Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, HSBC, Superdry, Melrose

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn were both facing a furious backlash from their parties last night amid growing scepticism over the prospects of their talks finding a way through Brexit. No 10 and Labour claimed initially that the leaders had had a “constructive” meeting after they spent an hour and 40 minutes in the Commons working through options. They agreed to set up a working party to meet today. - The Times

Jeremy Corbyn will resume Brexit talks with the prime minister on Thursday, after Labour tensions over a second referendum burst into the open, with the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, writing to colleagues to insist any pact must be put to a public vote. Both Labour and Downing Street described the discussions as “constructive” and said they would hold technical talks, facilitated by civil servants, on Thursday. - Guardian

Jeremy Corbyn was told by one of his closest allies yesterday that any Brexit compromise he strikes with Theresa May must include a referendum. The Labour leader provoked discomfort at all levels of his party after appearing not to make a fresh vote a condition of any agreement with the prime minister. - The Times

Britain will be unable to block any increase in its payments to the EU in the event of a long extension to the Brexit negotiations. At a summit next week EU leaders will offer Theresa May a choice between a no-deal Brexit and a long Article 50 extension unless the withdrawal treaty is ratified by April 12. - The Times

A cross-party group of MPs has forced through an emergency bill in less than six hours to instruct Theresa May to seek an extension to article 50 and avoid a no-deal Brexit, despite government opposition. The bill, spearheaded by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and the Conservative Sir Oliver Letwin, passed late into the night, with MPs defeating a number of obstructive amendments from both Brexiters and the government. - Guardian

The risk of an “accidental disorderly Brexit” was “alarmingly high” as politicians cannot decide what kind of deal they want, Mark Carney has warned. This is “the biggest, most immediate risk to the financial sector”, which raised the chance of “quite serious economic shocks and potential shocks that would reverberate throughout the financial sector”, the Governor of the Bank of England said in an interview with Sky News. - Telegraph

Britain is better prepared to cope with a no-deal Brexit than it was a few months ago, although it would still cause a big economic shock, Mark Carney said yesterday. The governor of the Bank of England indicated that conditions had improved since a range of scenarios were published in November. - The Times

Chancellor Philip Hammond left a marathon seven-hour crisis Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night to meet Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon and other senior financiers in a bid to soothe growing fears about Brexit. Industry sources said Mr Hammond tried to strike an upbeat tone on Brexit at the US investment bank's 150th anniversary party in the Natural History Museum, which Mr Solomon travelled to London to attend. - Telegraph

HSBC has been criticised for continuing to offer a controversial “guaranteed bonus” scheme that will be part of a pay policy due to be put to a shareholder vote next week. The influential shareholder advisory group ISS voiced concerns over the pay arrangements, describing guaranteed bonuses as a “problematic issue” and saying that HSBC has so far failed to provide clear guidelines on how or why they are earned. - Guardian

Julian Dunkerton and Peter Williams, the returning chief executive and new chairman of Superdry, addressed staff at the company’s head office on Wednesday as they tried to calm nerves after a boardroom coup which has wiped nearly £70m off the fashion brand’s market value in the last two days. Shares in the company fell 7.8% to 460.8p, following Tuesday’s 8.8% drop after the re-election of Dunkerton by a narrow majority of shareholders, sparking the resignation of the chief executive, Euan Sutherland, and all but one other director. - Guardian

Melrose has upped the ante in its reforms of GKN, the aerospace and automotive parts group that it acquired after an £8 billion hostile takeover battle last year, promising to increase profit margins to more than 11 per cent from the 10 per cent-plus that it had pledged already. In presentations in the City yesterday, it said that GKN’s aerospace business would raise its profit margin from a historic 8.2 per cent to more than 12 per cent by sorting out procurement and costs servicing five big global aerospace projects. - The Times

Britain is "definitively" a better place to do business than France, the French chief executive of Europe's largest online furniture retailer Made.com has claimed. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Philippe Chainieux, one of France's most high-profile technology entrepeneurs, said the UK "has been, and I think still is, a more international hub, attracting money first of all, and talent from around the world".

Electric carmaker Tesla’s output slowed down during a rocky start to the new year, a development that will likely magnify nagging doubts about whether the electric car pioneer will be able to make the mass-market leap. The Palo Alto, California, company churned out 77,100 vehicles from January to March, well behind the pace it must sustain to fulfill the CEO Elon Musk’s pledge to manufacture 500,000 cars annually. - Guardian

YouTube ignored warnings from staff about toxic videos on the site because it was fixated on increasing viewers, it has been claimed. Staff at Alphabet's video-sharing website suggested ways to halt the spread of extreme or misleading content, such as conspiracy theories and graphic videos, according to a report from Bloomberg News. - The Times

The rise of the Silicon Valley giants and tech-powered services is damaging competition, threatening stability and allowing corporate giants to jack up prices, according to a sweeping analysis of one million companies around the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which conducted the study, said action is required to rein in the power of global businesses and reinvigorate capitalism. - Telegraph

The hedge fund founded by the billionaire investor Ken Griffin has made a £60m bet that the share price of Ryanair will fall, the first time a short position of this size has been reported for the budget airline. Citadel Europe took a 0.56% short position in Ryanair in early February, according to short-selling data reported to the Central Bank of Ireland. - Guardian

HM Revenue and Customs has been accused of “bullying” by encouraging those who owe tax to pay off their debts more quickly than necessary. Officials are failing to mention the minimum amount the taxman would be able to accept to set up instalment plans for outstanding bills when people in arrears call to settle their debts. - The Times

Neil Woodford has listed his stakes in several private companies on a stock exchange in Guernsey, which helps the renowned fund manager to avoid regulatory limits on unlisted shares. Mr Woodford, 59, must keep the amount of unlisted stocks in his equity income fund below a 10 per cent ceiling set by the Financial Conduct Authority. - The Times

The UK advertising watchdog has caught five gambling firms, including Aston Villa’s sponsor Unibet, breaking strict rules that ban them from targeting children with online betting ads. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) created a number of child “avatars” – online profiles that simulate children’s online web browsing – to see the type of ads with which children are bombarded when they are online. - Guardian

Santander has signalled that its British business faces more cuts as it looks to Europe to bear the brunt of a €1.2 billion cost-saving drive and to Latin America for profits. The Spanish lender said yesterday that it would find efficiencies in the UK by “simplifying, digitalising and automating the bank” in a move that could save about £85 million. - The Times

Constellation Brands is to offload about 30 budget wine and spirits brands to E & J Gallo for $1.7 billion to focus on its premium labels. The company, one of the world’s largest alcoholic drinks producers, said last night that it was selling brands that generally cost below $11 a bottle, as well as facilities in California, New York and Washington.

More than 82,500 people are in prison across the UK, government figures show, and those set for release face the daunting task of re-entering society and trying to find a job. They face an uphill battle: half of employers would not consider hiring an ex-offender, regardless of the crime or sentence received, according to a Department for Work and Pensions survey in 2016.