Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Google, British retailers

Theresa May accused Brexit opponents of 'insulting the intelligence of the British people' today as she said we will leave the EU by April 2019 at the latest. The Prime Minister also laid down the gauntlet to Brussels for the looming negotiations over the single market, making clear that control over immigration is a red line. The uncompromising speech came as she revealed that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - the formal two-year mechanism for quitting the EU - will be triggered by March. - The Mail on Sunday

Google will this month reject EU claims that it is abusing its dominance in search engines and mobile phones, raising the stakes in a long-running battle with Brussels that could trigger a fine running into billions of dollars for the internet giant. The company is preparing to respond within weeks to three separate charges of EU competition rule breaches in its online shopping service, Android smartphone software and advertising business. - The Sunday Telegraph

British retailers are hoping for a boost from tourists on post-referendum shopping sprees as China’s “golden week” holiday begins, bringing with it the prospect of more bargain hunters heading to the UK. Department stores and luxury shops have enjoyed bumper takings from overseas visitors snapping up watches and jewellery since the Brexit vote. The tourists were attracted to UK high streets by a sharp fall in the pound following the Brexit vote. The sharp move means tourists can now get more pounds for their own currency. - The Guardian

Tesco is set to report an increase in first-half profits this week, cementing its recovery under Dave Lewis and giving it the firepower to wage a new price war heading into Christmas trading. Analysts expect Britain’s biggest grocery chain to reveal operating profits of between £487m and £624m for the six months to the end of August, a significant improvement on the £354m in the same period last year. Underlying sales are forecast to have risen for the third consecutive - The Sunday Times

David Smith will join defence supplier Qinetiq as chief financial officer next year. Smith, 55, who succeeds David Mellors, was recently replaced as chief financial officer at the aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce, and previously served as chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover. - The Sunday Times

Ministers and MPs were met with shouts of 'Tory scum get out of Brum' as they began their four-day conference in Birmingham today. The protests - arranged by radical trade unions, campaigned against the Government's spending cuts. Aggressive placards read: 'The only cuts that we need are Tories on the guillotine,' while others compared the giant security wall protecting Conservative MPs from the public to Donald Trump's plans to build a wall on the Mexican border. - The Mail on Sunday

Monarch Airlines is close to unveiling a bumper fleet order of 45 new Boeing planes backed by a massive bank financing package. The deal with a consortium of major institutions will be the biggest investment in the airline’s 48-year history and should secure the carrier’s future, ensuring that its licence to fly is fully extended. - The Sunday Telegraph

Qatari funds are nursing a €1bn loss on their investments in Deutsche Bank, after a 60pc rout in the troubled German lender’s stock price since they backed a massive fund-raising two years ago. Paramount Services Holdings and Supreme Universal Holdings have owned a combined stake of 6pc of the bank since mid-2014, buying in when the shares cost just over €25. The Qataris were among a group of investors that Deutsche tapped for €8.5bn to bolster its balance sheet. - The Sunday Telegraph

The government of Holland has become the latest to crack down on binary options trading after its financial regulator labelled the fast-growing industry “toxic”. The move to ban advertising for the get-rich-quick trading schemes will ramp up the pressure on British authorities. The Sunday Times reveals this weekend how a woman lost more than £640,000 in what is thought to be the biggest fraud claim yet on these shores. - The Sunday Times