Wednesday newspaper round-up: living standards, UK growth, Co-op Bank

Pressure on the government to help struggling Britons has intensified after a leading thinktank warned that falling living standards for the poor threatened the biggest rise in inequality since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. The Resolution Foundation said Theresa May would need to make good on her pledge to support “just about managing” households as it released a report showing that rising inflation and an end to recent strong jobs growth would hit the least well-off hardest. - Guardian

The surprising resilience of consumer spending in the months since the Brexit vote has forced one of the UK’s leading economic thinktanks to revise up its growth forecasts for the second time since the referendum. In its quarterly health check of the economy, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said it now expected growth of 1.7% this year – only slightly down on the 2% recorded in 2016. – Guardian

Britain’s aerospace and defence companies are in “rude health” but their continued success is dependent on the Brexit deal the government thrashes out, the president of the industry’s trade body has warned. Speaking at the annual dinner of the sector which also encompasses space and security businesses, ADS president Paul Kahn said that while industry did not want Brexit, the UK is leaving the EU and it is up to the trade group’s members to “make a success of it”. – Telegraph

Apple posted record iPhone sales on Tuesday night, returning the world's largest public company to growth after last year's uncharacteristic fall in revenues. High demand for the new iPhone 7 model released in September meant Apple sold 78.3m iPhones in the crucial Christmas quarter that comes after the release of its latest products. – Telegraph

Investors fear that the Co-operative Bank may be forced to wind down, leaving bondholders with heavy losses. The price of its most risky bonds has fallen as much as 30 per cent this week, with some trading as low as 57p in the pound, after the bank’s admission last Thursday that its capital strength would be weaker than expected, which triggered weekend reports that the Bank of England could intervene. – The Times

The splurge in consumer borrowing showed signs of moderating in December as Britons went only £1 billion further into the red on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts. This was the lowest month-on-month increase since May 2015 and may start to ease regulators’ fears that the UK has embarked on an uncontrolled borrowing binge and that individuals are getting perilously into debt. – The Times