Monday newspaper round-up: business activity, exporters, Donald Trump

British firms are predicting a sharp fall in business activity in the new year, in the latest economic snapshot to warn of an increasingly gloomy outlook for the UK in 2025. The growth indicator survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) indicates firms are preparing to cut down on hiring and reduce output over the next three months. – Guardian

Many exporters are still struggling with post-Brexit trading rules, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said, as it urges the government to press ahead with an EU “reset” in the new year. In a survey of more than 1,000 of its member companies, the BCC found just 15% said the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) with the EU, signed by Boris Johnson on Christmas Eve 2020, had helped them to grow sales with the EU. – Guardian

Donald Trump has threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal unless “rip-off” transit fees are reduced for US ships. In social media posts, the president-elect said the 51-mile waterway was vital to America’s economic and security interests but was being run in a “very unfair and injudicious way”. – Telegraph

Sir Chris Hohn, the billionaire hedge fund manager, awarded himself a £42 million dividend this year — down dramatically from the £275 million he collected in 2023 as TCI Fund Management made charitable donations of £340 million. Hohn, 58, received the $53 million payout in the year to the end of March, according to accounts filed at Companies House. – The Times

A former adviser to a UK prime minister has been accused of involvement in a $250 million bribery case. The British executive is described as a co-conspirator in the US Department of Justice’s prosecution of Gautam Adani, one of the richest men in Asia. Adani, an Indian billionaire and founder of the multinational conglomerate Adani Group, was charged in November by a New York court for his role in an alleged conspiracy to bribe Indian officials to win valuable energy contracts. – The Times