 million people insured. - Guardian
A scion of one of Malaysia’s wealthiest real estate dynasties has said that plans to build one of the tallest residential towers in London will not be bulldozed by Brexit. Abigail Tan, head of the St Giles Hotels Group, is to press ahead with a £800mto £1bn mixed use development in Blackfriars despite rising costs linked to the collapse in the value of the pound. - Telegraph
The world’s eight richest billionaires control the same wealth between them as the poorest half of the globe’s population, according to a charity warning of an ever-increasing and dangerous concentration of wealth. In a report published to coincide with the start of the week-long World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam said it was “beyond grotesque” that a handful of rich men headed by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates are worth $426bn (£350bn), equivalent to the wealth of 3.6 billion people. - The Guardian
The maker of the world’s largest aircraft is planning a London flotation as it seeks funds for its plan to bring about a new dawn for the airship. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is in talks with Zeus Capital, the investment bank, over advising on a listing to raise up to £50 million, most likely on the Alternative Investment Market. The fundraising for the Bedford-based company is scheduled for late 2017 or early 2018. - The Times
The ranks of the 40-plus energy companies jostling for householders’ business will swell on Monday with the launch of a new supplier that delivers electricity from windfarms. Fischer Energy hopes to sign up 40,000 customers in the first year to its single variable tariff, with renewable power bought from Denmark’s Dong Energy. - Guardian
Britain’s largest graduate employers plan to expand their recruitment of university leavers this year in a further sign of confidence in the economy. The top 100 graduate recruiters are seeking to hire 20,985 to their management programmes, 868 (4.3 per cent) more than last year. - The Times