Tuesday newspaper round-up: BoE, car industry, Shell, HSBC

The Bank of England has rebuffed criticism from the chief architect of the UK’s banking reforms by denying that it has watered down his recommended minimum capital levels for Britain’s biggest lenders. In a statement released late on Monday the BoE rejected that it had gone soft on UK banks and pushed back firmly against an article in Monday’s Financial Times by Sir John Vickers. – Financial Times

Eurosceptic ministers are planning to disown David Cameron’s “new settlement” for Britain in the EU within hours of an expected deal being struck, as the prime minister prepares for a cabinet showdown on Friday. Mr Cameron is confident he can secure a new deal for Britain at a Brussels summit on Thursday night, in spite of a last-minute battle with Poland over child benefit payments to migrant workers. – Financial Times

Living standards in the UK have finally made up the ground lost as a result of the financial crash following the boost to incomes provided by rising employment and falling inflation, according to the Resolution Foundation. The thinktank said that the longest squeeze on households in living memory had finally come to an end, with incomes surpassing their previous 2009 peak. – Guardian

Europe’s car industry has suggested that the continent’s entire road network be resurfaced at a cost of hundreds of billions of euros as a “climate initiative” so that it does not need to make mandatory car emissions cuts by 2030. The lobbying document produced by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and seen by the Guardian also advocates for greater use of biofuels; “smart transport” infrastructure; and “eco-driving” lessons for motorists.- Guardian

A new German plan to impose "haircuts" on holders of eurozone sovereign debt risks igniting an unstoppable European bond crisis and could force Italy and Spain to restore their own currencies, a top adviser to the German government has warned. It is the fastest way to break up the eurozone,” said Professor Peter Bofinger, one of the five "Wise Men" on the German Council of Economic Advisers. – Telegraph

Britain’s record low borrowing costs will hand George Osborne a £21bn windfall in next month’s Budget that could help plug a widening hole in the public finances, new analysis shows. A dramatic fall in Gilt yields over the past three months is expected to reduce the Government’s debt interest bill by £2bn this year alone, rising to £5bn by 2020, according to Capital Economics. - Telegraph

Royal Dutch Shell reiterated its confidence in the North Sea oil industry yesterday as it sealed a £35 billion acquisition of its rival BG Group and promised a rapid boost in output from Brazil. Writing exclusively for The Times on the first day after completing the merger, Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive, promised to retain many of BG’s existing assets in the North Sea, where high costs and plunging oil prices have fuelled deep unease about job losses and future investment in the basin. – The Times

HSBC may replace its top two bosses within a year after ending speculation over the location of its headquarters by deciding to stay in Britain. Douglas Flint, the chairman, said that plans to replace himself and Stuart Gulliver, the bank’s chief executive, were “well-established”, with speculation mounting that they could be gone by the end of 2017. – The Times