Wednesday newspaper round-up: UK tax havens, UN climate talks, shop prices

The UK and its “corporate tax haven network” is by far the world’s greatest enabler of corporate tax avoidance, research has claimed. British territories and dependencies made up four of the 10 places that have done the most to “proliferate corporate tax avoidance” on the corporate tax haven index. – Guardian

It was deja vu for Brian Dennis last week when British Steel went into administration, putting 5,000 jobs at risk and endangering 20,000 in the supply chain, after failing to secure emergency government funding. Back in September 2015, Dennis had taken a day off from Redcar’s steel plant to attend the Labour party conference when his phone started buzzing. It was the news he had been dreading: after 26 years among the coke ovens and conveyor belts, he was out of a job. SSI, the plant’s Thai owners, were pulling the plug. – Guardian

The leaders of Britain’s biggest companies are backing the UK bid to host the UN’s most important climate talks since the Paris Accord was signed in 2015. FTSE 100 chief executives from Capita, National Grid and Centrica have appealed to government to do “everything in its powers” to secure the UN’s landmark 2020 climate talks. – Telegraph

The Greggs vegan sausage roll continued to boost meat-free brand Quorn as the rising popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets led to a 7pc surge in sales to £220m last year. Greggs said the vegan version mirrored some of the sausage roll’s “classic features”, including 96 layers of puff pastry, wrapped around a “bespoke” Quorn filling. – Telegraph

One of the last big British-owned automotive companies has fallen to a foreign takeover that will net Sir Brian Souter, the Stagecoach tycoon, and his sister Dame Ann Gloag £175 million. Alexander Dennis, best known as a maker of London red buses and reckoned to have the largest share of the UK bus market, has been bought by NFI Group, of Canada, for £320 million. – The Times

Shop prices have increased as retailers rein in discounting and begin to pass on rising costs to their customers. Shop prices inflation increased to 0.8 per cent year-on-year in May, up from 0.4 per cent in April, according to figures compiled by the British Retail Consortium, the trade body, and Nielsen, the consumer insights group. This was led by non-food prices for categories including furniture, health and beauty. – The Times