Monday newspaper round-up: Soros and Roubini, bank Brexit, National Grid

Disintegration of the European Union is practically irreversible after Britain’s decision to leave, according to the man who banked a £1 billion profit after betting on a collapse in the pound in 1992. George Soros, the financier who also predicted that last week’s result would send the pound falling, said that the decision was fraught with further uncertainty and political risk for Britain “because what is at stake was never only some real or imaginary advantage for Britain but the very survival of the European project”. - The Times

George Osborne will on Monday attempt to calm financial markets in the wake of the Brexit vote by providing reassurances about the UK’s financial and economic stability. In a 7am statement, the Chancellor is expected to lay out a series of new measures to “protect the national interest” in the coming months, as the Treasury seeks to avert another day of economic chaos following the result of the European Union referendum. - Telegraph

The British pound sank a further 2 per cent to $1.3395 in early morning European trading on Monday as investors continued to digest the fallout from the UK’s decision to leave the EU and sought haven assets such as government bonds and gold. The pound’s fall came on top of Friday’s plunge that saw it close 8.1 per cent lower for its biggest one-day drop on record. - Financial Times

Officials in Japan and China warned of new threats to the health of the UK and global economy in the aftermath of Britain’s leave decision as the pound continued to fall and Asian markets on Monday struggled to recoup heavy losses. Japan’s stock market put on a show of resilience – the Nikkei 225 rising more than 2% by early afternoon – as prime minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting early on Monday and instructed the Bank of Japan to do all it could to stabilise financial markets. - Guardian

Britain is facing the stark reality of crumbling influence on the world stage after turmoil triggered by the vote to leave the EU plunged the UK into domestic political instability. EU leaders were preparing a timetable that would see the UK leave the bloc by the beginning of 2019 in the rapidly accelerating fallout from last Thursday’s referendum that shook the postwar European order, rocked financial markets and claimed the scalp of British prime minister David Cameron. - Financial Times

London-based banks could be blocked from selling services to the European Union’s 500 million consumers if Britain fails to secure access to the single market in exit talks, the governor of the French central bank has warned. Britain’s membership of the EU means that lenders, fund managers and investment firms based in the City have a so-called passporting right that allows them to operate across the Union. - The Times

Brexit is just the “tip of the iceberg” of popular resentment against the EU that could destroy the entire bloc, economists have warned. Nouriel Roubini said the decision to leave the EU could trigger the “beginning of the disintegration” of the UK, eurozone and wider trading area. - Telegraph

The opposition Labour party is embroiled in its bloodiest civil war for decades after the departure of at least 12 members of the shadow cabinet, with another 20 resignations from the front benches expected on Monday. Jeremy Corbyn sacked Hilary Benn, his shadow foreign secretary, at 1.30am on Sunday morning, initiating a deadly battle with most of his MPs at Westminster. By the evening of the same day there had been a wave of resignations from the Labour leader’s top table, prompting fears for the very future of the party. - Financial Times

Global economic policy needs an urgent overhaul to cope with a world of persistently high debt and weak productivity and in which monetary policy is out of ammunition, the Bank for International Settlements believes. The Swiss-based institution says that governments must focus more broadly on controlling inflation and should clearly establish central banks’ limits to shake off the trap of debt-fuelled growth. - The Times

Local authorities have been redrawing care contracts amid concerns that a FTSE 250 public sector outsourcer led by Baroness McGregor-Smith, the Conservative peer and Whitehall adviser, was not paying the minimum wage, The Times has learnt. The homecare business of Mitie has been dogged by claims it has not paid workers for travel time for care appointments. - The Times

David Cameron has been urged to make a swift decision on a new runway in the southeast amid fears over a collapse in economic confidence triggered by the Brexit vote. Business leaders have told the prime minister to rule on an expansion of Heathrow or Gatwick immediately rather than delaying until his successor is in place. Devon and Carmarthenshire county councils are among several local authorities to have tightened their contracts in the wake of the scrutiny, correspondence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows. - The Times

Britain has been warned that it is spending less on infrastructure than the nation needs to secure future economic growth, even before leaving the European Union. McKinsey Global Institute, a management consultancy, said that spending on transport, power, and technology “continues to fall short of the world’s ever-expanding needs”. Its analysis concluded that Britain had a 0.4 per cent gap between its estimated requirement for infrastructure needs before 2030 and its present spending.- The Time

The costs of managing the UK’s electricity supplies could double to £2bn a year within five years due to the growth of renewable technologies, a senior National Grid official has forecast. The company already spends just over £1bn a year on “balancing services” to ensure power supply and demand are matched, that the grid is not overloaded, and that supplies are at the correct voltage and frequency across the network. - Telegraph

The decision to leave the European Union is expected to claim its first victims today, when hedge funds and other financial institutions reveal deep losses suffered in the volatile markets on Friday. Senior bankers and traders said that the 11 per cent swing in the pound, a move not seen since 1967, had triggered margin calls that hit several smaller hedge funds and may have wiped out others. - The Times

Sajid Javid will meet business chiefs in London on Tuesday for a crisis summit to discuss the consequences of Brexit. The business secretary will assemble company executives and leaders of industry bodies in an attempt to allay concerns that years of uncertainty will follow Britain’s vote to leave the European Union last week. - The Times

Britain must look “beyond Europe” if it is to thrive in a post-Brexit world, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Paul Drechsler, president of the CBI, urged the Government to send out a clear message that Britain was open for business. - Telegraph