Thursday newspaper round-up: Defence, Minimum wage, Apple

The Chancellor stunned MPs yesterday by unexpectedly announcing that the government would commit to spending two percent of GDP on defence until the end of parliament - a promise that he and the prime minister had, until then, avoided making. - Financial Times

George Osborne launched into battle with small business leaders yesterday by announcing that he is going to force all companies to pay staff a minimum wage of £9 an hour by 2020. From April next year all employers must pay workers aged 25 and older a “national living wage”, which will initially be set at £7.20. - The Times

Apple is preparing for the largest initial production run for its next iPhones by the end of the year. The company is asking suppliers to manufacture 85m to 90m units of two new models with 4.7-inch and 5-inch displays. The company had ordered 70m to 80m of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year, in its largest initial production run so far. - The Daily Telegraph

George Osborne called it a "Budget for working people" and a "one nation Budget" but there was another phrase that captured the audacity of the chancellor's ambition: it represented a "new settlement". This was Mr.Osborne setting out a version of Toryism that sprawls across the political spectrum from Lawsonesque fiscal discipline and welfare cuts, to tax raids on banks and the rich that outflanked Ed Miliband to the left. - Financial Times

Devolution in England "has only just begun", George Osborne has said, as he unveiled plans to give more power to cities in a bid to boost economic growth across the country. In his Summer Budget speech on Wednesday, the Chancellor said he wanted to "put the power into the Northern Powerhouse", and allow people to have a bigger say in how local services are run.- The Daily Telegraph

The outspoken entrepreneur behind the so-called “Gatwick Gusher” oil discovery has stood down from the company leading the exploration drilling in an attempt to improve the project’s credibility. David Lenigas resigned as executive chairman of UK Oil & Gas, the most prominent of a handful of AIM-quoted companies he is involved with that have an interest in the Horse Hill licence area in the Sussex Weald. - The Times

Network Rail has been appointed to help to build a 200mph railway in California, only a fortnight after being criticised for “unacceptable” performance in Britain. The state-funded company will form part of a consultancy team brought in to deliver the high-speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It will focus on issues such as operations and maintenance. - The Times