Monday newspaper round-up: Retailers, commuters, BT
At least 20 retailers will reveal how they performed over the festive period this week, with Tesco expected to be one of the Christmas winners but Marks & Spencer continuing to struggle. Others due to update investors include Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, John Lewis, House of Fraser and fast-growing discounter B&M. With little sales growth to be found, it is not expected to be a vintage year for any company as consumer confidence and spending power remains weak. – Guardian
Commuters are facing a week of disruption as workers in five rail companies prepare for strike action over the role of train guards. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the first full week back at work following the festive break after last-ditch talks collapsed. – Guardian
Confidence among Britain’s businesses appears brittle as fears about trade and economic growth have escalated in a trio of surveys. Brexit has been identified as the biggest concern among those in control of company finances and is likely to lead to more subdued spending by businesses, according to a Deloitte survey. – Telegraph
Public houses look to have cashed in on the nation’s Christmas spirit thanks to insatiable demand for premium drinks and longer opening hours to help elongate the festivities. Privately owned pub groups have reported buoyant Christmas trading and analysts are expecting upbeat data from some of their larger publicly traded rivals, particularly those with a skew towards drink sales. – Telegraph
Ministers have been asked to come up with plans to secure the future of the Vauxhall car plant at Ellesmere Port and to promote it as a factory in the vanguard of the electric vehicle revolution. The future of the Cheshire factory, home of the Vauxhall Astra, has been in doubt since it, along with the rest of the Opel Vauxhall assets in Europe owned by General Motors, was sold to Groupe PSA, the Peugeot and Citroën carmaker. Ellesmere Port’s prospects worsened in the autumn when PSA cut a shift and laid off 400 workers, about a quarter of the labour force. – The Times
The £49 billion BT pension scheme is set to pull its administration back in-house after terminating a contract with Accenture three years into an eight-year deal. The pension scheme, which has 300,000 members, is one of the largest in the private sector. The decision comes amid intense discussions over the future of the scheme, which has a £13.9 billion deficit. – The Times