Sunday newspaper round-up: Sovereign wealth fund, Easyjet, Heathrow

The Treasury is weighing plans for a “bad bank” to hold stakes in bailed-out businesses amid fears that nationally significant firms could fail in the Covid-19 crisis. The plans, which are at an early stage, range from creating an “asset resolution” scheme to recoup value for taxpayers, to a sovereign wealth fund. The plans echo the Labour government’s establishment of a bad bank during the 2008 financial crisis, when UK Financial Investments (UKFI) was set up to manage the mortgage books of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley after they collapsed. - Sunday Times

The UK is at risk of returning to the high unemployment levels of the 1980s, according to the Bank of England’s chief economist. Andy Haldane said Britain would need to find a way to reabsorb the large numbers of workers who will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the country faces the prospect of the high unemployment experienced decades ago. - Guardian on Sunday

EasyJet faces a crunch vote on Friday that could see its management ousted in a row over buying Airbus jets. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder who controls 34% of the airline, has called a vote to remove four of its directors, including chairman John Barton, chief executive Johan Lundgren and the finance director, Andrew Findlay. Haji-Ioannou, 53, has fought an increasingly hostile campaign against easyJet’s order for 107 Airbus planes, signed in 2013. He argues it risks the survival of Europe’s second-biggest budget carrier. - Sunday Times

The boss of Heathrow has urged the government to develop plans to restart travel between “low-risk countries” as global lockdown measures are eased. John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of the busiest airport in Britain, said the UK should adopt a risk-based approach to flights and warned that the UK economy will suffer if blanket travel restrictions continue. He also backed the idea of “immunity passports” to allow people who have already had Covid-19 to travel more freely. - Guardian on Sunday

Holidays giant Tui is considering tapping investors for hundreds of millions of pounds. A major equity fund-raise is one of the options under consideration if people are slow to start going on holiday again once the lockdown eases, sources said. The tour operator, which has secured a £1.6 billion bridging loan from the German government, said last week that it had enough cash for the coming months. - Mail on Sunday

The billionaire family behind Hikma Pharmaceuticals has cashed in £33 million of shares in the FTSE100 drugs giant after its stock was boosted by the coronavirus crisis. HMS Holding SAL, a family trust of the Jordanian Darwazah family, offloaded 1.35 million Hikma shares at £24.50 each on Wednesday. - Mail on Sunday

Coronavirus could "burn out naturally" so a vaccine is no longer needed, a former World Health Organisation director has claimed, as the Government announces it is dedicating more than £90m to a dedicated inoculation development centre. Professor Karol Sikora, an oncologist and chief medical officer at Rutherford Health, said it is likely the British public has more immunity than previously thought and Covid-19 could end up "petering out by itself". - Sunday Telegraph

Boris Johnson was hit by a growing revolt over his strategy for easing the Covid-19 lockdown last night as council leaders across the north of England joined unions in vowing to resist plans to reopen schools on 1 June. Signs of disunity spread as a new opinion poll for the Observer showed approval ratings for the government over its handling of the crisis had plummeted since the prime minister dropped the “stay at home” message and eased restrictions a week ago. - Guardian on Sunday

Carmakers are negotiating with the EU and UK for subsidies to help boost demand for new vehicles, but campaigners are concerned that the stimulus could end up paying for pollution unless emissions restrictions are imposed. The carmakers argue that subsidies would help kickstart demand as lockdown measures ease and factories reopen, preventing tens of thousands of job losses amid a global slump in car orders. - Guardian on Sunday

Burberry is set to join the ranks of big companies cutting dividends in the fallout from Covid-19. The luxury fashion brand and retailer is also locked in talks with shareholders over controversial changes to its executive pay scheme. Burberry’s store sales dropped by 30% in the first three months of the year, when lockdowns were being imposed across Europe. - Sunday Times