Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, World Bank, Hargreaves, taxis
Theresa May faces a concerted campaign of parliamentary warfare from a powerful cross-party alliance of MPs determined to use every lever at their disposal to prevent Britain leaving the EU without a deal in March. The former staunch loyalist Sir Oliver Letwin signalled that he and other senior Conservatives would defy party whips, repeatedly if necessary, to avoid a no-deal Brexit, as the government suffered a humiliating defeat during a debate on the finance bill in the Commons. - Guardian
The decades-long era of low inflation could soon come to an end as politicians begin to interfere with the decision-making processes of central banks, according to the World Bank. Predicting “darkening skies” caused by increased market volatility, trade tensions and higher borrowing costs, the Washington-based institution downgraded its forecasts for growth in the global economy by 0.1 percentage point for the next two years. - Telegraph
...The World Bank also warned that a no-deal Brexit will have a negative economic impact from Moldova to Morocco, as the shockwaves sweep eastwards across Europe and through trade links to North Africa. Unlike previous reports which focused on the UK and the 27 members of the European Union, the organisation said nations from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova in the east, and around the Mediterranean from Turkey and Egypt to Morocco would also suffer should Britain and the EU fail to agree a deal. - Guardian
China has bowed to American concerns over agricultural exporters’ access to its markets, approving five new genetically modified crops as talks between the world’s two largest economies continued yesterday. Beijing, which has faced calls to import more farm goods, added several GM maize, soya bean and canola products to its list of sanctioned items yesterday. - The Times
The number of permanent jobs being filled is growing at its slowest rate in almost two years, with a shortage of suitable candidates providing a further boost to starting salaries, according to a report. As Britain enjoys record levels of employment, businesses are being forced to offer more “attractive and creative packages” to fill the rising number of job vacancies, particularly as the flow of European Union workers continues to ease. - The Times
Britain’s biggest financial adviser, Hargreaves Lansdown, has slashed the fund offerings on its highly influential buy-list, controversially excluding top manager Terry Smith while keeping faith with rival Neil Woodford. The Hargreaves Lansdown Wealth 150 list of funds is regarded as the most powerful buy-list in the asset management industry, driving huge flows in and out of fund firms. - Guardian
The North Sea predator circling Faroe Petroleum has bowed to pressure from its shareholders by raising the price of its hostile takeover bid. Norwegian oil giant DNO said it would pay 160p a share after failing to convince shareholders to turn their back on the Aberdeen-based company for 152p last week. - Telegraph
Britain’s fastest growing energy supplier is on track to burn through its milestone private equity investment after plunging to a £24m loss last year. Bulb Energy said a boom in its customer numbers drove the business to an annual loss for the year ending last March which was ten times higher than its £1.9m loss the year before. - Telegraph
Fears were raised over security at British airports yesterday after Heathrow grounded flights for almost an hour over a suspected drone sighting. Critics demanded to know why Europe’s busiest airport was without permanent drone defences almost three weeks after a similar incident led to a shutdown at Gatwick. - The Times
One of China’s largest carmakers has become the latest global automotive group to postpone or pull investment in Britain. Geely, the owner and maker of hybrid London taxis, was due this year to begin production of a new generation of electric delivery vans for the British market but its subsidiary, the London Electric Vehicle Company, said that it would not begin production of light commercial vehicles until the “early 2020s”. - The Times
The banker credited with turning around Northern Rock is joining Monzo as chairman, months after it hit a landmark valuation of more than £1bn. Sources said Gary Hoffman, who famously turned down a £500,000 "golden goodbye" when he quit as Northern Rock chief executive in 2010, will join the digital bank as chairman early next month. - Telegraph
The pollution charge being introduced in London in April could affect almost 2.5 million cars and vans a year, official figures have suggested. Sadiq Khan has previously said that fewer than 60,000 vehicles a day would pay the £12.50 ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) fee but has not made clear the total number of vehicles that might be affected by the charge at some point during the year. - The Times
Donald Trump called illegal immigration and drug trafficking “a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul” as he made his case for billions of dollars for a southern border wall directly to the American people last night. He used his first live primetime address from the Oval Office to warn of a “growing humanitarian and security crisis” on the frontier with Mexico, but refrained from calling a state of emergency to bypass Congress and requisition funding as he threatened last week. - The Times
WeWork is rebranding as The We Company as the loss-making shared office provider seeks to reassure investors of its future growth potential by ramping up its communal living apartments and schools businesses. It came as WeWork’s biggest investor, Japan’s SoftBank, scaled back its planned investment for this year from $16bn (£12.5bn) to $2bn. - Guardian
The former chairman of Nissan declared his innocence yesterday at his first public appearance since his arrest seven weeks ago for alleged financial misconduct. Carlos Ghosn told Tokyo district court: “I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations.” - The Times