Monday newspaper round-up: GDP forecasts, May's industrial strategy, Bovis

Financiers are losing confidence in the economy and one of the country’s most closely watched forecasting panels has predicted a three-year grind of slow growth. The gloomy expectations come as officials prepare this week to publish their first estimate for growth in the final quarter. This is expected to slow slightly from 0.6 per cent in the second and third quarters to 0.5 per cent in Q4. - The Times

Theresa May will signal an era of greater state intervention in the economy as she launches her industrial strategy with a promise of “sector deals”, a new system of technical education and better infrastructure. The prime minister will publish the strategy at a cabinet meeting in the north-west of England, setting out five sectors that could receive special government support: life sciences, low-carbon-emission vehicles, industrial digitalisation, creative industries and nuclear. - The Guardian

One of the City’s most influential fund managers is trying to put Bovis Homes in play after calling for Berkeley Group to consider an all-paper merger with its troubled rival. Andy Brough, of Schroder Investment Management, which has an 8.1 per cent stake in Bovis, has written to the Berkeley board, led by Tony Pidgley, urging it to consider a marriage with Bovis to accelerate its expansion outside London. - The Times

British-based factory workers producing garments for a string of top fashion brands are being paid less than half the legal minimum wage, a new undercover film claims. Textile firms making products for fashion retailers such as River Island, New Look, Boohoo and Missguided are paying their UK workers between £3 and £3.50 an hour, Channel 4’s Dispatches will allege on Monday night. - The Guardian

One of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, a specialist in the luxury London market, has started to make and sell houses built almost entirely in a factory. Berkeley Group has cast aside years of suspicion by the traditional construction industry to embark on a huge drive to market modular homes. - The Times

The UK’s small, privately-owned pharmaceutical companies often go under the radar, but they’re playing an increasingly important role in Britain’s healthcare sector and posting impressive growth rates, according to a report from consultants Catalyst Corporate Finance. As big players such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca come under pressure from rising R&D costs, stricter regulation and outcomes-based reimbursement, they’re outsourcing parts of their business that would historically have been done in-house to specialist companies. - Telegraph

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed an $820 million deal to sell its share of a Saudi Arabian petrochemicals joint venture, taking it past the $6 billion milestone in its asset sales programme. It is seeking to offload $30 billion of assets by the end of 2018 to help to cut its debts from the £35 billion takeover of BG Group and protect its dividend. - The Times

Shell’s plans to sell off UK oil assets are expected to move ahead within weeks ahead of an M&A boom for the North Sea. City sources have said that private-equity backed investment funds are expected to close in on asset sales from supermajor Shell as well as French energy giant Engie amid rising investor confidence in the oil market recovery. - Telegraph

British renewables firms Lightsource Energy, RES and Solar Century are preparing to compete for a multi-million dollar windfall by snapping up contracts to develop wind, solar and power storage projects in Saudi Arabia through the kingdom’s $50bn renewables drive. Within weeks the world's largest producer of oil will launch a tender process for an ambitious renewable energy program which is expected to involve investment of between $30bn and $50bn by 2023 to help kick its addiction to fossil fuels. - Telegraph

Sky is preparing a push into feature film production, according to industry sources. The company is due to give investors its half-year report on Thursday against the backdrop of its planned takeover by 21st Century Fox, as it attempts to maintain focus on its sporting battles with BT and efforts to retain subscribers as Netflix and Amazon pile more money into original programming. - Telegraph

The British and Irish governments have agreed that there will be no customs posts on the Northern Irish border, despite Theresa May signalling she will take the UK out of the European Union’s customs union. Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, and his finance minister said separately in Davos last week at the World Economic Forum that the two governments were looking at technology to replace border posts. - The Times

An internet mortgage broker that aims to shake up the convoluted process of securing a home loan has raised £5.5m from a Silicon Valley investor. Habito, a London start-up, allows homebuyers to find a mortgage using an artificial intelligence chatbot instead of a series of meetings or phone call with a broker. - Telegraph